Gunungan

To signal the beginning and the end of the performance – but also strong emotions, scene changes, the elements of fire, earth, air and water – the dalang uses the gunungan, the most important requisite in the wayang theatre. The gunungan (gunung, mountain) or kayon (forest) is a representation of the ancient Tree motif originating from India. This consist of two parts: a mountain and a tree. The Tree motif is rendered as a combination of two different trees: the fig tree rooted in heaven; and the earthbound lotus tree rising from the waters. The former, placed above, has implanted its root in the top of the stem of the tree-shaped lotus. The lotus is the very symbol of life springing from the water. The celestial fig tree represents ‘creative breath’ or fire, which is as essential in creating life as the water’s essence. In the Javanese gunungan the lotus part can assume an hourglass form, with a small building with a pair of closed doors, or that of a lake or pot filled with water. Guardians stands on both sides of the stronghold. Their task is to guard treasures, particularly the mount Meru (heavenly mountain), and the liquid elixir of life. A pair of huge wings flank the upper half. The shape of these wings may actually be derived from lotus leaves or other vegetation. The gate building with closed doors can be understood as female, whereas the tree represents the male. Together and united they form life.  The gunungan is placed in the centre of the screen before the drama begins, separating the opposed groups of characters that lie to the right and left of the dalang. The meditation undertaken by the dalang before the performance seeks a train of associations leading from the gods of the Hindu pantheon to the kayon. During the performance, the gunungan is the backdrop with which time and space are delineated, and it determines the atmosphere. Its association with the Tree of Paradise makes it an apt image to suggest the idyllic world of the kingdoms of the wayang lakons (plays) before the activities of men and supernatural beings upset the ideal balance. 

Wayang wong

Wayang wong

Pandava and Krishna in an act of the wayang wong performance.

Wayang wong also known as Wayang orang (literally human wayang) is a type of Javanese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episode of Ramayana or Mahabharata.
While wayang gedog usually the theatrical performance that took the themes from the Panji cycles stories from the kingdom of Janggala, in which the players wear masks known as wayang topeng or wayang gedog. The word "gedog" comes from "kedok", which, like "topeng" means "mask". The main theme is the story of Raden Panji and Candra. This is a love story about princess Candra Kirana of Kediri and Raden Panji Asmarabangun, the crown prince of Jenggala. Candra Kirana was the incarnation of Dewi Ratih (goddess of love) and Panji was an incarnation of Kamajaya (god of love). Kirana's story was given the title "Smaradahana" ("The fire of love"). At the end of the complicated story they finally can marry and bring forth a son, named Raja Putra. Panji Asmarabangun ruled Jenggala under the official names "Sri Kameswara", "Prabu Suryowiseso", and "Hino Kertapati". Originally, wayang wong was performed only as an aristocratic entertainment in four palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. In the course of time, it spread to become a popular and folk form as well.

reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayang

wayang

Wayang is an Indonesian word for theater. Bayang, the Javanese word for shadow or imagination, also connotes "spirit." When the term is used to refer to puppet theater, the puppet itself is sometimes referred to as wayang. There are many forms of wayang, including dances performed with masks and dramas performed with wooden, jointed puppets, but the most famous is wayang kulit, "shadow puppet theater." Only the silhouette shadows of the puppets are seen, projected onto a cotton screen. Performances of shadow puppet theater are accompanied by gamelan in Java, and by "gender wayang" in Bali. Although wayang may have existed before the arrival of Hindusim in Indonesia, many of the stories in wayang dramas are taken from the Mahabarata or the Ramayana, and portray the ongoing battle between good and evil. Later, wayang was also adapted to promulgate Muslim teachings and beliefs. Wayang plays can last as long as eight hours and are frequently performed during sacred temple ceremonies, at private functions such as weddings, and for the public in the villages.
Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theater in the world. UNESCO designated wayang kulit as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on November 7, 2003.