Balinese Topeng dance and drama. A sort of advertiser for the ancestral ethos, the Penasar Kelihan is a large, bluff figure who first introduces the story and its principal figures. His first words are usually in Kawi, or Old Javanese, and he may also sing in Middle Javanese, thus sounding the languages of the past and recapitulating the linguistic history of the island before he sets up the story in Balinese. As the drama progresses, he serves as an obsequious servant to the Dalem, or King, and to the Dalem's Ministers, as well as a translator and commentator.