Randga, called the Dancing witch.
Origin
Balinese Mythology
A fierce sorceress Queen of Balinese myth. Randa which means
widow is depicted as near naked with long hair and nails. Her immortal opponent
is the King Barong. The combat between Rangdo and Barong acted out in bellany's
dance always ends with the wrong vanquishing rangda. Rangdum may have
originated in Notorious 11th century Queen of Bali.
Rangda is the demon queen of the leyaks in Bali, according
to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating
Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good,
Barong.
It is suggested that Rangda may be derived from the 11th
century Javan queen Mahendradatta who was exiled by the king, Dharmodayana, for
allegedly practicing witchcraft. The tale surrounding this is that she
proceeded to take her revenge by killing off half the kingdom, which by then
belonged to her and Dharmodayana's son Erlangga, with plague before being
overcome by a holy man. The name Rangda itself means "widow" in old
Javanese and Balinese language. It may also be associated with the legend of a
demon queen named Calon Arang, who wreaked havoc in late 10th century Java,
during the reign of Airlangga.
Rangda is important in Balinese culture, and performances
depicting her struggles with Barong or with Airlangga in that tale are popular
tourist attractions as well as tradition. She is depicted as a mostly nude old
woman, with long and unkempt hair, pendulous breasts and claws. Her face is
traditionally a horrifying fanged and goggle-eyed mask, with a long, protruding
tongue.
It has been suggested that Rangda may be closely associated
with the Hindu warrior mother goddess Durga, or the black goddess of
destruction Kali, given that Bali is a Hindu island. While Rangda is mainly
seen as fearsome and a personification of evil, she is also seen as a protective
figure in some parts of Bali. The colors associated with Rangda are red, black
and white, and these colors are also associated with Kali, and her iconography
is also similar to Kali. Mahendradatta, the queen Rangda might be based on, was
known for her devotion to the cult of Durga in Bali.
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