As I had not yet been to the Prambanan and knew little of the Ramayana, I decided to cross two things off my list at the one time and attended the Ramayana Ballet at the Prambanan temple. The Prambanan contains many Hindu temples and was built by the Mataram Kingd
om. It is said to be the Hindu version of the Buddhist temple Borobudur. Though the Prambanan was closed when I arrived, I was still able to enjoy my dinner while in an awe-inspiring location. Unfortunately my photos of this didn't turn out.
The Ramayana is an epic Hindu story and has many different versions. The earliest reference of the Ramayana in South East Asia was found in Cambodia in the 6 century. If told in full it could take in between 8 to 12 hours. The the version that I watched was 2 hours long. It told a story of Prince Rama who lost his wife Sita to the Giant Rahwana. While searching for his wife Rama recieves help from the White Monkey King, Hanuman. Hanuman destroys the Giant's palace and helps unit Rama and his wife Sita. The ballet was a brilliant display of Javanese culture, containing many Javanese songs and gamelan music. For more information you can read the following link.
http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/247/prambanan/article/14/ramayana-ballet-a-masterpiece-of-dance
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Hanuman -
The White Monkey King |
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Traditional Javanese music instruments
including the gamelan. |
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