Saturday, August 1, 2009

What are the elements of Wayang Kulit?

Wayang kulit refers to the art of Indonesian puppet theater, which originated on Java but spread to every other Indonesian island. The term wayang kulit can also refer to puppets that are made of flat leather and illuminated from behind, in contrast to the three-dimensional, wooden puppets called wayang klitik or golek. The puppets have costumes, facial features, and body parts controlled by thin wooden sticks. Wayang kulit can be used as social commentary through criticism of the archetypal "ordinary person," a common character in puppet shows. Other common themes include retelling indigenous Indonesian myths, or borrowing characters from Indian and Persian epics. Traditional wayang kulit utilized complex music, but in order to compete with modern art forms and media, many modern puppet shows include popular music instead, as well as incorporating more comedy and less social critique.

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