Balinese Life
From “Wayang Kulit” to Jurassic Park

When the Balinese hold a Ngaben (cremation ceremony) or rites de passage like otonan, a wayang kulit or shadow puppet play, it usually becomes a significant accompaniment of the procession. Everyone will wait for this moment for meaningful and amusing entertainment.

By the way, what is wayang kulit? It is a tradition of storytelling by means of shadow images projected before a backlit screen. This wayang employs two-dimensional puppets that are made of buffalo or cow parchment. It is carefully chiseled by hand. Each wayang figure has a different physical appearance. For the holder, it is completed with a stick in the middle of the wayang. Every joint of the hand can swivel, while it’s foot is made for certain wayang figures only. The wayang show is played by a dalang or puppeteer assisted by a katengkong. While, its musical accompaniment is usually by gender, however, in keeping with people’s demand it may be substituted with other instruments. Commonly, wayang performances are held in the evening except for wayang lemah that is intended for exorcism rites, is held at noon and without a screen.
Historically, wayang performances has been known in Indonesia as mentioned in a stone inscription in Central Java dated AD 906, while in Bali in the 11th century as mentioned in the inscription issued by King Anak Wungsu. According to some historians, the wayang was originated in India and arrived in this archipelago along with the traders and spreading of Hinduism. However, it has undergone some transformation with the local culture. For example, the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics as the main storyline has been added with some pairs of punakawans or servants of loyalty.
Wayang has been used to deliver moral messages through the characters of wayang, information from the king to its community and the last, as entertainment, like practical jokes taken from day-to-day life. The wayang show is always performed at temporary booths. For practicality, even the wayang troupe takes advantage of the backspace of a truck. Screens are set up between the left and right wooden wall. So, when the show is over, it just needs to close the back door and they go away.
In the New Order era, wayang performances also carries some messages on development issues of the authority. It is packed in such a way so it does not lessen its entertainment mission. When national lottery was widely dispersed in 1980s, the media of wayang also contained ‘keywords’ for the upcoming numbers. Spectators that had a hobby in this lottery would watch the show seriously to find out something that pertained to the content of their ‘dream guidebook of number forecast’.
Nowadays, starting at the beginning of June, some regions in Indonesia, including Bali, are busy in preparing the regent’s election or pilkada in Bahasa Indonesia. In Bali, this wayang as a traditional medium is also taken advantage of for its campaign. The puppeteer tries to find out storys based on the request of the organizer so it is relevant to the handover of power like the succession of Alengka Kingdom after the death of Ravana in the Ramayana epics.
The technique of wayang itself has also developed through the times. Some creative dalangs intermingle the wayang show with the touch of modern technology. The show makes use of coconut-oil fired lamps to produce flickering light, but currently some simplify this by using an electrical bulb. Another may add background on the screen by use of a slide projector to make the story more attractive. Actually, the world renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg has as well applied similar concepts to that of wayang in the making of the film Jurassic Park. Scenes of dinosaurs are made in two-dimensional figures that are shot by cameras and then converted into three-dimensional figures by computer animation.
Last but not least, travelers that spend holidays in Bali can also watch this Balinese traditional ‘animation’. It is usually performed at every full moon at the outermost courtyard of Jagatnatha Temple or somewhere in Ubud. For information, it would be advisable to contact your travel agent. Or you can bring home a souvenir of wayang kulit as mentioned above or in painting of the Kamasan style displayed on the ceiling of Kertha Gosa and Floating Pavilion in Semarapura city, Klungkung. Wayang souvenirs are widely available at art shops or galleries in tourist resorts here in Bali.(BTN/Wayan Punia)