It was during a trip to Java that Retour De Voyage came across this intriguing theatre mask. The details and bright colours immediately dazzled us, almost forgetting the disproportionate beak that would have cut off Cyrano de Bergerac's speech! It is a rock, it is a peak, it is a cape! What do I say, it's a cape? It is a peninsula!

The Mahabharata ("The Great War of the Bhārata" or "Great Story of the Bhārata") is a Sanskrit epic of Hindu mythology. It is a mythic-historical saga, containing warlike deeds that are said to have taken place around the end of the first millennium B.C. This immense epic contains multiple micro-narratives, episodes and digressions, revolving around one main plot: a dynastic struggle between two royal families, with the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapura at stake. This struggle lasts for years and has several reversals of fortune. In Indonesia, this epic is very common in the country's folklore. As a result, many performances have been staged in Indonesian theatres. Among the three forms of theatre present in Indonesia, masked theatre is one of the oldest forms of theatre.

Retour De Voyage has selected this painted wooden mask, which allowed the actors who wore it to represent the stories of the Mahabharata and to transmit teachings in psychology, political science, ethics, history and spirituality.