Trance and Dance in Bali
A performance of the kris dance, a Balinese ceremonial dance which dramatizes the never-ending struggle between the witch and the dragon--the death-dealing and the life-protecting--as it is given in the…
A performance of the kris dance, a Balinese ceremonial dance which dramatizes the never-ending struggle between the witch and the dragon--the death-dealing and the life-protecting--as it is given in the village of Pagoetan in 1937-1939. Dancers go into violent trance seizures and turn their krisses (daggers) against their breasts without injury. Consciousness is restored with incense and holy water. Balinese music forms a background for Dr. Margaret Mead's narration.
Husband and wife anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead ventured to the island of Bali (now Indonesia) in 1936 to document the country’s culture including such behaviors as parent-child interactions, artists at work, and ritual performances and ceremonies in which participants meditate to reach a half-conscious state in order to commune with spirits of ancestors. When possessed by these spirits, those involved may perform unusual acts such as eating glass or fire, until they are brought out of the trance by a shaman. While Mead and Bateson’s field work is still considered groundbreaking for illustrating how film could be used as a research tool, it has been criticized, particularly for not accounting sufficiently for the role of religion in Balinese culture. Named to the National Film Registry in 1999.
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