Divinities,
Demons, Kings and Clowns:
Puppetry of India and Southeast Asia
Curated by Kathy Foley with the
assistance of Michael Schuster
Wayang golek (Rod Puppetry)
Wayang
is the traditional theatre of Java, Sunda (West Java), and Bali. In it a
narrator/puppetmaster called a dalang presents tales based on the
Mahabharata, Ramayana, local histories, or Islamic tales to the
accompaniment of a gong-chime orchestra. Shadow puppetry has existed since at
least the 11th century and rod puppetry was supposedly invented in the 16th
century by Islamic teachers. Local tradition
avers that scroll puppetry (wayang
beber) preceded shadow performance (wayang kulit). Today shadow
puppetry predominates in Java and on Bali, while three dimensional rod puppetry
(wayang golek) is most popular with the Sundanese in West Java and with
the Javanese speakers along the north coast of the island. Legend holds that
the Islamic saints (wali) used the art of wayang to teach
religion. The figures shown here are from West Java, where rod puppetry
developed under Javanese influence in the 18th century.
Puppets are carved of light durable wood, carefully painted, and dressed in batik skirts and sequined tops. A central rod controls the head and two additional rods are attached to the hands. The character types found in wayang correspond to the major character types in topeng, the mask dance of the area. The character's headdress and dress clarify which particular figure is represented.
A single
puppeteer presents the all-night performance accompanied by the gamelan,
a gong-
chime orchestra. Performances are hired for weddings, circumcisions, and
other life cycle celebrations. Certain dalang are felt to be magically
powerful and are hired to do exorcisms via performance. Thousands of viewers
turn up each night of the month for performances by top puppetmasters.
Most performances tell of the Mahabharata which focuses on the struggle between the five noble Pandawa brothers and their hundred Kurawa cousins. But some dalang tell stories of indigenous heroes like the great Javanese Prince Panji, or tales of Amir Hamzah, an uncle of Mohammed.
The clowns give caustic political commentary and with reformasi, the political movement which ousted President Suharto, the voices of dalang have grown more strident about social and economic inequalities existing in contemporary Indonesia.