Rangda in Balinese culture
Rangda Rangda is important in Balinese culture, and performances depicting her struggles with Barong or with Airlangga are popular tourist attractions as well as tradition. She is depicted as a mostly nude old woman, with long and unkempt hair, pendulous breasts, and claws. Her face is traditionally a horrifying fanged and goggle-eyed mask, with a long, protruding tongue. Bali is a Hindu island, and it is suggested that Rangda may also be closely associated with Durga. She has also been identified with the Hindu mother warrior goddess, and Kali, the black mother goddess of destruction, transformation and protection in Hinduism. Rangda was linked to the legend of Calon Arang and also the legend of divorced and exiled Javan queen Mahendradatta. The name Rangda in old Javanese and Balinese language means "widow". Rangda is known as a demon queen, the incarnation of Calon Arang, the legendary witch that wreaked havoc in ancient Java during the reign of Airlangga in late 10...