Wayang Kulit Indonesia
Definition
Wayang Kulit is a type of traditional puppet-shadow Play that originated in India and, is now performed in Indonesia. The Indonesian word "wayang" is derived from a word meaning shadow or ghost, while Kulit means leather or skin.
There are many different kinds of Wayang. Wayang Kulit is among the best known, offering a unique combination of ritual, lesson and entertainment.
Lacy shadow images are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil or electric light. The Dalang (shadow artist) manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. Wayang Kulit is often performed during wedding celebrations, especially in Java, Indonesia.
Wayang Kulit Components
There are several components to Wayang Kulit shows, including the Dalang, traditional instrument, Sinden and Wayang Kulit itself.
Dalang (Puppeteer or Puppet Master)
The Dalang sits behind a cotton screen with a light source above him. Softwood logs, traditionally made of banana wood, are placed between the puppeteer and the screen. During the performance, the puppeteer can stick the rods of the puppets into the soft wood, holding them in place. To the right of the puppeteer sits the puppet chest, which the puppet master uses as a drum during the performance, hitting it with a special wooden mallet. Usually, he also has a cymbal-like percussion instrument at his feet that he uses for emphasis or to cue musicians.
Gamelan (Traditional instrument orchestra)
Gamelan is an Indonesian orchestra consisting of bowed stringed instruments, flutes and a great variety of percussion instruments. Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang, which register the beat.
Sinden
Behind the Dalang, the Gamelan music instruments are arranged and played by the Niyogo or the Gamelan's players, as well as Pesinden, the dominant female singers, and Wirasuara, the male singers. The chorus of some pesinden as well as male singers are sitting there too. Pesinden is according to ki joko raharjo, mujoko comes from the word pesindhian, which means rich songs or singing chant tune. Shinden is also called waranggana or sinden "wara" means someone-sex women and "Miroslav" meaning on its own.
Wayang Kulit Puppets
The wayang comes in all sizes, ranging from 25 cm to 75 cm. The important characters are usually represented by several versions in a set. The wayang is usually made out of buffalo and goat hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. However, the best wayang is typically made from young female water buffalo parchment and the curing can take up to ten years. The carving and punching of the rawhide, which is most responsible for the characters' portrayal and the shadows that are cast, are guided by this sketch. A mallet is used to tap special tools, called tatah, to punch the holes through the rawhide. Making the wayang sticks from horn involves a complicated process of sawing, heating, hand-molding, and sanding until the desired effect is achieved. When the rest of the puppet is ready, the artist attaches the handle by carefully and precisely molding the ends of the horn around the individual wayang figure and it is secured with a needle and thread. A large character may take five months or more to produce.
Wayang Kulit Shows
Wayang shadow plays are usually tales from the two major Hindu epics, the Ramayana, and Mahabharata. Each of these tales carries morals or meanings, and a dalang must judge which tale is appropriate for a particular performance. It is often the job of the puppet master to contextualize the plays, making them not only retellings of history but relevant to current community, national or global issues. This type of shadow play is often accompanied by a Gamelan orchestra. Many styles of Gamelan instruments exist throughout Indonesia. Each area has a slightly different approach to accompaniment though most share the same root traditions. Gamelan players respond to the spontaneous timing and direction of the Dalang. The repertoire typically consists of an overture, music for traveling, character pieces, and battle music.
Etymology
Indonesians believe that the term "Wayang" derived from a word meaning "shadow" or "ghost", originating from two ancient words: "Waya" meaning "ancestor or descending", and "Ang" meaning "symbol". On the other hand wayang also comes from the word "Ma Hyang" that means spirit, God or God Almighty.
Wayang, in modern Indonesian language, is loosely translated to mean puppet. Kulit means skin or leather, the material from which the figures are carved.
History
Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India even before the Christian era and was slowly adopted as the local cult. 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. This mixture of religion and wayang play was later praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture. 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 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.
References
- http://www.balibeyond.com/wayang.html
- https://kandabuwana.wordpress.com/about-wayang-kulit/
- http://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~dwa/WayangKulit.html
- http://shadowtheatre-ika.blogspot.co.id/2010/08/history-of-wayang-kulit.html