Friday, August 19, 2011

Wayang Kulit - Indonesian Shadow Puppets

Near Salatiga, our group traveled to watch, learn, and participate in one of the more famous parts of Javanese culture, the Wayang Kulit.  This is an advanced from of storytelling using intricately made puppets that are manipulated behind a white screen with back light, so the audience can see the shadow puppets.  The performance is accompanied by music from a gamelan orchestra, which often features a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs, bamboo flutes, and bowed and plucked strings, most all of which we experienced and can be seen in the photos below.  Vocalists were included in the place we visited, along with a more modern touch of a keyboard.


Most everyone from our group got a chance to try
playing the gamelan!  The sound coming out wasn't
that great, but definitely a learning experience.
We also got to practice with the puppets.
Although puppets makes it sound simple, it's a bit
more complicated than what one might think.

After we had our fun and shot at it, the pros got
behind their respective instruments and gave us a
show!  It was much more pleasant to the ears and
the music definitely adds to the story.


Traditionally Wayang Kulit performances start in the later evening
and run all night long!  Totaling anywhere from 7-10 hours!
Thankfully we only watched a shortened version in the afternoon
for about 3 or 4 hours, but it was still enough to bore many from our
group and maybe even one of the younger vocalists to stay
focused (see above).  The performances can be done on their own, but
are often in connection with another cultural celebration.
 
On the right you can see the main drummer, his position is key in leading the music, keeping the beat, and signaling when to
start and finish.

This is where the action happens!  The performance screen can be seen with the dalang, storyteller, sitting cross-legged in the front.  Lined up on either side of the white screen are the puppets, one side full of good characters and the other with bad characters.  Each character is precisely made with intricate holes and designs so the audience can distinguish the characters of the story from their shadow.  There are hundreds of stories to be told, many of which date back to the beginning of the Wayang Kulit brought to Indoensia from India.
This is the angle from which an audience would normally watch a Wayang Kulit performance, seeing the shadows through the screen.  The dalang is a genius storyteller and easily has the most difficult role in the performance as he does not leave his cross-legged position all night long (7-10 hours), is the voice for all the puppets, signals the music without ever looking at the orchestra, and tells stories and jokes to entertain the audience all night long!
I was very happy to experience my first Wayang Kulit performance!
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