From Durga to Rangda: Tantric Goddess Iconography and the Sacred Barong–Rangda Dance in Bali

Anett Noviyanto

The ritual performance of Barong and Rangda occupies a central place in Balinese religious life. Performed within temple contexts and often associated with protective rites, the Barong–Rangda dance stages the enduring tension between protective and destructive forces. Rather than viewing the performance solely as a dramatic retelling of myth, this paper approaches it as a ritual expression shaped by deeper layers of Balinese Hindu–Buddhist thought and Tantric goddess traditions. This study focuses on the evolving figure of Durga Mahisasuramardini and her transformation within Balinese religious culture between the 10th and 16th centuries CE. In early Hindu mythology, Durga appears as the powerful goddess who defeats the buffalo demon Mahisasura, a narrative preserved in the Devi Mahatmya (ca. 5th-6th century CE). In Bali, however, the goddess gradually acquires a more complex and ambivalent character, associated not only with divine protection but also with destructive power, magical knowledge and the liminal spaces of cremation grounds and temples dedicated to her worship. Balinese ritual narratives such as Calonarang deepen this transformation, linking the goddess to the fearsome figure of Rangda, the widow-witch whose bulging eyes, fangs and extended tongue recall the imagery of fierce Tantric goddesses. Drawing on Balinese manuscripts, temple iconography, and performance practice, this paper explores how these religious ideas are embodied in the choreography, masks, and ritual structure of the Barong–Rangda dance, suggesting that the performance functions as a living medium through which ancient goddess symbolism continues to be expressed and renewed within Balinese religious life.