Balinese topeng It is believed that the use of masks is related to the cult of the ancestors, which considered dancers the interpreters of the gods.
Topeng performances open with a series of non-speaking masked characters that may not be related to the story to be performed. These traditional masks often include
Topeng Manis (a refined hero),
Topeng Kras (a martial, authoritarian character), and
Topeng Tua (an old man who may joke and draw out the audience). The story is narrated from a
penasar, a jawless half-mask that enables the actor to speak clearly. In group
topeng, there are usually two
penasars providing two points of view. The performance alternates between speaking and non-speaking characters and can include dance and fight sequences as well as special effects (sometimes provided by the
gamelan). It is almost always wrapped up by a series of comic characters introducing their views. The narrators and comic characters frequently break Western conventions of storytelling by including current events or local gossip to get a laugh. In
topeng, there is a conscious attempt to include many, sometimes contradictory, aspects of the human experience: the sacred and the profane, beauty and ugliness, refinement and caricature. A detailed description and analysis of
topeng pajegan, the one-man form of
topeng, is available in
Masked Performance by
John Emigh, a Western theater professor who has become a performer of Balinese
topeng. File:Tari Topeng at Bangli, Bali.jpg|Topeng Tua File:Bali-Danse 0710a.jpg|Topeng Telek File:Bersiap Untuk Menampilkan Tarian Topeng Sidakarya.jpg|Topeng Sidakarya
Banjarese topeng The
topeng also calls
topeng barikin from South Kalimantan.
Batak topeng File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Batak maskerdans tijdens een dodenfeest TMnr 60045322.jpg|Batak masked dance during the festival of the dead, circa 1930 File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Batak maskerdans tijdens een dodenfeest TMnr 60045324.jpg|Topeng Batak File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gemaskerde dansers Karolanden TMnr 10017909.jpg|Topeng Batak
Betawi topeng Betawi mask dance or
tari topeng Betawi is a theatrical form of
dance-drama of
the Betawi people in
Jakarta,
Indonesia. This dance-drama encompasses dance, music,
bebodoran (comedy) and
lakon (drama). The Betawi mask dance demonstrates the theme of Betawi society life which is represented in the form of dance and drama. It is called mask dance because the dancers use
topeng (mask) during dancing and Betawi people believed that the
topeng has magical powers.
Sundanese & Cirebonese (West Java) topeng Cirebonese
topeng dance is a local indigenous art form of
Cirebon in Java, including
Indramayu and
Jatibarang,
West Java, and
Brebes,
Central Java. There is a lot of variety in Cirebon mask dance, both in terms of the dance style and the stories to be conveyed. The mask dance can be performed by solo dancers or it can be performed by several people. Graceful hand and body movements, and musical accompaniment dominated by drums and fiddle, are hallmarks of the art form. Cirebon mask dance might depict the story of
Prince Panji from 15th-century East Java, or another
Majapahit story.
Topeng Klana Kencana Wungu is a Cirebon mask dance in the
Parahyangan mask style that depicts the story of Queen Kencana Wungu of Majapahit being chased by the grotesque and rough King Minak Jingga of
Blambangan. The
Sundanese topeng kandaga dance is similar to and influenced by Cirebon
topeng, where the dancers wear red masks and costumes. File:Tari Topeng Cirebon.jpg|Topeng Panji File:Topeng Kandaga Saung Angklung Udjo.JPG|Topeng Cirebon Performance File:Wajah topeng.jpg|Topeng Klana
Dayak topeng Hudoq is a masked dance performed during
the Erau harvest Thanksgiving festival of many sub-groups of the
Dayak ethnic group of
East Kalimantan province,
Indonesia. The
Hudoq culture and performance are indigenous among the Dayak population of
East Kalimantan province. File:KITLV - 25784 - Demmeni, J. - Mask Dance of Kayan men on the Bloeoe River, Upper Mahakam, Central Borneo, on the occasion of the seed sowing festival. The entire body is covered with frayed Pinang palm leaves - 1896-09-01.tif|
Hudoq Dance Performance in Upper
Mahakam River,
Borneo,
Dutch East Indies circa 1896. File:The Hudoq Dancers.jpg|Topeng Hudoq File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Maskerdans tijdens de zaaifeesten van de Bahau Dajaks Boven-Mahakam TMnr 60001698.jpg|Topeng Hudoq
Javanese topeng Malangan topeng In
East Java,
topeng dance is called
wayang gedog and is the best-known art form from East Java's
Malang Regency.
Wayang gedog theatrical performances include themes from the
Panji cycle stories from the kingdom of
Janggala, and the players wear masks known as
wayang topeng or
wayang gedog. The word
gedog comes from
kedok which, like
topeng, means "mask". These performances center on a love story about
Princess Candra Kirana of
Kediri and
Raden Panji Asmarabangun, the legendary crown prince of Janggala. Candra Kirana was the incarnation of
Dewi Ratih (the Hindu goddess of love) and Panji was an incarnation of
Kamajaya (the Hindu god of love). Kirana's story has been given the title
Smaradahana ("The fire of love"). At the end of the complicated story they finally marry and bring forth a son named Raja Putra. File:Menari Topeng Malang.jpg|Malangan
topeng mass dance File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Wajang topeng voorstelling TMnr 60008622.jpg|
Topeng in
wayang gedog performance COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een wajang wong voorstelling bij de regent van Malang TMnr 10017908.jpg|Wayang topeng
Malang Surakartan topeng topeng (dance masks) at
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. The
topeng of the
Surakarta Sunanate court is similar in style and theme to the Yogyakarta variants. Differences are seen in the craftmanship of masks; facial hair is represented with hair or fibre, while the Yogyakarta style uses black paint. Similarly to Yogyakarta, the Sukarta
topeng punakawan (jester) often uses a jawless half-mask.
Yogyakartan topeng In
Yogyakarta tradition, the mask dance is part of
wayang wong performances. Composed and created by Sultan
Hamengkubuwono I (1755–1792), certain characters such as the
wanara (monkey) and
denawa (giant) in
Ramayana and
Mahabharata use masks, while the knight and princesses do not wear masks. The
punakawan (jester) might use a half-mask (a mask without a jaw) so he can speak freely and clearly. Significantly here, the mustache is painted in black. The Topeng Klono Alus Gunungsari, Topeng Klono Gagah Sewandono, and Topeng Putri Kenakawulan dances are classical Yogyakarta court dances derived from the story of
Raden Panji from the 15th-century
Majapahit legacy. ==Gallery==