A typical Javanese gunungan with a depiction of entrance in the center and a Kala head in the upper-center image. The gunungan (Javanese "mountain", "savory"), also known as kayon or kayonan (from kayu, "wood" or "tree") in Bali, is a figure in the Indonesian theatrical performance of wayang e.g. wayang kulit, wayang klitik, and wayang golek. A gunungan is a symmetrical-shaped figure of translucent parchment made of dried, firm beef skin, whose outline is pointed in Java and more rounded in Bali. In a wayang performance, the gunungan is the first to appear on the screen and the last to appear before the end. Gunungan also marks transition between different screen and can also serve as a prop. A gunungan symbolizes the world-mountain (called the Meru). Gunungan also appears in the visual art, e.g. the painted scrolls of wayang beber, in crafts or as architectural elements. Form a Javanese gunungan with closed porch and two large yakshas on the sides. The roots of the tree rise into the water. There are some animals in the tree crown, but the demon head (kala) is missing. A gunungan is generally symmetrical, shaped like a mountain or like rounded ellipse in the case of Balinese kayonan. The Javanese gunungan takes the form of a mountain (which looks almost Candi-like). A covered entrance gate generally appears at the center of a Javanese gunungan. The head of Kala, a monstrous personification of time, appears on top of the entrance gate. Beyond the entrance gate, a tree grows upward along the central axis, its branches spread across and fills up the gunungan with fine foliage motifs. There are variations in the depiction of objects within the gunungan. Sometimes animals are depicted within the branches of the trees e.g. a tiger and a banteng (Javanese wild cattle) in fighting stance, monkeys or birds. In the case of Balinese kayonan, animals are seldom depicted; instead mythical figures e.g. garuda, naga, or underworld spirits yaksha are depicted to represent the three-world division concept of Balinese Hinduism. The tree behind would represent the bridge between these three worlds. Other monstrous figure that may appear in the Balinese kayonan is the karang bintulu, a one-eyed monstrous head. The overall composition is generally is kept symmetrical, however sometimes there are some exceptions especially in the Balinese and Lombok gunungan where the shape can be assymmetrical.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% In Balinese wayang kulit performance, only the kayonan can show a frontal representation of a figure. The frontal representation of figures in a kayonan are reserved for the highest deity. One example is Ganesha depicted in a Balinese kayonan. Gunungan in wayang kulit The gunungan in this wayang performance in Yogyakarta served as props. In a wayang performance, a gunungan normally marks the beginning, the end, and pauses between important scenic transitions. This is generally marked by placing the gunungan at the center of the screen. A gunungan may also serves as prop for background mountains, rock, obstacles, waves of a lake, or cloud. If turned to a red backside, the gunungan symbolizes fire or flames. If placed obliquely, the gunungan indicates a break. In the traditional performance of a wayang kulit, the dalang would follow the course of the time to indicate the timing of the performance, before midnight the gunungan is placed to the dalang's left side, while after midnight, the gunungan is placed on his right. In the island of Lombok where there are two gunungans, the gunungans are moved from the edge to the center to indicate change of scene. Java In Jave, before a wayang kulit performance, the dalang first gives offering (sajen) in the form of food to soothe the demons. After the foreplay of the gamelan, the dalang pray to the spirit world and sits in his place. The dalang's two assistants have already sits to his side with the puppets already arranged at the edges of the screen: benevolent figures e.g. the gods and heroes are seated on the right side of the dalang, while the demons sit on his left. The dalang then place the gunungan in the center of the screen and knocks the figure 's crest five times, symbolically waking up the spirit of the puppets. Then he takes the gunungan, turns in three times on the screen, and puts it on the right edge of the gedebog (banana trunk base). After this ritual, the actual play can begin. The play finished after the last planting of the gunungan.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Bali The figure of Api ("fire"), a Balinese fire demon, which has a similar form with the kayonan. In the beginning of a Balinese wayang performance, especially those in the southern region of Bali, the dalang would give offerings while saying a sacred verse (mantra). Then he would hit the crate of the puppets three times while asking the Wind God Vayu to take a strong part in the performance. Then he lifts the lid of the crate and places it on the right side. He takes the kayonan from the crate and moves it slightly over the screen and sticks it in the middle. Next, the dalang attaches the great figure of Siwamurti (angry aspect of Shiva) on the right side (the healing side) and similar the great figure of Wisnumurti (angry aspect of Vishnu) on the left side (the incurable side). The character of the puppets, benevolent or malevolent, will be placed accordingly to either side of the kayonan with faces turned away from the kayonan. When the characters have shown their presence, they disappear from the screen and are piled on the sides. The remaining kayonan is performing an ever-faster dance to lure the gods and demons, so that they may take possession of the puppet figures. The dalang murmurs further mantras and finally positioned the kayonan on the right side. Before starting the performance, the dalang places the figures on the lid of the crate and others are handed over to his two assistants.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% When the performance comes to an end, the kayonan reappears. If the dalang is also a priest (Dalang Mangku), he would use holy water (tirtha) to sprinkle holy water (tirtha) onto the puppet figures to purify them from evil influence. During the ritual, the dalang would place the figure of Cintya behind the kayonan, the supreme figure in Balinese Hinduism. Another figure with similar shape to the kayonan is called api ("fire"). The api has the shape of tapered leaf with a frightening face in the lower part, from which symmetrical radiating lines go upwards. In Balinese wayang kulit performance, the opposite of the kayonan is probably the pohon kepuh ("tree of hell"). The pohon kepuh is an asymmetrical, misshapen, tree-like structure with a witch sitting in the summit. It serves as a prop of a graveyard with open graves, which, together with magical evil spirits and skulls, are recognizable next to the tree trunk. The pohon kepuh figure is found only in the south of Bali and is used to represent the mount of King Korawa from the Mahabharata.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Lombok A gunungan from a variation of wayang kulit of Lombok, with which the story of Serat Menak Sasak is told. In the predominantly Muslim island of Lombok, the wayang kulit of Sasak people, the inhabitant of Lombok Island, has its own narrative tradition. The story of the wayang Sasak centered on the chronicle of Hamzanama, which features the adventure of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. The chronicle of Hamzanama is known as Serat Menak Sasak in Lombok. The stories are musically accompanied by the gamelan wayang Sasak. The art of gamelan wayang Sasak flourished since the 16th-century, however the strict Islamic reform movement in the last decades of the 20th-century had pressurized the wayang Sasak and other traditional art. The wayang kulit Sasak utilized two gunungans, which correspond approximately to the Balinese figure, but end up in a tip like in Java. The Sasak variation of the Gunungan depicts the world tree which consists of two juxtaposed snakes, whose rear ends protrude upwards and represent the starting points for the branches, while the heads below look symmetrically in an arc on either side. Sometimes heads of demons can be seen between the branches of the world tree. The two gunungan, which also occur in the wayang golek performance of the Serat Menak Sasak, are due to the Islamic conception that the world strictly falls into the world of the good guided by God and the world of evil guided by the Shaytan.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% The dalang first puts the figures on the outermost edges of the screen in a row in the banana trunk following the Islamic beliefs: the believer to his right, the disbeliever to his left. Then on the left, the dalang places the first gunungan slightly oblique. In the middle of the screen he marks the start of the performance with a dwarf-like joker figure called Lurah Sabatan, who wears an over-sized kris in his belt. A second joker figure is added shortly before both disappear. At this time, the dalang would place the second gunungan danced over the screen with two other figures hidden behind him. A dancing gunungan is always musically accompanied by a suling (bamboo flute). The dancing gunungan then comes to rest in the center of the screen, the two figures then become visible from the gunungan and give their names as Amir Hamza, the protagonist of the Serat Menak, and Putri Muninggar, his favorite wife. This group of three will remain on the screen for a while, until the noble couple disappear and the gunungan is planted to the right side of the dalang on the edge. The screen remains framed by both gunungan during the course of the performance. Sometimes there is only one gunungan. The gamelan orchestra, consisting of the bamboo flute suling, the drum kendang, a gong and other metallophones, plays three times at the beginning the opening piece known as Rangsang ("provocative", "exciting"). After the opening piece, the dalang ignites the labakan (oil lamp). The oil lamp symbolically represents the sun, while the music represents the element of fire, air, and water. The dalang wakes up the puppet figures by lifting the lid of the crate. The first figure placed in the middle is the gunungan, then the figure of Amir Hamza (also called Jayengrana) and Muninggar are placed on both sides of the gunungan, almost like an image of Adam, Eve, and the World Tree. After the dalang finished spoking a few religious formula, he lets all three figures disappear into the air while the orchestra plays a piece known as Janggal ("leave"). This whole act symbolizes the divine act of World's Creation. After some general preliminary remarks, the dalang reintroduces the gunungan into the center of the screen and describes the subsequent play.%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Gunungan in wayang beber A wayang beber at the Mangkunegaran Palace in Surakarta. Typical combat scene, gunungan slightly to the right of the center. Wayang beber is a form of illustrated wayang drama which use illustrated scroll to tell a narrative story. The art was thought to be extinct in the 20th-century, only to be rediscovered in the 1960s in two Javanese villages of Gelaran and Gedompol. The scroll used in a wayang beber is more than two meters long and 70 centimeter high. The scroll is set on two vertically erected bars so that four scenes can be seen one by one for the viewers sitting on the ground. Gunungan also appears in wayang beber. The gunungan is variously depicted: in the village of Gelaran, the gunungan appears more tree-like, while in the village of Gedompol, it is more stylized. The root of a gunungan tree is depicted with water-like pattern. Sometimes aerial root appears in a gunungan tree, providing additional support to the tree. The roofed porch of a candi entrance is usually framed by wings and is closed by a door. A gunungan can be obscured by other motifs or cut off from the outer edge. Leaves, flowers, and sometimes fruits can be seen in the gunungan. A demon head sometimes appear in the gunungan, mostly similar with the Bali style, which is with one eye (karang bintulu), and rarely with two eyes (Batara Kala).%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% References
A typical Javanese gunungan with a depiction of entrance in the center and a Kala head in the upper-center image. The gunungan (Javanese "mountain", "savory"), also known as kayon or kayonan (from kayu, "wood" or "tree") in Bali, is a figure in the Indonesian theatrical performance of wayang e.g. wayang kulit, wayang klitik, and wayang golek. a Javanese gunungan with closed porch and two large yakshas on the sides. The roots of the tree rise into the water. There are some animals in the tree crown, but the demon head (kala) is missing. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% The gunungan in this wayang performance in Yogyakarta served as props. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% The figure of Api ("fire"), a Balinese fire demon, which has a similar form with the kayonan. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% A gunungan from a variation of wayang kulit of Lombok, with which the story of Serat Menak Sasak is told. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% A wayang beber at the Mangkunegaran Palace in Surakarta. Typical combat scene, gunungan slightly to the right of the center. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% 
D
A gunungan is a symmetrical-shaped figure of translucent parchment made of dried, firm beef skin, whose outline is pointed in Java and more rounded in Bali. In a wayang performance, the gunungan is the first to appear on the screen and the last to appear before the end. Gunungan also marks transition between different screen and can also serve as a prop. A gunungan symbolizes the world-mountain (called the Meru). Gunungan also appears in the visual art, e.g. the painted scrolls of wayang beber, in crafts or as architectural elements.
D
Form
D
A gunungan is generally symmetrical, shaped like a mountain or like rounded ellipse in the case of Balinese kayonan. The Javanese gunungan takes the form of a mountain (which looks almost Candi-like). A covered entrance gate generally appears at the center of a Javanese gunungan. The head of Kala, a monstrous personification of time, appears on top of the entrance gate. Beyond the entrance gate, a tree grows upward along the central axis, its branches spread across and fills up the gunungan with fine foliage motifs.
D
There are variations in the depiction of objects within the gunungan. Sometimes animals are depicted within the branches of the trees e.g. a tiger and a banteng (Javanese wild cattle) in fighting stance, monkeys or birds. In the case of Balinese kayonan, animals are seldom depicted; instead mythical figures e.g. garuda, naga, or underworld spirits yaksha are depicted to represent the three-world division concept of Balinese Hinduism. The tree behind would represent the bridge between these three worlds. Other monstrous figure that may appear in the Balinese kayonan is the karang bintulu, a one-eyed monstrous head. The overall composition is generally is kept symmetrical, however sometimes there are some exceptions especially in the Balinese and Lombok gunungan where the shape can be assymmetrical.
D
In Balinese wayang kulit performance, only the kayonan can show a frontal representation of a figure. The frontal representation of figures in a kayonan are reserved for the highest deity. One example is Ganesha depicted in a Balinese kayonan.
R
Gunungan in wayang kulit The gunungan in
The gunungan in
D
In a wayang performance, a gunungan normally marks the beginning, the end, and pauses between important scenic transitions. This is generally marked by placing the gunungan at the center of the screen. A gunungan may also serves as prop for background mountains, rock, obstacles, waves of a lake, or cloud. If turned to a red backside, the gunungan symbolizes fire or flames. If placed obliquely, the gunungan indicates a break. In the traditional performance of a wayang kulit, the dalang would follow the course of the time to indicate the timing of the performance, before midnight the gunungan is placed to the dalang's left side, while after midnight, the gunungan is placed on his right. In the island of Lombok where there are two gunungans, the gunungans are moved from the edge to the center to indicate change of scene.
D
Java In Jave, before a wayang kulit performance, the dalang first gives offering (sajen) in the form of food to soothe the demons. After the foreplay of the gamelan, the dalang pray to the spirit world and sits in his place. The dalang's two assistants have already sits to his side with the puppets already arranged at the edges of the screen: benevolent figures e.g. the gods and heroes are seated on the right side of the dalang, while the demons sit on his left. The dalang then place the gunungan in the center of the screen and knocks the figure 's crest five times, symbolically waking up the spirit of the puppets. Then he takes the gunungan, turns in three times on the screen, and puts it on the right edge of the gedebog (banana trunk base). After this ritual, the actual play can begin. The play finished after the last planting of the gunungan.
R
Bali The figure of
The figure of
D
In the beginning of a Balinese wayang performance, especially those in the southern region of Bali, the dalang would give offerings while saying a sacred verse (mantra). Then he would hit the crate of the puppets three times while asking the Wind God Vayu to take a strong part in the performance. Then he lifts the lid of the crate and places it on the right side. He takes the kayonan from the crate and moves it slightly over the screen and sticks it in the middle. Next, the dalang attaches the great figure of Siwamurti (angry aspect of Shiva) on the right side (the healing side) and similar the great figure of Wisnumurti (angry aspect of Vishnu) on the left side (the incurable side). The character of the puppets, benevolent or malevolent, will be placed accordingly to either side of the kayonan with faces turned away from the kayonan. When the characters have shown their presence, they disappear from the screen and are piled on the sides. The remaining kayonan is performing an ever-faster dance to lure the gods and demons, so that they may take possession of the puppet figures. The dalang murmurs further mantras and finally positioned the kayonan on the right side.
D
Before starting the performance, the dalang places the figures on the lid of the crate and others are handed over to his two assistants.
D
When the performance comes to an end, the kayonan reappears. If the dalang is also a priest (Dalang Mangku), he would use holy water (tirtha) to sprinkle holy water (tirtha) onto the puppet figures to purify them from evil influence. During the ritual, the dalang would place the figure of Cintya behind the kayonan, the supreme figure in Balinese Hinduism.
D
Another figure with similar shape to the kayonan is called api ("fire"). The api has the shape of tapered leaf with a frightening face in the lower part, from which symmetrical radiating lines go upwards. In Balinese wayang kulit performance, the opposite of the kayonan is probably the pohon kepuh ("tree of hell"). The pohon kepuh is an asymmetrical, misshapen, tree-like structure with a witch sitting in the summit. It serves as a prop of a graveyard with open graves, which, together with magical evil spirits and skulls, are recognizable next to the tree trunk. The pohon kepuh figure is found only in the south of Bali and is used to represent the mount of King Korawa from the Mahabharata.
D
Lombok
D
In the predominantly Muslim island of Lombok, the wayang kulit of Sasak people, the inhabitant of Lombok Island, has its own narrative tradition. The story of the wayang Sasak centered on the chronicle of Hamzanama, which features the adventure of Amir Hamza, an uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. The chronicle of Hamzanama is known as Serat Menak Sasak in Lombok. The stories are musically accompanied by the gamelan wayang Sasak. The art of gamelan wayang Sasak flourished since the 16th-century, however the strict Islamic reform movement in the last decades of the 20th-century had pressurized the wayang Sasak and other traditional art.
D
The wayang kulit Sasak utilized two gunungans, which correspond approximately to the Balinese figure, but end up in a tip like in Java. The Sasak variation of the Gunungan depicts the world tree which consists of two juxtaposed snakes, whose rear ends protrude upwards and represent the starting points for the branches, while the heads below look symmetrically in an arc on either side. Sometimes heads of demons can be seen between the branches of the world tree. The two gunungan, which also occur in the wayang golek performance of the Serat Menak Sasak, are due to the Islamic conception that the world strictly falls into the world of the good guided by God and the world of evil guided by the Shaytan.
D
The dalang first puts the figures on the outermost edges of the screen in a row in the banana trunk following the Islamic beliefs: the believer to his right, the disbeliever to his left. Then on the left, the dalang places the first gunungan slightly oblique. In the middle of the screen he marks the start of the performance with a dwarf-like joker figure called Lurah Sabatan, who wears an over-sized kris in his belt. A second joker figure is added shortly before both disappear. At this time, the dalang would place the second gunungan danced over the screen with two other figures hidden behind him. A dancing gunungan is always musically accompanied by a suling (bamboo flute). The dancing gunungan then comes to rest in the center of the screen, the two figures then become visible from the gunungan and give their names as Amir Hamza, the protagonist of the Serat Menak, and Putri Muninggar, his favorite wife. This group of three will remain on the screen for a while, until the noble couple disappear and the gunungan is planted to the right side of the dalang on the edge. The screen remains framed by both gunungan during the course of the performance.
D
Sometimes there is only one gunungan. The gamelan orchestra, consisting of the bamboo flute suling, the drum kendang, a gong and other metallophones, plays three times at the beginning the opening piece known as Rangsang ("provocative", "exciting"). After the opening piece, the dalang ignites the labakan (oil lamp). The oil lamp symbolically represents the sun, while the music represents the element of fire, air, and water. The dalang wakes up the puppet figures by lifting the lid of the crate. The first figure placed in the middle is the gunungan, then the figure of Amir Hamza (also called Jayengrana) and Muninggar are placed on both sides of the gunungan, almost like an image of Adam, Eve, and the World Tree. After the dalang finished spoking a few religious formula, he lets all three figures disappear into the air while the orchestra plays a piece known as Janggal ("leave"). This whole act symbolizes the divine act of World's Creation. After some general preliminary remarks, the dalang reintroduces the gunungan into the center of the screen and describes the subsequent play.
R
Gunungan in wayang beber A wayang beber
A wayang beber
D
Wayang beber is a form of illustrated wayang drama which use illustrated scroll to tell a narrative story. The art was thought to be extinct in the 20th-century, only to be rediscovered in the 1960s in two Javanese villages of Gelaran and Gedompol. The scroll used in a wayang beber is more than two meters long and 70 centimeter high. The scroll is set on two vertically erected bars so that four scenes can be seen one by one for the viewers sitting on the ground.
D
Gunungan also appears in wayang beber. The gunungan is variously depicted: in the village of Gelaran, the gunungan appears more tree-like, while in the village of Gedompol, it is more stylized. The root of a gunungan tree is depicted with water-like pattern. Sometimes aerial root appears in a gunungan tree, providing additional support to the tree. The roofed porch of a candi entrance is usually framed by wings and is closed by a door. A gunungan can be obscured by other motifs or cut off from the outer edge. Leaves, flowers, and sometimes fruits can be seen in the gunungan. A demon head sometimes appear in the gunungan, mostly similar with the Bali style, which is with one eye (karang bintulu), and rarely with two eyes (Batara Kala).
D
References