Asian History

History of Wayang

Wayang shadow-puppet (Bali, early 20th century)Wayang is a generic term denoting traditional theatre in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. There is no evidence that wayang existed before Hinduism came to southeast Asia sometime in the first century ce. However, there very well may have been indigenous storytelling traditions that had a profound impact on the development of the traditional puppet theatre. The first record of a wayang performance is from an inscription dated 930 ce which says "si Galigi mawayang," or Sir Galigi played wayang. From that time till today it seems certain features of traditonal puppet theatre have remained. Galigi was an itinerant performer who was requested to perform for a special royal occaision. At that event we know he performed a story about the hero Bima from the Mahabharata.

Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India even before the Christian era, and was slowly adopted as the local belief system. 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. Later this mixture of religion and wayang play was praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture. On Java, the western part of Sumatra and some smaller islands traditionalists continued to play the old stories for some time, but the influence of Hinduism prevailed and the traditional stories either fell into oblivion or were integrated into the Hinduistic plays.

The figures of the wayang are also present in the paintings of that time for example the roof murals of the courtroom in Klungkung, Bali. They are still present in traditional Balinese painting today.

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 the 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.

At the west part of Java Island, one can still find wayang golek performances, and wayang klitik is a transitional form between wayang golek and wayang kulit. The wayang klitik figures are painted, flat woodcarvings (a maximum of 5 to 15 mm thick -- barely half an inch) with movable arms. The head is solidly attached to the body. With these, it is possible to do puppet plays either by day or by night. This type of wayang is relatively rare. Wayang kulit, nowadays made from water buffalo hide, (sometimes painted or dyed) are known throughout Indonesia simply as wayang. In modern Indonesia, they remain a beloved entertainment, second only to televised football (soccer) matches.

In modern Bali, one also finds a form known as sendratari (invented in the 1960s), in which living persons dance and pantomime to gamelan music, wearing masks known as wayang topeng.

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Wayang kulit

Wayang kulit as seen by the audienceWayang kulit, shadow puppets are prevalent in Java and Bali, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian wayang. Kulit means skin and refers to the leather construction of the puppets that are carefully chiseled with very fine tools and supported with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.

The stories are usually drawn from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or the Serat Menak. The island of Lombok has developed its own style of Serat Menak called wayang sasak.

The clown characters are called Punakawan. Semar is the father of Gareng (oldest son), Petruk, and Bagong (youngest son). Instead of being based in the great epics, it is more of a political cabaret, dealing with gossip and contemporary affairs.

The figures themselves vary from place to place. In Central Java the city of Surakarta (Solo) is most famous and is the most commonly imitated syle of puppets. Regional styles of Shadow puppets can also be found in West Java, Banyumas, Cirebon, Semarang, and East Java. Bali produces more compact and naturalistic figures, and Lombok has figures representing real people and such real-world objects as automobiles, airplanes and ships.

Historically, the visual portion of the performance consisted of shadows cast on a cotton screen by an oil lamp. Today, the source of light is more likely to be a spotlight.

The handwork involved in making a wayang kulit figure that is suitable for a performance takes several weeks, with the artists working together in groups. They start from master models (typically on paper) which are traced out onto kulit (skin or parchment), providing the figures with an outline and with indications of any holes that will need to be cut (such as for the mouth or eyes). The figures are then smoothed, usually with a glass bottle, and primed. The structure is inspected and eventually the details are worked through. A further smoothing follows before individual painting, which is undertaken by yet another craftsman. Finally, the movable parts (upper arms, lower arms with hands and the associated sticks for manipulation) mounted on the body, which has a central staff by which it is held. A crew makes up to ten figures at a time, typically completing that number over the course of a week.

The painting of less expensive puppets is handled expediently with a spray technique, using templates, and with a different person handling each color. After painting, the parts are put together to journey in a basket to the souvenir shops.

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Wayang topeng or wayang gedog or wayang wong

Wayang wong is a type of theatrical performance with themes from the kingdom of Jenggala, in which the players wear masks known as wayang topeng or wayang gedog. The word "gedog" comes from "kedok", which, like "topeng" means "mask". The main theme is the story of Raden Panji and Candra. This is a love story about princess Candra Kirana of Kediri and Raden Panji Asmarabangun, the crown prince of Jenggala. Candra Kirana was the incarnation of Dewi Ratih (goddess of love) and Panji was an incarnation of Kamajaya (god of love). Kirana's story was given the title "Smaradahana" ("The fire of love"). At the end of