DID YOU KNOW?

Wayang Kulit has intricate and delicate nature in its art form and has interesting and complicating plots in the stories of Ramayana or Mahabrata epoch. You wouldn't know that you could relate one or two towards understanding your character and lifestyle now.



Here's a summary of what you might learn from the Wayang Kulit performance and its stories:



Lessons from Wayang Kulit Performance


1.
On the top, it's a lesson of morality, honesty, truth should win against evil.


2.
One has to choose what to do in accordance with his own belief.
Kumbakarna has to choose to fight despite Rahwana's sinful deeds, not to defend his brother but to defend his country. "Right or wrong its my country".
Wibisana, he chooses to defend the absolute truth. A sin committed by his own brother - the king, must be condemned. He decides to join Rama, the right side.


3.
It is reflecting events in life.
One must work hard decently before attaining his goals.
Lust of material wealth should bring disaster to other people and at the end should ruin his own life.
Love affaires exist since ancient time. But do not follow the wrong examples, such as the one between Begawan Wisrawa and Sukesi, Rahwana's parents.


4.
Life Purification. A king gives up his own crown, goes to solitude and lives as a Begawan to meditate, purifying his soul to reach a true holiness.


5.
Everyone is longing to live in a just (adil) and prosperous (makmur) society, in the safe, peaceful and secured situation with the blessing of God Almighty.


[Suryo S. Negoro]



With reference from http://www.joglosemar.co.id/wayangperformance.html

Week 3, Day 3

Interactive Flowchart

Week 3 Day 2

We are doing our Paper Prototype and video Prototype today.

Paper Prototype - to show how the whole exhibit look like.
Through the paper prototype exercises, we realised that how we can place our stuff in the museum, Do we have enough space and so on.. so that we can have a better look and feel for the whole environment.

Video Prototype -show how user can use and how the user can interact with.
Through the video prototype exercise, we realised some errors and notices some part cannot be work out. And most importantly, how we supposed to make the user learn through out the whole exhibit using a more interesting/interactive ways.

Week 3 Day 1

We were trying out and test out how the whole exhibit should look like after we have come out with a finalize Floor Plan.

Paper Prototype - to show how the whole exhibit look like.Through the paper prototype exercises, we realised that how we can place our stuff in the museum, Do we have enough space and so on.. so that we can have a better look and feel for the whole environment.

For our paper prototype we only focus on our main interactive part. We will be doing out the whole look and feel of the exhibit using 3d max.

Week2 Day 5

We compiled everything together and did a podcast out. This is the web link:http://www.vimeo.com/3299768. (visit here!)

MoodBoard

This is the MoodBoard for Dawn.


This is the MoodBoard for Dusk.


This is the MoodBoard for Midnight.

Interactive Flowchart

Interactive StoryBoard.

Week 2 day 4

This is our floor plan of the exhibit. When you enter the entrance there is an artifact, Beside it there is a resting zone. When u move in nearer, on the left hand side, you can see our first interactive part of wayang kulit, which is the Eyes part. On your right hand side, there is another interactive part, which is aso our main interactive - Movement structure. Behind the main interactive, it there is a gamelan.

Week 2 Day 3

After hearing the advice given to Sui Lee, we decided to narrow our concept to only the structure of Wayang Kulit. We started thinking about a word for our concept and we came out with "Imagination". As we are thinking and browsing through our research, we realise that the features of Wayang Kulit are actually exaggerated. For example, the hands of the Wayang Kulit are so long that it reaches its leg, thus we think of the word "Exaggeration" as our direction for our exhibit.

We plan to feature different individual parts of the Wayang Kulit. One of our example is having different kinds of eye on the wall, framed up. However, if a visitor walk pass, the eyes all look at them... Miss Ester feels that this idea lacks of significance and must think harder. However, we feel that we did a better job in our 2nd idea.

We will be researching on things that will support our idea tomorrow and finalize it.

Week 2 Day 2

It was an interesting day for us. We had a workshop with the Asian Civilisation Museum's education services team to better understand the objective of the project in relation to the workshop and more about the client which is ACM itself.

ACM is moving into a more media and technology focused approach, bridging the gap ~ edutainment.

What we learnt during the workshop:

• To experience how the visitors see the exhibits by first identifying the object based on first impression and understanding.
  
• Make it simple & clear on the message, NO FRILLS.
  
• Explore and go all WILD in your idea, place no boundaries.
  
• Focus on one main idea, place priority first.
  
• The more important message to portray, may NOT always be the easiest to do.
  
• Think about how the exhibit alone will relate to the whole section of the museum.
  
• ALWAYS think of the visitors' experience.
  
• Translate into new forms, bite sizes that are consumable (not literally,haha).
  
• Experience cannot be compromised by the virtual approach, still have to relate to the visitor in a real way.
  
• Consider the sustainability of the exhibit; wear and tear, damages and other factors.
  
• Finding out what visitors will first be curious about with regards to each object.
  
• How do we tell them so much about each exhibit without knocking them out?
  
• Activities are targeted more for young visitors aged 9-12.
  
• Image and Attitude towards museums
  
• EXPERIENCE! Engaging the senses.
  
• Consider the physical constraints that might affect the whole message to be conveyed, to learn with primary sources.
  
• Museum is actually only takes up 1% of all the activities available to entertain oneself, whereas Home Entertainment takes up the top rank.

Interactivity:

• Learning with a Handling Collection
• Learning with Primary Sources(Hand-on activities..)
• New Media
• Developing Concepts and Storyboards
• The Virtual vs. The Real?
  

Lastly, something to think about: A great trip is not about the destination, its about the experience.

Peter Greenburg

Museums cannot be all about fun. :)

Week 2 Day 1

Today after we consult Miss Ester, we found that our concept was too surface. It means that it is too shallow and nothing special, so we decided to start with the atmosphere. Wayang Kulit performance are outdoors and always at night to morning (last around 9 hours). Having this in mind, we think that we can set the lighting in the exhibit to suit the atmosphere ourdoors meaning it will change its brightness as time pass. We also plan to set a raining atmosphere in the exhibit by using glass tubes and light. Though the performance is outdoor, there is shelter thus it can continue its performance even if it rains. We want to have the raining effect as we want to let the viewer have a sense of how it will be like to watch the performance if it rains, will it affect the sound made etc.

After having all these discussions, we realize that actually, our concept lacks of emotion, or how user will feel after visiting the exhibit. Thus we came out with a concept map stating all the things we know about the structure of wayang kulit and the process of making it.

Below is our concept map ( Click for a closer view.)

Questions

1. What is a museum?

A museum is a building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed. (from dictionary.com) A museum to us is a place where we get to see things that are consider uncommon to us. It may be something that is really common in the past but it may have treasure value and worth showing. It also means a place where we can learn through visuals and hearing with some interaction and we get to experience it.
In conclusion, we think that a museum is place where you discover interesting facts by yourself at your own pace and is not forced.


2. Why is the subject(Wayang Kulit) place in a museum?

The museum(ACM) is currently showing things on Southeast Asia. Wayang Kulit may be considered as the ancestor of puppets and it is from Indonesia. It has a very strong flavour of Southeast Asia with all its bright colouring and materials.


3. Can your exhibit be placed in the museum or anywhere else? Why?

No. Our exhibit can only be placed in the museum as it is an item with treasure value which the younger generation can learn and elder generation to reminiscence about their culture etc. It cannot be placed anywhere else because it is a traditional art using traditional ways like carving to form it and not a scientific item which uses high technology thus it can't be placed in the science centre. Other places like the amusement park are not suitable as it involves learning. It is true that we have to make it fun but it will not be a game but rather an important piece of information to learn and gain understanding of.


4. What data can you obtain from the visitors/ surrounding and can be used as part of an interaction? (i.e. weather-environment)

We use the visitor's movement data in our interaction. Not only that, we also plan to use their five senses like the hear etc. As Wayang Kulit performances are held outdoors, we plan to create a outdoor atmosphere to suit it.

Week 1 Day 5 - First Presentation

11 Claps for 5-fingers! =)
The presentation was pretty great.

Comments from Lecturers:

• Research is strong.
• Ideas is ok.
• Concept wise is still ok. But maybe can try to combine our concept idea instead of separating idea.

Overall we are doing ok and on the right track, so keep up the good work. =)


Things that we need to improve/work on:

• The survey.
• Combine Concept.
• Survey.

Week 1 Day 4

Today we went on to our concept development. We went to research on different gestures for the wayang kulit like what they do when they are angry, in love, happy etc. We find it interesting because they uses only the few joints they have to create such emotions. Not only that, we also did a research on how dalang controls his puppets. We had then scanned and will show them.

Our concept also touches on how these wayang kulit are related to modern humans like ourselves. For example, slender eyes in the wayang kulit world means good, kind but does it means that to the people around us too? So we came up with a survey and question people on what are the features of a people that will make you think he or she is good. We will show the results tomorrow.

Interactive concept

Concept 1:

Using speed motion sensor to detect user’s walking speed and what results for response to user.

Concept 2:

Using user’s hands and limbs to move the puppet’s hands and limbs
To get a feel of the puppet movements

Concept 3:

Concept

5 senses: To let visitors really gain the knowledge and understanding of Wayang Kulit.

Inspired from the interactive kiosk whereby the card is inserted into the slot to start the machine.

Survey:

Survey studies show the understanding on how people view facial expression and human gestures to a person’s well-being in everyday life.

Concept Research:

Different posture repesent different mood.

e.g:When the puppet rise it arm mean stop! he is angry.

Different feature repesent different thing.

e.g: Big round eyes, round nose represent bad person.

Then slimer eyes, sharp nose represent good person.

Week 1 Day 3

Today, after consulting Miss Ester on our 3 ideas, we went to discussion on which one we should do. In the end, we decided to focus on a combination of our 2 ideas and came up with THE STRUCTURE OF A WAYANG KULIT AND ITS MAKING PROCESS, as our final idea.

Reason being that, people may have heard of wayang kulit or even seen its performance. But how many people actually know how precious these puppets and how long the people are willing to spent in making just one wayang kulit. At first, our group only know that wayang kulit is a shadow, leather puppet but didn't know that actually, different features of each wayang kulit can show if it is good or evil etc.

We also discuss about what do we want the viewer to bring home after the exhibit. We want the viewer to be aware of the unseen part of a wayang kulit like how to make one? What are the things used on the ox hide before using it? We hope that our viewer will be more knowledgeable after viewing. Besides that, from our research from yesterday, we found out that wayang kulit performance are used for socialising. Thus we thought of ways to make our exhibit more interactive and allow the viewers to interact with each other.

Lastly, the mood and atmosphere. We think that the museum did a great job in this area with the lighting etc. We hope to improve on the music that they play in the museum and create a relaxing yet interesting mood for the viewers.

Choosen Idea

Combine Structure and Process of making the puppet together.

We think that the strusture and the process making is very important in Wayang Kulit Performance. So we narrow down to focal on this two.

Museum Visit

Things we think that the Museum should improve on:

1. Kulit puppets
   - No interactivity.


2. Interactivity kiosk
   - Too far away from the exhibit itself.
   - Description is not clear.


3. Music instruments used during a wayang kulit performance
   - stand almost 2/3 of the whole room area.
   - Not the main idea
   - Not touchable
   
4. The Big Screen
   - It was not switched on for view during time of visit.
   

Week 1 Day 2 + Our 3 ideas

Yesterday, we had our discussion with our teachers and we thought of things that curious us about wayang kulit. One example being that, after we research, we found that the wayang kulits are made very intricately, with lots of details, starting from the materials to the colouring of it. If so, then why do they still need to hide them with a white cloth and only show the shadow? We plan to find out later of the day.

Next, we went to the museum to look at how the museum portray the wayang kulit exhibit. We have some thoughts of our own. Firstly, the interactivity kiosk is too far away from the exhibit itself and the descriptions are not clear. Secondly, the music instruments that they play during a wayang kulit performance stands almost 2/3 of the whole area. These instruments are not the main idea to us and moreover, it's non touchable.

After that, we head to the library to find all our doubts and questions about wayang kulit. Some of the questions are how do we know which character is good or evil? How long do one wayang kulit performance last? Do they have music throughout the whole performance? From these questions, we branches out into some ideas that we want the viewer to know about wayang kulit can we finalised 3 main ideas.


1. Stories of Wayang Kulit
   

The types of stories they portray, is the stories emotional, horrifying or fun? Different parts of the country have different kinds of stories. We will be touching on the similarities and differences of the Wayang Kulit stories. Also, We will compare the different chapter of stories of one and another.


2. Structure of Wayang Kulit

Each Wayang Kulit Puppet has different characteristics and features. Different features can allow audience to know if this puppet is good or evil. Personally, people from other countries may not know how to tell if the characters is good or evil etc. Besides that, different designs and pattern of each puppet is also important in a Wayang Kulit show.


3. Process of making a Wayang Kulit

Showing what the Wayang Kulit is make of. How long it takes to create a one? For people who don't know, Wayang Kulit is make from hides of ox or bull and they will put it into a mixture before using them. What is this mixture? How does that helps? What other materials can be used for making it?

Week1 day2- part2 research

How is it done - The stage




The top view of how a Wayang Kulit performance is like.

Why it exist?

Hinduism arrived from India even before the Christian era

• Adopted as the local belief system.
• Sanskrit became the literary and court language of Java and later of Bali.

The Hindus changed the Wayang to spread their religion

• mostly through stories from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana.

This mixture was later praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture.

Week 1 Day 2 - Research

What is "Wayang Kulit"?

• "Wayang" = Puppet
• "Kulit" = Leather
• One of the oldest continuous traditions of storytelling
• Finely carved and painted thin leather puppets move behind a white linen screen
• Audience on other side of the screen sees the shadows only

Who is in ?

• Puppets are stored in line on a banana tree trunk behind the screen and in front of the puppeteer.
• The puppeteer is called the Dalang.
• He manipulates the puppets, sings and taps out signals to the gamelan (orchestra). He also speaks the parts for all characters.

Where is it held?

• An open air performance under the stars.
• A temporary bamboo platform had been constructed in the village square.

It had a raised stage on which the puppeteer and musicians of the 'Gender Wayang' orchestra sat cross-legged.

When is it shown?

• Special days
• Public holidays
• Religious festivals
• Weddings
• Birth celebrations
• Cremations
• Traditional Muslim event of the transition from childhood to teenage
• Usually last approx. 12hrs
• Also as a means of conveying messages across to the villagers of the area in rural Bali.

HOW a wayang kulit is made?vr2

Indonesian shadow characters, or Wayang Kulit, are made of rawhide. Kulit means skin, usually from the hide of an oxen or bull. Other materials in use around the world include, goatskin, cardboard, and plastics.
Most Indonesian characters are carved in profile. Some figures have two moving arms, some have one, and some have no moving parts at all. Some have a leg that kicks, a few have mouths that move.
Size, physique, type of clothing, amount of jewelry, skin color, shape of eyes, and sometimes shape of teeth, determine the character of each figure.

Tracing and Carving
The figure is drawn or traced onto the leather or other material, including interior shapes and motifs. The maker uses intricate metal tools to carve the figure. Small tightly curved chisels are used to make holes. Larger arc chisels are used to carve more elaborate designs and outlines. One "hole" may take several different tools with varying blade arcs to execute it correctly.
Once all interior holes are carved, the figure is cut out from the hide. Arms and other pieces are cut out next. The arms are made in two pieces and jointed with thick plastic line, or joints made of bone. They look like small white rivets and function in the same way.
Indonesian Wayang have exaggerated upper body proportions and the lower area is shrunk. This makes the figure appear with correct dimensions in shadow. The entire length of the puppet is never totally flush with the screen. The face pressed against the screen for clarity, and the lower half stands slightly back. Without this special sizing technique, the image would appear bottom heavy.
Some other cultures, such as China and Turkey, hold the characters flush to the screen from top to bottom. In this case regular proportions produce the desired shadow.

Sanding and Painting
The carved leather is sanded to make it smooth and ready for painting. The figures are blacked out with ink, rendering the puppet opaque.
At least one coat of white paint is applied over the black to prime the figure before coloring. Any area to be painted with gold leaf must remain black. Acrylic paint replaces the vegetable dye used in earlier times.
The Balinese use a four layer shading technique for each color, from dark to light. In Java, the colors are blended to show a more even gradation. Gold leaf is always applied last.
Not all cultures use opaque puppets. Some, like the Chinese style to the right, are translucent, so color can be seen in the shadows. This is done by dying instead of painting the leather. In Indonesia, the shadows are black, with one exception. In Bali, the face of Agni, the fire, is opaque, but the flames are not blacked, creating a translucent red after paint is applied.
One or two thin coats of acrylic finish are applied, and when dry the sticks are attached. The figure is sewn onto the main stick in three or four spots depending on the puppet's height. The top of the stick ends slightly below the top of the figure. The bottom of the stick continues about six inches below the bottom of the puppet. Arm sticks are affixed at the hands and hang freely.

Assembly
After coloring, arms and other moving pieces are fastened to the body with plastic or bone hinge joints. Some characters have moving mouths or legs. The mouth moves via a string trigger connected to a perpendicular wooden or horn stick which acts as a spring. A thumb pad of tanned leather or suede makes operation comfortable. When triggering the mouth, the horn stick flexes past the cut out of the eye, creating the appearance of blinking eyelids.
Indonesian Wayang have a main structural stick for operation that runs the length of the figure. It is split down the middle so that it supports the figure on both sides. There is also a stick for each moving arm. Sometimes the stick is fashioned from bull horn by heating and stretching it into a particular shape. In Java, this has become a very refined craft, making sticks that twist and curl with the shape of the character.
The bottom of the stick is tapered to a point so that it can be stabbed into a banana log or other soft material to support the character against the screen.
In China, the sticks are usually metal rods. The main rod is hinged to the character and held out and away from to the screen. In Turkey, a thicker stick is mounted perpendicular to the character. This type of mounting allows the characters to twirl.

HOW to make a wayang kulit?

A small family business with specialty in making wayang kulit, shadow puppers in leather like you see in my cave.Below are three artists who work delicately and attentively on each and every wayang/puppet. Cutting the leather into character shapes. Carving it. Drawing it. Coloring it. They use water-buffalo skin for all their puppets because it's durable and thicker than other skins. For the skeletons and sticks to move arms while playing characters in puppet show, they utilize buffalo's horns.

Water buffalos are used to plow rice fields there, to get the terrain ready before farmers plant rice seeds in the soil. I was impressed by the natural materials they use and how they create these pieces of Arts. puppet show (shadow or not) is still presently popular in Indonesia as one of the continuing oral traditions of telling stories from one generation to another. Because of Indonesia's historical background when it was once kingdoms (Majapahit and Sriwijaya), there's strong influence of Indian/Hinduisme in many traditional stories like: Ramayana and Mahabrata for examples. These puppets represent different characters of these two legendary stories.

Shadow puppet show is done usually behind a white screen, where a Dalang (story teller) sits behind and below the screen. The room needs to be like in a theater where you will only see the silhouetes or shadows of these different characters.

A dalang will tell a story and play different characters with its different voice, with Gamelan, Javanese traditional orchestra, as the background music. Or to emphaize certains scenes or movements, a specific noise will be used. It's impressive to see these puppets shows in person.

WHEN/WHERE is wayang kulit held?

Southeast Asia [Performing Arts]

When is it done?

Wayang kulit performances can last from dusk till dawn. Exciting battle scenes are usually staged shortly after midnight. It is performed the whole night commencing at about 09.00 PM to 05.00 AM, just before the sunrise. It needs around eight hours to perform a plot of stories from Ramayana or Mahabrata epoch.

Wayan Kulit performances are held for religious occassions, purification ceremonies, or when some transitional event occurs within the life of the people. But the art is also called upon for other tasks too. It can also be devised as a means of getting messages about public health and hygiene across to the villagers of the area in rural Bali.

In the darkness the insects have already begun to fly around unsteady flame of the oil lamp, which casts its dazzling light on the large white screen of the stage. at the lower part of the cloth-screen, the beautiful leather puppets (wayang kulit) are neatly arranged, their body-sticks firmly planted in banana-stems, placed beneath the screen itself.

On the right hand side are the good characters, on the left hand side the bad. The open space between them, about two meters wide, represents the stage.



Here the puppets will come to life and, like human beings, will each in his own way pursue the endless path to human happiness."

From Ramayana, Sunardjo Haditjaroko

Shadow plays
In Java, these plays are performed in villages and towns on public holidays, religious festivals, weddings, birth celebrations and the traditional muslim event of the transition from childhood to teenage. In Bali, they are also staged at cremations.



Where is it done?

The STAGE

It is needed to accommodate the performance, sometimes it is an elevated stage around 0,5 to 1 meter higher than audience's chairs.

On stage there is a white cotton screen illuminated by blencong (an oil lamp, hangs above the dalang), nowadays, a spotlight is used. From behind the scene, some audience watch the performance. They see the shadow of the puppets. Shadow in Javanese is wayang, from here the words of wayang kulit come. The mass of the audience sits in front of the screen to watch the wayang played by dalang.

On the right and left side of dalang, the wayang figures were arranged stuck to a banana tree poles. And at the left and right ends of the screen, banquets of bananas and leaves tree are decorated. Behind dalang the gamelan music instruments are arranged and played by the wiyogo (gamelan players).

The chorus of some pesinden (woman singers) as well as male singers are sitting there too. Next to the left side of dalang, there is a wooden box used by dalang to beat his instruments. The 'keprak', several pieces of small size iron plates hit by dalang by using right foot. From time to time, dalang during narration hit the wooden box with his hand by a 'cempolo' (wooden mallet).

This was an open air performance under the stars. A temporary bamboo platform had been constructed in the village square. It had a raised stage on which the puppeteer and musicians of the 'Gender Wayang' orchestra sat cross-legged. A fine cotton screen, called 'kelir', separates the dalang from his audience. This screen represents the universe and the light from a bronze oil lamp, called 'blencong' just in front of the dalang throws magical flickering shadows onto it.

The puppets are stored in line, in a banana tree trunk, behind the screen and in front of the puppeter. The dalang manipulates the puppets, sings and taps out signals to the orchestra. He also speaks the parts for all characters; he must be able to render the shy sweetness in the voice of a princess, the spiteful whine of a lackey and the righteous but controlled anger of a noble hero.


DALANG (The Puppet Master or The Story Teller)
After deciding the title of wayang story, a dalang (puppet master), a dalang to perform the show must be appointed. Dalang position is very important, as he is the leader of the performance. Sometimes dalang could be chosen first, afterwards a consultation with him could be held to choose an appropriate title.
Dalang comes from the words juru udalan (juru : an expert, a skillful man - udalan abbreviated to dalan, then becomes dalang means to tell stories), so dalang is a story teller.

The audience, from the very young to the very old, including one white man, was held spell bound by the skills of the dalang and the stories he told. Little children, cradled in their parent's arms, stared wide-eyed at the screen, transfixed by its magic.

Week 1 day 1

Our group name is 5 Fingers. We are doing on Southeast Asia - Wayang Kulit.



Group members: Shavien Chow, Tok Xin Lin, Tan Wan Teng and Timothy Pang. (Starting from Left.)

WHY wayang kulit exists?

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.

While the night wayang performance is considered pure entertainment, there exists another variant that is purely religious. This religious wayang performance usually takes place in the broad day light, without the coconut-husk lamp. In place of the translucent screen, a piece of string is drawn to separate the dalang from the audience, which may not even exist. This variant may be performed prior to a ngaben or cremation ceremony.


From these extracted passages, it explains that the purpose of the Wayang Kulit is to facilitate the spread of religions, mainly Hindu and later, the Muslims. Also, they believe that during the peformance of Wayang Kulit, evil is repelled from the grounds of the show.

Puppet of a Hindu deity

Wayang Beber, the Islamic version.

DID U KNOW?

Theatre seems to pervade Javanese life. Whenever westerners speak of polite Javanese encounter, with its elaborately orchestrated conversations and choreographed gestures, they fall almost instantly into theatrical metaphors.
But in all dramaturgy, the shadow play stands out as the preeminent art form in Java.

Other varieties of performing ARTS:
topeng – dance with masks
langen mandra wanaran – a performance in which players sing, but gesture only from a kneeling position

INTERESTING FACTS:

a. SHADOW PLAYS & SOCIAL SCIENCE
Wayang Kulit’s influence on other traditional art forms is great.
Much of the court dance tradition consists not only of stories adapted from the shadow play tradition, but also of movements modeled after those of its flat leather puppets.

In fact, such dance is called wayang wong: a human shadow play

When in conversation Javanese speak of someone showing up or leaving a place, they often illustrate the point with a particular gesture.
They hold one hand in front of their chests, fingers pointing upward and the back of the hand facing outward. They then move their arm to the side, raising and lowering it slightly.
The gestures are reflected in the way a puppet moves across the screen.

JAVANESE SHADOW PLAYS, JAVANESE SELVES by Ward Keeler

b. STAGES OF THE PERFORMANCE
Traditionally a performance starts soon after sunset, at about 7.30 p.m., and continues without a break until dawn, at about 6 a.m.

The Wayang Kulit performance is viewed from almost all angles.
In the past there was a tendency to separate the audience according to gender: Women sat facing the screen onto which the shadows were projected
Men sat on the other side with the dalang where they could see the actual puppets.

Private performances:
Hosts & guests view from inside the house, i.e facing the screen
Guests were given a choice to watch either fron the yard, under the stars or inside the house with the dalang.

SHADOW THEATRE IN JAVA, the puppets, performance and repertoire


c. CATEGORIES OF CHARACTERS
character type:
Luruh – refined knight, polite
Lanyap – aggressive
Gagah – muscular
Gusen – generalized
Simians – monkey
Dhugelan – clown

Stature
A large stature symbolizes great physical strength, a violent nature or a lack of self control. This is in contrast to well-proportioned medium size figures, which do posess self control and finesse. Sizes vary from 23 cm to more than 100 cm.
A slim, small body is the indication of refinement. The bodies of moderate characters are medium sized (pideksa), bodies of coarse characters are largest and most heavy (ageng inggil)



Face
Personality is portrayed with the face, especially through the shape of the eyes and the nose. There is great variation in eyes, noses, mouths and shapes of bodies occurring in all sorts of combinations which result in detailed individual expressions.
There are at least 13 different shapes of eyes and noses.

CHARACTERS
The noble:
- elongated, slanted eyes, appearing half closed (liyepan, or jaitan, ‘sewn together’, or gababan, ‘like a grain of rice’)
- a lincip (long pointed) nose
- the mouth is half closed , and the teeth are visible

The intermediary:
- eyes shaped like kedelen (soya beans), rounder than liyepan, but still elongated
- the nose is long and ‘well-shaped’ (sembada) and slightly turned up at the end.

The coarse:
- physically powerful and violent type
- round wide-open eyes (telegan, or with a round pupil)
- base of nose is strongly accentuated, nose is bulbous
- mouth is open in a grin, with the fat lips revealing two rows of teeth, including incisors

Wayang Kulit, Shadow Puppets Characters

5 brothers of Pandawa

Yudhistira (first son)

Bima (second son)

Arjuna (third son)

Nakula (4th son)

Sadewa (5th son)

The Pandawa, especially Arjuna, are always accompanied by their five loyal servants clown by the name of panakawan: Semar, a very fat man with big belly and enormous buttock; and his sons Gareng, with his misshapen arms and cross-eyes; Petruk, a tall man with a very long nose; Topog and Bagong, with a squat body and very big eyes. Semar’s sons have been brought to life by their father’s practice of meditation.
They live in the village of Karang Kabolotan, bolot means human body's dirt. Panakawan (pana means ‘clear vision, clever’ and kawan means ‘companion’), thus, those who have clear vision and that can give a wise advice. Although they are only servants, with ugly faces and disproportional bodies, they are very wise and good advisers.