Ayas
An expression that people in Malang usually use in daily communication to call our him/her self.
Language & Expressions
NounOpen entry →
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Culture-specific expressions
Terms, definitions, context, variants, usage examples, and references from diverse East Javanese cultural communities.
Bapang
A commanding, coarse-mannered character of the cycle, danced with wide stance and abrupt accents; also the name of that movement style.
Performing Arts
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Beskalan
The opening dance of a Malangan performance, danced before the story begins to greet the audience and mark the ground.
Performing Arts
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Boso Walikan
A language variety based on reversing sounds or word forms, developed as a marker of community identity in Malang.
Language & Expressions
Noun · 1 mediaOpen entry →
Boso Walikan Malangan
The reversed speech of Malang: everyday words spelled backwards and spoken as ordinary vocabulary. It began as a code among fighters in the revolution and became a mark of belonging…
Language & Expressions
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Cak
A familiar form of address for men, especially in Arekan cultural settings.
Language & Expressions
Term of Address · 1 mediaOpen entry →
Cerita Panji
The Panji cycle: an East Javanese body of stories about a prince and princess separated, disguised, and reunited, which supplies the plots of the masked theatre.
Performing Arts
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Dewi Sekartaji
The heroine of the cycle, princess of Kediri, whose separation from and reunion with Panji drives the story.
Performing Arts
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Dhalang topeng
The narrator of the masked theatre, who speaks the dialogue for the masked dancers, cues the ensemble, and holds the shape of the whole night.
Social Structure
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Gamelan Malangan
The gamelan ensemble used for the Malangan masked theatre, harder-driven and more drum-led than the court style it grew from.
Performing Arts
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Gunungsari
A refined young nobleman of the cycle, brother of the heroine, whose dance is lighter and quicker than the hero's.
Performing Arts
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Kera Ngalam
A person of Malang: literally "Malang youngster", from arek, "child" or "youngster", reversed. Used as a claim of belonging rather than as a description of age.
Language & Expressions
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Klono Sewandono
The foreign king of the cycle, who desires the princess and is defeated. Danced in the strong style, in a red mask with bulging eyes.
Performing Arts
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Nawak
A friend, from kawan reversed. Often extended to nawak ewed, "our own friend", for someone inside the circle.
Language & Expressions
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Ngalam
Malang, the city, with its letters reversed. The most widely used word of the reversed speech, and the one outsiders learn first.
Language & Expressions
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Ojob
A spouse or partner, from bojo reversed.
Language & Expressions
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Oyi
Yes; agreement, from iyo reversed. Carries an easy, informal warmth.
Language & Expressions
ExpressionOpen entry →
Padepokan
A studio-household where an art is taught, rehearsed and stored: masks on the wall, gamelan in the pavilion, and a teacher whose family lives on the site.
Space & Architecture
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