ABSTRACT
Bali and Java are two islands of many thousands that make up the 3,000-mile-wide archipelago of Indonesia in Southeast Asia. Based in Java, the powerful Majapahit Empire expanded into Bali in the fourteenth century, and the erudite ethos of Majapahit-Hindu culture profoundly influenced Balinese temple architecture, literature, and dance dramas. In Bali, death rituals are properly followed so that the spirits of the dead are freed from their earthly ties. An Odalan is a tribute to the gods in which theatrical performances and dances such as the baris are religious offerings. Baris tunggal is often the first dance a young boy is taught. Sanghyang are ancient dances involving ritual possession by spirits or celestial deities for the purpose of exorcising illness. The bedhaya was created in the seventeenth century during the reign of Sultan Agung, and involves the love story between the sultan and Ratu Kidul, the Goddess of the South Sea.
