Balinese Women in Masks: Positive Female Ritual Power in the Dance “Telek”

• In Event: From Hinduism to Islam: Performing Gender and Religion in Indonesia - Sponsored by the Indonesia and Timor Leste Studies Committee (ITLSC)

Abstract

A common component of exorcistic rituals held in Bali, Indonesia, the “Telek” dance is a form of Balinese performance that is unusual with regard to its choreography, music, costume, and constructions of gender. Within a large and diverse category of traditional Balinese masked dances, Telek is the only one regularly performed by women. Unlike most male masked dances, it is not a solo dance and is not improvised. Though the costume is in a male style, Telek’s music suggests possible connections to refined female (“legong”) dances rather than other male masked dances. Telek’s combination of masculine and feminine elements and its association with powerful Balinese Hindu rituals and mythological characters comprise a particular femininity not otherwise expressed in other forms of Balinese dance. Its movements and poses portray strong female characters, yet the characters are far more spiritually situated than those portrayed in recently created, secular, strong female (“kebyar”) dances. Because of the difficulty in pinning down Telek’s associations and categorical placement, local interpretations of its meaning often differ. In this presentation, I discuss conflicting accounts of Telek’s origin and its various meanings as described to me by several experienced Balinese performers and teacher-scholars. Despite the varying nature of these narratives and despite a historical scholarly inattention to this dance, I argue that what is significant about Telek is the embodiment of a specific feminine power in a larger Balinese Hindu ritual context, which contradicts the national ideal of femininity.

Author

• Sonja Downing, Lawrence University