Guardian Beast-King
Balinese · deity · perennial / ritual performative · Recorded classification
Classed as 'deity' (a protective spirit-class being); not a Hindu dewa proper but a sacralized guardian. Sex male by convention as 'Beast-King'/Banaspati Raja.
Domains
- protective good forces
- village guardianship
Powers
- battles the witch-queen Rangda to restore cosmic balance
- shields entranced kris-dancers from self-wounding
Relations
- enemy: Witch-QueenThe protective Beast-King and the witch-queen are locked in the perpetually undecided ritual battle of the Calon Arang drama, balancing order against destruction.Jane Belo, Bali: Rangda and Barong (1949) (secondary)
Sources
- Barong is the Balinese guardian beast-spirit, king of good forces and protector of the village, eternally opposed to the witch-queen Rangda in the Barong dance and Calon Arang drama.: Belo, Jane (1949). Bali: Rangda and Barong. Monographs of the American Ethnological Society 16. New York: J.J. Augustin. (secondary); Eiseman, Fred B. (1990). Bali: Sekala and Niskala, Vol. I. Periplus. (secondary)