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Wayang wong, also known as wayang orang (literally “human wayang“), is a type of classical Javanese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the Ramayana or Mahabharata. Performances are stylised, reflecting Javanese court culture:

Wayang wong dance drama in the central Javanese Kraton (royal court) of Yogyakarta represents the epitome of Javanese aesthetic unity. It is total theatre involving dance, drama, music, visual arts, language, and literature. A highly cultured sense of formality permeates every aspect of its presentation.^[1]

Despite being closely associated with Javanese tradition, variants of wayang wong dance drama can also be found in neighboring ethnic traditions, including in Balinese and Sundanese traditions.

The bas relief panels on the 9th-century Prambanan temple show episodes of the Ramayana epic. The adaptation of Mahabharata episodes has been integrated in the Javanese literature tradition since the Kahuripan and Kediri era, with notable examples such as Arjunawiwaha, composed by Mpu Kanwa in the 11th century. The Penataran temple in East Java depicts themes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata in its bas reliefs. The Javanese dance drama associated with wayang‘s epic themes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata would have existed by then.

Wayang in Kawi (Old Javanese) means “shadow” and wong means “human”. Wayang wang was a performance in the style of wayang kulit (the shadow theatre of Central Java) wherein actors and actresses took the puppets’ roles. The first written reference to the form is on the stone inscription Wimalarama from East Java dated 930 CE. The genre is currently done in masked and unmasked variations in Central Java, Bali, and Cirebon, as well as in Sunda (West Java).

Wayang wong is closely associated with Javanese culture. Originally, it was performed only as an aristocratic entertainment in four palaces of Yogyakarta, Pakualaman, Surakarta and Mangkunegaran. In the course of time, it spread to become a popular and folk form as well. Javanese wayang wong performances are regularly staged in Trimurti Ramayana open air stage in Prambanan temple compound as Ramayana Ballet, Purawisata cultural hall in Yogyakarta, Sriwedari park in Solo, and also Ngesti Pandawa in Semarang.

courtesy of wikipedia.org

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