BARONG AND RANGDA

This Balinese mythological creature is perhaps the most well known to the people of Indonesia. He is commonly found in various forms of souvenirs of the Island of the Gods such as t-shirts.

Barong itself is a creature that resembles a lion. He is known as the leader of the army of goodness. He is often shown fighting Rangda, the leader of the evil squad.

Barong himself is not only present in Balinese mythology, but also often appears in Javanese mythology called Barongan, while Rangda is his main enemy. She is the queen of the adherents of black magic who is often called a tester or pengancab. Rangda is often told of kidnapping and preying on children.

In terms of etymology, Rangda in Old Javanese is the same as randa/rondo or widow in Indonesian. While in Balinese, Rangda is a term for widows in the Vaisya, Kstaria and Brahmin castes. For the Sudra caste, widows are called Balu.