The Papertoy Network!

Cepot - When The Clown-Servant Became A Knight

Cepot is the name used in Sundanese (West Java - Indonesia), this puppet’s birthplace. Bagong is the more common name in the rest of Java. Originating in the Javanese culture, Cepot / Bagong, clown and servant, has been added to the great Hindu epics, including the Mahabharata.

According to Javanese legend, when the God Ismaya was ordered to go down to earth and become Semar, the guardian of the Knight, the great royal warrior class in Hinduism, Ismaya complained that he would be lonely and needed a friend. The gods caustically replied that he could have his shadow as a friend. When he reached the earth, Semar’s shadow transformed itself into a human form and took the name of Cepot or Bagong.

Almost identical in appearance to Semar, Cepot became one of the panakawan, clown-servants to the Knight. Noted for his impish, sassy jokes and ability to mimic others, using a loud, self-important voice, Cepot and his family of clowns add comic relief to the drama of the ancient Hindu stories. Outwardly stupid, the panakawan in reality are the common sense advisors of the more lofty knights and mask their wisdom with clumsy, lower-class behavior.

Grab the template at http://www.salazad.com/smile

*also big thank to Saltnpaper for the support :)

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Comment by SalAzad on February 15, 2009 at 8:53pm: Thank You Dolly :) i so happy with this first template... yeah yeah yeah!!

Comment by Dolly Oblong on February 15, 2009 at 3:45pm: very nice! love the colours! congrats on your 1st template sal ^__^

Comment by SalAzad on February 12, 2009 at 7:15pm: @ Abz : thank you so much... :) i so happy with my first myown papertoy... it's give me a fresh air...
@dyandic : nuhun kang :)

Comment by dyadic on February 12, 2009 at 9:20am: wantun hade papertoy na!!!its great to introduce our local heritage with a nice papertoy!!good job bro!!let the cepot around the world..hehehe

Comment by Abz on February 11, 2009 at 9:40pm: Great model, Sal! Really nice design and I love the colors. Thanks for sharing some of the mythology surrounding Cepot. Really interesting stuff. Congrats!

Comment by SalAzad on February 11, 2009 at 8:37pm: @ Harlancore : Thank you.. :) and you have great model too... the punxs rules...
@ Saltnpaper : Yes, that sound great... maybe someday the exhibition is a must... and to introduce our local heritage & myths is cool... love it.
@ Methuup da Funky One : Thank for advice, yes u think the background should be white space.. i'll correct the template now... thx again...
@ ADMSXT : Yes, this is my first template... and i so happy of it... from the custom to the creator... lol...
@ thedaydreamkid : Thank you :) hope you like our local character...

Comment by Methuup da Funky One on February 11, 2009 at 11:21am: P.S. I know it looks good when you use colors on the left-over space on a template, but it's using up a heck of a lotta ink. (And jokingly I'd say: "It's not good for the environment")

Comment by ADMSXT on February 11, 2009 at 7:59am: Great :)
It's your own template?

Comment by Methuup da Funky One on February 11, 2009 at 7:34am: Nice one Sal! More of these and I can hear the gamelan music in the background already.

Comment by Saltnpaper on February 11, 2009 at 1:38am: do you think we all should introduce our local heritage through paper toy? it would be amazing if someday we can held 5 international papertoy exhibitions in 5 different countries at the same time which shows all these cultural melting pot..