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THE TOPENG But the curious part of the performance comes at the close. Children in the front ranks begin to show alarm and, when the play is about to end, some get up and leave. The gamelan plays a special melody and the curtains part again. This time the pengedjokan appears; he wears the white mask of a grinning old man with protruding teeth, a mysterious smile, friendly and terrifying at the same time. He shakes constantly with laughter and shows a large roll of kepeng, pennies, with which he tries to lure the children, who all run as if for their lives. He goes after them, chasing them far into the road, and if he captures one, carries him back to the dancing -place and gives the money to his frightened victim. I asked repeatedly for the significance of this curious character, but I never received a satisfactory explanation. The pengedjokan's other names are Djero Dalam Pegek and Djero Dalam Truna (truna: bachelor), perhaps derived from some authentic character, a bachelor king of legend who liked children, but frightened them because of his appearance. To be a bachelor after middle age is considered abnormal in Bali. The mask is very holy, or rather has magic power, and no one would dream of selling it. In general a good set of topeng masks is a treasure, since only the bests sculptors can make them. Learned Balinese have a high regard for the topeng as an art.
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