WHAT/WHO is wayang kulit?

WAYANG KULIT
(INDONESIAN SHADOW PUPPETS)

WHAT!

Wayang Kulit in Central Java is probably one of the oldest continuous traditions of storytelling in the world, and certainly among the most highly developed. It is also probably the most famous and imaginative form of Indonesian Wayang. Finely carved and painted thin leather puppets move behind a white linen screen, such that the audience on the other side of the screen sees the shadows only.

"Kulit" means leather. Thick and specifically treated Water Buffalo leather is manually cut out, engraved, chiseled with amazing detail and finally hand-painted. Movable limbs are joined with leather bolts and even the handles are made from the long horns of the same Water Buffaloes.

The wayang is a flat or round puppets used for shows in Java.The wayang kulit is the flat one and it is made with buffalo leather. They are maipulated behind a white screen with a back light, so the attendance can see them as shadow puppets.
Wayang is well integrated in Javanese society, and it is considered to be a highlight of Javanese culture.
Wayang Kulit was already established in the East Javanese kingdoms one thousand years ago.

WHO!

The puppets are stored in line, in a banana tree trunk, behind the screen and in front of the puppeter. The puppeter is called the dalang.

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.

Not everyone can be a dalang. A Dalang is a most extraordinary man. First of all, he is a public entertainer. To amuse a great number of people is not an easy matter. He must be physically strong and healthy, otherwise he would not be able to stand the strain. Just imagine, he is seated cross-legged for nine successive hours. He cannot even have a wink of sleep. He cannot get up from his seat until six o'clock the next morning. He also has to strike the kechrek (rattle) with his right foot almost incessantly. He handles the puppets with both hands, imitates their different voices, tell jokes at the right times, and even sings every now and then. In addition, he controls the musicians without anyone among the audience ever noticing it.

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A video of a news broadcast showing all about modifying Wayang Kulit to attract and suit tourists' needs and understanding.

Music for Wayang Kulit

There are several types of music used in the Javanese wayang kulit.The first distinction we will want to make is between measured and un-measured. We normally mean that there is some sort of arranging of these beats into larger groups, of two, three, or four. In Western music we call these groups "measures". In Javanese music, we call the groups "gatras". When we play measured pieces, we are counting "and-one-and-two-and-three-and-four", or something to that effect. "Un-measured" music lacks this quality. The rhythm ebbs and flows at the whim of the performer, normally lacking any feel of "beat" or "meter". The phrasing of the music is left to the will of the performer, and the skills at interacting in a way that still makes musical sense, even while lacking a meter to give them structure.

Types of Measured Pieces. The measured pieces played by the gamelan come in two types: regular and irregular. The regular forms have gong structures that are completely predictable just from the title of the piece. The irregular forms have gong structures that vary from one piece to the next of the "same" form. They will vary as to how many gatras per gong, both within a single piece, and from one piece to the next.

Here's a chart of some of the regular forms:

Legend: X = balungan + = kethuk - = kempyang N = kenong G = gong
Lancaran 8 beats to the gong / 4 kenongs + + N + + N + + N + + N/G
. X . X . X . X . X . X . X . X
Ketawang 16 beats to the gong / 2 kenongs - + - - + - N - + - - + - N/G
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Ladrang 32 beats to the gong / 4 kenongs - + - - + - N - + - - + - N
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
- + - - + - N - + - - + - N/G
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Now here are the irregular forms:
Ayak-ayakan 2 kenongs to the gatra + +N+ +N
X X X X
Srepegan 4 kenongs to the gatra +N+N+N+N
X X X X
Sampak 8 kenongs to the gatra + + + +
NNNNNNNN
X X X X



Types of Un-Measured Pieces. The unmeasured pieces are distinguished mostly by instrumentation and function. They are often labelled sulukan as a general classification.

• Tembang or Sekar. These are solo songs, often accompanied by a gender, very lightly. As a Bawa, a solo song would serve as an introduction to a measured piece. As an Andhegan, it would serve as an interlude in the middle of an measured piece.
  
• Pathetan. This piece is played by gender, gambang, suling, rebab and a solo voice. In the wayang kulit, it is used to open each act of the play, setting the mood, and the tonality for the coming act.

• Sendon. This is scored like a pathetan, minus the rebab. Sendon would be used as required by the drama of the scene. For example Tlutur is a very sad song, and so is used to express deep sorrow on the part of one the wayang characters.

• Ado-ado. Is the most widely used of the sulukan within the context of the wayang kulit. It is palyed by the voice, gender, and suling. It is intimately bound up with the dramatic rhythm of the play, acting almost lke a musical glue, holding the scenes together. A common dramatic structure for a wayang scene might go something like this: Srepegan (or other irregular form) - Ado-ado - Narration - Dialog, which might then be repeated several times, with variation, so as to slowly build the story of the wayang kulit.

http://www.efn.org/~qehn/wayang/music.htm