Since the days of Kartasura, composing a puppet story in the Ramayana and Mahabharata farther away from the original. Since the days of the fans that know the genealogy of wayang puppet figures, including the god figure, which originated from the Prophet Adam. The genealogy continues to come to the kings of the island of Java. And further, began to be known are the stories grip puppet. the appropriate standard of stories, puppets and stories carangan out of the standard line. In addition there is another offshoot called "Wayang Sempalan" the play, which was too far out of the story grip.
Indeed, so strong as puppet art is rooted in the culture of Indonesia, so there was some confusion between the wayang stories, legends, and history. If the Indians thought that the story of Mahabharata and Ramayana actually happened in his country, a Javanese wayang story even consider actually happened on the island of Java. And in the Kulonprogo East Java puppet is still very interested by all ages. Not only by parents, but also teenagers and even young children have also always to see a puppet show. Besides, the puppet is also commonly used in certain events in the area Kulonprogo, both in urban areas or in rural areas Wates in Kulonprogo.
Types of puppets:
Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet)
As the name implies, "Wayang Kulit " puppets made of leather animals (buffalo, cow or goat).Wayang Kulit are used to demonstrate the act of the play chronicles the Mahabharata and Ramayana, therefore also called Wayang Purwa. Until now a puppet show in addition to entertainment facilities is also a part of traditional ceremonies such as: clean village, ngruwat and others.To perform a puppet show in full is required by about 18 supporters.One person as a puppeteer, two people as waranggana, and 15 people as gamelan wiraswara concurrently. Average performances in one night is 7 to 8 hours, from 21:00 hours to 05:00 hours in the morning. When done in the daytime show usually starts from 09.00 to 16:00 hours. Place a puppet show stage set up with the concept of abstract. Arena stage consists of a screen of white cloth as a means of technical and placed under the banana stem to stick puppets. In the puppet show, a number of scenes in the play can not be determined. This scene number will vary based on the play that was shown or hanging behind it. As a pre-show is drumming that has nothing to do with the main story, so it is just as heated atmosphere or introductory course to get into the actual show. As a guide in presenting puppet show usually a puppeteer would use a grip puppetry books.
Wayang kulit, shadow puppets prevalent in Java and Bali in Indonesia, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian wayang.
Kulit means skin, and refers to the leather construction of the
puppets that are carefully chiseled with very fine tools and supported
with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.
The stories are usually drawn from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or the Serat Menak.
There is a family of characters in Javanese wayang called Punakawan;
they are sometimes referred to as "clown-servants" because they
normally are associated with the story's hero, and provide humorous and
philosophical interludes. Semar is the father of Gareng (oldest son),
Petruk, and Bagong (youngest son). These characters did not originate
in the Hindu epics, but were added later, possibly to introduce
mystical aspects of Islam into the Hindu-Javanese stories. They provide
something akin to a political cabaret, dealing with gossip and
contemporary affairs.
The puppets figures themselves vary from
place to place. In Central Java the city of Surakarta (Solo) is most
famous and is the most commonly imitated style of puppets. Regional
styles of shadow puppets can also be found in West Java, Banyumas,
Cirebon, Semarang, and East Java. Bali produces more compact and
naturalistic figures, and Lombok has figures representing real people.
Often modern-world objects as bicycles, automobiles, airplanes and
ships will be added for comic effect, but for the most part the
traditional puppet designs have changed little in the last 300 years.
Historically, the performance consisted
of shadows cast on a cotton screen and an oil lamp. Today, the source
of light used in wayang performance in Java is most often a halogen
electric light. Some modern forms of wayang such as Wayang Sandosa
created in the Art Academy at Surakarta (STSI) has employed spotlights,
colored lights and other innovations.
The handwork involved in making a wayang kulit
figure that is suitable for a performance takes several weeks, with
the artists working together in groups. They start from master models
(typically on paper) which are traced out onto kulit (skin or
parchment), providing the figures with an outline and with indications
of any holes that will need to be cut (such as for the mouth or eyes).
The figures are then smoothed, usually with a glass bottle, and primed.
The structure is inspected and eventually the details are worked
through. A further smoothing follows before individual painting, which
is undertaken by yet another craftsman.
Finally, the movable parts
(upper arms, lower arms with hands and the associated sticks for
manipulation) mounted on the body, which has a central staff by which
it is held. A crew makes up to ten figures at a time, typically
completing that number over the course of a week.
The painting of less expensive puppets
is handled expediently with a spray technique, using templates, and
with a different person handling each color. Less expensive puppets,
often sold to children during performances, are sometimes made on
cardboard instead of leather.
Wayang topeng or wayang gedog or wayang wong
Wayang wong also known as Wayang orang
(literally human wayang) is a type of theatrical performance with
themes from the kingdom of Jenggala, in which the players wear masks
known as wayang topeng or wayang gedog. The word "gedog" comes from "kedok", which, like "topeng"
means "mask". The main theme is the story of Raden Panji and Candra.
This is a love story about princess Candra Kirana of Kediri and Raden
Panji Asmarabangun, the crown prince of Jenggala. Candra Kirana was the
incarnation of Dewi Ratih (goddess of love) and Panji was an
incarnation of Kamajaya (god of love). Kirana's story was given the
title "Smaradahana" ("The fire of love"). At the end of the
complicated story they finally can marry and bring forth a son, named
Raja Putra. Panji Asmarabangun ruled Jenggala under the official names
"Sri Kameswara", "Prabu Suryowiseso", and "Hino Kertapati". Originally,
wayang wong was performed only as an aristocratic
entertainment in four palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. In the course
of time, it spread to become a popular and folk form as well.
Wayang wong has fixed patterns of movement and costume:
For male performers:
- Alus: very slow, elegant and smooth movement. For example,
the dance of Arjuna, Puntadewa and all other slimly built Kshatriyas.
There are two types of movement, lanyap and luruh.
- Gagah:
- Kambeng: a more athletic dance, used for the roles of Bima, Antareja, and Ghatotkacha.
- Bapang: gagah and kasar for the warriors of Kaurawa.
- Kalang kinantang: falls somewhere between alus and gagah, danced by tall, slim dancers in the roles of Kresno or Suteja.
- Kasar: a coarse style, used in portraying ogres and demons.
- Gecul: ponokawan and cantrik
- Kambeng dengklik: for ape warriors, such as Hanuman.
- Kalang kinantang dengklik: for ape warriors, such as Sugriwa and Subali.
For female performers: Kshatriya
noblemen. Costumes and props distinguish kings, Kshatriyas, monks,
princesses, The movements known as nggruda or ngenceng encot in the classical high style of dance consist of nine basic movements (joged pokok) and twelve other movements (joged gubahan and joged wirogo) and are used in portraying Bedoyo and Srimpi.
Today, the wayang wong, following the Gagrak style of Surakarta, is danced by women. They follow the alus movements associated with a Kshatriya, resembling Arjuna. Following the Gagkra style from Yogyakarta a male dancer uses these same Alus movements to depict princes and generals. There are about 45 distinct character types.
Wayang Golek (Rod Puppets)
Wayang golek are wooden doll puppets that are operated from below by
rods connected to the hands and a central control rod that runs through
the body to the head. The simple construction of the puppets belies
their versatility, expressiveness and aptitude for imitating human
dance. Little is known for certain about the history of wayang golek,
but scholars have speculated that it most likely originated in China
and arrived in Java sometime in the 17th century. Some of the oldest
traditions of wayang golek are from the north coast of Java in what is
called the pasisir region. This is home to some of the oldest Muslim
kingdoms in Java and it is likely the wayang golek grew in popularity
through telling the wayang menak stories of Amir Hamza, the uncle of
Muhammad.
These stories are still widely performed in Kabumen, Tegal,
and Jepara as wayang golek menak, and in Cirebon, wayang golek cepak.
Legendary origins of wayang golek attribute their invention to the
Muslim saint Wali Sunan Kudus, who used the medium to proselytize
Muslim values. In the 18th century the tradition moved into the
mountains of West Java where it eventually was used to tell stories of
the Ramayana and the Mahabarata in a tradition now called wayang golek
purwa, which can be found in Bandung, Bogor and Jakarta. Wayang golek
purwa has become the most popular form of wayang golek today and the
most famous puppeteer family is the Sunarya family which has produced
several generations of stellar performers.
Wayang Karucil or Wayang Klitik
Wayang klitik figures occupy a middle ground between the figures of wayang golek and wayang kulit. They are constructed similarly to wayang kulit figures, but from thin pieces of wood instead of leather, and, like wayang kulit figures, are used as shadow puppets. A further similarity is that they are the same smaller size as wayang kulit figures. However, wood is more subject to breakage than leather. During battle scenes, wayang klitik
figures often sustain considerable damage, much to the amusement of
the public, but in a country in which before 1970 there were no
adequate glues available, breakage generally meant an expensive, newly
made figure. On this basis the wayang klitik figures, which
are to appear in plays where they have to endure battle scenes, have
leather arms. The name of these figures is onomotopaeic, from the sound
klitik-klitik, that these figures make when worked by the dalang.
Wayang klitik figures come
originally from eastern Java, where one still finds workshops turning
them out. They are less costly to produce than wayang kulit figures.
The origin of the stories involved in
these puppet plays comes from the kingdoms of eastern Java: Jenggala,
Kediri and Majapahit. From Jenggala and Kediri come the stories of
Raden Panji and Cindelaras, which tells of the adventures of a pair of
village youngsters with their fighting cocks. The Damarwulan presents the stories of a hero (Damarwulan) from Majapahit. Damarwulan is a clever chap, who with courage, aptitude, intelligence and the assistance of his young lover Anjasmara, makes a surprise attack on the neighboring kingdom and brings down Minakjinggo, an Adipati (viceroy) of Blambangan and mighty enemy of Majapahit's beautiful queen Sri Ratu Kencanawungu. As a reward, Damarwulan is married to Kencanawungu and becomes king of Majapahit; he also takes Lady Anjasmara as a second wife. This story is full of love affairs and battles and is very popular with the public. The dalang is liable to incorporate the lawayang local gossip and quarrels and work them into the play as comedy.
Wayang beber
The wayang beber has strong
similarities to narratives in the form of illustrated ballads that were
common at annual fairs in medieval and early modern Europe. They have
also been subject to the same fate—they have nearly vanished. Chinese
visitors to Java during the 15th century described a storyteller or
unrolled scrolls and told stories that made the audience laugh or cry. A
few scrolls of images remain from those times, found today in museums.
There are two sets, hand-painted on hand-made bark cloth, that are
still owned by families who have inherited them from many generations
ago, in Pacitan and Wonogiri, both villages in Central Java.
Performances, mostly in small open-sided pavilions or auditoriums, take
place according to the following pattern:
The dhalang (puppeteer, narrator) gives a
sign, the small gamelan orchestra with drummer and a few knobbed gongs
and a musician with a rebab (violin-like instrument held vertically)
begins to play and the dhalang unrolls the first scroll of the story.
Then, speaking and singing, he narrates the episode in more detail. In
this manner, in the course of the evening he unrolls several scrolls
one at a time. Each scene in the scrolls represents a story or part of a
story. The content of the story typically stems from the Panji
romances which are semi-historical legends set in the 12th-13th century
East Javanese kingdoms of Jenggala, Daha and Kedhiri, and also in
Bali.
Wayang Sadat
Sadat puppet that is a form of folk art of shadow puppets, but the characters and the story is the history of Islam is taken from the end of the Majapahit empire until the beginning of the Mataram kingdom. This puppet is played day and night by a puppeteer with gamelan accompaniment. This newly developed form is used by teachers of Islam to show the
principles of Muslim ethics and religion to the natives of Java and
Bali.
About the birth culture of puppets, Ir. Sri Mulyono in his book, Symbolism and Mysticism in the Puppet (1979), estimates wayang existed in Neolithikum, ie approximately 1,500 years before Christ. His opinion was based on the writings Robert von Heine-Geldern Ph. D, Prehistoric Research in the Netherland Indies (1945) and Prof. writing. K.A.H. Hidding in the Encyclopedia of Indonesia page 987
