Hanuman is a monkey general in the Ramayana, an Indian epic poem. In this poem, Hanuman is the general who commands the monkey army fighting for the hero, Rama. Hanuman assists Rama in building a bridge from India to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and helps Rama rescue the hero’s wife, Sita, from Ravana, the demon king of Ceylon. See Ramayana.
In Indonesia, Hanuman is a favorite figure in the wayang kulit (shadow theater). In the Malay-language version of the story, Rama and his wife, Sita Dewi, are turned into monkeys after bathing in a forbidden pool. They later turn back into human beings. However, when their son, Hanuman, is born, he turns out to be a monkey.
Despite the character’s Indian origins, Hanuman features prominently in Indonesian culture. In addition to shadow theater, he is depicted in Indonesian dances, paintings, dramas, and sculptures. In Bali, the kecak dance, with its monkey chorus, portrays Hanuman’s journey to Lanka (Sri Lanka) and his adventures there.
