What is the meaning of Wayang Kulit? - eNotes.com
In Indonesia, Wayang Kulit is a form of puppet-shadow play.The puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil light.The shadows are brought to life by the dalang, who manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and screen.The major theme of the narratives is good vs. evil.
Wayang beber is one of the many different ways of wayang theatre found in Indonesia.There is a unique combination of ritual, lesson and entertainment at Wayang Kulit.
On November 7, 2003 UNESCO designated Wayang as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of humanity.UNESCO required Indonesians to preserve the tradition in return for the acknowledgment.[3]
The word wayang means "shadow" or "imagination".Bayang is its equivalent in Indonesian.Wayang refers to the puppet itself or the whole puppet theatre performance.Kulit means "skin" or "leather", the material from which the figures are carved.
Before the Islamic and Christian era, Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India.The literary and court language of Java was Sanskrit.The appearance of the characters changed to resemble cultural norms as Wayang Kulit was assimilated into local culture.
The display of God or gods in human form was banned when Islam began spreading in Indonesia.King Patah of Demak, Java, wanted to see the wayang in its traditional form, but didn't get permission from Muslim religious leaders.
The religious leaders tried to skirt the Muslim prohibition by converting the wayang golek into howang purwa made from leather and displaying the shadow instead of the puppets.[5]
The wayang varies in size from 25 cm to 75 cm.Several puppets represent the important characters.Water buffalo and goat hide are used to make the wayang.The best wayang is usually made from young female buffalo and cured for up to ten years.The carving and punching of the rawhide are guided by this sketch.A mallet is used to punch the holes through the rawhide.A complicated process of sawing, heating, hand-molding, and sanding is required to make the wayang sticks.When the materials are ready, the artist puts the handle on the wayang figure and secures it with thread.A large character can take months to produce.
There are important differences between the three islands.
A wayang performance has several components.A stretched linen canvas divides the dalang and the spectator.The Javanese blencong or Balinese damar is a coconut-oil lamp that casts shadows onto the screen.There is a banana trunk on the ground between the screen and the dalang, where the figures are stuck to hold them in place.The dalang uses a wooden mallet to hit the puppet chest during his performance.The dalang may use a percussion instrument at his feet to cue the musicians.The musicians are in a gamelan orchestra.The gamelan orchestra is part of the performance.Female and male singers accompany the performance.
The setting of the banana trunk on the ground and canvas in the air symbolizes the earth and the sky.The dalang is believed to have divine forces acting in his hands when he moves the puppet figures across the screen.The lamp is a representation of the sun and the dalang.[9]
A performance begins after dark.The first of the three phases, in which the characters are introduced, lasts until midnight.The battles and intrigues last three hours.At dawn, the third phase of reconciliation and friendship is over.10
Wayang shadow plays are usually tales from the two major Hindu epics.The puppet master makes the plays relevant to current community, national or global issues.The gamelan players are near the dalang.