Sorcery in Balinese tradition and contemporary culture: from the poem “I Gede Basur” to the horror film “Mystics in Bali”

Abstract

This article examines the figure of the leak sorcerer in Balinese culture and traces the dynamics of its representation across folklore, traditional literature, cinema and contemporary digital lore. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates folklore studies, literary criticism and cultural anthropology. The analysis centers on ethnographic data regarding beliefs in leaks, the folk-performative cycle “Calon Arang”, the poem “I Gede Basur”, and the 1981 feature film “Mystics in Bali”. As a figure of folk belief, the leak serves as a personification of hidden threats within the community and a mechanism for explaining misfortune. In literary tradition, by contrast, its image is integrated into Hindu cosmology and systems of sacred knowledge, including literacy and the mastery of mantras. The cinematic interpretation, aimed at a mass audience, intensifies elements of monstrosity and the exoticization of the “Asian monster”, while simultaneously introducing new motifs absent from earlier tradition. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of “reverse involution”, whereby cinematic imagery returns to the oral tradition and begins to be perceived as part of authentic folklore. The resilience of beliefs in leaks is sustained by the image’s capacity to adapt to various medial forms and social contexts. This Balinese case study demonstrates that mass culture not only reflects tradition but also actively participates in its production and reinterpretation.

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