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Shadow puppet representing Arimbi Arimbi is the princess of the kingdom of giant, Pringgandani, in the story of the Mahabharata. She is the wife of Bima and the mother of Gatotkatja. She is known for her honesty, loyalty, and love for her son. She died in the Great Battle of the Bharata protecting her son from the enemies.
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Shadow puppet representing Sita Sita is the consort of Rama whose devotion and bravery played a central role in the story of the Ramayana. While waiting for Rama, Sita was taken by Rahwana to Alengka where she endures Rahwana’s attempt to poison her. Despite Sita’s unwavering devotion, she still has to prove her loyalty to Rama with the trial of fire after Rahwana was finally defeated.
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Shadow puppet representing Rokmini Rokmini or Rukmini is a princess from the Kingdom of Widharba who married Kresna in the story of the Mahabharata.
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Shadow puppet representing Lesmana Lesmana or Laksmana is the devoted brother of Sita who accompanies Rama and Sita in their exile. With Rama, Lesmana also fights in the battle against the Rahwana armies with the help of Hanuman in Alengka.
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Shadow puppet representing Kayon Kayon (in Bali) or Gunungan (in Java) is a pivotal piece in the wayang performance that has multiple functions throughout the play; it signifies the beginning, end, and the transitions between scenes. Cosmologically, gunungan represents both the cosmic mountain of Meru and the Javanese/Balinese “tree of life” that connects the different realms of the seen and the unseen. Gunungan generally takes the form of a triangle, lavishly carved and adorned with vegetal motifs and animal forms. Often, one can find the head of kala, a monstrous personification of time, on top of the depiction of a gate or a door, signifying the function of gunungan as the marker of cosmic temporality.
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Shadow puppet representing Gunungan Gunungan (in Java) or Kayon (in Bali) is a pivotal piece in the wayang performance that has multiple functions throughout the play; it signifies the beginning, end, and the transitions between scenes. Cosmologically, gunungan represents both the cosmic mountain of Meru and the Javanese/Balinese “tree of life” that connects the different realms of the seen and the unseen. Gunungan generally takes the form of a triangle, lavishly carved and adorned with vegetal motifs and animal forms. Often, one can find the head of kala, a monstrous personification of time, on top of the depiction of a gate or a door, signifying the function of gunungan as the marker of cosmic temporality.
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Kresna Kresna is the first cousin of the Pandawa and an incarnation of the God Vishnu. He is known for his intelligence and brilliance, a diplomat, politician, and a strategist of war, who helped the Pandawa win the battle against the Kurawa.
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Shadow puppet representing Durga Betari Durga is the powerful consort of Batara Guru or Shiva. She is the goddess of death, violence, and darkness who rules over ghosts, vampires, and other evil spirits. In the lakons (stories) of Mahabharata, she is always associated with the evil forces (the Kurawas). Her husband cannot prevail against her will and only Semar is able to defeat her.
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Shadow puppet representing Hanuman Hanuman is the commander of the monkey armies who helps Rama in his search for Sita and in the battle against Rahwana in the epic of the Ramayana. Hanuman serves under the monkey king Sugriwa. After Rama helps Sugriwa regain his throne from his brother, Subali, Sugriwa orders his monkey armies to search Sita in all four directions and Hanuman leads the search to the South. Hanuman finally finds Sita in Rahwana’s palace in Alengka and reports back to Rama. With his monkey armies, Hanuman built a bridge to Alengka by throwing boulders into the ocean for Rama and Laksmana to cross.
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Shadow puppet representing Gatotkatja Gatotkatja is the son of Bima and Arimbi in the Mahabharata story. Like his father, Gatotkatja is endowed with superhuman strength and abilities. He is said to be invulnerable and able to fly. He is one of the most popular wayang characters in Java and Indonesia whose story has turned into popular movies.
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Shadow puppet representing Petruk Petruk is one of the Punakawan whose characteristics are his long limbs and long nose. He likes to tell jokes and his sense of humor makes him into one of the most popular Punakawan as dalangs or puppeteers developed stories centered around Petruk.
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Batara Guru In Javanese mythology, Batara Guru is the avatar of the Hindu God, Shiva, and the brother of Semar and Togog. His consort is Durga, the queen of death and destruction in the wayang world.
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Shadow puppet representing Bouraq The Buraq is a semi-mythical being of half-human and half-quadruped animal, often depicted with the head of a beautiful woman, that accompanies the Prophet Muhammad in his miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and from Jerusalem to the seventh level of heaven in one night. It is unknown when the visual tradition of depicting the Buraq first emerged from its verbal accounts found in the hadiths (records of words and actions of the Prophet) and the biography of the Prophet, but it became a popular image in the Persian and Persianate worlds since at least the fourteenth century. The popular imagination of the Buraq circulates across the Islamic world along with the spread of Islam, including in Java and the rest of the Indo-Malay Archipelago. As seen in this object, the Buraq is made into a wayang kulit puppet and depicted with a rather naturalistic style that bears a reference to the Buraq images found in the South Asian visual tradition. It is likely that this Buraq puppet was made either as a memento or to be used in a wayang performance that tells stories related to Islam.
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Shadow puppet representing Men Brayut Pan and Mem Brayut are characters from a popular folktale in Java and Bali depicting scenes of domestic life. Pan Brayut is the husband of Mem Brayut, and together they have eighteen children. In this puppet, Pan Brayut is depicted with the children with varying age groups. The babies are depicted in the middle, while the slightly bigger toddlers on the top, and the bigger kids on the bottom. While Pan and Mem Brayut live in poverty when raising their children, they become rich when the children grow up and are able to work. Perhaps, these characters are manifestations of the popular belief saying “with many children comes abundance” (“banyak anak, banyak rezeki”).
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Shadow puppet representing Pan Brayut Pan and Mem Brayut are characters from a popular folktale in Java and Bali depicting scenes of domestic life. Pan Brayut is the husband of Mem Brayut, and together they have eighteen children. In this puppet, Pan Brayut is depicted with the children with varying age groups. The babies are depicted in the middle, while the slightly bigger toddlers on the top, and the bigger kids on the bottom. While Pan and Mem Brayut live in poverty when raising their children, they become rich when the children grow up and are able to work. Perhaps, these characters are manifestations of the popular belief saying “with many children comes abundance” (“banyak anak, banyak rezeki”).
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Shadow puppet representing Jatayu Jatayu is the brave bird who witnesses Sita’s abduction by Rahwana and tries to rescue Sita in vain. He is mortally wounded by Rahwana and only manages to tell Rama of Sita’s abduction before dying.
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Shadow puppet representing monkeys This shadow puppet representing the monkeys depicts a group of monkeys hoisting boulders and buckets of stones. They are likely a part of the story within the epic of the Ramayana where Hanuman, the white monkey, leads the monkey armies to build a bridge to Alengka by throwing boulders and rocks into the ocean. Hanuman and the monkey armies help Rama and Laksmana in their mission to save Sita from the hands of the demon king Rahwana.
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Shadow puppet representing Gareng Gareng is the other children of Semar and one of the Punakawan with Bagong and Petruk. He is usually depicted with a short stature and a stubbed leg as can be seen in this shadow puppet representing Gareng. His eyes are crossed, which indicates that he does not want to see things that invite evil.
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Shadow puppet representing Bagong Bagong is one of the Punakawan and one of the children of Semar. He is always depicted as short and fat with wide eyes and mouth. His character is presumptuous but honest, and hasty when doing things.
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Shadow puppet representing Togog Unlike his younger brother Semar, Togog is the advisor to the evil forces on the left side of the screen. As the advisor to the Kurawa in the Mahabharata epic in Javanese shadow play, Togog is often perceived as evil.
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Shadow puppet representing Linbok Linbok or Limbuk in Java with her mother Cangik are the two female characters that usually make their appearance in the wayang performance during the scene involving princesses or queens in the palace. Their role is akin to the Punakawan, such as Semar and their children, as they also give advice to the female protagonists in the story and listen to their trouble. They are known for their loyalty to the princesses and queens. Despite being depicted in an unflattering manner with big forehead, overbite, and big breasts, Limbuk is a highly confident character and always believes that she is as beautiful as everyone else
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Shadow puppet representing Durga Betari Durga is the powerful consort of Batara Guru or Shiva. She is the goddess of death, violence, and darkness who rules over ghosts, vampires, and other evil spirits. In the lakons (stories) of Mahabharata, she is always associated with the evil forces (the Kurawas). Her husband cannot prevail against her will and only Semar is able to defeat her.