The Wayang Wong tells the story of the Ramayana from a Balinese point of view. It is performed by a cast of 22 masked actors, voiced by 3 "dalangs," who sit with the orchestra and sing or speak for most of the masked actors. It is the story of Lord Rama, an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The performance begins with the clowns, or "bondres," who speak in their own voices and narrate in Basa Bali Kasar, the common Balinese language. In contrast, the main characters will perform in the ancien
t Kawi language of the Hindu courts, which few Balinese speak today. The story begins with Rama, his wife Sita, and his younger brother Laksmana, traveling through the forest of Nandaka. They roam the forest because Rama has been exiled by his father, the king of Ayodhya. Sita is an incarnation of the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi. In the forest, the group is waylaid by the demonic giant Raksasa Wirada, who walks on his hands. Rama and Laksmana defeat the demon and continue on their
journey. Another demon, Raksasi Surpanaka, daughter of the demon king Rawana, spies them and seeks to seduce Rama. The shape-shifting Surpanaka transforms into a beautiful woman. She fails with Rama, then turns to his brother. Laksmana detects the deception and they fight. When Surpanaka reverts to her demonic form, Laksmana cuts off her nose, and she flees. An interlude in Alengka, with King Rawana’s clown-servants. The evil King Rawana is consolidating his power by ordering the deaths of the p
riests meditating in the forest. Surpanaka arrives, complaining to her brother Rawana about her mutilation by Rama and Laksmana. Rawana orders his vice regent, the magician Patih Marica, to kidnap Sita in revenge. Marica shape-shifts into a golden deer to entrance Sita, and Sita begs Rama to catch it to be her pet. Rama leaves Laksmana to guard Sita, but Marica deceives them by calling out in Rama’s voice, luring away Laksmana. With Sita now unguarded, Rawana transforms into the form of an old p
riest and abducts Sita. But the bird-hero Jayatu, a friend of Rama’s father, hears Sita’s cries and throws himself at Rawana. The old Jayatu is mortally wounded in the battle, and Rawana escapes with Sita. This performance ends with a conflict between rival monkey armies led by the brothers Sugriwa and Subali after Subali abducted Sugriwa’s wife. Sugriwa asks the monkey king Hanoman for help, and Hanoman seeks the aid of Rama and Laksmana. In the ensuing battle, Rama dispatches Subali with an ar
row. Subali acknowledges his wrongdoing and dies with Rama’s forgiveness and blessing. Here, this performance ends. In a full performance, the story of Rama and Sita would end with the great battle between the armies. With the heroic Hanoman’s help, Rama slays Rawana, and together they recover Sita.
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