There are some things in our lives that draw us towards them with an irresistible force of curiosity – things that we know we must explore, discover, and experience. We aren’t sure exactly what to anticipate from these things, but we know that they are pieces that were somehow meant to fit into the grander schemes of our lives.
When I heard stories about dancers who hold giant masks in their teeth, I knew I had to see them.
Reog Ponorogo is a dance that encapsulates much of Javanese culture. While watching it, I felt that my experiences on this island fell into context – a bright, elaborate, colorful, blaring context.
The king’s mask, held in the performers hand just as the story begins to unfold.
The dramatic dance tells the story of a king on his way to propose to the princess of a neighboring kingdom. The king is pompous and proud as he tames trotting horsemen, spinning witch-doctors, stomping ruffians, and giant peacock-lions on his way to the princess – eventually assembling them into a great performance in her honor. And I thought popping the question was nerve racking!
Although the details of the story portrayed in the dance may vary, every full performance contains these four elements. Each group takes the stage to show off their stuff – movements refined to the nature of the performed personalities. The riders expertly mimic the playful movements of their bamboo horses. The witch-doctors shake their shaggy heads as they somersault across the stage. The ruffians frown and spar with one another. But the show stopper is always the peacock-feathered lion.
Peacock, lion, tiger, man.
The lion (or tiger, depending on whether you want to focus on the strips or the mane…either way there is a lot going on here) masks are recognized as the largest masks in the world. This fact makes it all the more impressive that the dancers, while balancing the mask on their heads, must hold it steady in their teeth. Talk about a dentist’s nightmare!
This feat of physical strength is so otherworldly that many of these dancers are credited with supernatural powers, and it isn’t uncommon for dancers to enter a trance-like state as they turn, nod, collapse to the ground, and rise up again across the stage.
As if the weight of the mask wasn’t enough, some peacock-lion dancers will even allow a person to sit atop the lion head. While this is often a child or adolescent, sometimes it is also a full grown man. Here is a segment of video I took at the 2015 Reog Ponorogo Festival…
In case you didn’t catch how insane what you just watched is, that is a full grown man atop the world’s largest mask balancing in someone’s teeth.
Reog Ponorogo has largely become a performance-based art, but it comes out of a tradition that firmly believed in spirits, possessions, and the super natural power of trance. And when you watch today’s performances, you get it. The drums beat, shrill voices flood your ears, shaggy-masked acrobats fly through the air, ranks of horses charge by, stout men stomp and yell, and the peacock-lion flutters and looms into your view. The impossible unfolds before you in a tidal wave of color, movement, and noise. The rhythm tugs you in and you are there, submerged in the heady intoxication of Java.
Worth a Journey 