Wayang 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.
There is a family of characters in Javanese wayang called Punakawan;
sometimes referred to as "clown-servants" because they usually are associated
with the story's hero and also
provide humorous and philosophical interludes. Semar is the father of Gareng
(oldest son), Petruk, and Bagong (youngest son). These characters did not
originate in the Hindu epics, but were added later, possibly to introduce
mystical aspects of Islam into the Hindu-Javanese stories. They provide
something akin to a political cabaret, dealing with gossip and contemporary
affairs.
The puppets 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. Often modern-world objects as bicycles, automobiles, airplanes and ships will be added for comic effect, but for the most part the traditional puppet designs have changed little in the last 300 years.
Historically, the performance consisted of shadows cast on a cotton screen cast an oil lamp. Today, the source of light in Java is most often a halogen electric light. Some modern forms of wayang such as Wayang Sandosa created in the Art Academy at Surakarta (STSI) has employed spotlights, colored lights and other innovations.
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. Less expensive puppets, often sold to children during performances, are sometimes made on cardboard instead of leather.
Wayang Kulit figures wait in the wings each side of the screen in readiness to
portray the constant battle between the opposing forces of good and evil. Drama
ensues when the world is thrown out of balance.
Two
young assistants, sitting each side of the screen, hand puppets to the dalang as
they are needed. His skills bring them to life so as to play their role in one
of the ancient Sanskrit epic poems of India - the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Sukarno, Indonesia's first President and father of the nation, was often referred to as the dalang of the Indonesian people.
Australian director, Peter Weir's film 'The Year of
Living Dangerously' about the turbulent upheaval in the sixties when Sukarno was
ousted, contained a memorable scene featuring Wayang Kulit puppets.
A
Javanese shadow puppet. Islam forbids the depiction of the human form which is
one of the reasons given for the highly stylized appearance of Javanese puppets
compared to their counterparts elsewhere in South East Asia. The workmanship is
also perhaps more refined than most, with very intricate perforations. The best
look like exquisite filigree.
These
puppets come in all shapes and sizes from the squarish brutish forms of the
giants, 'raksasa', to the smaller fine limbed figures representing highly
cultured kings and nobles. Some are grotesques. In fact every part of a puppet's
design has symbolic significance. Different shaped eyes and noses denote such
qualities as nobility, patience, crudeness, steadfastness, strength, loyalty,
clownishness or wisdom. There are about 25 varieties of headdress to represent
priests, princes, fighters, queens deities, kings or gods.
Although shadow puppets are usually only seen as
silhouettes, they are nevertheless fastidiously painted using very fine
brushwork to elaborately render facial detail, clothing and jewelry. Faces can
be painted white, black, red, pink or even blue or green. Young nobles or kings
have white or gilded faces, while those who are older have black faces
indicating
inner
maturity. Various shades of red are used to express degrees of boldness. The
bare chest and arms, are often picked out in gold paint. Actual gold leaf was
applied to puppets belonging to the Sultans of Java.
Other shows involving puppets of a different type are
the 'Wayang Klitik', thin two dimensional puppets carved from wood in semi
relief. These have arms made of leather just like their 'Kulit' cousins. 'Wayang
Golek,' are three dimensional puppets of carved and painted wood, often dressed
in clothing made from faded discarded sarongs.
