Imbang Jayo is the antagonist of the Kaba Cindua Mato, a foreign prince who claims the princess Puti Bungsu already promised to Dang Tuanku of Pagaruyung. His rivalry with Dang Tuanku and his enmity with the hero Cindua Mato precipitate the epic's wars, and his defeat at Cindua Mato's hands secures the bride and vindicates the Pagaruyung house. As the disruptive outsider whose overreaching claim threatens the proper order, he serves in the moral scheme of the kaba as the foil against whom the values of loyalty, cunning and legitimate descent are affirmed.