The Tale of the Venerable ‘Alī: Transmission, Development, and Changes of Persian Hamza-nama Narrative in the Central Javanese Wayang Golek Cĕpak Rod Puppetry

Authors

  • Rudy Wiratama Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
  • R. Bima Slamet Raharja Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
  • Zakariya Pamuji Aminullah Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Keywords:

Hamza-nama, Islam, Java, rod puppetry, wayang cepak, wayang menak

Abstract

Wayang golek cepak as a Pasisir or northern coastal style of central Javanese rod puppetry, same as its golek menak counterpart in the southern coast of this island, have been always identified with its Islamic repertoires, rather than the more popular Hindu-originated Mahabharata and Ramayana which became an integral part of the much widely recognized wayang purwa performances. Besides recounting the tales of 16th century Javanese Muslim saints (wali sanga) and local chronicles (babad), the wayang golek, both cepak and menak, were originally said to take the Menak tales as its main repertory. The Menak tales used in wayang golek, however, adapting a much loose form of the Persian epic Hamza-nama, which has been absorbed to Javanese literature through various ways. This article will try to trace the influences of Hamza-nama in this popular puppetry, studying the case of a performance with the story “Sahabat Ali” or “Sayidina Ali” in Pekalongan style wayang golek cepak.

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Wiratama, R., Raharja, R. B. S., & Aminullah, Z. P. (2026). The Tale of the Venerable ‘Alī: Transmission, Development, and Changes of Persian Hamza-nama Narrative in the Central Javanese Wayang Golek Cĕpak Rod Puppetry. Asian Arts and Society Journal, 2(1), 1–16. retrieved from https://so13.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/AASJ/article/view/3934

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): January – June

Section

Research Article

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