Balinese Wayang

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Arjuna

Wayang Bali
1. Wayang in Bali is a sacred performing art. It is sacred since the performing art in Bali becomes an arena of transmitting the basic philosophical thought to the audience. The audience is perceived as coming from three realms of world (the realm of gods, the realm of human being, and the realm of underworld.

Demon King puppet
(Raja Raksasa)

2. The existence of wayang characterizes much of the Balinese ritual, from ceremonies for pregnancy to the rituals for weddings. These rituals serve the function of harmonizing the three worlds, often utilizing wayang as the main instrument.

Demon puppet
( Raksasa gundul )

3. As a sacred performing art in Bali, there are numbers of purification ceremonies for the wayang, puppetteer, gender (gamelan), and the gamelan players. Before the wayang is performed, certain purification ceremonies will be carefully conducted.

(for wayang kulit)
by I Ketut Erawan