“Playing with the Past”

This chapter presents a detailed analysis of a Topeng Pajegan , or sacred ( wali ) mask performance by I Nyoman Kakul in the village of Tusan in Klungkung, Bali, on 6 February 1975. It tracks the movements between past and present, tragic and comic, and human and divine frames of reference as the lone performer puts on his several masks to dance, tell stories, make jokes and perform vital rituals. In the course of his exemplary performance, Kakul uses his masks to draw upon his audience's familiarity with the rival performance strategies of visitation and possession on the one hand and mimetic representation on the other.