Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017), 113-119 p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: 10.15294/harmonia.v17i2.11539

The Javanese Panji Story: its transformation and dissemination into the performing arts in

Triyono Bramantyo1, Susan Hung2

1Institut Seni Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2Graduate Department of Ethnomusicology, Tainan National University of Fine Arts, Taiwan

Received: September 17, 2017. Revised: November 24, 2017. Accepted: December 4, 2017

Abstract

This paper studies descriptively several versions of Javanese Panji Story with its transformation and dissemination into the performing arts found in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, there are ver- sions varied not only regarding its stories, locations, events, and the style of its narratives but also the flow of the stories. So many other versions have not been described here in this paper just to imagine how this 13th century Javanese literature has turned out to become so many versions. Moreover, the story has spread out not only in Indonesia but also throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago. The study found that authenticity is not the concern because the original version of the Panji Story was not existed and thus texts can be in so many forms. However, what was overwhelming is that the story had been transformed into so many genres of performing arts in Southeast Asia, such as in Indonesia, , and , the former state of Burma. The study found that the performing styles of Panji or Inou in Indonesia, Thailand, Cam- bodia, and Myanmar shared the same styles as typical classical dance of Royal Palace that per- formed high standards of performances such as glorifying model of costumes and accompanied by aesthetically qualified Royal Palace Music Ensembles.

Keywords: Panji Story; transformation; performing arts

How to Cite: Bramantyo, T. & Hung, S. (2017). The Javanese Panji Story: its transformation and dissemination into the performing arts in Southeast Asia. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 17(2), 113-119. doi:http://dx.doi. org/10.15294/harmonia.v17i2.11539

INTRODUCTION The history of the dates back to approximately the 5th-4th century BCE. It A monument that was erected du- is believed that the original version of the ring the reign of King Dyah Balitung of story is Valmiki’s Ramayana. Some cultu- Central dating from approximately ral evidence suggests that the Ramayana 907 CE (Ministry of Education and Cultu- predates the . Regardless of re, (1983-1984)) provides the oldest written which tale appeared first, these two- im record of a performance, which portant Indian literary works have been was based on the Mahabharata epic tale. adapted to many forms in Javanese perfor- The Ramayana was also an essential ming arts and those of the rest of Southe- source in the development of the perfor- ast Asia. They are Javanese Ramayana, the ming arts in the early civilization of Java. Javanese Mahabharata, the Balinese Ra-

Corresponding author: Jl. Parangtritis Km 6,5, Sewon, Bantul, Panggungharjo, Yogyakarta, 55188 E-mail: [email protected] 113 114 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 113-119 mayana, the Phra Lak Phra Lam of , mayana and Mahabharata stories. the Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, the Ra- The transformation of the Panji cycle makien of Thailand, the Yama Zatdaw of into classical performing arts (mostly dan- Myanmar, etc. (Bramantyo, 2015). ce) in Southeast Asia can be traced back Alongside the Ramayana and the recently. We thank the SEAMEO-SPAFA Mahabharata, there is a local Javanese (The Southeast Asian Ministers of Educa- cycle called the Story of Panji, which, ac- tion Organization Regional Centre for Ar- cording to C.C. Berg’s work Inleiding tot cheology and Fine Arts) for the initiative de Studie van Het Oud-Javaansch (1928), and to host the Panji/Inao Festival held in was disseminated in the year of Pamalayu Bangkok, Thailand, 2-6 March 2013. (1277 CE). Purbatjaraka, an expert on the In this paper, the main characters of Panji cycles, writes: “[…] the writing of the the story are Prince Panji Kertapati and his early Panji story was during the suprema- fiancée Princess Dewi Sekartaji or Galuh cy of the Kingdom” (Purbatjara- Candrakirana. In Thailand and Cambodia, ka, 1968). The Story of Panji subsequently name of Panji becomes Inou, and Dewi Se- spread throughout the Southeast Asian kartaji becomes Bossaba or Bussaba (accor- region, including present-day Malaysia, dingly it is come from the word ‘puspa’ in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, Javanese language which is mean ‘flower,’ and has been adapted to a variety of per- since a beautiful lady usually personified forming arts. as beautiful as a ‘flower’). In Myanmar, There are different versions and epi- Inou become E-Naung and Bosabba be- sodes of the Panji cycles. The main story, comes Busba. The names of kingdoms in however, is about the romance between Java where this story initially comes from Prince Panji and Princess Kirana, a tragic can be recognized such as dan tale of love, full of adventures and chal- Daha. Some other kingdom names are not lenges that sometimes concludes with a explicit, but probably they are corrupted happy ending. This paper is a descripti- names of Javanese language or perhaps ve study of versions that can be found in some common local names of local king- Purbatjaraka’s book Tjerita Panji Dalam doms. Perbandingan (1968) and in R.A. Kosasih’s In studying the transformation and Pandji Semirang (1978), with some addi- dissemination of the Panji Story, for the tions taken from the videos of Inao Festi- writer, it is so much a wonder to realize val held by Spafa, Bangkok, Thailand, 2-6 how the unwritten Javanese Romance of March 2013. 13th century can be adopted and be adapted It is possible that the Mahabha- to become ‘their’ own arts. It seems there is rata may have influenced some storiesno in conflict of ‘self and Other’ dichotomy the Panji cycles. In his genealogy entit- in sort of the legacy of cultural influences led Pustaka Radja Mada, the Surakartan (Payne & Barbera, 2010), in this process poet Ranggawarsito writes: “the Javanese of transmission from the beginning to the Kings, including Panji, are considered the present day. descendants of the of the Ma- habharata” (Brandon, 1970). METHOD This empirical research aims to exp- lore the fact that this classic Javanese roman This study employs analytic history of 13th century has been widely known in methods found in cultural studies. In a li- Southeast Asia of that period and has been mitation of readily available related refe- adopted to become classical performing rences, the writer has borrowed the met- arts in several kingdoms in the region. It hod of analytic history of cultural studies can be used as a coincidence of how this focuses primarily upon theoretical and ancient roman cycle of Java has gained so methodological dynamic (Tudor, 1999). much popularity as popular as Indian Ra- The implementation of this approach, in Triyono Bramantyo, , Susan Hung, The Javanese Panji Story: its transformation ... 115 this case, is that the writer studies some Is the music of various place influences the documents that have been carefully consi- story? In answering those questions short- dered to see the various types and genres ly, I would like to make my account based of the stories. Meanwhile, the videos of on the documents that did not explicitly the performance of Inou/Panji from Cam- described any music for the accompani- bodia, Thailand, and Myanmar, mostly ment at all. Firstly, there is no such typical available on Youtube uploaded by SPAFA Panji/Inou music accompaniment for the (2013) have been selected to see the trans- dances and dramas in Java and in Southe- formation of the story into the performing ast Asian Inou Drama. Secondly, nor that arts. the music of different place influences the The problems of originality of the story, for there is no such specific music genres are not mentioned in this paper accompaniment for the Panji/Inou Story. because it is so hard to identify the ori- Take for the example of the Javanese ginality when it has been lost due to the classical performance of Panji Story’s epi- social and political war that happen for sode that might used a gamelan ensemble such long time (in case of Cambodia and of classical gendhing repertories that alrea- Myanmar). So, the videos were saw and dy existed and be selected and adapted to analyzed the whole structures and the sto- accompany the performance. The selection ries of the episodes. It was found that they and adoption of the gendhing repertories are still very relevant to the main ideas of normally follows the dynamic flows of the the Panji cycles. Thus, that means that the actions on the stage. performances should then to be accepted For Inou performance from Thailand, as the new versions of the original Inou/ they usually used the Pi Phat Mai Nuam Panji episodes of the given countries. ensemble, a typical classical repertories Accordingly, unwritten folklore like for court ceremonies use. Accordingly, the the Panji Story is part of tradition, and it is Pi Phat Mai Nuam ensemble was created dynamic. The study have found that in this during the reign of King Rama V by Chao process of sharing the tradition has helped Phraya Thewat Wongwiwat. Wongwiwat the continuity of culture and the importan- not only rearranged the entire Pi Phat en- ce of time and repetition in tradition that semble as the accompaniment for dance implies a sense of continuity and of divi- and drama but also replaced Khlui Phiang ded materials (Sims, 2005). O, which is a medium fipple flute, and the Khlui Lip, which is a small fipple flute for RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pi Nai and Pi Nok (a soprano and soprani- no oboe). In addition, a So U was included, Below is the results or the discussion which is an alto fiddle and replaced the about the research and they are in a form hard mallets with full ones. The ensemble of descriptive. Therefore this research is usually performs with the Thai traditional descriptive one with some addition of cri- dance, so-called Khon (Wikipedia. tical comments. This research is also a pre- Retrieved on 10 August 2017). liminary study, and thus further examina- Cambodian performance of Inou tion and elaboration of the topics would Drama uses the Pinpeat ensemble. The be if necessary. The lack of bibliographies pinpeat orchestra or musical ensemble per- reliable in this research was caused by not forms the ceremonial music of the royal so many of the documents related to the courts and temples of Cambodia. The or- issues can be found in Indonesia. chestra consists of approximately nine or It should be noted here the questions ten instruments, mainly wind and per- concerning the music for the performance cussion (including several varieties of xy- of The Panji /Inao stories that might exist. lophone and drums. They are (1) How the music transmitted to As music for the E-Naung perfor- different place influences on the music? (2) mance from Myanmar, it can be noted as 116 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 113-119 follows. The basic idea of much of Bur- and were incarnated several times as mor- mese (now Myanmar) classical music is to tal human beings. Accordingly, the main create an “inner melody” like the one we characters of the Panji cycles are Prince found in the Indonesian Gamelan music. Panji and Princess Kirana, the notable in- The impression when we are listening this carnations of Kamajaya and Kamaratih on melody is that it sounds like improvising earth (Purbatjaraka & Hadidjaja, 1952). all around and ornamentation notes play in such a way like the true “inner” melody The Panji Story of Cambodia that never heard by the audience. Howe- According to Purbatjaraka, this ver, indeed, it functions as a core melody Khmer Eynao story is of Indian origin. But, for all performers to improvise from. In ot- this assumption is not make sense because her words, nobody plays it, but everyone there is no coincidence of the name of Daha knows it. Kingdom both in Ramayana or Mahabha- In describing the music produced rata. In this version, accordingly, that the by a traditional Burmese orchestra during king of Daha decides that his beautiful the performance, it sounds that the music daughter, named Bossaba, will be engaged is so much playing in narrative ways. The to his nephew, Eynao. However, he later instruments comprises of a set of gongs, fi- marries the princess of another kingdom nely tuned drums and an oboe-like instru- before he meeting his fiancée, the princess ment called nhai. Nhai looks similar to that of Daha (Bramantyo, 2015). of a Javanese slompret (trumpet). Accor- One day, the Kingdom of Daha is dingly, its pieces sound richly theatrical. attacked by neighboring kingdoms and Melodies start slowly then very often it is sends a call for help. The king of Kuripan, suddenly frantic ahead, then pause and Eynao’s father, orders his son Eynao to turn sideways in ways that merrily defy lead his army to help the king of Daha. Ey- prediction. It should be noted here one of nao defeats the invaders, all of whom sur- the oldest genres, thakyinkan, is used du- render and are requested to submit their ring offerings to the Buddha. Some of these loyalty to the king of Daha. Eynao receives particular song forms were later matched a warm welcome by the king of Daha, his with particular dances and song structures own uncle and all of the high-ranking offi- derived from the Thai Ramayana and Inao cials. Bossaba does not want participate in dramas called Yodaya (Young, 2015). the festivities thrown in her fiancé Eynao’s honor because he broke her heart when he Prelude to the Panji Stories: ‘The Book of married another girl. ’ When Eynao sees Bossaba, he is This book, entitled Kakawin Smara- mesmerized by her beauty and cannot dahana, was written by Mpu Dharmaja in contain himself. He then blames himself the early 12th century CE and was later in- for marrying the other princess. Eynao corporated as a prelude to the . cannot help wanting to attract Bossaba’s It describes that King Kamesjwara (Kama- attention, which he can hardly obtain. He jaya) of the Court of Kediri reigned from asks his brother-in-law Sijatra to help him 1037 to 1052 (1115 – 1130 CE) and that he several times, but he does not succeed. In is the third incarnation of Batara Kamadja- the end, Eynao is so upset that he wants to ja. Kamesjwara’s wife, SriKiranaratu, also kill himself when he finds out that Bossa- known as Dewi Kamaratih, was a princess ba wished to marry a prince from another of the Court of Djenggala. kingdom named Charika. The story tells that both husband and His brother, Sangkha-Marita, tries to wife have disappeared from Svargaloka help him by kidnapping Bossaba and brin- (heavenly earth) and were burnt by the fireging her to a remote place in a cave that of , lord of destruction. The spirits of has already been decorated for Eynao and Kamajaya and Kamaratih fell to the earth Bossaba’s wedding. Still, Eynao does not Triyono Bramantyo, , Susan Hung, The Javanese Panji Story: its transformation ... 117 manage to win her love and finally -dec ba asks Acharang-visangkha to write and lares: “If you are certain of your decision draw a story on the skin of a water buffalo. to not accept me and if I am hopeless in He draws the cave and the stories about begging for your affection, then I have no Bossaba and Eynao on the skin. Upon reason to be here. I will thus go far away seeing this, Bossaba wants to meet Eynao across the mountains and jungles until I as soon as possible. Acharang then tells her die, because I have promised myself that that it was Eynao who asked him to draw I would only return to my father’s palace and write these stories on the skin. Eynao with you by my side, surrounded by your is standing there listening to them at that love, which to me is more precious than all very moment. of magnificence of the palace.” (Purbatja- A surprised Bossaba runs to meet raka, 1968) Eynao, but she falls unconscious. Eynao One day, Bossaba is alone in the cave sprints to hug her and help her regain con- to which Eynao took her when he kidnap- sciousness. They are finally reunited des- ped her. She has the chance to look around pite having been apart for ten years, sepa- the cave, but suddenly, a whirlwind ta- rated by Pattarac-Cala who punished Panji kes her to the palace of Pramotan. It was because of his mistakes. As expected, this She meets her grandmother, Pattarac-cala, version concludes with a happy ending who says: “I am your first grandmother, with the reunion of Panji/Eynao and Ga- and I condemn Eynao for two things. First, luh Candrakirana/Princess Bossaba. for refusing your hand in marriage and ta- king another lady as his wife, and secondly Notes: for kidnapping you. This young man has Notes that this version mentions disappointed me, and thus he should be four kingdoms without giving the names punished to what he has done. I will turn of each king. Both Eynao and Bossaba ser- you into a man named Onacan, and you ve the king of Kalang (Gagelang). Bossa- will be adopted as the king of Pramotan’s ba turns into a young man named Onacan son.” and Eynao changes his identity to Acha- Eynao and two of his followers go rang. Both experience great adventures searching for Bossaba’s whereabouts. They and have to face so many challenges, but it reach the Kingdom of Sangvat-borey and all comes together in the end. In this versi- introduce themselves with new names: Ey- on, both the kingdom of Singasari as well nao as Panji, Sangkha-marita as Acharang- as the name of Panji did not specified, but visangka and Vijada as Vorot-kenlong. Panji disguised as Eynao or Acharang. Onacan (Bossaba’s new name as a young In the recent performance of Pan Yi man) keeps thinking of Eynao and sees in (Panji) Story at the Iano Festival in Bang- ‘his’ dream that Eynao has now become an kok, Thailand, the Cambodian Royal Bal- ascetic somewhere to the east of ‘his’ new let presented one of the episodes that told home. ‘He’ then asks for ‘his’ stepfather’s about the Bossaba (Princess Kirana) and permission to look for a future ‘wife’ for her meeting with Pan Yi in a such short ‘himself’ and thus heads east where ‘he’ moment. Here is the story: meets Panji and his followers. Panji says Khmer Classical Dance, also known to Acharangvisangkha: “Keep an eye on as Cambodian Royal Ballet, is a highly sty- this young man, he looks like Bossaba; it is lized form of court dance drama. While the impossible that the gods have changed her story of Panji, known as Inav in Khmer, is into a young man to look for us” (Purbat- no longer performed today, some episo- jataraka, 1968). Panji confirms that Onacan des were favored by the Kings of Cambo- is Bossaba dressed as a man. As a result, dia between 1900 and 1940. It is believed Panji wants to stay there to be able to see that Queen Sisowath Kossomak Nearirath Onacan everyday. is responsible for redeveloping the Inav/ To shorten the story, one day Bossa- Bussa Ba performance in Khmer Classical 118 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 113-119

Dance. However, since only a few episo- The Panji Story of Myanmar des were created in this art form, it is im- The information below has been ta- possible to know the whole Khmer version ken from a synopsis of the performance of of this legend. E-Naung Drama Troupe of the Ministry of In this episode, Prince Siyatra is in Culture, Myanmar, performed during the the forest where he sees a peacock created Inao/Panji Festival 2013 in Bangkok, Thai- by the god Indra. He and his retinues cha- land. The whole performance has 9 scenes se the peacock to the border of the territory with some names still related to the home of Kalaing. Disguised as Yarann, he serves of the story in Java, i.e., the kingdom of the King of Kalaing with the help of Ge- Kurepan (Kahuripan in Javanese) and the neral Pan Yi and his brother Sangka Mota, kingdom of Daha. In this Myanmar versi- after which he is awarded a high title. Bos- on, E-Naung is Inao or Prince Panji, and seba, whose original name is Kaen Long, Busba is Princess Dewi Galuh Candra Ki- and Yarann meet one day while she is visi- rana. Some other names are not related to ting a garden. Upon seeing Yarann trying Java of even Myanmar itself. to court Bosseba, General Pan Yi becomes Scene 1: Indra, Lord of the celestials angry. A fight ensues between the both of beings (in Hinduism), present the four-ed- them, but the King intervenes. Then, Ya- ged dagger thanhlyet to the Prince E-Naung rann pulls out the kalaing kroeus (a small in his cradle. Meanwhile, the parents and two-edged knife), which reveals to all his the royal families are discussing future true identity: Prince Siyatra. wedding plans for the baby E-Naung. Scene 2: E-Naung, now a man grown, The Panji Story of Thailand is with the King of Kurepan and the King A synopsis written for the perfor- of Daha, whose daughter (Busba or Bus- mance of an episode of Panji of Thailand saba) has been betrothed (engaged to be described that this Thai classical dance, cal- married) to him since childhood. They are led Lakon Nai, is a court dance drama that discussing the wedding plans when sud- is performed by an all-female troupe using denly a call for military support reaches elegant and graceful movements. This type them from the King of Manra. The King of dance drama evolved according to royal of Kurepan answers this call by sending tradition within the precincts of the palace. E-Naung to drive out the invading troops It is believed that Lakhon Nai was redeve- from seven kingdoms. loped under the patronage of King Rama Scene 3: E-Naung reaches the King- II in the early 19th century. (Seameo-Spafa. dom of Manra and defeats the kings from (2013). “Program Notes” of the Panji/Inou the seven kingdoms easily. Festival in Bangkok, Thailand.). Scene 4: E-Naung meets the King of In the event of Inao/Panji Festival Manra’s daughter, Princess Nan Kannaiya, held by Spafa in Bangkok, Thailand, 2-6 who is celebrating the hair washing cere- March 2013, the troupe performed the epi- mony. It is love at the very first sight (please sode entitled “Inao Exiting the Cave.” This be remembered that Prince E-Naung or episode takes place after Inao and Bussaba Prince Panji, despite having his superpo- have fallen in love and eloped. They are hi- wer from God, is also typical a man who ding in a cave, but Inao needs to leave her is passionate about women and has many there to face the problems they have caus- lovers but only Busba or Princess Kirana ed. Inao rides a horse to the Kingdom of is his real lover). So, E-Naung and Nan Daha, accompanied by his retinues, rides Kannaiya do not act on their feelings as E- a horse to the Kingdom of Daha (former Naung has been promised to marry Busba. Kingdom settled in Kediri, , Indo- Scene 5: This is the first challenge nesia) to explain his actions to the King. for E-Naung in this episode when after receiving a painted portrait of Busba, the Prince of Saraka asks the King of Daha Triyono Bramantyo, , Susan Hung, The Javanese Panji Story: its transformation ... 119 for Busba’s hand in Marriage. The King of and some festivals are still be managed to Daha angry at E-Naung for not fulfilling run every year in several places. his promise agrees to the request of the The popularity of Panji/Inou story Prince of Saraka. Meanwhile, Wirasakan, can be found not only in Indonesia but son of the King of Panankunein, also asks also in Southeast Asia countries such as in for Busba’s hand in marriage, threatening Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Ma- to wage war if his request is not granted. laysia. What most remarkable is that the The King of Daha thus appeals to the King Panji story has transformed into so many of Kurepan for help. Scene 6: The King of kinds of genres of performing arts in Sout- Kurepan answers the King of Daha’s call heast Asia as well. for help by sending E-Naung to attack and defeat Wirasakan troops. Svece 7: Having REFERENCES successfully defeated the enemy, a ceremo- ny is thrown in E-Naung honours, during Bramantyo, T. (2015). Panji Story: From which Princess Busba offers a flower gar- Version to Version: Papers Presented land to Prince E-Naung as sign of her love. at Puppet Seminar 2013. 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