The surviving main myth can be summarised as follows:
Once upon a time, the god Siwa was lonely, having cursed his wife, the
goddess Parwati, and forced her to live as the demoness Durga in the Setra
Gandamayu cemetery. Overpowered by sexual longing for Parwati, Siwa transformed
himself into the frightening demon Kala Ludraka, and his sexual union with
Durgaresulted in numerous demonic beings that instigated a widespread
pestilence throughout the world. To restore the security and harmony of the
world, the triple gods (Sanghyang Tri Semaya) Brahma, Wisnu and Iswara
transformed themselves into three priests and created Wayang puppet theatre.
Brahma became the priest Tapowangkeng and served as the dalang’s right-hand
assistant; Wisnu became the priest
Salukat and served as the dalang’s left-hand
assistant; and Iswara became the priest Lotatia and served as the dalang
himself to perform the first-invented Wayang Kulit shadowpuppet theatre. The
guardian gods of the four directions (Sanghyang Catur Loka Phala), that is the
gods Indra, Kuwera, Yama and Baruna, became the musicians who played the four
instruments of the Gender Wayang orchestra.
The performance Lotatia enacted showed Siwa and
Parwati, forgetting their divine origin, becoming the demonic Kala Ludraka and
Durga, and giving birth to deadly pestilence throughout the world. However, by
being entertained by Lotatia’s performance, these demons were all reminded of
their divine origin. Calmed, Kala Ludraka returned to Siwa, and Durga to the
goddess Parwati. As their demonic spirits were pacified, pestilence vanishes,
and human welfare was restored (Ramseyer, 1986: 200).
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