TITLE: Telek Luh Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Indonesia
SUBREGION: Bali
ETHNICITY: Balinese
DESCRIPTION: Telek Luh mask
CATALOG ID: ASID011
MAKER: Ida Wayan Muka (Mas Ubud, 1971- )
CEREMONY: Barong Dance
AGE: 1980s
MAIN MATERIAL: pule wood
OTHER MATERIALS: colored glass; gold-plated silver ornament; paint; rubber band
The Barong Dance, named after its main protagonist, recreates a contest between good (represented by the Barong and its followers) and evil (represented by the goddess of death, Rangda, and her followers). This specific mask represents one of the Barong’s retinue, known as Telek Luh. Telek Luh is rarely performed, but she appears in the dance called Sandaran as the spiritual embodiment of feminine refinement. The mask was carved and painted by the master craftsman I. Wayan Muka of Mas Ubud, Bali.
For more on Balinese masks, see Judy Slattum, Masks of Bali: Spirits of an Ancient Drama (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1992).
