Shadow Puppetry

Wayang kulit is not simply entertainment. It is an oral encyclopedia, a philosophical arena, and a spiritual ritual compressed into an all-night performance. A dalang must command hundreds of characters, Old Javanese literature, gamelan music, humor, and the improvisational skill to speak about anything — from the Mahabharata to local politics — within a single show.

The puppets themselves are works of art. Buffalo hide is carved with small chisels to produce extraordinarily fine ornamental detail, then painted using the sungging technique — layer upon careful layer of color applied by hand. A single puppet can take weeks to complete.

The dalang sits behind a white screen, oil lamp or electric light casting shadows forward. He voices every character, cues the gamelan orchestra with his feet, and controls the pacing of a story that may run from nine at night until dawn. The role is part performer, part priest, part social commentator. In many Javanese communities, a wayang performance is still the proper way to mark a birth, a wedding, or the clearing of new land.