Panji Romance
Panji tales consist of an extensive cycle of stories involving heroes and characters from East Javanese kingdoms, including Majapahit, Singasari, and Kediri. The tales are thought to have originated in Majapahit times and are believed to be an allegory of the life of Hayam Wuruk, the most important ruler of the Majapahit kingdom in the fourteenth century. As shown in the selection of objects here, the stories are often played in wayang theater as well as in mask dance performances.
There are different stories and versions of the overall Panji story. One of the main stories compiled by Claire Holt in 1962 tells the romance between Panji and his long-lost bride, Princess Chandra Kirana. In the story, Chandra Kirana vanished suddenly on the eve of her wedding. Soon after, someone who claimed to be Chandra Kirana appeared in front of a sorrowful Panji claiming that she was carried off by Betari Durga and that her appearance changed slightly. She convinced Panji that her original form would return as soon as they were married, and the wedding preparation began to commence again.
The real Chandra Kirana found herself in the forest but managed to return to the palace after she made a promise to the gods to return in the guise of a man. When finding out that Panji was about to marry her impersonator, Chandra Kirana could not bear it and went away after sending a letter to Panji. Panji’s long adventure to find his long-lost bride-to-be began after reading the letter while Chandra Kirana also underwent her own adventure as she kept her male disguise. The story culminates with a battle between Panji and Chandra Kirana as she could not reunite with Panji without fulfilling the command of the gods who required her to face and wound Panji. She shared this with Panji when she was unaware of Panji’s identity in the battlefield. When Chandra Kirana was finally able to hurt Panji with her hairpin, Panji’s identity was fully revealed and the two are happily reunited.
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