Kunang Helmi , Contributor , Paris | Sat, 04/03/2010 10:06 AM | Entertainment
The Center of Documentation of World Theater in Vitre, France, about two-hours drive from Paris, is featuring shadow puppets as part of the Festival de l’Imaginaire this year. The first exhibition displays shadow puppets from India and Java, Indonesia. The second features the work of Indonesian contemporary wayang beber painter Dani Iswardani from Solo, Java.
The first, Shadows of Ramayana, displays some 50 Indonesian leather shadow puppets known as wayang kulit until May 12. Together with photos, videos and maps as well as two lectures on shadow puppet theater in the two countries, visitors to Brittany can gain insight into the importance and relevance of this theater form in modern times.
Shadow puppet theater was born in Asia where for centuries, especially in India and Indonesia, excerpts originating from the Ramayana or Mahabharata epics were popular. Only in Asia is it still performed according to old traditions deeply rooted in national culture. The interplay of light and colored shadows is the strongest aspect of the dream-like effect of the shadow theater, playing a role as a mediator between gods and men. Nowadays, by contrast, governments may sometimes also promote its use as an educational tool.
Said to have originated in India from scroll paintings called Chitra Katha, shadow puppets is a theater form evolved from visual dramatization of cut-out figures later fashioned from thin leather. These were of different styles, made from translucent or opaque leather, some figures were black and white, while others were brilliantly colored, both appearing as delicate as lace shadows on the screen. The shadow puppet master was a venered figure of society with performances featuring prominently in social and religious life.
In India, shadow theater called Chlaya Natak spread from Gujarat on the western coast to Maharashtra when the clan of shadow puppeteers traveled across the subcontinent. Shadow puppets are now widely prevalent in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and coastal areas as well as in Maharashtra and Orissa.
Hanuman
Each performance in India generally commenced with a prayer for Ganesha — the elephant headed son of god Shiva — and sometimes was also dedicated to Saraswati or Brahma. The puppeteer was often accompanied by a group of musicians. Each regional style has its own stock of characters to create comic situations. The back-stage arrangement of the puppets used is always sequential with different animal characters and scenery performances, which is usually a lengthy performance.
In Java the shadow plays are often regarded as an art form where the flat leather puppets cast shadows upon a screen that used to be lit by coconut oil lamps before the advent of electricity. The light endowed an exotic touch to these performances where one puppeteer known as a dalang would control movement while enacting voices. The performance would be preceded by showing the Gunungan to herald the commencement of the long narrative.
In Java, the puppeteer is said to be endowed with mystical power while he enjoys more prestige than other performing artists in Java. These performances also form part of Balinese culture. There is evidence that shadow plays have been performed for over 1,000 years in Indonesia, perhaps coming over from India where it is said shadow puppets did have their origin.
Shadow plays are still enormously popular in Java with people flocking to see a famous puppeteer perform. These performers enjoy huge monetary rewards beside the prestige they garner with each performance when the highly stylized figures of heroes, gods, princesses, demons and servants are the focus of attention during the night-long sessions.
Such a famous dalang was the Javanese artist Joko Susilo who learned the art from his father who again learnt it from his father, this art stretching seven generations back. Joko Susilo started early at the age of 3 and gave his first performance when he was 10 when he had to stand in for his father.
The dalang sits cross-legged with his right leg over his left so that he can play brass percussion with his foot to direct the gamelan. Usually the dalang does not move from this spot without eating for nine hours showing a much admired endurance for his art. Each performance based on a part of the Ramayana for instance is subject to local variations with comments on current social and political events. Until now a female dalang has never appeared.
The Javanese audience either sit in front of the screen to admire the shadows or behind the screen to watch the dalang and the gamelan orchestra. However, in the West the spectators generally prefer to sit in front of the screen. It is rare that Western dalang make their mark because they perform in many traditional languages beside manipulating the puppets. Once in a while there is a wayang kulit festival in Indonesia with many puppeteers coming together to perform different pieces.
Some Western puppeteers have also transformed this ancient art form into a modern interpretation of theater. Many famous theater directors have also incorporated variations into their contemporary plays or opera such as director Robert Wilson or American dalang Larry Reed. The latter, besides being an expert in Balinese wayang, also employs the technique for other theater performances in the US. One such noted performance, which premiered in Peliatan, Bali, a few years ago, was “Wayang Listrik”.
In Vitre, two lectures, one by Dr. Francoise Grund and the other by Cathy Basset, will explain the history and genesis of shadow puppets in India and Indonesia.
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