Refusing to Just Mourn, ‘Punakawan’ Joins Fight Against COVID-19

Amid the Covid-19 epidemic, Semar, Petruk and Gareng were unwilling to just mourn and wanted to join the fight against the epidemic together.

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Civil servants dressed as the punakawan (comical characters in Javanese wayang) Semar, Petruk and Gareng distribute Covid-19 information on Tuesday (12/5/2020) along Jl. Kangraksan in Cirebon municipality, West Java.

Semar, Petruk and Gareng finally left their cosmic dwellings and descended on Cirebon, West Java. They were not about to perform on the stage. Amid the Covid-19 epidemic, they were unwilling to just mourn and wanted to join the fight against the epidemic together.

Under the hot sun on Tuesday (12/05/2020), the punakawan (the comical character in Javanese puppet show) walked along Jl Kangraksan, Cirebon municipality. The character of Semar was played by Agus Badut, 61; Ijot, 57, played Gareng and Ikhwan, 48, played Petruk.