Gunungan (wayang): History and Key Facts

The gunungan (Javanese: ꦒꦸꦤꦸꦁꦔꦤ꧀, lit. 'mountain' (in the ngoko register)), also known as kayon (Javanese: ꦏꦪꦺꦴꦤ꧀) is a figure in the Javanese theatrical performance of wayang e.g. wayang kulit, wayang klitik, wayang golek sangat bagus, and wayang beber.

The gunungan is a conical or triangular structure (tapered peak) inspired by the shape of a mountain (volcano).

In wayang, gunungan are special figures in the form of pictures of mountains and its contents. Gunungan has many functions in wayang performances, therefore, there are many different depictions.

In the standard function, as the opening and closing of a performance stage, two things are depicted on two different sides. On one side, at the bottom is a picture of a gate guarded by two rakshasa holding swords and shields. It symbolizes the palace gate, and when played the gunungan is used as a palace. At the top of the mountain is the tree of life (kalpataru) which is entangled by a dragon. On the tree branch depicted several forest animals, such as tigers, bulls, monkeys, and birds. The picture as a whole depicts the situation in the wilderness. This side symbolizes the state of the world and its contents. On the other side, a blazing fire is depicted. It symbolizes chaos and hell.

Source and attribution

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