Punokawan

In Javanese "wayang", the "punokawan" are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them - "Semar" (also known as "Ki Lurah Semar"), "Petruk", "Gareng" and "Bagong". "Semar" is the personification of a deity, sometimes said to the be the dhanyang or guardian spirit of the island of Java. In Javanese mythology, deities can only manifest themselves as ugly or otherwise unprepossessing humans, and so "Semar" is always portrayed as short and fat with a pug nose and a dangling hernia.

His three companions are his adpoted sons, given to "Semar" as votaries by their parents. "Petruk" is portrayed as tall and gangling with a long nose, "Gareng" as short with a club foot and "Bagong" as obese.

The punokawan always appear in the second act of a wayang performance - "pathet sanga" - as servants to the hero of the story regardless of who that hero is.

Similar characters appear in other Indonesian wayang and theatrical traditions, including those of Bali and Sunda, under different names.

Further reading

* Brandon, James (1970) "On thrones of gold - three Javanese shadow plays" Harvard University Press
* Keeler, Ward (1987) "Javanese Shadow Plays, Javanese Selves" Princeton University Press
* Keeler, Ward (1992) "Javanese Shadow Puppets" OUP
* Long, Roger (1982) "Javanese shadow theatre: Movement and characterization in Ngayogyakarta wayang kulit" Umi Research Press

External links

* [http://www.joglosemar.co.id/semar.html Indonesian site in English about Semar and the Punokawan]