Gelaran 2 · Gunungbang · Bejiharjo · Karangmojo · Gunungkidul
Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya
Wayang Beber is a traditional form of visual storytelling in which painted scenes are presented sequentially as a dalang unfolds the scroll and narrates the story.
In Gelaran 2, Bejiharjo, Karangmojo, Gunungkidul, the tradition is preserved through Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya, a family heirloom associated with the Panji story tradition. The collection is recorded as a cultural heritage object by the cultural heritage information system of Yogyakarta.
THE STORY OF PANJI
Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya presents episodes from the Panji tradition, a major narrative tradition in Javanese culture.
The story follows journeys, encounters, separation, disguise, conflict, and the search for reunion. Through painted scenes and oral narration, the visual scroll becomes a medium through which stories are remembered and transmitted.
THE SCROLLS
The documented collection consists of four scrolls covering 16 scenes:
Scroll I — Scenes 1–4
Scroll II — Scenes 5–8
Scroll III — Scenes 9–12
Scroll IV — Scenes 13–16
The cultural heritage documentation records the scrolls as Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya and notes that they are preserved as family heirlooms in Gelaran 2.
A FAMILY HERITAGE
The Wayang Beber has been passed down through generations. The current custodian identified in the cultural heritage documentation is Wisto Utomo, who is recorded as the fifteenth-generation heir.
Its continuity is therefore not only a matter of preserving an old visual object. It also involves the transmission of memory, knowledge, performance practices, and cultural responsibility.
VISUAL STORYTELLING
Unlike a conventional painting that remains fixed on a wall, Wayang Beber unfolds through time.
The image, the sequence of scenes, the voice of the dalang, and the act of opening the scroll together create a form of visual storytelling.
This makes Wayang Beber an important meeting point between painting, performance, narrative, memory, and community.
FROM HERITAGE TO CONTEMPORARY CULTURE
Wayang Beber continues to provide possibilities for research, education, creative practice, publishing, multimedia interpretation, and cultural tourism. Recent research has specifically examined the creative-industry potential of Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya in developing a cultural-educational tourism village.
At CAHAYA LAUTAN, Wayang Beber is approached not simply as an object from the past, but as living cultural knowledge—a tradition that can continue to generate dialogue between heritage and contemporary creativity.
GELARAN 2
Gelaran 2, Bejiharjo, Karangmojo, Gunungkidul
Here, the story of Wayang Beber remains connected to place, family, community, and cultural memory.
The story continues through every generation that chooses to remember, interpret, and share it.