Shadow Puppets
Wayang kulit performance by Indonesia's leading puppeteer,
Ki ANOM SUROTO.
Storytelling with puppets
Wayang kulit (Hanacaraka: ​ꦏꦸꦭꦶꦠ꧀) is a traditional Indonesian art
that mainly developed in Central and East Java. Wayang comes from
the word "Ma Hyang" which means leading to a spiritual spirit, deity, or God Almighty. There are also those who interpret wayang as a Javanese term meaning "shadow", this is because the audience can also watch the puppet from behind the screen or only the shadow. Wayang kulit is played by a dalang who is also the narrator of the dialogue of the puppet characters, accompanied by gamelan music played by a group of nayaga and songs sung by singers. The dalang plays wayang kulit behind the screen, which is a screen made of white cloth, while behind it an electric lamp or oil lamp (blencong) is illuminated, so that the audience on the other side of the screen can see the shadow of the puppet falling onto the screen. To be able to understand the wayang story (play), the audience must have knowledge of the wayang characters whose shadows appear on the screen.
In general, wayang takes stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana
scripts, but it is not limited to these standards, the ki dalang can
also play carangan plays (compositions). Some stories are taken from Panji stories, as well as spiritual stories from Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism.
The shadow puppet show was recognized by UNESCO on November 7, 2003,
as an amazing cultural work in the field of narrative stories and
beautiful and precious heritage (Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible
Heritage of Humanity). Wayang kulit is more popular in central and
eastern Java, while wayang golek is more often played in West Java