Panji (prince)
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The Panji tales (formerly spelled Pandji) are a cycle of Javanese stories, centred around the legendary prince of the same name from
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Along with the
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
and
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, the tales are the basis of various poems and a genre of wayang (shadow puppetry) known in East Java as ''wayang gedhog'' (the meaning here is unclear, as "gedhog" means "a thumping sound"). Panji tales have been the inspiration of Indonesian traditional dances, most notably the
topeng ''Topeng'' (from ban, ᬢᭀᬧᬾᬂ, su, ᮒᮧᮕᮨᮔᮌ, and jv, ꦠꦺꦴꦥꦺꦁ, topeng, mask) is a dramatic form of Indonesian dance in which one or more mask-wearing, ornately costumed performers interpret traditional narratives ...
(mask) dances of
Cirebon Cirebon (, formerly rendered Cheribon or Chirebon in English) is a port city on the northern coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is the only coastal city of West Java, located about 40 km west of the provincial border with Central J ...
and Malang, as well as gambuh dance-drama in Bali. Especially in the environs of Kediri, the suggested homeland of the tales of Panji, local stories grew and were connected with the obscure legendary figure of
Totok Kerot Totok Kerot, Thothok Kerot, or Thothokkêrot is a female character in folk tales, spread among people in the surrounding areas of Kediri Regency, Kediri. There are several different tales concerning her, but the common features are that she has u ...
. Panji tales have spread from
East Java East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean bord ...
(
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
) to be a fertile source for literature and drama throughout Indochina Peninsula (a region that includes modern-day
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,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, South Vietnam) and Malay World as well.


Origin

In these romances, he is said to do deeds traditionally ascribed to mythical ancestors, and it has also been conjectured that the basis of the story reflects an ancient sun and moon myth. Some details of Panji may also be based on Kameçvara, a twelfth-century Javanese king of Kediri. Coomaraswamy (1985), p. 207. While the details of Panji's consort, Chandra Kirana, was based on queen Çri Kirana. The curious thing is, the kingdoms in the tale was switched from the historical kingdoms. In the tale Panji was said to be the prince of
Janggala The Kingdom of Janggala is one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favour of his two sons in 1045. The other Kingdom was Kediri. The Kingdom of Janggala comprised the northeastern part of the King ...
, while the historic Kameçvara was the prince of Kediri. Vice versa, in the tale, Chandra Kirana was said to be the princess of Kediri, while the actual historic Çri Kirana was the princess of Janggala. In the Surakarta court poet
Rangga Warsita Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita (14 March 1802 – 24 December 1873, jv, ꦫꦢꦺꦤ꧀ꦔꦧꦺꦲꦶꦫꦺꦴꦁꦒꦮꦂꦰꦶꦠ, Raden Ngabehi Ronggawarsita, ) was a Javanese philosopher and poet. He was born into the famous literary Yasadipura ...
's genealogy ''Pustaka Radja Mada'', the Javanese kings, including Panji, are considered the descendants of the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
s of the Mahabharata.


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.
Sunan Giri Sunan Giri (also called Raden Paku or Joko Samudro), Muhammad Ainul Yakin (born 1442 CE in Blambangan (now Banyuwangi) is considered one of the Wali Sanga (revered saints of Islam) of Indonesia. History He was the son of Dewi Sekardadu and ...
is credited, along with other innovations in wayang, with the creation of wayang gedog in 1553, to enact the Panji stories. 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 dress Scott-Kemball (1970), p. 41. Plots based on the Panji cycle are also common in East Javanese wayang klitik (using wooden puppets), in West Javanese
wayang golek ''Wayang golek'' ( Sundanese: ) is one of the traditional Sundanese puppet arts from West Java, Indonesia. in contrast to the wayang art on other area of Java island that use leather in the production of wayang, wayang golek is a wayang art m ...
(using three-dimensional rod puppets), and in wayang beber (stories depicted pictorially on scrolls). It is also the principal basis of the stories used in wayang topeng (masked dance-pantomime). In
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
, where the cycle is known as ''Malat'', the story is performed in the
Gambuh ''Gambuh'' ( ban, ᬕᬫ᭄ᬩᬸᬄ) is an ancient form of Balinese dance-drama. It is accompanied by musicians in a gamelan ''gambuh'' ensemble. History ''Gambuh'' is one of the oldest surviving forms in Balinese performing arts, dating to ...
plays and in the operatic Arja. In
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
, there is a panji tale written in
Makassar language Makassarese ( or ), sometimes called Makasar, Makassar, or Macassar, is a language of the Makassarese people, spoken in South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. It is a member of the South Sulawesi group of the Austronesian language family, and t ...
, called ''Hikayat Cekele'' (Malay: ''Cekel''). In Thailand, these stories are performed in the
lakhon nai Lakhon nai ( th, ละครใน, ) is a Thai performing art originating in the royal court of Thailand (formerly Siam). It features slow choreography accompanied by a piphat A ''piphat'' is a kind of ensemble in the classical music of Th ...
stage plays as "Inao" (อิเหนา).


UNESCO Memory of the World Register

The Panji manuscripts of
Leiden University Libraries Leiden University Libraries is a library founded in 1575 in Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a populatio ...
and the national libraries of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
were inscribed on 30 October 2017 in the prestigious
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Memory of the World Register Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...
affirming their world significance. The Panji manuscripts are also digitally available through Digital Collections


Synopsis

There are differing versions and episodes of the overall Panji story. In one version, The main story of Panji tells of the romance between Prince Panji and Princess Kirana; and Panji's search for his long lost bride.


Smaradhana

The
kakawin Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "'' Kawi''", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular. Poets c ...
Smaradhana ''Smaradahana'', also known as ''Smaradhana'', ''Asmaradhana'', ''Asmaradahana'', ''Asmaradana'', ''Asmarandhana'' or ''Asmarandana'' is an old Javanese poem (''kakawin'') written by Mpu Dharmaja as the eulogy for King Kameçvara of Kediri in ea ...
originally was the work of the poet Mpu Dharmaja in early 12th century. However, it was later incorporated as a prelude to the Panji tales. This story tells about the disappearance of Kamajaya and his wife, Kamaratih from svargaloka who were burnt by the fire of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
. The spirits of Kamajaya and Kamaratih fell upon the earth and were incarnated several times as mortal human beings. The main characters of Panji cyle are Prince Panji and Princess Kirana, the notable incarnations of Kamajaya and Kamaratih on earth. The following are several episodes of the compilation of Panji stories:


Chandra Kirana

The tale of Chandra Kirana (sometimes called the tales of Dewi Anggraeni) is a tragic love story, the prequel to the main Panji story. The story begins with the arranged marriage of Prince Panji Asmoro Bangun to Princess Chandra Kirana from the twin neighboring kingdoms of Kediri and
Janggala The Kingdom of Janggala is one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favour of his two sons in 1045. The other Kingdom was Kediri. The Kingdom of Janggala comprised the northeastern part of the King ...
. The dynastic marriage was meant as a means of a peace agreement to reunite the two warring factions of the once great kingdom under one dynasty again. During his youth, the prince of Jenggala loved to travel the country, visit ashrams and hermitages and learn from various wise Brahmins and rishis across the kingdom. During his stay in one of the remote hermitages, the prince fell in love with a beautiful commoner girl, Dewi Anggraeni. The prince married Anggraeni and took her home to the palace in the capital city of Jenggala. The marriage of a prince with the commoner girl caused an uproar in the royal courts of both Jenggala and Kediri. The angered Kediri envoys pushed the royalty of Jenggala to keep their promise of the arranged dynastic marriage, and they threatened to wage war if the marriage to Dewi Anggraeni was not annulled. However, the love-struck Prince did not want to fulfill his royal duty and refused to marry Kirana. To avoid war, the elders of royal house plotted the assassination of Dewi Anggraeni. Panji and Anggraeni were separated and tricked by being told to meet each other in different places. Actually Anggraeni was led by the royal troops deep into a forest to be murdered. After she learned that their action was meant to avoid war and bloodshed between two kingdoms, the poor girl willingly sacrificed herself and gave up her life. After Panji learned about the death of Anggraeni, the prince went amok, fell unconscious, and finally lost his mind. The insane prince suffered from amnesia and wreaked havoc across both kingdoms, attacking villages authorities, lords, and bandits alike. Meanwhile, in Kediri Princess Kirana has learned about fate of her future husband, and has decided to go out from the palace to find and help him. Princess Kirana, disguised as a man, is later involved in a battle with Panji and finally manages to cure the Prince from insanity. Surprisingly Princess Kirana looks exactly like the late Anggraeni, as actually they both were incarnated from the same spirit, that of Kamaratih, the goddess of love. Panji and Kirana are then united in marriage and live happily ever after.


Panji Semirang

The episode of Panji Semirang tells another version of the story. The story begins with the disappearance of Candra Kirana from the palace. After Candra Kirana disappears, a princess who claims to be Candra Kirana, though different in appearance, attempts to console Prince Panji, and alleges that she was carried off by
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...
, and will regain her original appearance as soon as they are married. Panji orders preparations for the wedding to resume, not knowing that the consoler is in reality a demon-princess who wants Panji for herself. Meanwhile, the true Candra Kirana, alone in the forest, is advised by the gods that she must return to the palace disguised as a man to be reunited with Panji. She does so, and upon entering the city, discovers the wedding plans to the false Candra Kirana, delivers 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 in his search undergoes many adventures, staying in forests with hermits, working as a servant in different palaces, always hoping to find traces of his lost bride. Candra Kirana, meanwhile, continues in 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. Still not aware that she is fighting her prince, they continue the fight with swords and arrows, but she is unable to harm him until she resorts to her hairpin. As Panji is wounded, he reveals his identity, and they are happily reunited.


Ande Ande Lumut

The episode Ande Ande Lumut tells another version of the union between Prince Kusumayuda and Kleting Kuning. She is the youngest of four sisters, all daughters of a widow in a village within the Prince Kusumayuda's father domain. The widow daughters were named according to colors: the eldest is Kleting Abang (Kleting Merah/Red Kleting), next is Kleting Biru (Blue Kleting), then Kleting Ijo (Green Kleting), and the youngest is Kleting Kuning (Yellow Kleting). All of Kleting Kuning's older sisters are jealous because Kleting Kuning is very beautiful. Kleting Kuning actually is an adopted foster daughter, and the missing princess of Janggala kingdom, later known as Dewi Candrakirana. Keleting Kuning was betrothed to Prince Kusumayuda and he never forgot the face of the beautiful young princess meant to be his future consort and the future queen of Banyuarum kingdom. He continued to love her and look for her even after they were separated when the princess became lost as a child. After many years of Kleting Kuning living in the village with the widow's family, a rich and handsome eligible bachelor named Ande Ande Lumut declared that he was searching for a bride. Many girls across the kingdom were smitten and interested in becoming his wife, including Kleting Kuning's sisters. Only Kleting Kuning was not interested since she had not forgotten the youthful face and betrothal to Prince Kusumayuda. However a magical crane told Kleting Kuning to participate in this event where her true fate awaited her. All of the girls dressed up beautifully, putting on their make-up and marched together towards Ande Ande Lumut's house. However her stepmother ordered Kleting Kuning not to dress up and even disguised her beauty in ugly and dirty clothes, hoping one of her own daughters, who were Kleting Kuning's elders, would win more favor and the bachelor's heart. She even gave her a ''sapu lidi'' (a simple broom made of coconut leaf spines) to carry, in order to make Kleting Kuning looks like a poor servant, however actually it was a magical broom. In their journey, the girls had to cross a large river without any ferry services. The river was guarded by a giant freshwater crab named Yuyu Kangkang. Yuyu Kangkang offered to take the girls across the river, riding upon its back, in return for a kiss. In order to reach Ande Ande Lumut's house as fast as possible, the girls hastily agreed on this arrangement and allowed Yuyu Kangkang to kiss them. Kleting Kuning arrived late at the river bank after he had taken the others across, and again Yuyu Kangkang offered its service for a kiss. Of course Kleting Kuning, who always upheld her modesty and chastity, refused. Yuyu Kangkang, angered with Kleting Kuning refusal, tried to eat her. In defense Kleting Kuning tried to hit the crab but missed and hit the river with her broom and magically all the water in the river dried up, and Kleting Kuning was able to cross the river safely. Yuyu Kangkang was trapped on the dry banks and was very scared and he begged her for her mercy and forgiveness and to return the river to its home as it was before. Kleting Kuning felt sorry for him and again hit the ground with the broom and the water returned washing the relieved Yuyu Kangkang downstream. By then, Kleting Kuning's sisters had reached Ande Ande Lumut's house where they were greeted kindly by Ande Ande Lumut's mother and served refreshments. Although the girls are pretty, and Ande Ande Lumut liked them, he refused all of them because he could detect the smelly pungent fishy kiss of Yuyu Kangkang on them. Finally Kleting Kuning arrived, dirty and simply dressed like a servant, which is how her sisters introduce her to Ande Ande Lumut's mother who asked her to wait outside. However Ande Ande Lumut received her warmly, as he could see the true beauty beneath and invited her in. After he speaks to her, he realizes that Kleting Kuning is the princess, his long lost love. At that moment Kleting Kuning also realizes that Ande Ande Lumut is actually Kusumayuda, her beloved prince. They are reunited, soon are married and live happily ever after.


Keong Emas

Another episode is the sequel to the main story. The tale of Keong Emas takes place after the union of Panji Asmoro Bangun and Sekartaji in a marriage. There are several versions of the tale, but usually the story begins with Sekartaji being magically transformed into a golden
snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...
. The golden snail is found and kept as a pet by a poor widow fisherwoman named Mbok Rondo. Magically Sekartaji is able to turn back into her human form for some period to pay back the widow's kindness by cooking her delicious dishes and cleaning her house, leaving her snail shell behind. The curious Mbok Rondo hides in waiting and finally discovers that the snail is a young woman and she breaks the snail shell and thus undoes the magic spell. Sekartaji is adopted as the widow's daughter and together they set out to reunite her with her husband, Panji Asmoro Bangun.


Characters and names

Panji and the other characters in the Panji cycle appear with various names (including nicknames) in different versions of the tale, including Raden Panji, Panji Inu Kertapati, Raden Panji Inu, Raden Inu, Inu (of) Koripan, Ino (or Hino) Kartapati, Cekel Wanengpati, and Kuda Wanengpati of
Janggala The Kingdom of Janggala is one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favour of his two sons in 1045. The other Kingdom was Kediri. The Kingdom of Janggala comprised the northeastern part of the King ...
, as well as Raden Panji Asmara Bangun and Panji Asmoro Bangun. Panji is also found as the name of a prince in a number of kingdoms, such as that of
Tabanan Tabanan is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Bali, Indonesia. Relatively underdeveloped (compared with Badung and Denpasar to the east), Tabanan Regency has an area of 1,013.88 km2 and had a population of 386,850 in 2000, rising to 42 ...
, ruled by Shri Arya Kenceng in 1414 (
Babad Arya Tabanan Javanese literature has a very large historical component. In all sorts of texts, such as laudatory poems, chronicles, and Travel literature, travelogues, writers have interpreted the how and why of certain circumstances. These texts are impor ...
.) In Thailand, he is called Inao or Enau ( th, อิเหนา) or Enau (of) Kurepan, or Raden Montree. In Myanmar (formerly Burma), he is known as Inaung or Enaung ( my, အီနောင်). Panji is the prince of the Kuripan (Koripan) or
Janggala The Kingdom of Janggala is one of the two Javanese kingdoms that was formed when Airlangga abdicated his throne in favour of his two sons in 1045. The other Kingdom was Kediri. The Kingdom of Janggala comprised the northeastern part of the King ...
. He is usually depicted in an unadorned helmet-like rounded cap. The mask for Panji has a smooth white or green face; narrow, elongated eyes; a straight and pointed nose; and delicate, half-open lips. Panji is engaged to be married to Candra Kirana (also known as Sekartaji), 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. Klono was adopted as moluccan title for ruler as ''Kolano''.Leonard Andaya (1993), ''The world of Maluku''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, p. 59. 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).


Notes


External links


A website for collecting, listing and publishing resources on Panji

‘’Panji Tales Manuscripts’’
in Digital Collections (
Leiden University Library Leiden University Libraries is a library founded in 1575 in Leiden, Netherlands. It is regarded as a significant place in the development of European culture: it is a part of a small number of cultural centres that gave direction to the developme ...
)


References

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Further reading

* Winstedt, R. O. "The Panji Tales." In: ''Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society'' 19, no. 2 (139) (1941): 234-37. Accessed October 3, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41560465. {{Mythology of Indonesia Indonesian folklore Javanese folklore Mythological kings Mythological princes