Barong
Barong
In Balinese mythology, Barong is the king of good spirits, depicted as a long-toothed lion with thick blond hair who serves as a guardian angel. In one mythology, Barong is shown accompanying King Airlangga, the heir to King Dharmodayana's throne, to defeat Rangda. Barong and Rangda are main characters in a local mythological epic that has an unintentional relationship with a very real character, namely the 11th century Balinese Javanese ruler, Airlangga, who is the son of King Udayana. Barong entered the decisive battle with Rangda at Airlangga's request. Airlangga had previously defeated a horde of demons and turned the survivors of his army into brutal allies. With the help of black magic, Rangda drowns the soldiers who accompany Barong and makes them possessed to commit mass suicide he controls the Barong soldiers to stab the kris into their own chests but is thwarted by Barong, who is also skilled in black magic, making the fruit invulnerable and eventually defeating the demon queen Rangda.
Barong and Rangda are described as having equal power in other mythologies. Both of them were also granted immortality, so the battle was never-ending. Because they are both equally strong, the two fight on without either side losing. The legend of this never-ending battle was later retold in the art of barong dance. There are numerous variations on the barong dance. The Barong Rangda dance, which is performed on the amphitheater stage of the Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex on a regular basis, is one of the simpler and shorter versions. This dance is an introduction for ordinary people to the concept of rwa bhineda, which is one of the Balinese life principles. The concept of rwa bhineda is known in the spiritual beliefs of the Balinese Hindu community, which literally means "two differences that go hand in hand. In more detail, this concept explains how the Almighty created the universe in pairs but with contradictory properties. As in good versus bad, man versus woman, black versus white, and so on.
In the Hindu concept, pairs of characters who are different from each other must coexist. They do not contradict or deny each other. According to Rwa Bhineda, these two contradictory things actually balance each other out so that life can run smoothly. As a result, Balinese people see differences as opportunities to work together rather than obstacles to overcome.This concept of balance is embodied in the mythology of Barong and Rangda's relationship. The eternal feud between Barong and Rangda represents good and evil coexisting. Both the good and the bad cannot be completely eliminated from human life. The existence of good is due to the existence of evil, or evil as a comparison. And vice versa. Something is considered bad because there is something good to compare it to.
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