Semar

Last updated
Semar
Wayang Kulit of Semar.jpg
A Wayang representing Semar
Grouping Legendary creature
Sub grouping Undead
Country Indonesia
Region Java

Semar is a character in Javanese mythology who frequently appears in wayang shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan (clowns) but is divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang (guardian spirit) of Java, [1] and is regarded by some as the most sacred figure of the wayang set. [2] He is said to be the god Sang Hyang Ismaya in human form. [3] [4]

Contents

The name Semar is said to derive from the Javanese word samar ("dim, obscure, mysterious"). [3] He is often referred to by the honorific, "Kyai Lurah Semar" ("the venerable chief"). [3]

Description

Mask of Semar for traditional Javanese theater performance. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Houten wajang topengmasker voorstellende Semar TMnr 1886-4.jpg
Mask of Semar for traditional Javanese theater performance.

In depictions, Semar appears with a flat nose, a protruding lower jaw, a tired eye, and a bulging rear, belly, and chest. He wears a checkered hipcloth, symbolizing sacredness. Like the other panakawan, the wayang kulit puppet does not have the elaborate openwork and ornamentation characteristic of the heroes [2] In wayang wong, Semar always leans forward, one hand palm up on his back and the other extended partly forward, moving up and down, with an extended forefinger. [5]

By tradition Semar has three sons, the other punakawans in the wayang: Gareng, Petruk, and Bagong (Bagong does not appear in Surakarta-style wayang). [6] In some wayangs, he has a brother Togog (or Hyang Antaga), who is the servant-clown of a demonic hero. [7]

Origin

A decorative kris with a figure of Semar as the handle Semar Kris (alt) 3.jpg
A decorative kris with a figure of Semar as the handle

As Semar is one of the few characters in wayang stories not from Indian mythology, his origin is obscure. One hypothesis is that he and his sons are old indigenous deities who became cursed and demoted to servants with the importation of the kshatriya heroes of the Indian epics. [8] [9] Semar also resembles the vidusaka clown figure of Indian Sanskrit drama. [10]

The first known appearance of Semar is during the Majapahit era. In 1358 in relief of Sudamala in Candi TIgamangi, and in Candi Sukuh dated 1439. The relief was copied from a wayang story from the period, where Semar was first known to be appeared. [11]

Stories

In one version of the Babad Tanah Jawi (the Javanese creation myth), Semar cultivated a small rice field near Mount Merbabu for ten thousand years before there were any men. His descendants, the spirits of the island, came into conflict with people as they cleared fields and populated the island. A powerful priest, unable to deviate from his king's orders to continue cultivating the island, provided Semar with a role that would allow his children and grandchildren to stay. Semar's role was to be a spiritual advisor and magical supporter of the royalty, and those of his descendants who also protect the humans of Java can remain there. [1]

One genealogy of Semar is that he is the eldest descendant of God, and elder brother to Batara Guru, king of the other gods; however, Semar became a man. [12] Another genealogy says that he is the son of Adam and Eve. His brother, the Prophet Shith (biblical Seth) was the ancestor of various prophets, such as Jesus and Muhammad, from whom the various Western peoples are descended, while Semar (known as "Sayang Sis") was the ancestor of both the Hindus and the Javanese. [12] In either case, Semar, in his awkward, ugly human form, represents at the same time god and clown, the most spiritually refined and outwardly rough. [12]

Use in wayang

Sundanese wayang adaptation of Semar. COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Houten wajangpop voorstellend Semar TMnr 8-73.jpg
Sundanese wayang adaptation of Semar.
Wayang Kulit puppet of Semar Zhua Wa Se Ma Er Pi Ying Xi Ou .jpg
Wayang Kulit puppet of Semar

Semar and his sons first appear in the second part of the plays ( pathet sanga ), [13] as the servants and counselors of whoever the hero of the wayang play is. [14] In wayang plots, Semar is never mistaken and is deceptively powerful. He is the only character who dares to protest the gods, including Batara Guru (Shiva) and Batari Durga, and even compel them to act or desist. [7]

He often represents a realistic view of the world in contrast to the idealistic. His role as a servant is to cheer up those in despair and blunt the pride of the triumphant. Clifford Geertz compared his role vis-à-vis Arjuna to that of Prince Hal with his father in Shakespeare's Henry IV , and his role as a critic of the play's worldview and antidote to pride is similar to Falstaff. [15]

It has also been suggested that Semar is a symbol of the peasantry, not otherwise incorporated in the palace hierarchies; that in some more popular forms of the drama, he and the other clowns dominate the royal heroes supporting this idea. [15] [16]

Kelantanese practicitioners of wayang kulit (known locally as Wayang Siam) who themselves were taught and inspired by counterparts in Java once invoked Semar (known here as Pak Dogol or Pak Dogah) alongside Shiva and Vishnu before the start of their performances. [17] Pak Dogol similarly is the most ritually important figures in the Wayang Siam pantheon. [18]

Other representations

Semar also appears on some ceremonial weapons, the pusaka of important families. In this role, he represents an ancestral figure. [19]

There is a low rectangular candi on the Dieng Plateau known as Candi Semar, perhaps originally a treasury, [20] but scholars generally assume that its name was given to the temple centuries after its erection. [21]

In Balinese mythology, the counterpart of Semar is Twalen. [22] In Wayang Kulit Kelantan, the counterpart of Semar is Pak Dogol. [23]

During the Transition to the New Order in March 1966, Suharto's forces dubbed the Order of Eleventh March document "Supersemar". While an abbreviation of its official title ("Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret"), consensus among academic historians such as Claire Holt and David Bourchier is that Suharto deliberately associated his image with that of Semar to appeal to Indonesia's Javanese population. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Java</span> Province of Indonesia

Central Java is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 33,750.37 km2, with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The official population estimate in mid-2023 was 37,608,336 The province also includes a number of offshore islands, including the island of Nusakambangan in the south, and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayang</span> Indonesian puppet theatre

Wayang is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. Wayang refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali. The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as well as local adaptations of cultural legends. Traditionally, a wayang is played out in a ritualized midnight-to-dawn show by a dalang, an artist and spiritual leader; people watch the show from both sides of the screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batara Kala</span> Javanese and Balinese god of the underworld

Batara Kala is the god of death in traditional Javanese and Balinese mythology, ruling over it in a cave along with Setesuyara. Batara Kala is also named the creator of light and the earth. He is also the god of time, who devours unlucky people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow play</span> Ancient form of storytelling

Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. A skilled puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh.

<i>Kakawin Ramayana</i> Old Javanese poem

Kakawin Ramayana is an Old Javanese poem rendering of the Sanskrit Ramayana in kakawin meter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalang (puppeteer)</span> Puppeteer in Indonesian wayang performance

The dhalang or dalang is the puppeteer in an Indonesian wayang performance.

Andreas Leo Ateng Suripto, better known as Ateng and also known by the Chinese name Kho Tjeng Lie (邱诚烈), was a popular Indonesian actor and comedian.

<i>Wayang wong</i> Indonesian traditional theatre

Wayang wong, also known as wayang orang, is a type of classical Javanese and Balinese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of the Ramayāna or Mahabharāta. Performances are stylised, reflecting Javanese court culture:

Wayang wong dance drama in the central Javanese Kraton 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.

Wayang style is a style of puppetry influenced by the Indonesian wayang kulit, in which human figures and those that are supernatural are depicted as flat and very two-dimensional - hence the name wayang, meaning "shadow"). This style was commonly used in East Java during the Majapahit Empire, which lasted from about 1293 AD to around 1500 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayang golek</span> Indonesian puppet theatre

Wayang golek is one of the traditional Sundanese puppet arts from West Java, Indonesia. In contrast to the wayang art in other areas of Java that use leather in the production of wayang, wayang golek is a wayang art made of wood. Wayang golek is very popular in West Java, especially in the Pasundan land area. Today, wayang golek has become an important part of Sundanese culture.

<i>Mak yong</i> Malay Theatre

Mak yong is a traditional form of dance-drama from northern Malaysia, particularly the state of Kelantan. It was banned by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party because of its animist and Hindu-Buddhist roots which pre-date Islam in the Asian region by far. The late Cik Ning was a leading mak yong performer in the 1980s. In 2005, UNESCO declared mak yong theatre a "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punokawan</span> Figures in Javanese puppet theater

In Javanese wayang, the panakawan or punakawan (ꦥꦸꦤꦏꦮꦤ꧀) are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them – Semar, Petruk, Gareng, and Bagong (ꦧꦒꦺꦴꦁ). Semar is the personification of a deity, sometimes said to 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khmer shadow theatre</span> Cambodian form of shadow play

Khmer shadow theatre are forms of shadow play in which leather shadow puppets are used. The two main genres are Sbek Thom, which features the Reamker, and Sbek Toch, which uses smaller puppets and a wide range of stories. Another genre called Sbek Por uses colored leather puppets. The shadow plays of Cambodia are closely related to and also resemble the shadow plays of Thailand, Indonesia (Wayang and Wayang kulit). In Cambodia, the shadow play is called Nang Sbek Thom, or simply as Sbek Thom, Sbek Touch and Sbek Por.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panji tales</span> Cycle of Javanese stories

The Panji tales are a cycle of Javanese stories, centred around the legendary prince of the same name from East Java, Indonesia. Along with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the tales are the basis of various poems, sculpture and painting, dance-drama performances and genres of wayang, especially the one known in East and Central Java as wayang gedhog. Panji tales have been the inspiration of Indonesian traditional dances, most notably the topeng (mask) dances of Cirebon, Central Java and Malang, as well as gambuh dance-drama in Bali. Especially in the environs of Kediri, part of the probable homeland of the tales of Panji, local stories grew and were connected with the obscure legendary figure of Totok Kerot. Panji tales have spread from East Java (Indonesia) to be a fertile source for literature and drama throughout Indochina Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mythology of Indonesia</span>

The mythology of Indonesia is very diverse, the Indonesian people consisting of hundreds of ethnic groups, each with their own myths and legends that explain the origin of their people, the tales of their ancestors and the demons or deities in their belief systems. The tendency to syncretize by overlying older traditions with newer foreign ideas has occurred. For example, the older ancestral mythology might be merged with foreign mythology, such as Hindu, Islam, or Christian biblical mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batara Guru</span> Supreme god in Indonesian mythology

Batara Guru is the name of a supreme god in Indonesian Hinduism. His name is derived from Sanskrit Bhattaraka which means “noble lord". He has been conceptualized in Southeast Asia as a kind spiritual teacher, the first of all Gurus in Indonesian Hindu texts, mirroring the guru Dakshinamurti aspect of Hindu god Shiva in the Indian subcontinent. However, Batara Guru has more aspects than the Indian Shiva, as the Indonesian Hindus blended their spirits and heroes with him. Batara Guru's wife in Southeast Asia is Shiva's consort Durga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petruk</span> Character in Javanese puppetry

Petruk is a character in traditional Javanese puppetry, or wayang. He is one of the Punokawan, four comedic figures common in the medium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayang kulit</span> Indonesian puppet theatre

Wayang kulit is a traditional form of shadow puppetry originally found in the cultures of Java and Bali in Indonesia. In a wayang kulit performance, the puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut oil light. The dalang manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. The narratives of wayang kulit often have to do with the major theme of good vs. evil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunungan (wayang)</span> Indonesian puppet theatre

The gunungan, also known as kayon or kayonan in Bali, is a figure in the Indonesian theatrical performance of wayang e.g. wayang kulit, wayang klitik, wayang golek, and wayang beber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of Indonesia</span>

Indonesian theatre is a type of art in the form of drama performances that are staged on a stage, with a distinct Indonesian nuance or background. In general, theatre is an art that emphasizes the performing arts that are displayed in front of a large crowd. In other words, theater is a form of visualisation of a drama that is staged on the stage and watched by the audience. Indonesian theatre includes the performing arts of traditional theater and modern theatre located in the territory of Indonesia. Some examples of Indonesian theater are Arja, Wayang, Wayang wong, Lenong, Ludruk, Janger, Randai and others. Theatre in Indonesia can also be referred to as regional or ethnic theatre, because it originates and develops from 1,300 ethnic cultures in Indonesia.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Geertz, 23.
  2. 1 2 Holt, 144.
  3. 1 2 3 Budihardja, "Grepen uit de Wajang," Djawa II (1922), 22-23; cited in Holt, 145.
  4. ↑ Brandon, 13.
  5. ↑ Holt, 160.
  6. ↑ Brandon, 24.
  7. 1 2 Holt, 145.
  8. ↑ J. Kats, "Wie is Semar?" Djawa III (1923), 55; cited in Holt, 145.
  9. ↑ Brandon, 18.
  10. ↑ Brandon, 3-4.
  11. ↑ Khoon, 106
  12. 1 2 3 Geertz, 276.
  13. ↑ Brandon, 79.
  14. ↑ Frits A. Wagner, Indonesia: The Art of an Island Group. New York: Crown Publishers, 1959; 130.
  15. 1 2 Geertz, 277.
  16. ↑ H.O., "Petroek als Vorst," Djawa, III (1922), 169-172; cited in Holt, 145.
  17. ↑ S. Singaravelu (Jul 1970). "Invocations to Nataraja in the Southeast Asian Shadow-Plays: With Special Reference to the Kelantan Shadow-Play". Journal of the Siam Society. 58: 47.
  18. ↑ Project, ~ The Koboi (2023-09-13). "Pak Dogol and Wak Long". The Koboi Project. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  19. ↑ Wagner, 162.
  20. ↑ Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art, New York: Dover, 1985, 202.
  21. ↑ Holt, 53.
  22. ↑ Jeune Scott-Kemball, Javanese Shadow Puppets: The Raffles Collection in the British Museum , Trustees of the British Museum, 1970, 18.
  23. ↑ Yousof, Ghulam-Sarwar; Khor, Kheng-Kia (2017). "Wayang Kulit Kelantan: A Study of Characterization and Puppets". Asian Theatre Journal. 34 (1): 1–25. doi:10.1353/atj.2017.0002. ISSN   1527-2109.
  24. ↑ Holt, 144-45; cited in Bourchier, 130.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.