This is home to some of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Java and it is likely the wayang golek grew in popularity through telling the wayang menak stories of Amir Hamza, the uncle of Muhammad.
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This newly developed form is used by teachers of Islam to show the principles of Muslim ethics and religion to the natives of Java and Bali.
The example of this process is the adoptions of large numbers of sanskrit loanwords into old Javanese, and the Javanization of Indian Hindu epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata into Javanese version, and incorporating local deities such as Semar and Punakawan into their Wayang Purwa stories.
In an unusual incident in Purwakarta in West Java in September 2011, for example, four wayang statues (of Gatotkaca, Semar, Bima, and Nakula-Sadewa) were destroyed.
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Similar characters appear in other Indonesian wayang and theatrical traditions, including those of Bali and Sunda, under different names.
It follows the traditional wayang character Semar as he attempts— and fails— to take revenge against Arjuna and Srikandi for humiliating him by cutting off a lock of his hair while they are under the influence of the demon queen Durga.
Slamet Gundono (June 19, 1966 – January 6, 2014) was an Indonesian modern puppeteer in wayang and artist.
The Yogyakarta and Surakarta traditions of wayang each have their own repertory of sulukan.