Kenyawandu - (Wayang Kulit)

Kenyawandu - the giant wandu (housewife)

Title	Kenyawandu - (Patih) - Mahabharata
Other names
Size	55 cm
Personal data	Kenyawandu is a giant wandu (housewife), being the head of all the monsters of the monster kingdom or the king's nanny host.
Appearance	Kenyawandu with white eyes, nose shaped like the bow of a boat, mouth ngab!ak (open), teeth and fangs. A little disheveled, loose hair in clumps. Edited with long flower kluwih. Ringing, popping, and curling. Dressed in rags and long pants. Tucked in the waist is the Wedung weapon, which is a machete with a sharp tip and a wooden sheath. This weapon is only a sign that the wearer is a servant of the king. When this servant enters the palace grounds, he must slip his headscarf on the left side of his waist. Wedung is only used to ask for something when facing the king.
Collection	Private collection

Kenyawandu – (Patih) – Mahabharata

This wayang is used in any play as a patih with the name of the puppeteer, for example: Cantekawarti, Kepetmega and others. She is magical and can fly in space. Kenyawandu is also used for sengkalan (calculation of the year with a sentence) which reads: Buta nembah rarasing nata which when calculated becomes the numerical year 1525.

Before Kenyawandu, on the king's order, married off to go to another country, Kenyawandu's puppets were ridiculed and the puppeteer said the following: "Pratiknyawati's mistress (this name can be replaced as the puppeteer likes) immediately went out to the square after she received the king's order. Even if she is a raseksi (female monster), her powers are no different from men. So he was appointed as a leader in the country and always completed his duties well. At the moment he received the king's order for the fairies to go to the Antahberantah country and will soon mate. It is clear that this monster is a race of subtle humans. Although it is the size of a dry areca nut, it can also mate. Alkisah inang Pratiknyawati opened her cloth and slipped her trousers. Then look up to the sky with the earth and it will mate as fast as lightning".

Some people think that Kenyawandu symbolizes the king's faith. Because he is neither a man nor a woman, he gets the king's trust to mix with both men and women, because people like Kenyawandu don't need to be jealous of anyone. So the king's trust is given to someone who is pure on the inside. In the same way, the roughness of a person's heart can be seen from his appearance and behavior.

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Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982