SOLO_Wayang Orang

The first time I was introduced ‘wayang’ was from my dad. He has memorised all the Pendawa Limo and loves to share it with his children. I instantly fell in love with Wayang Arjuna.

 Pendowo Limo, or also known as The Five Pandawa Brothers consist of: Puntadewa, Bima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa.

Puntadewa, Bima, and Arjuna were born from the wedding of King Pandudewanata with Queen Dewi Kunti. On the other hand, Nakula and Sadewa were born from the wedding of King Pandudewanata with Queen Dewi Madrim.

  Pendowo Limo Characteristics:

1. Puntadewanata or Yudistira is the oldest of Five Pendawas. He is so patient so that he is often called as having the white blood. He would never fight or go to war. He has a powerful amulet named Kalimasada.

   2. Bima or Werkodara is the second Pendawa . He has a large, strong body and has very sharp thumbnails. He never uses formal language to anyone (except to Dewaruci). He represents the power of Five Pendawas.

           3. Arjuna is the third Pendawa. He is a handsome warrior. He is also powerful. He practices meditation; therefore he has received lots of powerful weaponry. He is very skilled in the art of archery.

4 & 5. Nakula & Sahadewa are the fourth and Fifth of Pendawas (They are twin brthers). Like their step-brothers, both of these warriors have supernatural power. Even though they have different mother, Nakula and Sadewa are always loyal to their three step-brothers.

Before visiting a place, I’m the type that likes to do a little research about the place and I came upon WAYANG ORANG performance at Solo in the evenings where the players are men and women. They sing, dance, narrate accompanied by gamelan music orchestra. The stories presented are from Ramayana and Mahabarata epoch). This was definitely in my to-do list!

Here was the information I came upon:

Garden Sriwedari, Jl. Slamet Riyadi 275, Solo

Opening Time: Monday – Saturday

Performance Begins: 8pm – 10pm

Ticket Price: Rp. 3,000

Not coming from the Pendowo Limo, there are more characters such as:

·         Kresna was the king of Dwarawati, the wisest man in the world. 

   

                            ·          Javanese Punakawan (Punakawan is a family of characters in Javanese wayang, they are sometimes referred to as "clown-servants" because they normally are associated with the story's hero, and provide humorous and philosophical interludes) which consists of:  

      Semar is the father of Gareng (oldest son), Petruk, and Bagong (youngest son).

As excited as I was for this performance, it took some time for it to get started. But after anxiously waiting, the performance welcomed the audience with the incredible sound of gamelan, which went on for almost 30 minutes. 

Then at last the real performance began. Outstanding human-sized wayang appeared at the stage and of course the one and only wayang I’ve wanted to see real life, Arjuna appeared handsomely. The performance went on for 2 hours. And it was incredible to watch! But I was a little disappointed as they were speaking in Javanese and there was no English nor Indonesian translation except a few setting stories appeared on the white screen once in a while during its performance.

Over-all, I really enjoyed seeing the settings and actions and of course its gorgeous wayang orang. I also came upon the news that it is possible to go for a backstage visit to meet the artists and take photos for Rp. 25,000! Unfortunately, my family and I were too exhausted after the 2 hours of performance so we did a pass on that!

Here are a few pictures of the performance taken: