9 Balinese Dance listed in Unesco Cultural Heritage

By the end of 2015, nine Balinese traditional dances were set within the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the 10th Summit of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Windhoek, Namibia.

The ninth Bali dances is Rejang Dance, Sanghyang Dedari, Baris Upacara, Topeng Sidakarya, Dramatari Gambuh, Sendratari Wayang Wong, Legong Kraton, Joged Bumbung, and Barong Ket Kuntisraya.
For Balinese, dance is a reflection of life, the values ​​of religious teachings, and the expression of human emotions.

Sanghyang Dedari & Sanghyang Jaran

This dance form has the special purpose of enlisting the help of the Gods in protecting the village from pestilence and danger. The word sanghyang means “deity” and performers of the sacred Sanghyang dances are said to be possessed by specific deities who enable them to perform supernatural feats. A chorus of men sing a hypnotic chant that summons the spirits, till each dancer falls into a swoon of trance. There are variety of Sanghyang dances, named according to the type of spirit they humour : Sanghyang Dedari, performed by young virgin girls go into trances on the shoulder of older men is a dance of angels.  






Sanghyang Jaran, a small number of men are put into trance, but their transition is much more violent they fall, convulsed, to the ground and rush to grab hobby horses. the pre-trance chanting, coconut shells have been lit, leaving red hot coals. The entranced dancers leap into the coals, prancing on top of them, picking up the hot pieces and bathing themselves in fire.