Balinese Mythology

The mythology of the Indonesian island of Bali is a mixture of Balinese Hinduism and earlier animistic traditions. It also has been influenced by recent Islamic folklore. The early, pre-Hindu traditions of Bali are covered in this article.

Creation

In the beginning, there was only the world snake, Antaboga. The thoughts of the great snake created Bedwang, the turtle that is the world. There were several layers of existence, including the underworld, the seas, and a series of skies. Above these lies the heaven of the ancestors, and beyond that is the heaven of the gods.

Deities

The main Balinese deities include Antaboga; Batara Kala, the god who created light and Earth and rules the underworld with the goddess Setesuyara; and Bedwang, the world turtle. During the ten-day holiday of Galungan, it is believed that the gods visit Earth.

Supernatural Beings

Among the many supernatural beings of Balinese belief are the Awan. These are snakes that appear as falling stars. Barong, a lion figure, is the king of the good spirits and the enemy of the demon-queen Rangda. Rangda is a terrifying being who devours children. The Leyak is a ghoulish man who seems to be an ordinary human by day. But at night he steals the entrails of corpses—or even the living—and makes a potion from them that allows him to change shape. Tjak is a bird with a human face.

Yudisthira

Yudisthira was a kindhearted human who did good deeds for everyone. When he and his dog died, they started up the long road to heaven together. At the entrance to heaven, the souls of the newly dead waited for admittance. There was a chair available that Yudisthira could rest on, but he wanted a chair for his dog so it could rest, too. Everyone raged at Yudisthira for caring about a mere dog. Suddenly the dog turned into a deity and explained that he had only pretended to be a dog to see if Yudisthira was good to all living things. Yudisthira had passed the test and was admitted to heaven.

Sources

• Belo, Jane. Bali: Rangda and Barong. New York: J.J. Augustin, 1949.
• Hooykaas, C. Religion in Bali. Leiden, The Netherlands:
  Brill, 1973.
• Ramseyer, Urs. The Art and Culture of Bali. Oxford, UK:
  Oxford University Press, 1977