What is the purpose of Indonesian masks?

What is the purpose of Indonesian masks?

The masks are created to house spirits and energies and are used in rituals or ceremonies as a medium for ancestral spirits to pass back over to this world. It’s somewhat similar to the Mexican beliefs for the Day of the Dead celebrations.

What do Bali masks represent?

Balinese masks symbolize the spirits from the ancestral world. Through these masks, spiritual worlds can find their way to the modern world. The dancers who are allowed to wear masks play an important role. There are purification rituals and blessings for the dancers before the spirits are called upon.

Where do Barong masks come from?

Origin. Barong animal mask dance, together with sanghyang dance are considered native Balinese dances, predating Hindu influences.

What is the process of making traditional Indonesian masks?

Carving a Javanese mask from a block of wood takes three weeks. The masks are completely hand made. The carpenters start with a single block of wood and then using nothing more than a chisel and a hammer, carefully turn the block of wood into a beautiful mask.

What is Rangda mask?

The Rangda (widow in Balinese) mask is intended to resemble a wife’s soul when she follows her departed husband to the netherworld. Unlike the Barong, which represents the good, Rangda personifies the dark side of the universe.

What are Indonesian masks called?

Barong, masked figure, usually representing an unidentified creature called keket, who appears at times of celebration in Bali, Indonesia. For the Balinese, Barong is the symbol of health and good fortune, in opposition to the witch, Rangda (also known as Calonarang).

What is the oldest mask?

World’s oldest masks go on display in Jerusalem

• A collection of the world’s oldest masks, dating back to the dawn of civilisation, have gone on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
• The 9,000-year-old stone masks are thought to have been made to resemble the spirits of dead ancestors.

What is a traditional Indonesian mask?

The mask is, therefore, a medium for ancestral spirits to reside or visit the physical world as it represents the divine beings or energies in a physical form. …

What is the meaning of a Barong mask?

What is Pulewood?

Almost all sacred and performance masks in Bali are carved from Pule wood (Alstonia augustifolia), which is light and easily carved and often grows in cemeteries. When a Pule tree has a visible knot it is considered pregnant and the knot is suitable to become a sacred mask.