The Javanese Panji Story: Its Transformation and Dissemination Into Performing Arts in Southeast Asia

Alongside the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, there is a local Javanese cycle called the Story of Panji, which, according to C.C. Berg’s work Inleiding tot de Studie van het Oud-Javaansch (1928), was disseminated in the year of Pamalayu (1277 CE). Purbatjaraka, an expert on the Panji cycles, writes: “[…] the writing of the early Panji story was during the supremacy of the Majapahit Kingdom” (Purbatjaraka 1968, 404). The Story of Panji subsequently spread throughout the Southeast Asian region, including presentday Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, and has been adapted to a variety of performing arts. There are differing versions and episodes of the Panji cycles. The main story, however, is about the romance between Prince Panji and Princess Kirana, a tragic tale of love, full of adventures and challenges that sometimes concludes with a happy ending. This paper is a descriptive study of versions that can be found in Purbatjaraka’s book Tjerita Panji Dalam Perbandingan (1968) and in R.A. Kosasih’s Pandji Semirang (1978), with some additions taken from the videos of Inao Festival held by Spafa, Bangkok, Thailand, 2-6 March 2013