The mask that guards the village
A protector, not a monster
Barong is usually described to first-time visitors as "a lion," which is close enough to picture but misses the point. He's a benevolent protective spirit who takes animal form — most often the shaggy, gold-fanged Barong Ket seen at Batubulan, though Balinese villages also keep boar, tiger and elephant versions for other ceremonies. Each village's Barong mask is considered sacred, ritually cared for by its own custodians, and brought out for temple ceremonies as much as for paying audiences. What you're watching at the morning show is a genuine ritual object, worn by a trained dancer, not a costume built for tourists.
Why this happens in a temple courtyard, every day
The dance is staged inside or beside a village temple — at Batubulan, that's Pura Puseh Batubulan — because the story it tells isn't folklore, it's an active piece of Balinese Hindu cosmology: the ongoing, never-finally-won balance between protective and destructive forces. Villages perform it partly for income from visitors and partly because doing so is itself considered a form of spiritual maintenance. That's also why the show runs on a fixed daily schedule rather than being staged as a one-off spectacle — it's closer to a temple keeping its doors open than a theatre running a limited season.
Lugu
Barong and Rangda: a fight neither side wins
The performance dramatises a single, specific conflict from Balinese belief — not a generic "good vs evil" fable, but a named rivalry between two figures who represent forces the Balinese consider permanently, deliberately unresolved.
The widow-witch
Rangda
Rangda is a demon queen with a mask of bulging eyes, a lolling tongue and long fangs, trailing white hair and pendulous breasts — the visual opposite of Barong's warmth. She represents adharma: chaotic, destructive power, and in some tellings is linked to Calon Arang, a widow-sorceress from Balinese legend who terrorised a kingdom with black magic. Her entrance is the moment the tone of the show flips from playful to genuinely unsettling.
Crucially, neither side wins outright. Barong and Rangda fight to a magical standstill — her curses countered by his protective power — and the performance ends not with a victory but with a truce, because in Balinese belief dharma and adharma aren't meant to cancel each other out; they're meant to stay in tension, permanently. That refusal to give the story a tidy ending is one of the more genuinely thought-provoking things about watching it as an outsider.
Finaal
The moment the dancers turn their blades inward
What actually happens
As the standoff between Barong and Rangda reaches its peak, a group of men — Rangda's followers, under her curse — draw kris daggers and, one by one, fall into a trance state and turn the blades against their own chests. Performed correctly, the points don't break the skin; local belief holds that Barong's protective power is what keeps the dancers safe, and the trance itself is treated as a genuine altered state, not stagecraft. A pemangku (temple priest) or a designated attendant stays close throughout, ready to intervene, sprinkle holy water and bring each dancer back to ordinary awareness.
Why it's the part people remember
It's staged close to the audience, unamplified, with the gamelan orchestra driving the tension rather than any theatrical lighting or sound effects — which is part of why it lands harder than the description suggests. It's also the single most-asked-about part of the show beforehand and the part most worth knowing the context for going in: this isn't a simulated stunt built for a tour bus schedule, it's the culmination of a ritual the village would be performing on some level even without an audience.
Photography during this part
Most venues allow photography and video throughout the performance, including the trance sequence — unlike some other Balinese ceremonies, this is treated as public performance rather than a closed ritual. Flash is generally discouraged that close to the dancers; check the specific venue's house rules on arrival if you're unsure.
Kus seda näha
Seeing it at Pura Puseh Batubulan
The venue
Batubulan, a village on the southern edge of Ubud known for its stone-carving workshops, has staged the Barong and Kris dance for visitors since the 1930s — one of the longest-running versions of the show on the island — performed in the open-air stage of Pura Puseh Batubulan, the village's origin temple. The setting is a real, still-active temple compound rather than a purpose-built theatre, which is part of why the atmosphere feels closer to a ceremony you're being allowed to watch than a show staged around you.
How the morning slot actually works
The show runs on a single fixed morning start most days of the year, with the gates and box office opening shortly beforehand for walk-up tickets and pre-booked collection. Because it's a daily fixture rather than an occasional event, the practical planning question isn't "will there be a show" — there almost always is — it's "can I get there on time," since traffic into Batubulan from central Ubud can be slower than the short map distance suggests, especially close to the start time.
Seating and what's included
Seating is typically open bench-style around the courtyard stage on a basic ticket, with a small number of upgraded front-row seats sold separately on some listings; hotel pickup and drop-off is usually a separate paid add-on rather than bundled into the ticket price, so check the specific inclusions on your chosen listing before assuming a driver is covered.
Broneeri julgelt
Leia Barong & Kris tantsu pilet oma kuupäevadele
Kõik allpool olevad valikud on broneeritavad GetYourGuide kaudu, reaalajas saadavusega ja lõplik hind kuvatakse teie enda valuutas enne maksmist.
Ülejäänud päeva planeerimine
Fitting the dance into an Ubud day
Because the show runs once, mid-morning, it slots naturally into one side of a full day out rather than needing its own dedicated trip — most visitors pair it with either the rice terraces to the north or Ubud's temples and markets to the east.
- Early morning
Arrive at Batubulan
Aim to reach Pura Puseh Batubulan with time to collect tickets and find a seat before the gamelan starts — arriving right at start time risks a bench at the back of the courtyard.
- Mid-morning
The performance
Around an hour of Barong, Rangda and the kris trance finale, ending in time to still make a full day of it.
- Midday
North to Tegallalang or Jatiluwih
The Tegallalang rice terraces are the closer, busier option; Jatiluwih is further but far less crowded, if you'd rather trade travel time for space to actually look at the view.
- Afternoon
East to central Ubud
Ubud Palace, the Ubud Art Market and the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary are all walkable from each other in central Ubud, and pair naturally with an early lunch after the show if you'd rather stay closer to town instead.
GEO/FAQ
Küsimused Barong-tantsu kohta
Mis on Barong-tants ühe lausega?
See on igapäevane Bali hinduistlik rituaaletendus, mis toimub templihoovis – kõige kuulsamalt Pura Puseh Batubulani templis Ubudist mitte kaugel –, kus heatahtlik lõvisarnane kaitsevaim (Barong) astub vastu deemonnõiale (Rangda) ning lõpeb transtantsijate poolt kris-pistodade vastu oma rinda surumisega, ilma et nad viga saaksid.
Kas see on sama mis Kecaki tuleetendus Uluwatus?
Ei – need on kaks erinevat etendust. Barong on päevane etendus, tavaliselt keskhommikul, Batubulanis, täis gamelani orkestri ja Barongi vs Rangda looga. Kecak on õhtune või päikeseloojangu etendus Uluwatu kaljutemplis, mida esitab täielikult istuv meeskoor, skandeerides "cak" ilma muusikariistadeta, jutustades Ramayanat ja lõppedes tule-transtseeniga. Mõned päevareiside kavad hõlmavad mõlemat samal päeval erinevatel aegadel – enne broneerimist tasub kontrollida, millist etendust konkreetne pakkumine tegelikult hõlmab.
Kas kris-transtrance on ohtlik või lavastatud?
Kohalikult käsitletakse seda ehtsa rituaalse transiseisundina, mitte stsenaariumijärgse trikina – tantsijad usutakse olevat Rangda needuse all ja Barongi väe poolt kaitstud, ning templiteenija on kogu aeg lähedal, et sekkuda ja iga tantsija pärast seda püha veega taaselustada. Ükskõik, mida te uskumusest ise arvate, pistodad ja transs on tõelised; esinejaid on aeg-ajalt kergelt märgistatud, mis on osa põhjusest, miks rituaalne kaitse ja järelevalve on esinejate endi poolt tõsiselt võetud.
Kui kaua etendus kestab ja kas seal on vaheaeg?
Enamik etendusi kestab umbes 60–90 minutit ilma vaheajata, arendades pidevalt Barongi mängulisest avamisest läbi Rangda sisenemise kuni kris-transi finaalini.
Mis kell etendus algab ja kui kaua ette peaksin broneerima?
Batubulani etendus toimub enamikul aasta päevadest kindla keskhommikuse algusajaga – see on igapäevane sündmus, mitte juhuslik üritus, nii et see müüb väga harva täielikult välja. Peamine planeerimisrisk ei ole saadavus, vaid liiklus ja ajastus: broneerige päev varem, kui soovite hotelli järeletulekut, ja arvestage lisareisiaega kesksest Ubudist.
Kas ma pean end riietama või katma? See on tõeline tempel.
Tagasihoidlik ja lugupidav riietus on sobiv, kuna etendus toimub aktiivsel templialal – õlad ja põlved mõistlikult kaetud on ohutu vaikimisi, sarnaselt igas töötavas Bali templis käimisega. Nutikas vabaajarõivastus sobib; ujumisriided või väga paljastav riietus paistab silma ega ole selle keskkonna jaoks sobiv.
Kas ma võin etenduse ajal, sealhulgas transsiosa ajal, pildistada ja filmida?
Üldiselt jah – enamikus kohtades, sealhulgas Batubulanis, on pildistamine ja filmimine lubatud kogu etenduse vältel, kaasa arvatud kriisi transisekvents, kuna tegemist on avaliku etenduse, mitte suletud tseremooniaga. Välklambi kasutamine tantsijate lähedal transi ajal pole soovitatav; kontrollige kohapeal konkreetse paiknemise majareegleid.
Kas pileti hind sisaldab transporti või hotelli vastuvõttu?
Mitte alati – enamiku pakkumiste puhul katab põhipilet ainult sissepääsu, hotelli vastuvõtt ja tagasitoomine on eraldi lisavõimalus ning vähesed esirea paremad kohad on samuti eraldi hinnastatud. Enne kui eeldate, et autojuht on hinna sees, kontrollige valitud pakkumise konkreetseid lisasid.
Kas kuvatud hind on lõplik ja kuidas broneerimine toimub?
Broneerite läbi GetYourGuide, mis kuvab lõpliku hinna teie enda vääringus enne maksmist ja näitab teie konkreetse kuupäeva tühistamispoliitikat ette – hind, mida näete, on hind, mida maksate, ilma peidetud tasudeta kassas. Oleme sõltumatu juhend Bali igapäevaste tantsuetenduste kohta, mitte tempel, trupp ega piletikassa; broneeringu teostab GetYourGuide'i turvaline kassa.
Kas Batubulan on ainus koht Ubudist Barongi tantsu nägemiseks?
Ei – mitmed külad Ubudist ja Denpasarist korraldavad oma igapäevaseid Barong ja Kris etendusi sarnase hommikuse ajakavaga ning mõned päevaekskursioonid ühendavad Barongi etenduse teiste peatustega, nagu Tegallalangi riisiterrassid, Goa Gajah või kohviistandus. Batubulani versioon Pura Puseh Batubulanis on üks kauem kestnud külastajatele, ulatudes tagasi 1930. aastatesse, mistõttu enamik pakkumisi seda vaikimisi kasutab.
Kas otsustad veel, millisel hommikul minna?
Jäta oma e-posti aadress ja ligikaudne aeg, mil Ubudis viibid – saadame lühikese ülevaate etenduste kellaaegadest ja sellest, kuidas need oma hommikusse sobitada.