Barong Mask. James Kuhn. Face Paint Transformation. Video a video by hawhawjames on Flickr.
My Barong has five "add on's" Watercolor paper painted with face paint makeup, cut out, and taped to my head :] Barong, a mystical creature with a long way back and curved tail, represents the affirmative, the protector of mankind, the glory of the high sun, and the favorable spirits associated with the right and white magic. The widow witch Rangda is its complement. She rules the evil spirits and witches who haunt the graveyards late at night. Her habitat is darkness and her specialties lie with the practice of black magic, the destructive force of the left. Both figures are of the same earthly substance, possessing strong magical prowess. Somewhere in a mythical past, the Barong was won over to the side of humanity, and, in the play, fights on behalf of the people against the intruding death force of Rangda.
