Night (E02)

This episode covers the rituals and festivals of Bali, officially Hindu, but with origins in ancient ceremonials practised long before Hinduism came to the island. The Miracle of Bali: Night focuses on the Balinese tradition of ‘sanghyang’, a sacred Balinese dance where the performers body is believed to be inhabited by a spiritual entity, rendering the performer into a trance. The first performance captured is a sanghyang dedari, a dance performed by pre-pubescent girls. Other forms of sanghyang possession trances shown are sanghyang jaran and sanghyang celeng, in which the male dancers are possessed by the spirits of horses and pigs respectively. David Attenborough also witnesses a spectacular traditional masked dance depicting a battle between mythological characters Barong and Rangda. The performance, however, descends into chaos, with men in the crowd also falling into a trance and rushing to attack Rangda. (BBC)