Skip to main content

Wayang Kulit: Indonesian Cultural Heritage

Image

I live in Indonesia, it is a country which has a lot of cultural heritage. One of the culture and art diversity that is still preserved until now is wayang kulit. I was introduced to wayang kulit when I was in a primary school.

Wayang kulit is a traditional Indonesian art that mainly developed in Java. Wayang comes from the word 'Ma Hyang' which means the spiritual spirit or God Almighty. There is also Javanese interpretation that wayang means 'shadow'. 

In a wayang kulit performance, there's dramatic shadows of flat leather puppets are cast onto a screen, accompanied by music, narration, and dialogue. The genre, also known in its ancient form as wayang purwa, stretches back to at least the 10th century, and was originally inspired by Indian models of dramatic performance. The stories were based on the ancient Indian epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The purpose of the theater was principally moral and religious instruction in Hinduism. Although Islam spread throughout Java in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Hindu culture was so firmly entrenched that the shadow plays with their Hindu stories have survived to the present day. Shadow-puppet theater is also performed in China and throughout Southeast Asia, but the spiritual and religious characteristics of the wayang kulit are particular to Java.

The flat puppets of wayang kulit theater are cut from the cured hide of water buffalo, it's decorated with intricate perforations and paint. Each puppet is supported by a central rod of buffalo horn with smaller rods to manipulate movable arms. The silhouettes of the puppets are projected onto a screen by the light of an oil lamp.

Dalang is the central figure in a wayang kulit performance. The dalang is the puppeteer and storyteller who operates the puppets while narrating the story and speaking all of the dialogue. He povides the sound effects and conducts the musical accompaniment (gamelan). A full show will begin in the evening and continue until dawn, a dalang performance requires considerable endurance. The dalang is also recognized by audience members as a religious leader who communicates with the spirit world during the wayang kulit performance. The ritual function of the wayang kulit is still strong in modern-day Java: Performances are commissioned in villages to celebrate marriages, births, or circumcisions. Dalang is the most important part in wayang kulit. In the terminology of the Java language, the mastermind (barrier) is derived from the acronym ngudhal Piwulang. Ngudhal means to disassemble or disseminate and piwulang means doctrine, education, science, information. So the existence of the manipulator in a puppet show not only on the aspect of spectacle (entertainment) only, but also guidance. Therefore, in addition to master the techniques of puppetry as an entertainment aspect, puppeteer must be a knowledgeable and able to give effect.

The Wayang kulit characters actually contains many symbols and characteristics of human nature. A number of puppet characters clearly also a symbol of male characteristics, such as; Arjuna figures emblems man good looks, Yudhistira likes peace, Bima is a rich man who in love and not easily attracted to women. Generally puppets took the story from the Mahabharata and Ramayana manuscript, but is not limited only with the standard, the mastermind can also play carangan (composition). Some of the stories are taken from the Panji stories.

The wayang kulit puppet show has been recognized by UNESCO on November 7, 2003, as a work culture that is awesome in the field of narrative story and a wonderful heritage and valuable (Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity). Wayang kulit is more popular in the central and eastern Java.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Yuli AenuropiqDecember 4, 2016 at 5:18 AM

    Duhh..pokoke mantaff dehh indonesia kaya akan budayanya yang beragam....maff gk pake englishh...heheh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. S. FauziaDecember 4, 2016 at 5:50 AM

      Betul, banyak banget warisan budaya Indonesia yang perlu kita lestarikan. Ngga apa. Makasih yaaa sudah mampir. :)

      Delete
  2. Indah Nuria SavitriDecember 4, 2016 at 6:24 AM

    I always loveeeee Indonesian traditional cultural heritage, including wayang kulit. And people love it as well..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cinta Budaya di IndonesiaDecember 25, 2016 at 2:51 AM

    What an inspiring article, kak. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Classic Tale of Sleeping Beauty: Briar-Rose

We must be familiar with fairy tales. I used to listen to fairy tale stories when I was a child, my favorite was the bed time stories. Fairy tales generally take place in a far-off place and time, typically begin with “Once upon a time.” In the land of fairy tales, magical happens. A fairy tale often tells the story of an individual, takes into the entire life, and generally ends happily. The traditional and common closing line of a fairy tale is, “...and they lived happily ever after.” In the early 19th century, the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, scholars who studied folklore, linguistics, and literary history, began collecting and recording old German folktales. The tales were often full of supernatural elements such as witches, talking animals, and magical kingdoms. One of the tales that the Grimm brothers collected was a version of the story of Sleeping Beauty known as Briar-Rose.
20 comments
Read more

5 Things You Can Do After a Breakup

I actually forgot how it feels. I'm a happily married woman now, but of course, I can still empathize and always care about people around me especially when my friends just got out of a relationship. 'Move on" after breaking up is not a simple thing. It will take time to heal a broken heart. When I found my close friend who just got out of a breakup, I advise them to do these things:
26 comments
Read more

Stay-at-Home Activity Ideas During COVID-19

We're now in the middle of global pandemic. 😢 March, 2, 2020 President Jokowi has announced that two Indonesians have tested positive for COVID-19, it's the first two confirmed in our country. He calls all Indonesian people to stay at home; self isolation and social distancing.  Corona virus is a serious infectious disease. What can you do to protect yourself, reduce corona virus infection, and prevent spreading the virus to others : Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub. Eat healthy food and don't forget to cook meat or fish thoroughly.  Drink water, take vitamins or supplements.  Do some home exercises to keep your body healthy. Cover mouth when coughing or sneezing with flexed elbow. Avoid close contact with anyone with cold/flu like symptoms. Do not touch your our eyes, nose, face, or mouth if our hands are not clean. Stay home, social distancing, and self-isolate from others if we feel unwell....
29 comments
Read more