Rangda: Queen of the Demons

Paranormal Pajama Party

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This episode explores the complex figure of Rangda, a fearsome demon queen in Balinese mythology.

Tourists may be familiar with Rangda’s frightening face, as a version of a ritual dance based on the Balinese myth of the widow-witch Calon Arang is popular at Bali’s many resorts.

But Rangda is a much more complex figure than these simplified and shortened performances may lead you to believe. She’s an important player in the key Balinese concept of “rwa bhineda” – unity in duality – and a reminder that binary thinking often fails to capture nuanced realities.

Tonight on the podcast, we’re tracing Rangda's origins back to the historical Queen Mahendradatta and examining how her story became intertwined with the Hindu goddess Durga.

We’ll also get into how powerful women throughout Indonesian history (and, let’s be real, world history more broadly) have been demonised for political reasons.

Key moments

• 1:07 – The story of Calon Arang
• 9:00 – Meet Rangda
• 11:31 – "Rwa bhineda", Rangda, and Barong
• 16:05 – Queen Mahendradatta and the Mataram Kingdom
• 26:29 – The Gerwani women's movement
• 30:27 – Modern Bali and Rangda

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Chapters

1. Content warning (00:00:00)

2. The story of Calon Arang (00:01:07)

3. Welcome to the party! (00:07:56)

4. Meet Rangda (00:09:00)

5. Rangda and Durga (00:10:12)

6. "Rwa bhineda", Rangda, and Barong (00:11:31)

7. Queen Mahendradatta and the Mataram Kingdom (00:16:05)

8. Hinduism and widows (00:21:49)

9. King Airlangga (00:23:47)

10. The demonisation of Mahendradatta (00:25:17)

11. The Gerwani women's movement (00:26:29)

12. Modern Bali and Rangda (00:30:27)

13. Outro (00:32:40)