THE JAVANESE WAYANG KULIT

Wayang Kulit

A'Wayang kulit' play usually takes all night. it may begin at eight or nine o'clock in the evening and nine hours later. A few stories take  more than one night. in many countries shadow puppet shows have becoming less pupular in the last fifty years, but these shows are still very popular in java.

Dalang & Sinden

The 'Dalang' who is the leader of the show, must be a cleaver man. He must have a good knowledge of his language, a good sense of humor, and a goog ability to tell stories. There are about 400 characters and each has his or her own way of speaking. The 'dalang' must sing, too. People want the 'dalang' to be good, he knows that they usually want to watch the show all night if everything goes well.

We cannot, of course, think of a 'wayang' show without a 'gamelan' orchestra. it helps the 'dalang' to make the situations that he wants. The show contains many kinds of situations, some sad, some happy,
 some serious, some dangerous, as many kinds as you find in life.

The 'Pesinden' or lady singer is also someone to listen. Sometimes she sings alone, sometimes together with the men who play in the  'gamelan' orchestra. Some people think the the 'Pesinden' is as important as the 'Gamelan' orchestra. The say that a 'Gamelan' orchestra without her may become boring.

The 'Dalang' sits in front of a screen. The part of the screen in front of him, the middle, is the palce where he moves the puppets.

In some countries, several people move the puppets, but in Java the 'Dalang' moves all the puppets himself. To the left of the 'Dalang' are the bad characters. The good ones are the right. The big giants with their sharp teeth are on the left, and the 'Ksatriyas' or knights on the right. These two sides always fight each other. The  bad side may win at first, but it is the good side that always wins in the end.


copied from: My University.