Ringgit is described in an 11th-century Javanese poem as a leather shadow figure.

Around 860 CE an Old Javanese (Kawi) charter issued by Maharaja Sri Lokapala mentions three sorts of performers: atapukan, aringgit, and abanol. The oldest known record that probably concerns wayang is from the 9th century.

Chinese origin: the least popular theory, it is based on the evidence that puppet arts based on animism existed in ancient China (1000 CE) and it may have been the 'place of origin of all Asian shadow theatre', according to Brandon.

This suggests, state some scholars such as Hazeu, that wayang has indigenous roots. Similarly, some of the other technical terms used in the wayang kulit found in Java and Bali are based on local languages, even when the play overlaps with Buddhist or Hindu mythologies.

Indigenous origin: the word wayang is not found in Indian languages, but is Javanese.

Jivan Pani states that wayang developed from two arts of Odisha in Eastern India, the Ravana Chhaya puppet theatre and the Chhau dance. Indian mythologies and characters from the Hindu epics feature in many of the major plays performed, all of which suggest possible Indian origins, or at least an influence in the pre-Islamic period of Indonesian history. Some characters such as the Vidusaka in Sanskrit drama and Semar in wayang are very similar. Further, the coastal region of Southern India (Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) which most interacted with Indonesian islands has had an intricate, leather-based puppet art called tholu bommalata, which shares many elements with wayang. Puppet arts and dramatic plays have been documented in ancient Indian texts, dated to the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE and the early centuries of the common era.

Indian origin: this is the generally favored theory, since Hinduism and Buddhism arrived on the Indonesian islands in the early centuries of the 1st millennium, and along with theology, the peoples of Indonesia and Indian subcontinent exchanged culture, architecture and traded goods.

The origins of wayang are unclear, and three competing theories have been proposed:

The earliest evidence is from the late 1st millennium CE, in medieval-era texts and archeological sites. There is no evidence that wayang existed in ancient Indonesia. Wayang is the traditional shadow puppet theatre in Indonesia and other southeast Asian countries.

Eksposisi basa jawa wayang kulit