Occasionally, the dalang will create the names of places and characters. Based on the guideline that the kawi name which is given accurately fits the place or person, a dalang may create place and character names for the play. For example, a dalang may call a location of the dramatic action Tirta Kadasar. Tirta means water and Kadasar means the bottom, the base, or foundation. Thus, the name indicates a place underneath a river, sea, or ocean. This mythical place may be inhabited by a character namely Rekata Yaksi. Rekata means crab and yaksi means female ogre. The name indicates a giant female crab or an ogress disguised as a crab that lives deep in the ocean.
The model for such new minting of names is modeled after practices found in the epics. Many established names of places mentioned in the epics, such as Astina, Amerta, Indra Wiprasta, etc. are identified or associated with a specific situation and atmosphere.
Characters such as Rahwana, Kumbakarna, Meganada, Dharmawangsa, Salya, etc, suggest the specific profile and attribute of the character. For a demonic name, a dalang may create the name Detya Laya Berawa, which means a ‘fearful flying terrorist’ (detya means terrorist; laya means flying; berawa means fearful).
Major names in wayang theatre often consist of two or three separate words. For example, the name of Rama’s two sons is Kusa and Lawa. Kusa means ambengan grass and lawa means refuse. Thus, the name suggests that the twin babies were born over grass clippings that have been discarded. A name with three separate words like Lata Mahosadi means a super medicine leaf. Lata means leaf. Mahosadi is a combined word.
Maha means super and usadi means medicine. In the Mahabharata we find precedence.
For example, the author of the Mahabharata is Kresna Dwipayana. His name means the journey through a black island (kresna means black; dwipa means island; yana means travel. This pattern has clearly been adapted from the epics to use in modern extensions of the story created by the dalang.
Since a dalang is expected to create names that serve specific purposes and suggest particular meanings, there is a need to knit two or more words into one to
produce a single new word or name. In doing so, some letters or vowels of the combined words would match and produce a new sound. Consequently, there is a rule leading to the final sound of combining vowel a, i, u, e, and o. Any two combinations of the first three vowels (a i u) becomes either one of the last two vowel (e or o). For example.
Vowels a + i = e, so that nara + indra = narendra. Nara means human; indra means king.
Vowels a + u = o, so that warka + udara becomes warkodara. Warka means dog; udara means stomach or air. Warkodara is the nickname of Bima whose abdomen is like that of a dog’s belly. Thus, if I were to combine, say, Bali with Athens, the result would surely become Balethens, because i + a or a + i = e.
Any combination of the same vowel becomes the longer version of that vowel.
Thus, unlike math, a + a = long Ɨ, so that sunya + antara becomes sunyƗntara. Sunia means quiet; antara means in between. Thus, sunyƗntara signifies a place in between two quiet places. If I were to combine, say, Ameri with Indo, they would surely become AmerƯndo, because i + i = Ư. In wayang theatre this name is enough to signify the America plus Indonesia.
Twisting words like democracy into demo-crazy and nostalgia into nostalgila is also often employed. Making vowel and consonant shifts like “Are you a lawyer or liar?” and eventual assimilation due to daily utterances are common techniques used in composing dialogues, naming a place or character. For example, Salya, a knight who does not follow tradition in honoring his father-in-law, derives his name from soleh (strange) + ya (he). Salya’s previous name was Narakusuma. His father-in-law, Detya Kala Darma, begins to call him Salya since he develops a strange behavior. He ironically wants Kala Darma to die, although he loves his daughter, Kacawati. Thus, based on those practical needs, linguistic rules or descriptions of characters, dalang create names of places and characters for the wayang. New names are primarily created for original stories, but may also be created for existing branch-story repertoires. When a dalang wants to perform the branch story Bimaniu’s Expedition, for example, he cannot change the kakawin-based names like Bimaniu, Duryodana in Astina, Kresna in Dwarawati
kingdom that belong to the trunk or main plot of the story. But he may well change the names of the king Puspadanta, the Simbar Sumedang kingdom, the princess Puspitawati, etc. that belong to the branch or newly created plot. The creation may be needed because the dalang forgets the existing names or because the dalang needs to create a certain allusion or social commentary with those particular names.
In Wija’s Jayantaka naming the new place and characters has been very
thoughtful and has followed the conventional logic. Jayantaka is composed of two words:
jaya (victorious) and antaka (death). Thus, Jayantaka means the death of his victory, for he does not use his wealth and power correctly. Putu Lingga Subawa is a common name of a man, but the value lies in the literary meaning. Putu means the first son. Lingga (phallic) refers to the male power of the God Siwa as opposed to yoni (vulva) female power of his wife. Subawa derived from two words: su (excellent) and bhawa (aura).
Thus, the name refers to and signifies the value of the God Siwa. The name Kadek Parwati is another popular name of a woman. But, when it is combined with
Bawaneswari Yonidewi, the name becomes too impressive, too beautiful, and too longs a name for a common woman, especially when the character is featured by such an ugly female puppet. In one way, the theatrical purpose is to poke fun at an ugly woman by giving her a beautiful name. Many dalangs love to feature conceited female characters.
On the other hand, the name is appropriate to the divine origin of the character, the Goddess Umadewi or Giriputri. Kadek means a second child, while Parwati is another name of the goddess Umadewi, Siwa’s consort. Bawaneswari is derived from Bawa-nare-swari. Bawa is the same as bhawa which means aura. Nare is the same as nara, which means human. Swari means consort. Yoni means vulva and dewi means goddess.
Thus, the name basically suggests the second child as the God Siwa’s consort, who is now the female power of Siwa in human form. Redundancy is not avoided in Balinese arts but it is rather encouraged as long as it produces a more impressive aesthetic
sensibility or emotion. This name well epitomizes the divine value of the character; but at the same time it helps to accomplish the theatrical purpose to make-fun of the character.
As the name of the kingdom, Kencana Pura means a golden place. Kencana means gold, while pura means a holy place.
In Sudarma’s Bambang Kumbayana, the names of places, weapons, and most of the characters are typical. However, the word putri in the name of Jim Bambang Putri sounds unusual and is not very appropriate as an allusion for a demonic character,
because in the Balinese language the word putri means princess. This demon has nothing to do with a princess or a lady, specifically as far as this story is presented. If the word putri is meant to indicate its female/mother’s constituent for his compassion and salvific role to cure Kumbayana and Aswatama, a better choice of name would have been J. B.
Usadhi. Usadhi means medicine for he cures Kumbayana and Aswatama. Or, he may have been called J. B. Sidhi. Sidhi means fruitful for his curing action is very powerful.