Wayang is an
Indonesian word for
theatre (literally "
shadow")
When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theater,
sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang.
",
the
Javanese word for shadow or
imagination, also connotes "spirit."
Performances of shadow
puppet theater are accompanied by gamelan in
Java
, and by
"gender wayang" in Bali
.
UNESCO
designated
Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theater and the best
known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece
of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003. In
return of the acknowledgment, UNESCO demanded Indonesia to preserve
their heritage.
History of Wayang Kulit
Wayang is
a generic term denoting traditional theatre in Indonesia
. There is no evidence that wayang existed
before
Hinduism came to
Southeast Asia sometime in the first century
CE brought in by Indian traders. However, there very well may have
been indigenous storytelling traditions that had a profound impact
on the development of the traditional puppet theatre. The first
record of a wayang performance is from an inscription dated 930 CE
which says
"si Galigi mawayang," or "Sir Galigi played
wayang". From that time till today it seems certain features of
traditional puppet theatre have remained. Galigi was an itinerant
performer who was requested to perform for a special royal
occasion. At that event he performed a story about the hero Bhima
from the
Mahabharata.
Wayang is
also known as Wayang Kulit Kelantan in the East Coast of Peninsular
Malaysia, especially those in Kelantan
and Terengganu
. They are physically different in form,
language and music with those in Indonesia. In Malaysia, the
Indonesian version of Wayang is known as Wayang Kulit Jawa.
Wayang Kulit is a very unique form of theatre employing the
principle of light and shadow. The puppets are crafted from buffalo
hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. When held up behind a piece of
white cloth, with an electric bulb or an oil lamp as the light
source, shadows are cast on the screen.
Wayang Kulit plays are invariably based on romantic tales,
especially adaptations of the classic Indian epics, "The
Mahabarata" and "The Ramayana". Some of the plays are also based on
local happenings (current issues) or other local secular stories.
It is up to the conductor or "Tok Dalang" to decide his
direction.
A Dalang performing Wayang Kulit in
Java, circa 1890.
The Dalang is the genius behind the entire performance. It is he
who sits behind the screen and narrates the story. With a
traditional orchestra in the background to provide a resonant
melody and its conventional rhythm, the Dalang modulates his voice
to create suspense thus heightening the drama. Invariably, the play
climaxes with the triumph of good over evil.
Hinduism
arrived in Indonesia from India
even before
the Christian era, and was slowly
adopted as the local belief system. Sanskrit became the literary and court language of
Java and later of
Bali. The Hindus changed the
Wayang (as
did the
Muslims, later) to spread their
religion, mostly by stories from the
Mahabharata or the
Ramayana. Later this mixture of religion and
wayang play was praised as harmony between Hinduism and
traditional Indonesian culture.
On Java, the western part of Sumatra
and some
smaller islands traditionalists continued to play the old stories
for some time, but the influence of Hinduism prevailed and the
traditional stories either fell into oblivion or were integrated
into the Hinduistic plays.
The
figures of the wayang are also present in the paintings of
that time, for example, the roof murals of the courtroom in
Klungkung
, Bali. They are still present in traditional
Balinese painting today.
When
Islam began spreading in Indonesia, the
display of
God or
gods in human form was prohibited, and thus
this style of painting and shadow play was suppressed. King
Raden Patah of Demak, Java,
wanted to see the
wayang in its traditional form, but
failed to obtain permission from the Muslim religious leaders. As
an alternative, the religious leaders converted the
wayang
golek into
wayang purwa made from
leather, and displayed only the shadow instead of
the figures itself. Instead of the forbidden figures only their
shadow picture was displayed, the birth of the
wayang
kulit.
The figures are painted, flat woodcarvings (a maximum of 5 to
15 mm thick -- barely half an inch) with movable arms. The
head is solidly attached to the body.
Wayang klitik can be
used to perform puppet plays either during the day or at night.
This type of
wayang is relatively rare.
Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of
puppet theatre in the world. Hundreds of people will stay up all
night long to watch the superstar performers, dalang, who command
extravagant fees and are international celebrities. Some of the
most famous dalang in recent history are Ki Nartosabdho, Ki Anom
Suroto, Ki Asep Sunarya, Ki Sugino, and Ki Manteb Sudarsono.
Wayang kulit
Wayang kulit as seen from the shadow
side
Wayang kulit,
shadow puppets prevalent in Java
and Bali in
Indonesia, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian
wayang. Kulit means skin, and refers to the leather
construction of the puppets that are carefully chiseled with very
fine tools and supported with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles
and control rods.
The stories are usually drawn from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or
the
Serat Menak.
There is a family of characters in Javanese wayang called
Punakawan; they are sometimes
referred to as "clown-servants" because they normally are
associated with the story's hero, and provide humorous and
philosophical interludes.
Semar is the father
of
Gareng (oldest son),
Petruk, and
Bagong (youngest
son). These characters did not originate in the Hindu epics, but
were added later, possibly to introduce mystical aspects of Islam
into the Hindu-Javanese stories. They provide something akin to a
political
cabaret, dealing with gossip and
contemporary affairs.
The puppets figures themselves vary from place to place.
In
Central
Java
the city of Surakarta
(Solo) is most famous and is the most commonly
imitated style of puppets. Regional styles of shadow puppets can
also be found in West
Java
, Banyumas
, Cirebon
, Semarang
, and East Java.
Bali produces more compact and naturalistic figures, and Lombok has
figures representing real people. Often modern-world objects as
bicycles, automobiles, airplanes and ships will be added for comic
effect, but for the most part the traditional puppet designs have
changed little in the last 300 years.
Historically, the performance consisted of shadows cast on a cotton
screen and an
oil lamp. Today, the source
of light used in wayang performance in Java is most often a halogen
electric light. Some modern forms of wayang such as Wayang Sandosa
created in the
Art
Academy at Surakarta has employed
spotlights, colored lights and
other innovations.
The handwork involved in making a
wayang kulit figure that
is suitable for a performance takes several weeks, with the artists
working together in groups. They start from master models
(typically on paper) which are traced out onto
kulit (skin
or
parchment), providing the figures with
an outline and with indications of any holes that will need to be
cut (such as for the mouth or eyes). The figures are then smoothed,
usually with a glass bottle, and primed. The structure is inspected
and eventually the details are worked through. A further smoothing
follows before individual painting, which is undertaken by yet
another craftsman. Finally, the movable parts (upper arms, lower
arms with hands and the associated sticks for manipulation) mounted
on the body, which has a central staff by which it is held. A crew
makes up to ten figures at a time, typically completing that number
over the course of a week.
The painting of less expensive puppets is handled expediently with
a spray technique, using templates, and with a different person
handling each color. Less expensive puppets, often sold to children
during performances, are sometimes made on cardboard instead of
leather.
Wayang topeng or wayang gedog or wayang
wong
An act in the
wayang wong performance.
Wayang wong also known as
Wayang orang (literally
human wayang) is a type of theatrical performance with themes from
the kingdom of
Jenggala, in which the
players wear masks known as
wayang topeng or
wayang
gedog. The word
"gedog" comes from
"kedok",
which, like
"topeng" means "mask". The main theme is the
story of
Raden Panji and
Candra. This is a love story about
princess Candra Kirana of
Kediri and Raden Panji
Asmarabangun, the crown prince of Jenggala. Candra Kirana was the
incarnation of
Dewi Ratih (goddess of
love) and Panji was an incarnation of
Kamajaya (god of love). Kirana's story was given
the title
"Smaradahana" ("The
fire of love"). At the end of the complicated story they finally
can marry and bring forth a son, named
Raja
Putra. Panji Asmarabangun ruled Jenggala under the official
names "
Sri Kameswara", "
Prabu Suryowiseso", and "
Hino Kertapati".
Originally,
wayang wong was performed only as an aristocratic
entertainment in four palaces of Yogyakarta
and Surakarta. In the course of time, it spread to become
a popular and folk form as well.
Wayang wong has fixed patterns of movement and
costume:
For male performers:
- Alus: very slow, elegant and smooth movement. For
example, the dance of Arjuna, Puntadewa and all other slimly built Kshatriyas. There are two types of movement,
lanyap and luruh.
- Gagah:
- Kambeng: a more athletic dance, used for the roles of
Bima, Antareja, and
Ghatotkacha.
- Bapang: gagah and kasar for the
warriors of Kaurawa.
- Kalang kinantang: falls somewhere between
alus and gagah, danced by tall, slim dancers in
the roles of Kresno or Suteja.
- Kasar: a coarse style, used in portraying ogres and demons.
- Gecul: ponokawan and cantrik
For female performers:Kshatriya noblemen. Costumes and props
distinguish kings, Kshatriyas, monks, princesses,The movements
known as
nggruda or
ngenceng encot in the
classical high style of dance consist of nine basic movements
(
joged pokok) and twelve other movements (
joged
gubahan and
joged wirogo) and are used in portraying
Bedoyo and
Srimpi.
Today, the
wayang wong, following the
Gagrak
style of Surakarta, is danced by women. They follow the
alus movements associated with a Kshatriya, resembling
Arjuna. Following the
Gagkra style from Yogyakarta a male
dancer uses these same
Alus movements to depict princes
and generals. There are about 45 distinct character types.
Wayang golek (rod puppets)
A pair of wayang golek from West
Java
Wayang golek are wooden doll puppets that are operated from below
by rods connected to the hands and a central control rod that runs
through the body to the head. The simple construction of the
puppets belies their versatility, expressiveness and aptitude for
imitating human dance.
Little is known for certain about the
history of wayang golek, but scholars have speculated that it most
likely originated in China
and arrived
in Java sometime in the 17th century. Some of the oldest
traditions of wayang golek are from the north coast of Java in what
is called the pasisir region. This is home to some of the oldest
Muslim kingdoms in Java and it is likely the
wayang golek grew in popularity through telling the wayang menak
stories of
Amir Hamza, the uncle of
Muhammad.
These stories are still widely performed in
Kabumen, Tegal, and Jepara as wayang
golek menak, and in Cirebon, wayang golek
cepak. Legendary origins of wayang golek attribute their
invention to the Muslim saint
Wali
Sunan Kudus, who used the medium to proselytize Muslim values.
In the 18th century the tradition moved into the mountains of West
Java where it eventually was used to tell stories of the Ramayana
and the Mahabarata in a tradition now called wayang golek purwa,
which can be found in Bandung, Bogor and Jakarta.
Wayang golek purwa has become the most
popular form of wayang golek today and the most famous puppeteer
family is the
Sunarya family which
has produced several generations of stellar performers.
Wayang karucil or wayang klitik
Wayang klitik image of Batara Guru
Wayang klitik figures occupy a middle ground between the
figures of
wayang golek and
wayang kulit. They
are constructed similarly to
wayang kulit figures, but
from thin pieces of wood instead of leather, and, like
wayang
kulit figures, are used as shadow puppets. A further
similarity is that they are the same smaller size as
wayang
kulit figures. However, wood is more subject to breakage than
leather. During battle scenes,
wayang klitik figures often
sustain considerable damage, much to the amusement of the public,
but in a country in which before 1970 there were no adequate glues
available, breakage generally meant an expensive, newly made
figure. On this basis the
wayang klitik figures, which are
to appear in plays where they have to endure battle scenes, have
leather arms. The name of these figures is onomotopaeic, from the
sound
klitik-klitik, that these figures make when worked
by the
dalang.
Wayang klitik figures come originally from
eastern Java, where one still finds workshops
turning them out. They are less costly to produce than
wayang
kulit figures.
The origin of the stories involved in these puppet plays comes from
the kingdoms of eastern Java:
Jenggala,
Kediri and
Majapahit. From Jenggala and Kediri come the
stories of Raden Panji and
Cindelaras,
which tells of the adventures of a pair of village youngsters with
their
fighting cocks. The
Damarwulan presents the stories of a hero
(
Damarwulan) from Majapahit.
Damarwulan
is a clever chap, who with courage, aptitude, intelligence and the
assistance of his young lover Anjasmara, makes a surprise
attack on the neighboring kingdom and brings down Minakjinggo, an Adipati (viceroy)
of Blambangan
and mighty enemy of Majapahit's beautiful queen
Sri Ratu Kencanawungu.
As a reward,
Damarwulan is married to
Kencanawungu and becomes king of Majapahit; he also takes
Lady Anjasmara as a second wife. This story is full of
love affairs and battles and is very popular with the public. The
dalang is liable to incorporate the latest local gossip
and quarrels and work them into the play as comedy.
Wayang beber
The
wayang beber has strong similarities to narratives in
the form of
illustrated ballads that
were common at annual fairs in medieval and early modern
Europe. They have also been subject to the same
fate—they have nearly vanished. Chinese visitors to Java during the
15th century described a storyteller or unrolled scrolls and told
stories that made the audience laugh or cry. A few scrolls of
images remain from those times, found today in museums. There are
two sets, hand-painted on hand-made bark cloth, that are still
owned by families who have inherited them from many generations
ago, in Pacitan and Wonogiri, both villages in Central Java.
Performances, mostly in small open-sided pavilions or auditoriums,
take place according to the following pattern:
The dhalang (puppeteer, narrator) gives a sign, the small gamelan
orchestra with drummer and a few knobbed gongs and a musician with
a rebab (violin-like instrument held vertically) begins to play and
the dhalang unrolls the first scroll of the story. Then, speaking
and singing, he narrates the episode in more detail. In this
manner, in the course of the evening he unrolls several scrolls one
at a time. Each scene in the scrolls represents a story or part of
a story. The content of the story typically stems from the Panji
romances which are semi-historical legends set in the 12th-13th
century East Javanese kingdoms of Jenggala, Daha and Kedhiri, and
also in Bali.
Wayang Sadat
This newly developed form is used by teachers of Islam to show the
principles of Muslim ethics and religion to the natives of Java and
Bali.
Wayang Wahyu
This form was created in the 1960s by the Javanese
Jesuit Bruder (Brother) Timotheus L.
Wignyosoebroto (modern spelling Wignyosubroto) who sought to show
the
Javanese and other Indonesians the
teachings of the
Catholic Church in
a manner accessible ot the audience. In the beginning, the puppets
were often made of paper because it was less expensive than the
traditional water
buffalo hide. It became a popular as an alternative method of
telling
Bible stories.
Notes
- Poplawska 2004
- Poplawska 2004
References
- This article was initially translated from the German-language
Wikipedia article.
- Poplawska, Marzanna. Asian Theatre Journal. Fall 2004,
Vol. 21 p. 194-202
Further reading
- Brandon, James (1970) On Thrones of Gold — Three
Javanese Shadow Plays. Harvard University Press
- Clara van Groenendael, Victoria (1985) The Dalang Behind
the Wayang. Dordrecht, Foris
- Keeler, Ward (1987) Javanese Shadow Plays, Javanese
Selves. Princeton University Press
- Keeler, Ward (1992) Javanese Shadow Puppets. OUP
- Long, Roger (1982) Javanese shadow theatre: Movement and
characterization in Ngayogyakarta wayang kulit. Umi Research
Press
- Mellema, R.L. (1988) Wayang Puppets: Carving, Colouring,
Symbolism. Amsterdam, Royal Tropical Institute, Bulletin
315.
- Mudjanattistomo (1976) Pedhalangan Ngayogyakarta.
Yogyakarta (in Javanese)
- Soedarsono (1984) Wayang Wong. Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada
University Press
See also
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