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sets were popular. The sets of panakawans appearing in wayaji) plays and romances can be used as indications of the origin of the texts. Almost everywhere Semar or a closely related personage plays the most important role. His relationship with ancient indige nous mythology is most probable (see the present author’s “Javaanse Volksvertonin- “gen”, register). On the analogy of Semar, the secondary personages in the sets of wayai) panakawans, Garèi), Pétruk, Bagot) etc., are also to be considered as personages originally belonging to an ancient sphere of thought. The interpretation of the names is difficult. Manuals of wayai) play per formers, pakëms, Surakarta. Probably Javanese wayai) play performers relied on orally transmitted tradition for the contents of their plays up to the beginning of the renaissance of classical letters in the eighteenth century. Some men of letters perhaps borrowed plots from the Sërat Kanda compendiums in order to make new plays. But then, the Sërat Kanda tales them selves were based on ancient tradition of professional story-tellers and wayai) play performers (see 22.900). In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Javanese dalai) s became familiar with the use of books containing concise prose notes on the plots of wayai) plays. Such books were called pakëms, manuals. In many cases the notes were so concise as to be almost incomprehensible for outsiders. In the middle of the nineteenth century some wayat3 pakëms were amplified and worked into prose tales, sometimes even containing texts of the conversation of the personages. Lastly,

some complete texts of wayat) plays were written. They contain lengthy introductory speeches and descriptions, songs (called suluks or kawins, see 30.920) and conver sations of the personages, all said by the dalai), and indications of the gamelan music to be played as accompaniment. As, accord ing to' ancient tradition, a wayar) play per formance in grand style took the whole of a night, from about six p.m. till six a.m., and the dalai) was not allowed to leave his place, his task was a very heavy one. Javanese authors also* wrote plays in prose, sometimes rhythmic, meant to be reading- matter for literati interested in wayai). A distinction must be made between the prose plays, the dalarj’s manuals (pakëms) and the romances. The prose plays will be dis cussed under a separate head (31.260). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries much attention has been given by Dutch scholars to wayai) art and wayai) literature. They rightly considered the wayai) as one of the most important features of Javanese culture, leaving its mark in all domains of Javanese life. Therefore Dutch scholars stimulated Javanese authors to write treatises on the art of the wayai). play performer. No doubt the interest shown by nineteenth and twentieth century Dutch scholars was in strumental in enlarging Javanese literature on wayai), Several collections of wayai) purwa plays, both concise epitomes and elaborate texts, have been published in Java, mostly with the title Pakern Rii)git Purwa. Complete texts, including dialogues of panakawans and in dications of the gamëlan music, were pub lished by Te Mechelen (Verh. KBG vol. 43 and 44, 1882-’84), a scholar who was