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In the nineteenth century Dutch scholars identified special kinds of wayai}, puppets with cycles of theatrical literature. It was thought that Pandawa, Rama and Panji plays always ought to be played with wayar} kulit puppets, and Ménak Amir Hamza plays with wayar} golèk. This distinction was suggested by authors from Surakarta who in their native district did not see zoayar} golèk performances of any importance. In quiries in the North Coast and western districts of Java revealed the existence of ■wayar} golèk sets used for playing wayar; plays belonging to' the Pandawa, Rama, Panji and Damar Wulan cycles as well as to the Ménak Amir Hamza cycle. In the wayar} kulit theatre a distinction has been made for a long time between wayar} purwa and wayar} gedag. The puppets have slightly different shapes, ornaments and weapons, and the plays belong to differ ent cycles. The wayar} purwa is identified with the Pandawa and Rama cycles, and some plays which are considered connected with them, the wayar} gèdog is reserved for Panji plays (see 31.130). In the second half of the nineteenth cen tury Surakarta authors, intent upon estab lishing historical order in the mass of thea trical literature, invented an intermediate kind of wayar} kulit, called wayar} madya, used for playing a cycle of plays based on tales which, in their opinion, belonged to the period between the defeat of the Korawas (the wayar} purwa) and the rule of the Kadiri and Siqasari Kings (the wayar} gèdog). The wayar} madya plays never be came popular. They are interesting, though, for they consist mostly of folk-tales made into plays (see 31.120).

Indeed several plays belonging to all cycles of the Javanese theatrical repertoire apparently are based on folk-tales or myths, survivals of ancient native literature. Only the names of heroes and heroines were bor rowed from the great epics and classical romances of Indian inspiration. Javanese theatrical literature also has its offshoots, in the same way as the Panji, the Ménak Amir Hamza and the Rama epics (see 30.360, 30.510, 31.067). Especially in the offshoots, romantic poetry and plays of the wayar; theatre appear to be closely con nected. Probably in many cases, in the eigh teenth and nineteenth centuries, playwrights of wayarj plays were the first to* adapt folk tales. Afterwards the plays, grown popular, were made into romances (see 31.230). On some points, and in the names of heroes and heroines, Yogyakarta wayai; tra dition is different from Surakarta style. In other districts of Java even more differences can be observed. Remarkable is the variety of panakawans appearing in wayai; purwa plays and connected romances belonging to different districts of Java. According to the middle nineteenth century Surakarta pai;éran Kusumadilaga, a connoisseur, an eastern and a western tradition in wayar; panakawans were discernible. The Surakarta Court dalaqs, adhering to the eastern tradition, invariably put the triad Sëmar, Nala Garèr;, Pétruk on the stage. In consequence of the spread of Surakarta art and literature all over the country, this triad became the most popular group in modern Java. The western tradition had a duet: Sëmar and Bagor;. Yogyakarta Court dalarjs introduced a quartet: Sëmar, Garèr;, Pétruk, Bagor;. In West Java and in East Java and Bali other