Indonesian Puppetry

    According to http://discover-indo.tierranet.com/wayang.html Wayang Kulit in Central Java is probably one of the oldest continuous traditions of storytelling in the world, and certainly among the most highly developed. Flat and round puppets, called the Wayang are used for Java puppet shows. These are used as shadow puppets and are usually made of leather, as shown below. Wayang is actually the Indonesian word for "shadow."

    Wayang Kulit style puppetry has been established well over one thousand years ago and is viewed as a highlight of their culture. In Wayang puppet shows the puppets on the right are good characters and the puppets on the left represent bad characters, the two inches in between then puppets is considered their stage.What the audience sees at this type of performance is that of a magical event, people truly feel like these puppets have come to life. Wayang Kulit performances are usually performed on special occasions such as holidays, religious festivals, birth celebrations and even cremations.

    Wayang Golek puppets are wooden rod puppets that perform the Hindu cycles and also an Islamic Arabian adventure cycle. (http://www.art-pacific.com/artifacts/indonesi/puppets/wayang.htm) These type of puppets are usually created in family workshops and the master carver makes the heads, he does this because the head represents the personality of the puppet.

    The image above is showing the detail that the master carver puts into the Wayang Golek puppets head, the head is roughed out from soft wood and the details are chiseled in. 

    The stages in Indonesian puppet theatres are screens of white cloth with colored borders. Long banana stems, usually two or three are placed and secured below the screen. Then the puppet masters drive the sticks of the puppets that won't be used in this play into the top banana stem starting at the outer edges with the largest puppets from each of the opposing sides and stepping down towards the center to the smallest. A gamelon is an Indonesian orchestra consisting of about thirty instruments and this is typically played during a puppet performance. (http://www.dcgamelan.com/ensemblespage.html)

    When looking for a video on you tube, I found one that incorporates the gamelon style music and is a viewing of the Wayang Kulit puppet performance.

    Wayang puppetry has been claimed to be the "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity," by UNESCO (http://www.helium.com/items/115672-introduction-to-indonesian-wayang-puppetry-and-entertainment), it is rich in value and very unique with a high quality of art and great beauty.