Wars and battles have coloured Balinese history throughout the ages. The battle between the God Indra and Mayadenawa, a symbol of atheism and evil, is one example. The battle between the Balinese and the javanese invanders after the fall of the Majapahit empire in java is another. Not to mention the many wars that took place between Balinese kingdoms, or the battle between the Balinese and the dutch invanders in the early part of tihs century.
For this reason, theatre forms aimed at physical and spiritual perpection, such as Tenganan's ritualized pandan war, and Seraya and Kubu's Gebug Ende, have developed as vehicles for military training. The gebug ende drama can be said to be a form of military training for young man. Gebug means to beat or to hit, and an ende is a shield. Gebug Ende performers are skilled in the strategies of battle. Gebug Ende performed at certain temple ceremonies and may include anywhere between two and sixty pairs of dancers who appear on stage one after the other. The audience, which includes dancers waiting their turn to perform, form the performence space by sitting around in a circle. The performance is made lively by the rowdiness of the audience, who joke and tease the performers. Sometimes the performers, overcome with emotion in this ritualized battle, go into trance and have to be dragged from the performance space. It is not unusual for performers to be injured while in trance, but their injuries are immediately cured with a sprikling of holy water. Gebug ende is also accompanied by a gamelan orchestra, which speeds up once the winner is announced
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