Balinese puppet theatre

In Indonesia, theatre has developed the tradition of puppetry through centuries. the most impressive and well prepared presentations are performed in Java however Bali also has its own unique and special features.



As you can see in the picture above, the detail in the puppets are amazing. There is so much detail that you can even see through the hair. The presentations does not consist of only puppets but also, background details are in as well.

There are three types of puppets in indonesian puppetry.
There is the Wayang Kulit which is normally made out of leather. Wayang Kulit generally show the Indonesian version of Hindu epics.
There is the Wayang Golek which is rod puppets (which are not shadow puppets.). They are used to perform hindu cycles and also Islamic arabian adventure cycle.
Lastly, there is the Wayang Klitick which is flat wooden puppets which performs the adventures of Javanese Majapahit Empire heroes.

For our Balinese theatre project, we are looking at Wayang Kulit. The Wayang Kulit is traditionally Javanese/Thai shadow puppets in which the puppets show the stories of the Ramayana. These performances generally last hours and sometimes even the whole night. These presentations are normally performed on special ocassions such as weddings, public holidays, religious festivals, birth celebrations and circumcisions.


In the performance, the dalang has the most to do. He manipulates the puppets, sings, signalizes (by tapping) to the orchestra and he also speaks for the characters. The dalang, in other words, is the puppeteer.

Puppets

There is a puppet range that refers to the details. It goes from Alus (extremely refined) to Kasar (rough and crude).



The picture above is a noble character and this can be noticed by the shape of their heads and how they are made. The good characters generally have their heads sloping forwards with their neck bent and thin. Their noses are pointed and they have a very graceful body.



The picture above shows a bad character. They generally have big bulging eyes with big swollen noses and thick lips and curved bodies. This character is a greedy character. We know this through the color of their skin.

The colors of the skin of the characters have meanings. For example:
White/Gold - youth and beauty.
Black - wisdom and tranquility
Red - Cruelty and greed. It can also mean cowardliness and coarseness.

I did some extra research on wayang kulit and I have come across a book that had a section on wayang kulit puppets and I thought it was helpful. (the reference to this book is: Sedyawati,Edi.1998.Performing Arts.Singapore.Archipelago Press [Parts of a WAYANG KULIT puppet, page 53])






This, to me, seemed interesting because it tells us what terms the balinese use for this puppetry. Especially the second picture, it tells us how the characters show emotion through their eyes.

This seems like an interesting topic to me, and I intend to do further research, even after posting this entry.