Creepy? Certainly. If you meet this an appearance like these on Friday night, you better scamper. But as I saw it when watching Barong Dance show in Bali, then there is no such feeling but a sense of interest.
The photo above is a depiction of Rangda figure.
In Sundanese, said Rangda means a widow. However, if Balinese people hear this word, it is imagined things differently, what popped out in their mind may look like this picture (more or less).
Rangda in the Bali mythology is the Queen of Leak, a mythical creature commonly known to like eating born babies. She is described as a terrifying creature that likes to prey children. She is also the leader of the witch army. Rangda figure is a representation of evil.
Background of Rangda itself is associated with the mythology in past Java . Rangda was told to represent the figure of a queen in the land of Java around 11th century who were expelled by the king for trying to voodoo-ing the 2nd empress
As an act of revenge for being expelled, she killed half population of the kingdom.
In the mythology of Bali, Rangda is the everlasting enemy of the Barong, which is the symbol of the Good.
These are the two main characters in the drama of dance Barong and Keris Dance in the Village Kesiman, Bali.
It’s scary (especially if the meeting was in the middle of the cemetery), but when I saw in these performances there is only interest. With her flashy clothes, her matted hair, and her face, she was more funny and entertaining than frightening (although he was supposed to be creepy, but everybody was still smiling to see her).