Semar
Encyclopedia
Semar is a character in Java
nese mythology who frequently appears in wayang
shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan
(clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang
(guardian spirit) of Java, and is regarded by some as the most sacred figure of the kotak
(wayang set). He is said to be the god Sang Hyang Ismaya in human form.
The name Semar is said to derive from the Javanese
word samar ("dim, obscure, mysterious"). He is often referred to with the honorific, "Kyai Lurah Semar" ("the venerable chief").
By tradition Semar has three sons, the other punakawans in the wayang: Gareng, Petruk, and Bagong (Bagong does not appear in Surakarta
-style wayang). In some wayangs, he has a brother Sarahita (or Sarawita), who is the servant-clown of a demonic hero.
, 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. Semar also resembles the vidusaka clown figure of Indian Sanskrit drama.
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.
(the Javanese creation myth), Semar cultivated a small rice field near Mount Merbabu
for ten thousand years before there were any men. His descendents, the spirits of the island, came into conflict with people as they cleared fields and populated the island. A powerful Hindu-Moslem priest, unable to deviate from his king's orders to continue cultivating the island, provided Semar with a role that will 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 descendents who also protect the humans of Java can remain there.
One genealogy of Semar is that he is the eldest descendent of God
, and elder brother to Bathara Guru, king of the other gods; however, Semar became a man. Another genealogy says that he is the son of Adam and Eve
. His brother Nabi ("prophet") Sis gave birth to various prophets, such as Jesus
and Muhammad
, from whom the various Western peoples are descended, while Semar ("Sayang Sis") gave birth to the Hindus and the Javanese. 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.
) and Batari Durga
, and even compel them to act or desist.
He often represents the realistic view of the world in contrast to the idealistic. His role as 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 critic of the play's worldview and antidote to pride as similar to Falstaff
.
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 supports this idea.
of some important families. In this role he represents an ancestral figure.
There is a low rectangular candi
on the Dieng Plateau
known as Candi Semar, perhaps originally a treasury, but it is generally assumed by scholars that its name was given to the temple centuries after its erection.
In Bali, the counterpart of Semar is Twalen
.
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese mythology who frequently appears in wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
shadow plays. He is one of the punokawan
Punokawan
In Javanese wayang , the punokawan are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them – Semar , Petruk, Gareng and Bagong. Semar is the personification of a deity, sometimes said to the be the dhanyang or guardian spirit of the island of Java...
(clowns), but is in fact divine and very wise. He is the dhanyang
Hyang
Hyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
(guardian spirit) of Java, and is regarded by some as the most sacred figure of the kotak
Kotak
Kotak is a village in the Jalal-Abad Province of Kyrgyzstan....
(wayang set). He is said to be the god Sang Hyang Ismaya in human form.
The name Semar is said to derive from the Javanese
Javanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
word samar ("dim, obscure, mysterious"). He is often referred to with the honorific, "Kyai Lurah Semar" ("the venerable chief").
Description
In depictions, Semar appears with a flat nose, a protruding lower jaw, a tired eye, and 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 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.By tradition Semar has three sons, the other punakawans in the wayang: Gareng, Petruk, and Bagong (Bagong does not appear in Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
-style wayang). In some wayangs, he has a brother Sarahita (or Sarawita), who is the servant-clown of a demonic hero.
Origin
As Semar is one of the few characters in wayang stories not from Indian mythologyIndian mythology
Indian mythology may refer to:*Indian epic poetry*Vedic mythology*Hindu mythology*Buddhist mythology*Native American 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
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
heroes of the Indian epics. Semar also resembles the vidusaka clown figure of Indian Sanskrit drama.
The first known appearance of Semar is during the Majapahit era. In 1358 in relief of Sudamala in Candi TIgamangi, and in Candi Sukuh
Candi Sukuh
Sukuh is a 15th century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces....
dated 1439. The relief was copied from a wayang story from the period, where Semar was first known to be appeared.
Stories
In one version of the Babad Tanah JawiBabad Tanah Jawi
Babad Tanah Jawi , is a generic title for a large number of manuscripts written in Javanese language. Their arrangements and details vary, and no copies of any of the manuscripts are older than the eighteenth century....
(the Javanese creation myth), Semar cultivated a small rice field near Mount Merbabu
Mount Merbabu
Mount Merbabu is a dormant stratovolcano in Central Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. The name Merbabu could be loosely translated as 'Mountain of Ash' from the Javanese combined words; Meru means "mountain" and awu or abu means "ash".The active volcano Mount Merapi is directly...
for ten thousand years before there were any men. His descendents, the spirits of the island, came into conflict with people as they cleared fields and populated the island. A powerful Hindu-Moslem priest, unable to deviate from his king's orders to continue cultivating the island, provided Semar with a role that will 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 descendents who also protect the humans of Java can remain there.
One genealogy of Semar is that he is the eldest descendent of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and elder brother to Bathara Guru, king of the other gods; however, Semar became a man. Another genealogy says that he is the son of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
. His brother Nabi ("prophet") Sis gave birth to various prophets, such as Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, from whom the various Western peoples are descended, while Semar ("Sayang Sis") gave birth to the Hindus and the Javanese. 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.
Use in wayang
Semar and his sons first appear in the second part of the plays (pathet sanga), as the servants and counselors of whoever the hero of the wayang play is. In wayang plots Semar is never mistaken, and is deceptively powerful. He is the only character who dares to protest to the gods, including Batharu Guru (ShivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
) and Batari Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
, and even compel them to act or desist.
He often represents the realistic view of the world in contrast to the idealistic. His role as servant is to cheer up those in despair and blunt the pride of the triumphant. Clifford Geertz
Clifford Geertz
Clifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until...
compared his role vis-à-vis Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
to that of Prince Hal
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
with his father in Shakespeare's Henry IV, and his role as critic of the play's worldview and antidote to pride as similar to Falstaff
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
.
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 supports this idea.
Other appearances
Semar also appears on some ceremonial weapons, the pusakaPusaka
Pusaka is a Sanskrit word meaning treasure or heirloom.In Javanese Kejawen culture and the Austronesian cultures affected by it, known as the Malays, but most specifically the inhabitants of modern day Indonesia and Malaysia; , Balinese Bataks, Bugis, Manado, Minang, Moro, Pampangan, Taglog and...
of some important families. In this role he represents an ancestral figure.
There is a low rectangular candi
Candi of Indonesia
Candi are the Hindu and Buddhist temples and sanctuaries of Indonesia, mostly built during the 8th to 15th centuries...
on the Dieng Plateau
Dieng Plateau
Dieng Plateu, is a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng active volcano complex near Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Referred to as "Dieng" by Indonesians, it sits at 2,000m above sea level far from major population centres...
known as Candi Semar, perhaps originally a treasury, but it is generally assumed by scholars that its name was given to the temple centuries after its erection.
In Bali, the counterpart of Semar is Twalen
Twalen
Twalen is a member of the pantheon of gods and demi-gods of Balinese mythology.He is considered to be a clown in contemporary Balinese stories. He frequently appears in the form of a servant in wayang. However, he is older and more powerful than all the Hindu gods, being really the elder brother...
.