Making Balinese masks

Balinese masks (topeng) are seen most often in the scores of regular dance performances in special tourist venues all over southern Bali, as well as in resturants and hotels. For ritual purposes, the Balinese use masks most often when celebrating temple birthdays. With over 20,000 temples on Bali, each with a different birthday every 210 days, there is ample opportunity to see topeng in action. Masks are also displayed "officially" in processions and trance rituals.
Sacred masks must be made from crocodile wood (pule), a tree that grows in cemeteries, the domain of the goddess Rangda. The whole tree isn't cut down. When the pule tree produces a knot, the maskmaker asks the spirit of the tree to be allowed to take the knot for a mask.