The Order of the
White Moon Goddess Gallery Presents
RANGDA
Queen of the Witches
A Level 2 Final
Project for the Sisters of the Rising Moon School
by
Aquilla
Level 2 Adept and
Member of the Order of the White Moon
(© 2017. All original material in this site is under
copyright protection and is the intellectual property of the author.)
common creative.com
Rangda is known as the demon queen of Bali. She has several names. Queen of the Witches.
Queen of the Leyaks. Queen of
Sorcery. Queen of Black Magic. She is the manifestation of Indian goddess
Durga.
HERSTORY and MYTH
According to myth she was the incarnation of Calong Arang who is
said to be a legendary Demon Queen who practiced witchcraft, she was known to destroy
farmer’s crops and cause disease.
Another myth says that she was the Kings’ consort known as Mahendradatta and was banished from the kingdom by the king because she practiced
black magic. She was a devotee of Durga
and after her husband died she seeked revenge against the kingdom by summoning
the Leyaks known to be vampire like beings that were human during the day but
vampires at night. Hence she became known also as the Queen of the Leyaks.
Balinese belief in black magic and that illness and certain death
causes these humans to become Leyak This is Rangda’s Cave in Bali.
common creatives.com
RANGDA’S ROLE IN BALINESE CULTURE.
Rangda is part of Balinese healing traditions. She is fierce and dangerous but also a
protective force. She is the embodiment
of the dark negative female force. The
female force gone wild, the dark shadow. But she is a necessary evil, as she is
a protector and is needed to keep the light and dark forces in equilibrium. She
keeps chaos in balance.
She is depicted as a frightening old woman with bulging eyes, long
tangled hair and a protruding tongue similar to Indian goddess Kali. Despite
her fierce look, she is considered a protective force. For example, her mask in
temples is visited by students who request her blessings in order to
successfully pass their exams.
wooden mask of Rangda common creative.
The ritual of Borang and Rangda is considered sacred in Bali, but
there is a commercial version of it to support the economy and this has become
a popular tourist attraction in Bali.
The Javanese story tells of a widow who possessed supernatural
powers, but, she used these powers for evil.
At the end of the story, she fights with the clergyman Empu. During this battle the widow became known as
Rangda, a name given to her to describe a widow of overwhelming desire or
unsurpassed fury sparked by revenge. And Empu became Borang. Borang is usually depicted as a tiger or lion
in some cases a buffalo, and in some circumstances the Borang is to describe a
dance.
Borang and Rangda common
creative.
Calonarang:
The Battle Between Good and Evil
The Colonarang is probably one of the best known forms of
drama/dance in Bali, in which Barong and Rangda play central roles. The theme of the Calonarang drama is black
magic.
The story goes that Calonarang becomes furious that no one wants to
marry her daughter. She and decides to seek revenge against the Kingdom. When the King hears of the widow’s intention
to destroy the kingdom, he sends out his minister to meet with her. By the time
the minister arrives, the widow is in a rage and has turned into Rangda - a
witch with supernatural powers. She begins to stomp her feet and starts
trembling frantically and puts herself in a trance.
The villagers try to fight her off with their daggers but with her
powers she manages to put them in a trance and they begin to turn against
themselves by stabbing themselves. As they all lay on the ground, a priest
known as the holy man enters and waves incense smoke and holy water on the
bodies and one by one they were revived.
This is a brief interpretation of this well known drama performed
for tourists.
There are several videos on YouTube of this famous dance.
Rangda’s Purpose in Ritual
This ritual performed by the Balinese Hindu, was considered sacred
and originally performed to ward of an epidemic. Rangda protects the community by defusing the
power of those who practice black magick.
She is the dark shadow of the soul. The ritual is performed to create a
balance between light and dark, and Rangda’s purpose is to keep this balance
between the light and dark forces. These forces of positive and negative are in
an ongoing battle.
Original pastel drawing of Rangda by Aquilla
Rangda is an interesting character as She
plays a dual role as healer/protector and destroyer. Rangda is an integral part
of Balinese healing traditions. She is
fierce and dangerous but is also protective.
She is the embodiment of the dark negative female force. The
female force gone wild, the dark shadow. But she is a necessary evil, as she is
a protector and is needed to keep the light and dark or male and female energy
in equilibrium. She keeps chaos in balance.
Her colors are Red, Black and White.
She has many similarities to Indian goddess Kali, She may have been Kalis
sister. And like Kali, Rangda has to destroy in order to heal.
Bibliography:
https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com
http://www.gustibali.com/archives/rangda-queen-of-the-leak
http://mythicalcreatureslist.com/mythical-creature/Leyak
http://skwirk.com/ online education.
http://balifloatingleaf.com/rangda-healing
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/160991_the-history-and-significance-of-the-goddess-rangda