Balinese masked dancer costumed as Sugriva the red monkey king
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- 1986
- Location
- Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2007. Terms of use
See this photograph in context
- Traditional performing arts in Bali: Photographs and text illustrate traditional performance in Bali, including music, theater, and dance. (Page 11)
Related media
Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for animals, Bali, costumes, dance, epics, Indonesia, kings, masks, monkeys, performance, Ramayana, Sugriva, theater, and Ubud.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A Balinese masked dancer is costumed as Sugriva, the red monkey king character from the Ramayana.
Seen from the waist up, the male dancer wears a red knit shirt, elaborate sequined collar, gold crown, and a fanged wooden mask running from his nose down to his chin. Dark black hair is attached to the sides and bottom of the red painted mask.
In Balinese masked dances, half masks are characteristic of animal and clown characters, whose humorous, improvised antics are much beloved by Indonesian audiences.
In the Ramayana, the hero Rama is aided by the monkey god Hanuman. Hanuman’s earthly monkey relatives become Rama’s allies in the effort to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the island of the demon king Ravana.
