Punokawan

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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.

[edit] 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