Turning the Mountain

February 6, 2026

Philosophy, Power, and Sacred Memory in Balinese Mask Tradition

_{Article and Photography by By Dian Dewi}

In conversation with Kadek Sudiasa, mask maker and dancer, Bali

For several years, I have worked alongside Kadek Sudiasa, a Balinese mask maker and dancer, documenting and exploring the philosophy of Balinese masks not only as sculptural forms, but as living presences activated through dance, ritual, and communal memory. What follows is drawn from our ongoing conversations and shared work, and reflects Kadek’s understanding of masks as both sacred objects and philosophical teachings.

Bali Mask Dancer Kadek Sudiasa Usada Bali. Photography by Dian Dewi Reich

Topeng Keras Usada Bali Photography by Dian Dewi Reich

Balinese mask dance is recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, safeguarded through continuous transmission, ritual practice, and community responsibility. Yet its meaning cannot be separated from the cosmology that shapes daily life in Bali. For Kadek, the mask is never merely an object. It is a threshold.

Turning the Mountain

Kadek begins not with masks, but with a mountain.

“Mandara Giri,” he says. “The mountain is turned. The mountain is the head. The head of the island.” _{Note: The turning of the Mandara Giri Mountain, often referred to as Samudra Manthan or the “Churning of the Ocean of Milk,” is a central episode in Hindu mythology, found in the Mahabharata and Puranas, describing a monumental effort by gods and demons to obtain the nectar of immortality (Tirta Amerta).}

In Bali, the mountain is Gunung Agung, the sacred axis of the island and the location of Besakih Temple, where people come to worship and reconnect with their origins, kawitan.

Yet Kadek is careful to say this is not only Hindu philosophy, nor is it limited to religious belief.

“This is only a philosophy,” he explains. “It is not just Hindu. Westerners, anyone, if they are blessed, they can turn their thinking. They can use their mind when facing many challenges.”

Turning the mountain is an inner act, a reorientation of consciousness.

“The mountain is the head. When it turns, thinking turns.”

Trials Before Amerta

In Balinese cosmology, when the mountain is turned, forces are released.

“The first thing that arises are the wild horses,” Kadek says. “This is power. Ambition. What I think, what I want, I must have.”

Ambition is followed by poison, the poison of Siwa. These poisons represent trials of desire, excess, and temptation.

“Before there is success,” Kadek reminds me, “there are trials. Tests of ambition. Tests of will.”

Only after enduring these trials does Amerta appear, the sacred nectar of immortality.

“A means not. Merta means to die in Sanskrit. So Amerta is eternal.”

This philosophical arc, ambition, danger, endurance, and transcendence, appears repeatedly in Balinese mask characters, particularly in Topeng Keras.

“Before Amerta, there are poisons. Before success, there are trials”

Why the Mask is Sacred

When asked why masks hold such significance in Balinese culture, Kadek’s answer reaches back to prehistory.

“Before, in the Stone Age, people only made forms in sacred places.”

Early masks appeared as carved faces of deities and beings placed at temple gates, serving as protection so negative energy could not enter sacred space. Over time, these forms moved from stone to wood.

“During the Majapahit kingdom, masks were already made of wood. They are still here now, preserved in Bali.”

Masks are not decorations. They are guardians.

The Arrival of the Mask Dance

The development of mask dance in Bali is inseparable from history, power, and reconciliation.

Kadek traces its emergence to the Majapahit era and the reign of Dalem Waturenggong. A Brahmin priest from Keling in Java traveled to Bali to meet his relatives. Because of his appearance, poor and beggar like, he was rejected by the people and denied entry to Besakih Temple during preparations for a major ceremony.

The priest warned that the ceremony would fail and that Bali would suffer. Soon after, misfortune followed sickness, failed harvests, infestations.

Remembering the warning, Dalem Waturenggong sent representatives to Sidakarya village, where the priest had stayed, to apologize on behalf of all Balinese and request his blessing. After reconciliation, Bali’s prosperity returned.

Three Masks, One Memory

To commemorate this event and embed its lesson into ritual life, the king ordered the creation of three masks. Topeng Sidakarya represents the priest from Keling, now acknowledged as Ida Dalem Sidakarya, whose presence ensures the successful completion of ceremonies. Topeng Dalem symbolizes King Dalem Waturenggong. Topeng Pedanda represents Danghyang Widjendra, the revered priest.

“These masks are reminders,” Kadek says. “Of humility. Of recognition. Of balance.”

To this day, Topeng Sidakarya must appear at the end of major ceremonies. Without it, the ritual is considered incomplete.

“Without Sidakarya, the ceremony is not finished.”

Living Heritage

Wherever there is a large ceremony in Bali, the mask dance is performed not as entertainment, but as necessity. Its continued practice reflects the principles of safeguarding outlined by UNESCO, where knowledge is transmitted through lived experience, community participation, and respect for lineage.

Through Kadek’s words and work, Balinese masks reveal themselves as living philosophies. They teach restraint, reconciliation, and renewal.

Turning the mountain, as Kadek teaches, is something we are all asked to do again and again.

Intimate Talk and Performance Night at Usada. A Conversation with Topeng Keras

Join us for an intimate evening at Usada with Kadek Sudiasa, Balinese mask maker and dancer.

Balinese mask dances are most often experienced as formal performances, with clear distance between dancer and audience. This evening offers something different. In a small, shared setting, Kadek will speak about the making and dancing of masks, and how these practices function as living ritual, philosophy, and cultural memory.

Unmasking the Mask with Kadek Sudiasa and Dian Dewi Reich. Usada Bali

The night includes an open conversation followed by a mask performance, allowing the audience to encounter both the carver and the dancer, and to engage directly with the knowledge behind the form.

Limited capacity. Advance registration recommended.

Author’s Note

This article emerges from several years of collaborative workshops, interviews, and shared reflection with Kadek Sudiasa in our series the Living Masks of Bali. Rather than presenting a single interview, it weaves together teachings and narratives that have unfolded over time. Any interpretive framing is our own, while the philosophical insights remain rooted in Kadek’s lived knowledge and practice.

Editor’s Note

The research and documentation informing this article are part of an ongoing collaboration between Dian Dewi and Kadek Sudiasa. Our work focuses on the philosophy, making, and performance of Balinese masks as both art and living ritual, with attention to cultural continuity, ethical representation, and safeguarding of intangible heritage through dialogue and mutual respect.