All Ramayana, All the Time.

Pura Wisata's Rayamana production. Image © Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com.

The Hindu kingdoms that ruled Indonesia until the 1500s left an indelible impression. Even though its people are more than 70% Muslim, the Ramayana is a revered performance art here, finding its way into everything from the kecak to the wayang kulit to dinner theater.

It's a simple story, really - boy is married to girl, evil king wants to kidnap girl, brother in law severs his genitals to prove he really isn't interested in girl, boy summons monkey king to help him get girl back, boy suspects girl is unfaithful, girl willingly walks into fire to prove her virtue. Oh, and fire god saves her and they live happily ever after.

The best Ramayana can be found in Jogjakarta, where sunset performances take place at Prambanan Temple, and at Pura Wisata (Temple to Tourism) closer to the city center. Handy synopses in English are handed out before the performance, so you can follow the action even if you can't understand the dialogue.

We were fortunate to catch the Pura Wisata performance, which is performed outdoors under the night sky, weather permitting. It's amazing theater - once you get into the groove of the music and the fantastic costumes and facial expressions, the narrative simply begins to make sense, the way you stare at a stereogram for a minute or so and the image snaps into view.

More information on the Prambanan performance can be found on www.borobudurpark.com, or email candi@borobudurpark.com or ramayana@yogyes.com.