Panji (prince)

Panji (formerly Pandji) was a legendary prince in East Java, Indonesia. His life has formed the basis of a cycle of Javanese stories. Along with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, this cycle is the basis of various poems and a genre of wayang (shadow puppetry) known as "wayang gedog" -- "gedog" meaning "mask". (In her book "Art in Indonesia", which is often cited as a reference, the word was misprinted as "godeg".) [Holt, 124.] ). Panji tales have also spread from East Java to be a fertile source for literature and drama throughout Malaya, Thailand, and Cambodia.Holt, 274.]

Characters and names

Panji and the other characters in the Panji cycle appear with various names in different versions of the tales. Other names for Panji include Raden Panji, Raden Inu, Inu (of) Koripan, Ino (or Hino) Kartapati, Cekel Wanengpati, and Kuda Wanengpati.

Panji is the prince of Kuripan (Koripan). He is usually depicted in an unadorned helmetlike rounded cap. [Holt 88.] The mask for Panji has a smooth white or green face; narrow, elongated eyes; a straight and pointed nose; and delicate, half-open lips. [Holt, 154-155.]

Panji is engaged to be married to Candra Kirana (also Sekar Taji), the princess of Daha (Kediri), when she mysteriously disappears on the eve of the wedding. Later in the story, she is sometimes called Kuda Narawangsa when she appears disguised as a man. Panji's principal adversary is Klono (Kelana Tunjung Seta), a ferocious king who desires Candra Kirana and tries to destroy Daha to get her. Other common characters are Gunung Sari (Candra Kirana's brother), Ragil Kuning or Dewi Onengan (Panji's sister married to Gunung Sari), Wirun, Kartala and Andaga (relatives and companions of Panji).

ynopsis

There are many differing versions of the overall story. In one version, [As outlined in Holt, 274. Three variations are given on 307-314.] after Candra Kirana disappears, a princess who claims to Candra Kirana, though different in appearance, attempts to console him, and alleges that she was carried off by Durga, and will regain her original appearance as soon as they are married. Panji orders preparations for the wedding resume, not knowing that the consoler is in reality a demon-princess who wants Panji for herself.

Meanwhile, the true Candra Kirana is alone in the forest, advised by gods that she must return to the palace disguised as a man to be reunited with Panji. She does so, discovers the wedding plans to the false Candra Kirana, writes a letter to Panji revealing the true situation, and vanishes. Upon discovering this, Panji rushes to search for his love while his courtiers kill the demonic impostor.

Panji undergoes many adventures, staying in forests with hermits, working as a servant in different palaces, always searching for traces of his lost bride. Candra Kirana, meanwhile, continues her male disguise, undergoes her own set of adventures, and ends up as the king of Bali. In the climax of the story, Panji and Candra Kirana unknowingly oppose each other on the battlefield. There, as witnesses are ordered to leave, she confides to her opponent that she is the bride of Panji, and that the disguise was assumed because of a command of the gods that she could win back her prince only in a face-to-face combat where his blood is made to flow. They fight with swords and arrows, but she is unable to harm him until she resorts to her hairpin. Panji is wounded, reveals his identity, and they are happily reunited.

Origin

In these romances, he is said to do deeds traditionally ascribed to mythical ancestors, [Frits A. Wagner, "Indonesia; The Art Of An Island Group", Ann E. Keep, tr. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959, 92.] and it has also been conjectured that the basis of the story reflects an ancient sun and moon myth. [Holt, 274.] Some details of Panji may also be based on Kamesvara, a twelfth-century Javanese king.Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, "History of Indian and Indonesian Art", New York: Dover, 1985, 207.] In the Surakarta court poet Ranggawarsita's genealogy "Pustaka Rada Mada", the Javanese kings, including Panji, are considered the descendents of the Pandawas of the Mahabharata. [ James R. Brandon, "On Thrones of Gold: Three Javanese Shadow Plays", Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1970, 9.]

Appearances in art and literature

Scenes from the Panji cycles appear in the narrative reliefs of the walls of East Javanese candi from the 13th century, where they are presented gracefully, naturalistically and delicately, in contrast to wayang style. [Holt, 71.]

Sunan Giri is credited, along with other innovations in wayang, with the creation of wayang gedog in 1553, to enact the Panji stories. [Brandon, 6.] Wayang kulit performances of the Panji cycle are in general the same as in performances of the "wayang purwa" (those based on the Indian epics); however, because of their material they are considered less significant. In addition, their headdresses are simpler and the garment worn on the lower body is based on Javanese court dressJeune Scott-Kemball, "Javanese Shadow Puppets: The Raffles Collection in the British Museum", Trustees of the British Museum, 1970, 41.] Plots based on the Panji cycle are also common in East Javanese wayang klitik (using wooden puppets), in West Javanese wayang golek (using three-dimensional rod puppets), and in wayang beber (stories depicted pictorially on scrolls). [Holt, 125, 127, 312.] It is also the principal basis of the stories used in wayang topeng (masked dance-pantomime). [Holt, 128.] In Bali, where the cycle is known as "Malat", the story is performed in the Gambuh plays and in the operatic Arja.

Notes

References

* Claire Holt. "Art in Indonesia: Continuities and Change". Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1967.