Beth Osnes - The Shadow Puppet Theatre of Malaysia - A Study of Wayang Kulit With Performance Scripts and Puppet Designs-McFarland (2010)

The Shadow Puppet
Theatre of Malaysia
This page intentionally left blank
The Shadow Puppet
Theatre of Malaysia
A Study of Wayang Kulit with
Performance Scripts and
Puppet Designs
BETH OSNES
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
Drawings by Juliana Forbes
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Osnes, Beth.
The shadow puppet theatre of Malaysia : a study of wayang kulit
with performance scripts and puppet designs / Beth Osnes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4838-8
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
¡. Wayang. 2. Shadow shows — Malaysia.

3. Puppet theater — Malaysia. I. Title.
PN1979.S5O85 2010 791.5' 309595 — dc22 2010034803
British Library cataloguing data are available
© 2010 Beth Osnes. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: Shadow image of Rama and an

uninvited dragonfly (photograph by Beth Osnes)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To my husband, life partner, confidant, and best friend, J.P. Osnes.
His spirit of adventure, his intelligence, his investment of time,
resources, and passion are intertwined in every word of this book.
I also wish to acknowledge and thank my children,
Peter, Melisande, and Lerato,
for their support and enthusiasm.
Finally, I thank my mother and father,
John Lee Beehner and Dorothy Claire Beehner,
for instilling in me the courage, faith and love of life
that enabled me to do the research and complete this book.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
One: The Shadow Puppet Theatre in Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Two: The Stories of the Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Three: The Shadow Puppet Theatre in Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Four: Five Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Five: Teaching and Performing Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre . . . . . . . . . . 139
Afterword: July 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Appendix: Puppet Designs Used in Scripts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Chapter Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
vii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the Eugene M. Kayden Endowment for the Kayden research
grant that helped support the creation of this book. I am also grateful to the University
of Colorado Center for Asian Studies for awarding me a short-term student assistance
grant to engage the amazing skills of Candace Joice, a PhD student in the Department
of Theatre and Dance at UCB, for editing and research assistance. Special thanks to
the Center for Asian Studies for creating such a lively and vibrant environment for
Asian studies on the UCB campus that allowed for several opportunities to present my
work prior to the writing of this book. I thank my colleagues in the Department of
Theatre and Dance for their support and inspiration. The students in my Asian theatre
seminar and my world theatre class over the years have my gratitude for invigorating
my interest and understanding of the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre.
To those in Malaysia, I thank Dr. Ghulam Sarwar-Yousof for his amazing gen-
erosity of friendship, assistance, and knowledge. To his wife, Hajrah, I also extend per-
sonal thanks for her friendship and amazing curries. I thank Encik Zahrim bin Romli,
a cultural officer in Kedah, who went out of his way to help me find performers and
performances of the Wayang Kulit. I thank the Ministry of Culture office in Kelantan
and its many officers, especially Encik Mohd. Daud, who was extremely helpful with
my research. I also thank Dalang Mohd. Noh of Kedah, Dalang Husain Kualessaurt of
Kelantan, and Dalang Abdul-
lah Abahim, or “Baju Merah,”
of Kelantan for their time and
kindness. Surinam bt. Yusoff,
of Kelantan, was a great friend
to me during my time con-
ducting research and assisted
with translation when needed.
She has my warm thanks.
In the Fulbright office in
Malaysia I thank Kala Kovan
and Dr. M. Zain Karim.
I thank Dr. Philip Lut-
gendorf, professor of Hindi
Dalang Hamzah Awang Hamat, foremost performer of
and modern Indian studies at the Wayang Kulit in Malaysia, the author’s teacher and
the University of Iowa, for friend (photographer unknown, a gift to the author from
editing the synopsis of the Dalang Hamzah).
ix
Acknowledgments
Ramayana included in this book. Thanks to Dr. Laura Brueck, professor of Hindi at
the University of Colorado, for editing the synopsis of the Mahabharata.
I extend warm thanks to my illustrator, Juliana Forbes, whose beautiful illustrations
communicate the true splendor of this form’s artistry. I am also deeply appreciative for
the photographic contribution of Charlotte Orrino, who photographed the puppets for
me. I am grateful to the staff at Jone’s Camera in Boulder, especially Kevin Rice, for
their continual assistance. I wish to extend thanks to the many contributors to this
book, including Todd J. Coulter, Jennifer E. Popple, Lisa Hall, Penelope Cole, Candace
M. Joice, and Elizabeth Ann Jouchum.
My final thanks go to Dalang Hamzah Awang Hamat of Kelantan, who was my
teacher for the Wayang Kulit and much much more. His entire family welcomed me
and made my research time so rich and enjoyable. His entire troupe treated me with
great warmth and kindness, for which I am extremely grateful. Although, sadly, Hamzah
is now deceased, I remain grateful to him for helping me to “feel the wind.” May this
book help preserve the amazing contribution he made to his art.
x
Preface
Attention to the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre is often eclipsed by the better-
known Javanese style, to which it owes much of its original inspiration and form.
Though the refinement and exquisite beauty of the Javanese variety cannot and should
not be denied, there is something about the more energetic and raucous Malaysian
counterpart that sheds a different light on how shadow play can function within a com-
munity and a nation. This book will shine a light on the Malaysian form of shadow
puppet theatre in order to highlight its own unique attributes, character and nuances
within the context of Southeast Asian and Asian shadow puppet theatre traditions.
Intended for a Western audience not overly familiar with Asian performance conventions
and practices, this book serves as a bridge to this highly imaginative and compelling
art form. This book includes an accessible and thorough scholarly examination of the
shadow puppet theatre in Malaysia, performance scripts, designs for puppet characters
represented in these scripts (see Appendix), instructions for creating a shadow screen,
and easy instructions for performing the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre. In addition,
there is a section that considers the practical, pedagogical, and ethical issues that arise
when teaching on this form.
As an American scholar and theatre artist I have been performing, writing, lecturing
and presenting on this form for nearly two decades in North America and parts of Europe.
What I have learned from these experiences is that the form is best appreciated experi-
entially and that, once experienced, it can serve as a dynamic entry point to better under-
standing and appreciating the culture of Malaysia and Southeast Asia. As such, I see my
role in this book as cultural translator, bridging the radically different performance con-
ventions and practices of this form to a western audience. In my experience teaching at
the University of Colorado, students have delighted in participating in an outdoor,
nighttime shadow puppet performance during which the audience is free to talk, eat,
drink, smoke and spit! Sitting on straw mats, enveloped in the cyclical rhythm of the
gamelan music, they saw the clashes of good and evil through the shadow images on the
screen. A cultural grounding in this form greatly enhanced their experience. They even
acknowledged a certain ethical obligation to understand the original significance of these
performance aspects so steeped in cultural and religious importance before experimenting
with them. What I observed was that it generated respect for and authentic interest in
a culture very different from their own and opened students up to myriad ways in which
theatre can function within a community. Therefore, I invite educators, students, artists,
and enthusiasts alike to experience this form for themselves using whatever cultural
grounding, inspiration, and tools from the book that serve that experience.
1
Preface
I first learned of the Malaysian Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppet theatre, from John
Archuleta, a Native American man I worked with at the Housing Department at the
University of Colorado when I was a graduate student. His wife was Tamil Indian from
Malaysia. As we were both graduate students doing administrative work to pay our way
through school, we often diverged into richer topics of conversation than room assign-
ments. I was taking an Asian Theatre seminar from Dan Yang and in class we briefly
studied the Javanese Wayang Kulit. From my discussions in the housing office with
John, I learned that there was a much more rustic and robust form of Wayang Kulit in
Malaysia that was less documented than the Javanese. He had seen it during travels to
Malaysia with his wife and attested to its unique status as a lively and popular art form
performed by and for the people. John even knew the name of a famous scholar who
conducted seminal research in this area, Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof. This piqued my
interest. I was looking for a dissertation topic that would take me traveling to far-off
lands rather than deep into shelves of books in a dusty library. Years before I knew my
husband, J.P., he had taken a year off from college to travel around Southeast Asia. His
photographs and stories of terraced rice paddies and teenaged boys climbing coconut
trees sealed the deal. In addition to being technical director of a large theatre, J.P. was
also a lighting designer; this form that was a play of lights held great intrigue for him
as well.
So for the summer of 1989, we, as two backpack travelers, headed off to Malaysia,
Thailand, and Indonesia, to travel the area, make connections, and see if such a study
was possible. Upon landing in Penang, Malaysia, we were quickly able to locate Ghulam
and became fast friends with him and his family. His graciousness informs and enriches
this book. Through Ghulam I learned of Dalang Hamzah Awang Hamat in Kelantan,
whom he regarded as the most accomplished performer of the Wayang Kulit in Malaysia.
We also learned which areas of Malaysia had forms of the wayang, how those forms dif-
fered, and who were the leading practitioners of each. Armed with Ghulam’s rich
insights, experience, and guidance, we set out to meet puppet masters and watch as
many performances as we could; and, of course, treated ourselves to experiences of the
surrounding culture along the way.
In the northwest state of Kedah, the cultural officer, Encik Zahrim bin Romli,
helped us interview the puppet master Dalang Mohd. Noh and took us to a performance
by Dalang Noh that was housed in a delivery truck with its side door rolled up and a
shadow screen replacing it. This was my first live experience of the Malaysian wayang,
and I was enchanted. Pak Noh’s good-natured, mischievous humor generously emerged
through the telling of this tale from the Indian epic tale Ramayana. In the performance,
two clown characters riding a motorcycle were not wearing helmets — a recent law in
Malaysia at the time required them — and were chased by two police officers. The crowd
went wild with laughter. I liked everything about this form. I liked how loose the con-
ventions for the audience were: you could eat, drink, smoke, converse, walk away for
a time, and come back whenever you liked. The performance conventions also bewitched
2
Preface
me as they were so different from the western forms I’d been immersed in as a graduate
student. By contrast, this form seemed so liberated, immediate, and imaginative. I liked
how accessible it was to every age, every economic level, and even every race in Malaysia.
Though I was yet to understand all the intricacies of the performance and the more
subtle cultural aspects, I knew that I wanted to research the form for my dissertation.
Once on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, the Ministry of Culture was
extremely helpful. The cultural officer, Encik Moh. Daud, drove us through the winding
jungle roads to meet many puppet masters, including Dalang Hamzah, with whom I
was able to speak through our translator, Surinam bt. Yusoff. Hamzah agreed that if I
could secure funding to return to Malaysia he would take me on as a student to conduct
in-depth research into the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre. After my husband and I
toured every state of Malaysia, we traveled through Indonesia and Thailand, all the
while taking in the sights and seeing as many performances as we could.
Once back in the States, although it took two attempts, eventually I was awarded
a Fulbright scholarship to conduct field research in Malaysia. J.P. and I traveled there
in June of 1991. J.P. stayed on for the summer months while his theatre was closed but
returned to the states at the end of August. During those summer months I was awarded
an additional short-term Fulbright grant for us to travel to Java and Bali to do more
systematic research on the forms of Wayang Kulit there in order to situate the Malaysian
style within some of the other versions found throughout Southeast Asia. Once J.P.
left, I moved to Kelantan to begin studying under Dalang Hamzah. It seemed that the
best method for understanding the form, in terms of training and performance, was to
become a student of performance in much the same way someone from the village who
wanted to become a puppet master would. I would travel daily to Dalang Hamzah’s
home in Tumpat from Kota Bharu and receive instruction in his home. With kids from
the neighborhood watching with varying degrees of interest, Dalang Hamzah taught
me how to manipulate the puppets and give them voice. During this time I also inter-
viewed many other active puppet masters and watched as many performances as I could.
I was even invited to go on tour with Dalang Husain Kualessaurt’s Wayang Kulit troupe
to Kuala Lumpur, where they were invited to perform for Malaysia Fest. Traveling
cross-country with them by bus and crossing busy streets in downtown Kuala Lumpur
(K.L.) brought home to me how deeply rural the practitioners of the Wayang Kulit are
and how entirely different criteria of sophistication and refinement are at play in contrast
to urban city life. Once back in Kelantan, I also got the chance to experience performing
the opening ceremony for a traditional performance, the Dalang Muda, which was both
exhilarating and extremely useful in gaining an inside perspective on the experience of
performing the wayang.
After receiving my degree, I continued to present on this form at festivals and at
a wide variety of schools. In 2001, I returned to Southeast Asia, this time with my hus-
band and our two children (Peter was eight years old and Melisande six), to research
traditional performing arts in Burma, Cambodia and Thailand. In Cambodia I was
3
Preface
able to observe the shadow puppet theatre in Siem Reap and see it used in an orphanage
for instilling in abandoned children a sense of pride in their rich Khmer heritage. We
also spent time in Mandalay, Burma (or Myanmar), researching the marionette puppet
theatre, or Yokthe Pwe, at the Mandalay Marionette Theatre. Kokyaw Myo Ko, co-
owner and manager with Ma Ma Naing, gave us an interview, a tour of the theatre,
and a demonstration of puppet manipulation. The interrelationship between this puppet
form and the Burmese dance-drama greatly enhanced my understanding of how the
human performance and the puppet theatre throughout Asia have so greatly informed
each other in terms of style, aesthetics and actual movement vocabulary. In 2003 Pornrat
Damrhung, a visiting scholar from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, conducted
a week long workshop on the Nang Yai, or large format style shadow puppet theatre,
at the University of Colorado; I was thrilled to participate. She shared instruction on
how to create the puppets and move with them in performance. Then in 2008 I traveled
to Southeast Asia again, this time with our three children (add to the list Lerato, four
years old) in tow, and conducted research in Vietnam and again in Malaysia. It was a
delight to experience the water puppet theatre, the Mua Roi Nuoc, at the Municipal
Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi, Vietnam. Water puppetry is uniquely Vietnamese and
stands as a compelling contrast to the shadow puppet theatre, which relies on fire, an
element equally as compelling as water, for its aesthetic draw. In Malaysia I was able
to reconnect with my dear friend and the foremost expert on the traditional performing
arts in Malaysia, Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof. From him I learned much about the
demise of the Malaysian Wayang Kulit as it was traditionally practiced. The afterword
for this book is largely a reflection on the Malaysian portion of that visit and a testimony
to all that has been revealed to me of the Wayang Kulit since my initial visit to Malaysia
in 1989.
There is an assortment of other books on the Malaysian Wayang Kulit, many by
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof. His book The Malay Shadow Play: An Introduction is a useful
introduction to the subject, though brief. Unfortunately, it is difficult for western
researchers to obtain this text, as it is published by the Asian Centre in Penang, which
Dr. Yousof founded, and had a very limited distribution. Several essays in Dr. Yousof ’s
collection Panggung Inu: Essays on Traditional Malay Theatre focus on the shadow puppet
theatre and is easier to obtain, as it is published by UniPress through The Centre for
the Arts at the National University of Singapore. Another collection by Dr. Yousof,
Panggung Semar: Aspects of Traditional Malay Theatre, also contains many articles on
the Malayian shadow puppet theatre and is published by Tempo in Kuala Lumpur.
Also by Dr. Yousoff is Angin Wayang: A Biography of a Master Puppeteer, a work that
chronicles the life of master puppeteer Dalang Hamzah Awang Amat. A very limited
number of copies was published by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism of
Malaysia in 1997 to commemorate the award of the Anugerah Seni Negara— the highest
award for an artist — to Dalang Hamzah in 1993.1 Beautifully illustrated, volume eight
of the Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Performing Arts was published by Archipelago in Sin-
4
Preface
gapore and edited by Dr. Yousoff. It contains a wealth of highly accessible general infor-
mation on the shadow puppet theatre and the surrounding rituals.
Other significant scholars have published on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre.
P.L. Sweeney has done extensive research on the repertoire for the Kelantanese Wayang
Siam in a work entitled The Ramayana and the Malay Shadow-Play, which was published
by the National University of Malaysia Press in 1972. Barbara Wright’s dissertation,
Wayang Siam: An Ethnographic Study of the Malay Shadow Play, was published in 1980
for her degree from Yale University. Patricia Matusky, an ethnomusicologist, has done
extensive research on the music of the Kelantanese Wayang Siam, beginning with her
dissertation, “Music in the Malay Shadow Puppet Theatre” (Volumes 1 and 2) for her
degree from the University of Michigan in 1980. Patricia continues to teach and conduct
research in Malaysia and also published Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre and Music:
Continuity of an Oral Tradition in 1993 (Oxford University Press).
The book you are now reading is written by a western scholar, educator, and prac-
titioner primarily for a western reader. To sift through all the above works, many of
them extremely difficult to access, would not only be laborious, but also would almost
certainly require an extensive research trip to Malaysia. Furthermore, the accomplished
performing artists written about in these pages who were still performing in the 1980s
and 1990s have all since passed away. I am honored to bring to the writing of this book
my direct experience with many of them whom I interviewed, received instruction
from, and observed in performance. This book brings information from all of the above
sources into one book and provides the scripts, instructions, and tools needed to expe-
rience the immediacy and vibrancy of this performance form. Because I have had the
opportunity to present on this form for many years to many audiences in North America
and Europe, I’ve learned what information tends to be needed, and at what point, in
order to appreciate, imagine, and make sense of this form, which is very different from
most people’s experience of theatre in the West. Since ethical considerations often arise
in intercultural pursuits, I also engage in that conversation. A complete bibliography
also provides information on available videos, Websites, musical recordings, and even
contact information for gamelan musical ensembles. As the afterword explains, this
book is very much the product of a scholar who is also an artist; it includes both aca-
demic and artistic considerations together in the same work. I became a student of per-
formance under Dalang Hamzah to gain a deeper understanding of the performance
aspects of the wayang. The following passage by Ronald Grimes lends insight into how
this direct contact with the art affected my interpretation of it: “Style includes body;
therefore, methodology ought not ignore it.... I found that my bodily state astonishingly
modified how I saw and what I wrote. I did not always become more sympathetic by
participation. Often I became more critical, and what I thought or wrote seemed more
grounded, rather than less objective, as I had anticipated.”2
True to the subject of this book, I have also intentionally designed it to be both
appealing and accessible to many age ranges, just as the Malaysian shadow puppet
5
Preface
theatre is within its cultural context. For the very young in Malaysia, the shadow puppet
theatre offers visual spectacle and action, for young adults and teens there are adventure
and romance, and for the elders there are moral teachings and the reassurance of spiritual
balance offered through the performance itself. Teachers of younger children can use
this book to familiarize themselves with the form and then use the puppet designs and
performance instructions to engage students in creating visual spectacle through the
play of shadows. High school and college students can create and enact the high dramas
and comedies of the many characters within the scripts. Graduate students and scholars
(and any interested reader) can understand the philosophical and spiritual elements
through the study of the surrounding rituals, customs and practices and, thereby, begin
to more fully understand the sublime appropriateness of shadow play as a medium for
this communication between the divine and the mortal realms.
Lastly, what this book includes is an unabashed enthusiasm for this captivating
and lively performance form. I can honestly say it still holds the same allure for me,
and that my fascination has only deepened and expanded over time. I most humbly
present my understanding of this form for your enrichment. May it expand your appre-
ciation for the culture from which it emerged. As the play of spirits and heroes, demons
and princesses come to life in the movement where shadow meets light, may it invigorate
your senses, fuel your quest for adventure, and enrich your very soul.
6
Introduction
Stepping In
Imagine yourself in the warm and humid climate of Malaysia; let’s say in a small
town in the state of Kedah. It’s night, and you’re sitting at a roadside café table sipping
your coffee, a thick layer of sweet and condensed milk coating the bottom of your cup.
You’re enjoying easy conversation with friends, when the not-so-distant music from a
gamelan orchestra reaches your ears, alerting you to the fact that a shadow puppet show
will soon be starting. Any children in your company will begin tugging at your sleeve,
begging you to hurry to the performance so they can sit right up front beneath the
shadow screen. Knowing there is no rush, you casually follow the music to the clearing
in the town, where a delivery truck has its large side door replaced with a muslin shadow
screen. Inside the vehicle, now a shadow puppet stage, the musicians are beating their
drums, gongs and metal clappers, and the serunai player is blowing a hypnotic melody
that seems to snake through the crowd, snaring its audience. Seated behind the screen,
the dalang is readying his shadow puppets for the evening’s performance, the piles of
flat, rawhide puppets snagging on each other as he hurriedly pulls them apart and stacks
them into piles in the order he plans to use them. Flicking his hand-rolled cigarette out
the open back of the truck and taking one last swig of coffee, the puppet master settles
himself behind the hanging light that will cast the shadows on the screen. He softly
recites his requisite prayers, incantations and blessings, ending with a gesture of baka,
touching his thumb to the roof of his mouth and then to his puppets. Finally, he is
ready to summon gods, heroes and demons alike from the supernatural world to bring
their struggles and triumphs to life in this play of shadows.
Welcome to the Malaysian Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppet theatre. For those of
you familiar with the more courtly Javanese style of wayang, prepare yourselves for a
bumpier ride complete with dips into raucous humor and ascents to moments of sublime
beauty. The Malaysian wayang is largely a popular form of entertainment that seeks to
engage its audience with such tactics as devised plots that branch out from the Indian
epic tales, or modernized elements such as fashionable dresses on mythological characters
to enhance the general appeal. Even the Malaysian puppets themselves are a bit rougher
than their Javanese counterparts, with less detailed carving within and slightly cruder
designs. Yet, from this emerges an undeniable vitality that connects to the very rhythm
of life in the village. The fact that the form is less precious and static allows it to antic-
ipate and respond in lively fashion to changes in its audience’s expectations. Far into
the 20th century this form retained its necessary function of maintaining balance for
7
Introduction
A Malaysian Wayang Kulit performance by Dalang Noh in Kedah. The female, Sita, is flanked
on either side by clown characters as she faces the evil Ravana (photograph by Beth Osnes).
the community. It has done so not only through the requisite ritual appeasing of the
gods and spirits accomplished through the Wayang Kulit, but also by providing enter-
tainment to balance the toil of the rice harvest, the demands of child rearing and the
trials of daily living.
Description of Chapters
This exploration of the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre begins in Chapter One
with the puppets themselves and the puppet masters who most often craft them and
certainly give them life in performance. The chapter then expands into a consideration
of the variety of shadow puppet theatre formats and traditions throughout all of Asia,
where puppet theatre in general enjoys a much higher status than in the west; here it
is most often relegated to entertainment for children. In fact, the aesthetic derived from
many of the puppet theatres throughout Asia have informed the development of many
Asian dance and dramatic performance forms. Chapter Two provides a lively retelling
of the primary epics and tales that serve as the repertoire for the shadow puppet theatre
in Malaysia. These include the great Indian epic tales, the Mahabharata and the
8
Introduction
Ramayana, the Panji tales, and a short synopsis of the Cerita Maharaja Wana, from
which many branch stories are derived that make the Indian epics uniquely Southeast
Asian. As a way of assimilating gods and demons from indigenous beliefs, branch stories
intertwine local, age-old tales into the imported stories from India. The flights of fancy
and the richness of imagination in these branch stories rival the best of world literature.
Throughout all of these stories, the incredible array of characters never fails to delight,
such as the loyal King Rama, the impulsive Pandava brother, the antics of the potbellied
clowns, and, of course, the heroism of the white monkey warrior, Hanuman — all with
their most salient qualities and deficits held up as a model for both human achievement
and common foibles. Though some are incarnations of the gods themselves, they struggle
with human temptations such as pride and anger, thereby making their stories pro-
foundly applicable to our human toil.
Chapter Three goes into greater depth, exploring the theatrical conventions
and practices surrounding the Malaysian wayang. Here the four different styles of the
shadow puppet theatre found in Malaysia are named, described, and explained. To
foster a comprehensive understanding of this form as it functions in Malaysia, the social
setting and circumstance in which performances are presented are described. These
intertwine with the religious setting and lead into a description of the actual physical
setting. A focus on the puppets themselves follows, complete with their design, con-
struction and significance. Then inner magical knowledge, the agent that makes these
mere physical objects rise to the supernatural level, is explored along with its utilization
through ritual conventions. Having set the scene and context, the performance con-
ventions — including those related to humor, music, and training — can be more fully
understood.
Chapter Four includes five complete scripts for the Malaysian Wayang Kulit. They
range from the completely traditional to contemporary and original, yet all, except for
the last, use only traditional characters found within the original repertoire. The inclu-
sion of this span is in keeping with the progression of the wayang in Malaysia over the
course of the 20th and 21st centuries as more modern themes and techniques have found
their way into this traditional form. Illustrated drawings of every character within these
scripts are included for use in creating shadow puppets for enactment of these scripts.
These can be enlarged and copied onto cardstock or traced onto and carved out of
rawhide for the exceptionally ambitious. My hope is that educators, students and enthu-
siasts alike will experience for themselves how highly accessible and, proportionate to
the investment of time and resources, how extraordinarily expressive the live play of
shadows can be. Participation in crafting the puppets and dramatizing the tales through
the play of shadows not only increases appreciation for the art form itself, but also
brings with it a greater understanding of the culture from which this form emerged.
This is true at every level of learning, from elementary school to the university, and I
have personally applied these experiential techniques in grade schools and at universities
both in the United States and abroad.
9
Introduction
Chapter Five explores the practical, pedagological, and ethical considerations that
can arise when teaching and performing Malaysian shadow puppet theatre. Throughout
the portion on practical considerations, a wide variety of choices are given to accom-
modate either simple or complex productions of the performance scripts. To address
issues of pedagogy, many approaches and strategies are examined that aim to engage
students at a variety of educational levels. Presenting and teaching another culture’s art
form brings up many ethical questions. A teacher or presenter may question their right
to teach or perform a form from another country. Here those questions are explored
and considered. The intention in this section is to prepare educators and enthusiasts to
use the scripts and puppet designs in this book for experiential learning on the Malaysian
shadow puppet theatre.
Other Considerations
The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), but English is widely
used in commerce and the legal system. The British had the Malays set their language
to romanized written form during the years they colonized Malaya. In the decades since,
Bahasa has absorbed many English words for terms that were not used in previous cen-
turies. These adopted words have been spelled phonetically using the Bahasa system in
which each letter represents only one sound, e.g., the English word “economy” is spelled
“ekonomi” in Bahasa. Thus, a passing school bus will be labeled in large black letters
“Sekola Bas.” Though not as complex as some languages, Bahasa is often beautifully
poetic; for example, matahari, indicates a sunset, but it literally means “eye of the day.”
I use the Malay word dalang to refer to a puppet master and Dalang as a respectful title
for individual puppet masters before their given names.1 The phrase Wayang Kulit is a
general name for the shadow puppet theatre and translates as a “show of skins,” encom-
passing within it other regional forms such as the Wayang Siam in Kelantan. It is common
to also refer to this same tradition more simply as wayang when the context is provided,
even though the term wayang can really refer to any show.
It should be noted that when referring to Malaysia in this work, it is only West
Malaysia, also referred to as Peninsular Malaysia, that is being described. East Malaysia,
comprising the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, has its own unique
and fascinating cultural heritage that is the product of the many tribes of Borneo, not
Malays, and does not include any indigenous form of shadow puppet theatre. The term
Malaysia was not used until 1957, when the multiracial Federation of Malaysia was
established. It was in 1963 that the British Territories in North Borneo and Singapore
were added to the federation. (Incidentally, two years later, Singapore was expelled from
the federation.) Thus, I sometimes use the term Malaya instead of Malaysian when
referring to a time before 1957. Also know that the term “Malay” also refers to someone
who is indigenous to peninsular Malaysia. An Indian or Chinese person may be born
10
Introduction
in Malaysia and thereby be called Malaysian in terms of nationality, but one would
never refer to them as Malay.
I use the male pronoun when referring to a dalang, or puppet master, throughout
this book. Though I have been told of a very few female puppet masters, they certainly
do seem to be the rare exception and none seem to have been able to continue very
long due to all the demands traditionally made on a woman. Though I personally yearn
to avoid any form of sexist writing, it seems it would be misleading to indicate that
there actually are any practicing female puppet masters with whom I had any association
either in person or in my research.
Finally I feel I should note that I keep much of the writing in this book in the
present tense to keep it lively and engaging. Be aware that this art form has declined
significantly since the beginning of my research in early 1989. Though some perform-
ances can still be found, the culture surrounding and supporting this form in its intended
setting, the rural villages, has evolved and many of its practitioners have passed away.
The afterword at the end of this book addresses and reflects upon this reality.
What Is the Shadow Puppet Theatre of Malaysia?

For fear of spoiling your own discovery of this art form or overly imposing my
interpretation, I will merely point you in the direction intended by this book. I have
spent two decades discovering what lurks in the shadows of this form and am nowhere
near the end of my journey such richness is there to be found. Between the darkness
of the puppet’s outline and the whiteness of the lit screen, there is a contrast that ulti-
mately communicates to the audience visually. It defines the shapes of the puppets and
is in motion with their movements, seemingly both liquid and solid in appearance. It
is a bit like the surface water of a wishing well that ripples out with texture the more
we invest our coins into its depths. The shadows, created by the meeting of darkness
and light, command our attention much like a flame at a campfire, a waterfall, or a
sleeping newborn’s face. We gaze on, expecting to discover or experience something we
seek, something that eludes being named or defined, something beyond the usual per-
ception of our normal daily existence. It is not “other than” the ingredients of our days,
but rather the very elemental stuff of which our days are made, light (day), dark (night),
and movement (toil, love, struggles and sleep), which we have somehow glazed over.
Thus, the clarity of the shadow play, the simple outline of form, leads us back to that
which is essential. Furthermore, the shadow puppet theatre presents this essence to us
in a manner free from the distractions that can muddle our understanding or perception.
Masterfully created, the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre recruits other elements to
conspire in its delivery of the essential to its audience. Through the cyclical gamelan
music, a near-hypnotic trance is induced, luring the audience into a ready state for
reception of this medium, free from the mind’s usual distractions.
11
Introduction
On another layer, much about the Malaysian culture and its people is revealed in
the shadows. Their aesthetic is communicated through the designs of the puppets, and
their rich imagination is evident in the conventions of this very minimal theatre. The
layering of their faith as it has developed through the centuries is evident in the stories
told and in the blessings spoken by the puppet master before the show, which often
honors many gods from various faith traditions that have come to Southeast Asia.2
Lastly, and, perhaps, most profoundly, it is the divine that is revealed in the shad-
ows. To the intended audience, it is believed that the actual gods and demons represented
by the puppets become present in this material world through the shadows. One cannot
create shadows manually, one can only create an environment and manipulate objects
that will cause shadows to appear. Shadow play is a sort of physical invitation to the
forces of the spiritual realm to make an appearance and dwell for a time in the physical
world. Since spiritual beings have no physical being but yearn to be present among
humanity, shadows are the perfect medium through which spiritual beings can give
instruction, receive ritual offerings, dramatize their tales of heroism, and continue the
faith. It is no small thing that this form has long remained vital as a point of access for
the community and the individual to maintain balance with the spiritual world.
12
Chapter One
The Shadow Puppet Theatre

in Southeast Asia
The shadow puppet theater of Southeast Asia is a centuries-old performance tra-

dition that exists in a variety of forms in Malaysia, Cambodia, Java, Bali, Laos and
Thailand. To fully understand the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre, it is important to
consider it within the context of other Southeast Asian forms, as many performance
conventions and aesthetic styles are shared. One constant element among all these
myriad forms is the presence of a muslin screen upon which shadows are cast of intri-
cately carved rawhide puppets by a light source behind the screen. Most often there is
a single puppet master who sits cross-legged an arm’s length behind the screen and
manipulates all the puppets, improvising upon his encyclopedic knowledge of the reper-
toire. He vocally performs an appropriate voice for each character in an amazing show
of vocal range and agility, all while leading the orchestra seated behind him with a com-
bination of rhythmic cues tapped out by his knee or foot, and vocal cues shouted above
the din of the thundering music. In both Cambodia and Thailand we find a larger
format of shadow play in which many performers hold above their heads shadow figures
made from an entire hide of an animal that depicts a static scene beautifully carved
from the stiff rawhide. The dancing flames of a bonfire burning behind a huge shadow
screen cast shadows on the screen of the performers with puppets who dance in a stylistic
fashion that complements the character or scene depicted in the puppet.
The Southeast Asian shadow puppet theatre stands out among world theatre tra-
ditions as a total theatre, providing entertainment, healing, balance, spiritual refinement,
the appeasement of spirits, and cultural education. Performances are not segregated by
age, as is the case in many western performance forms, but rather are layered such that
there is something for every age. The youngest audience members may enjoy the visual
spectacle. Teenagers enjoy the fight scenes, elaborate chases, and romances, while the
more mature in the audience may enjoy the philosophical aspects and the conveyance
of a shared cultural identity to the rest of the community.
About the Puppets

Intricately carved with swirls, circles, and paislies, the shadow puppets of Southeast
Asia could stand alone as highly accomplished works of fine art. Made of tough rawhide,
they are hardly treated with the careful handling afforded great works of art. Instead,
these sturdy creations withstand fierce head-to-head battles, being tangled with and
13
The Shadow Puppet Theatre of Malaysia
separated from each other backstage by an adrenalin-charged performer, and being

stored in a crowded wooden box. Both beautiful and functional, these puppets are con-
structed in much the same way throughout Southeast Asia, even sharing many ideals
in design.
The first step in creating a shadow puppet is to prepare the rawhide by cleaning
off the blood and fat. Once clean, the untreated skin is rubbed with soot or chalk
to remove excess oils. After the hide is stretched on a frame and left to dry in the
sun for a few days, the hair is scraped off and both surfaces are rubbed down with a
brush to make them smooth and clean. Once the hide is stiff, the translucent membrane
is ready to use. Most puppet masters prefer the thickness of cowhide to goat hide,
which is often considered too thin, or water buffalo hide, which often is considered
too thick.1 Sometimes the design for the puppet is etched, with a special needle, onto
the rawhide or drawn directly onto the hide either freehand or by tracing another
puppet. Another method is to draw the outline of the puppet on tracing paper and
then attach the paper to the hide using homemade rice glue. Once the puppet is cut
and carved, the paper easily washes off since rice glue is water-soluble. The iron carving
tools used to craft the puppets each have a different razor-sharp design at the bottom,
such as a variety of curves and various lengths of straight edges. Each perforation in
the rawhide requires a carving tool to be precisely placed on the rawhide and then
struck soundly by a hammer to puncture the tough skin. To create the simple design
of a flower or a paisley on a puppet requires over fifteen placements of the tool and
blows by the hammer. Carving is done on a wooden cutting board in which the grain
of the wood runs vertically so that the edges of the carving tools do not become quickly
dulled by the carving process. Almost all puppets have at least one arm that is articulated,
and some characters have both arms and a jaw articulated, especially clown characters.
The pieces for the forearm, the lower arm, and the jaw are cut out and carved sepa-
rately.
Once a puppet is completely carved it is flattened out in some way, such as placing
it under a part of the linoleum on the floor in the house of a puppet master. Next, the
supporting handle for the puppet is carved out of a thin rod of bamboo. The thicker
bottom portion of the rod is whittled to a point so that the rod can be easily thrust into
the banana stem that supports the puppets in performance. A slit is made through the
top two-thirds of the rod in which the otherwise floppy puppet is placed and sewn in
securely. For the Javanese shadow puppet theatre, a thin strip of water buffalo horn is
used instead of the bamboo rod. The thin rod of horn can be bent by placing it over
a flame so that it conforms to the spine of the puppet. Before the arms are joined to
the body, the puppets are brightly painted. Traditionally the hide would have been
painted with naturally derived pigments, but now glossy oil paints in bright colors are
most often used. To assemble the puppet, the articulated joints at the elbow and shoulder
are joined to the puppet through holes at each edge, through which a thin strip of
rawhide is passed and knotted tightly on each end. Another method, used mainly in
14
One. The Shadow Puppet Theatre in Southeast Asia
Java and Bali, is to carve a tiny bar-

bell-shaped piece of water-buffalo
horn which is shoved through an
asterisk-shaped cut into the shoul-
der and the arm of the puppet.
Both methods allow for movement
of the arm while holding the sep-
arate pieces securely together.
Lastly, a thin rod of bamboo or
horn is attached with string to the
end of the puppet’s articulated arm
so that the puppet master can
manipulate the arm of that char-
acter. Many of the clown charac-
ters, and some of the servant
characters, have movable jaws.
This effect is achieved by having a
spring made of a piece of water
buffalo horn that is sewn onto the
face of the puppet. A string is tied
from the top of the spring to the
jaw to hold the jaw in place, and
another string is tied to the bottom
portion of the jaw to pull the
mouth open. This bottom string
has a loop on the bottom so that
the puppet master can hold the Malay puppet of Hanuman, the Great White Monkey
puppet at the base with one hand Warrior (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
and manipulate the mouth with
that same hand by slipping one finger through the loop.
Though the styles of puppet designs vary from one country to the next, according
to each country’s national aesthetic, there are some underlying aesthetic principles that
remain the same. To the trained eye, these similarities emerge in the design of the pup-
pets from every area. One aspect of design in which this is especially true is the depiction
of refined and rough characters. This is inspired by the Javanese visual ideals of alus,
or refinement, and kazar, or roughness. Remember that not all rough characters are
necessarily evil, as the warriors for the good gods need to be fierce and are often lacking
in an illustrious pedigree. Thus, their eyes, like those of all rough characters, bulge out
of their sockets and their mouths are open with their sharp teeth exposed. They seem
to be leaning forward, chin arrogantly up, determined and anxious, almost jumping
out of themselves. Embodied in their stance is energy and determination. Knees bent,
15
they appear ready for action. Often at the end of their articulated arms is a fist or
extended fingers with dangerously long, sharp claws, since many of the warriors in the
Indian stories are monkeys. Their tails wrap up behind their bodies, curled in excited
anticipation. Most ogre characters have short, round noses and round eyes, which,
according to the Javanese concept from which all forms were influenced, denotes a char-
acter with a propensity for violence.2
In contrast, the refined characters always appear composed. Even though characters
like Rama and Arjuna have dual natures as noble heirs to the throne and mighty warriors,
they are almost always portrayed in their more composed noble state. Their shoulders
are square and strong, yet they appear gentle and decorous. Often bent forward at the
waist, their position seems to portray concern or interest rather than aggression. They
stand tall, as is befitting a respected leader, but in Java their heads are down slightly to
show their humility as a sign of spiritual purity. To the western eye, the male refined
characters appear almost feminine since their features are small and delicate, complete
with curved lips and beautiful, wise-looking eyes. This tendency reflects the Southeast
Asian cultural ideal for male beauty, which is much more understated and refined than
the western ideal, which tends to be more rugged. For refined female characters, such
as Sita, the faces are designed to embody the highest ideal of beauty. If there is an arm
that is not articulated, a typical pose would be for it to be holding a fan and resting
confidently on the hip. The arm that is articulated extends gracefully with the hand
sloping upward to create a pleasing curve, which portrays both grace and refinement.
The reason the refined characters have one or both arms articulated and are otherwise
set in one dignified yet limiting stance is because one could not risk having a high char-
acter appear foolish. It would be undignified for Arjuna to be flailing his limbs or flap-
ping his jaw humorously. If the puppet is set in one stance, then there is no chance of
that offense.
There are some characters that
are not clearly defined as either
rough or refined characters. Included
in this group are clowns, sages,
servants and some characters of
the puppet master’s own invention
that are not traditionally in the sto-
ries. Often these characters have
articulated jaws, as there is no
worry of offending their dignity, of
which they are in short supply. It is
not uncommon to see a police
Elbow of puppet with rawhide lace knot attaching
officer puppet, dressed in modern
the upper arm to the lower arm (photograph by clothing, come onto the screen to
Charlotte Orrino). arrest some errant character, much
16
to the amusement of the audience.

In the quest for humor and rele-
vancy, many modern-day elements
are visually incorporated into the
shadow puppets.
Many puppets have some
specific identifying key element in
their design that alerts the audience
as to who they are. It may be some
physical feature, such as Bhima’s
terribly large fingernail that he uses
to tear his enemies from limb to
limb. It might also be the color of
the puppet’s skin, which often
shows through on the screen, such
as the Malaysian Laksamana, who is
red, or Sita, who is yellow. These
signifiers are usually not the same in
each Southeast Asian country but,
instead, vary greatly. Only a dedi-
cated shadow puppet enthusiast can
identify all the characters, but, con-
versely, the most popular characters
are immediately recognizable and
well known by all within their own
area.
The Malay puppet Maharisi. Note how all the sep-
Throughout Southeast Asia, arate pieces of rawhide are assembled, including his
the puppets themselves hold little to articulated arm and movable jaw (photograph by
no spiritual power of their own and Charlotte Orrino).
are not treated as holy items, with
the exception of the clown characters such as Pak Dogol and Semar, which are used in
healing rituals. The shadows themselves are believed to be the worldly manifestations
of the gods and demons, relegating the puppets to the level of mere totems or mediums
used to conjure the presence of those they represent. It is only during performance that
the puppets become sacred and then only when they are performing on the screen. For
example, it is no insult to casually toss a puppet of Rama onto the floor after he exits
from the screen, nor is it blasphemy to sell puppets to tourists as souvenirs. It should
be noted that some puppets are used in rituals associated with the wayang and there
their function as totems to the spiritual realm are harnessed, which sometimes affords
certain puppets special care or attention within that setting.
17
Left: The puppet character Maharisi with his jaw pulled open. Even though Maharisi is a
respectable character, he is old and feeble, which is why he is portrayed with a movable jaw
(photograph by Charlotte Orrino). Right: Maharisi with his jaw closed (photograph by Char-
lotte Orrino).
The Puppet Master
A dalang, or puppet master, of the shadow puppet theatre in Southeast Asia is a

one-man show extraordinaire. He manipulates all the puppets single-handedly; performs
all songs, dialogue and narration; leads the orchestra; and, to top it all off, usually begins
performing at sundown and continues uninterrupted until sunup. In some areas, he is
even expected to make his own puppets, craft the musical instruments in the orchestra,
and train the musicians who play for him. He is akin to the captain of a ship as he leads
the entire crew of performers through the dark of night, steering the story according
to his will and, through his leadership, rousing his men to their peak performance.
With ultimate control over the performance, he decides which parts of an episode
should be given emphasis or skipped and when songs or pure orchestral music are to
carry a transition.
When performing, the puppet master sits behind the screen with a light hanging
about a foot in front of his face. When he passes the flat rawhide puppets between the
light and the screen, shadows appear on the screen. The performance is not attempting
to portray action realistically, since generally only one or two puppets can be moved at
one time. Being careful not to let the shadow of his hand show, he manipulates puppets
from the bottom by a rod, and the articulated limbs are manipulated by separate rods
attached to the ends of the puppet’s hands. The puppet master moves the puppets sty-
listically before the light to create expressionistic shadow effects and also to give an
indication of a character’s status and disposition. Though there are some subtle variations
between puppet masters within a given country, performance conventions are set and
generally followed by all. Most puppet masters are trained through a system of appren-
ticeship that varies slightly from one country to the next. The training is comprehensive,
as it includes technical manipulation of the puppets, music, sometimes the designing
18
and creating of puppets, repertoire, vocalization of character voices and narration, and
the spiritual knowledge that enhances the performances.
Mystical Aspects of the Shadow Puppet Theatre

Certain ingredients are present for all Southeast Asian forms and contribute greatly
to the mystical power and undeniable effectiveness of the shadow puppet theatre. By
necessity all performances occur at night, when it’s dark, a condition under which tricks
of illusion and the play of lights have the most effect. The exaggerated images of the
shadows on the screen as the puppet is pulled away from the light source tend to warp
the audience’s sense of place. Likewise, the cyclical nature of the music from the musical
ensemble skews and disorients the audience’s experience of time, inviting them into a
trance-like state. The typical duration of a performance — from sundown till sunup —
also greatly contributes to this altered state, as the combination of the extreme longevity
and the lack of sleep distorts the usual modes of perception. It could be stated that the
intended performance doesn’t actually “happen” for an audience without these condition
being met.
Another ingredient, without which the metaphoric dough would never rise, is the
presence of the supernatural as both the purpose and the content of each show in a tra-
ditional setting. Of course, belief in the spirits associated with the shadow puppet
theatre has been altered with Indonesia and Malaysia’s conversion to Islam, Cambodia
and Thailand’s conversion to Buddhism, and the growing urbanization, westernization
and modernization of all of Southeast Asia. However, it remains the root of all per-
formances and is still believed and felt by most, particularly in more rural areas. Con-
sideration of the Southeast Asian shadow puppet theatre void of the spiritual element
would be paramount to having birthday balloons with no helium to inflate them and
give them flight. The spiritual nature of the shadow puppet theater is focused and direc-
tional, with a practical goal that is pragmatically achieved through the shared experience
of a performance.
In cultures throughout the world, there are many physical devices used in per-
formance to make present the divine, such as masks, puppets or elaborate makeup and
costume in the likeness of a god or demon. Among these, the shadow puppet is a
uniquely effective device for making the divine present in this material world. The pup-
pet itself, made of carved rawhide, is supported by a bamboo rod or long piece of horn
that is split down the middle and sewn onto the puppet to help it stand erect. In and
of itself, this supporting rod resembles a totem, a device used by many cultures as a
conduit through which the divine can travel into the realm of the living through the
shaman, or, in this case, a puppet master, who functions as a shaman in traditional
Southeast Asian society. Furthermore, since the puppets are constructed of rawhide,
the actual skin of a living creature, it is an easy step to imagine the shadow puppet
19
theatre as a microcosm of our universe, with the puppet master representing the primary
divine source of life and the puppets representing all of creation animated by the divine
will. In shadow play there is a literal separation — the screen — between those conjuring
the divine presence with their performance and those witnessing this phenomenon. In
this setting the audience can cast its imagination upon that screen and fulfill its desire
for interaction with the spiritual powers that govern life. Believing that the shadow
images are actually inhabited by the god, spirit or demon being represented is more easily
facilitated when the audience cannot see the means of production (the puppet master’s
hands) or be distracted by the performer’s technical maneuverings. Even though it is the
tradition, specifically in Java, for male audience members to watch the show from behind,
the entire tradition is designed for the benefit of the audience watching the screen only.
It is believed that the spirit world of gods and demons actually become present in
the material world during the performance through the shadows on the screen. Under-
standing the role of the shadow within the traditional shadow puppet theatre of Southeast
Asia is a necessary key towards understanding the underlying power of the entire art form.
The following passage on the Javanese shadow puppet theatre by H. Ulbricht is particularly
illuminating on this subject and applies to the shadow theatre throughout Southeast Asia:
People are hardly aware of the fact that the shadow has only two dimensions and that it
is the only visible non-material thing. It is unique in that being visible it shares a charac-
teristic with the material world, and that being non-material it shares a characteristic
with the invisible world. This is where the phenomenon of the shadow comes into the
picture. Being non-material but visible it is, from a philosophical point of view, suitable
for the visible interpretations of non-material forces, and indeed many features of the
Javanese shadow play can only be understood when viewed from this angle.3
Beyond bringing the spiritual world into our material world, the shadow puppet
performance can accomplish many practical functions, such as appeasing angry spirits
that might strike a village with an outbreak of cholera if they feel ignored, feasting the
gods and demons to keep them satiated and well-behaved, or healing an individual vil-
lager suffering either a physical ailment or a spiritual possession. Shows are also sponsored
by families to add zest to a celebration commemorating a birth, wedding or circumcision.
Instruction of the shared cultural stories, beliefs and values is transmitted to the young
and reaffirmed for the old through each performance. Finally, not to be overlooked nor
underestimated, is the fact that a shadow puppet show, with all its swashbuckling battle
scenes, raucous clown antics, and swooning love scenes, all intermingled with ample
opportunities for socializing, is one heck of a good night out!
Shadow Puppet Theatre Throughout Southeast Asia

Though there is no definitive date and place for the origins of shadow puppet the-
atre in Southeast Asia, “by the 9th century Javanese inscriptions indicate that female
20
Javanese performance of Wayang Kulit Purwa; tree-of-life puppet to the left with a refined
character center and a rough character to the right (photograph by J.P. Osnes).
dancers, clowns, mask performers and shadow players were resident in courts and tem-
ples.”4 All traditional Southeast Asian forms of shadow puppet theatre almost certainly
find their initial inspiration and most of their artistic influence from the early forms of
the Javanese Wayang Kulit. In turn, the early Javanese performing arts in general are
enormously influenced by Indian culture, performance styles and the Hindu epic tales,
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is interesting to note the various waves of Indian
influence on Java and other parts of Southeast Asia. When some of the populations of
Southeast Asia converted to Islam (between roughly 1300 and 1750), the people of west-
ern Java, already Hindu as a result of earlier Indian influence (during the fifth through
seventh centuries), avoided conversion by fleeing to Bali. Isolated on that island for
centuries, they practiced a form of Hinduism that has evolved into a form found nowhere
else in the world. The rest of the Javanese people converted to Islam, but Hindu mythol-
ogy and literature still largely define their national character, especially as it is expressed
in the shadow puppet theatre.5
21
The Wayang Kulit Purwa, as the shadow puppet theatre is called in Java today, is
performed on an expansive screen, much wider than any other shadow screens used
throughout Southeast Asia for this format of shadow play, upon which the shadows of
highly intricate puppets are cast by a single puppeteer who manipulates all of the puppets
himself. These puppets are the most detailed and highly refined of any region in South-
east Asia where shadow puppetry exists, perhaps, except for some of the finest puppet
maker’s work in Bali. Moving behind the shadow screen, these Javanese puppets cast
shadows seemingly as delicate as an insect’s wing. Yet, when set in motion to animate
the Hindu epic tale Mahabharata, they survive violent clashes with their enemies in
battle. The thing that typifies the Javanese Wayang Kulit, as it is practiced today and
most likely since its Islamic influence, is its slow, courtly pace, especially for the more
refined characters, and its stylized representation of the human form in the puppets.
As James Brandon states, “A greater
stylization of puppet and mask was
introduced, supposedly to circumvent
the Islamic prohibition on representing
the human form.”6 This non-realistic
stylization of the refined characters
includes beak-like noses that slope ele-
gantly down, elongated arms that
nearly reach the floor, and highly
angular shoulders. The rough charac-
ters and clown characters tend to be
more full-bodied and, though exagger-
ated with bulbous eyes, a bit more real-
istic in proportions. Still, it must be
noted that it is a bit odd to be describ-
ing these fantastical rough characters,
usually monkey warriors or demons, as
being more realistic. In Java many rit-
uals are integral to the Wayang Kulit
performance, designed to gain the
favor of the gods and to protect against
evil spirits, both gods and spirits being
brought into the material world in the
puppet’s shadows.
In the Javanese wayang there is a
single puppet master, or dalang, who
Javanese puppet of Krishna as the elder statesman
from the Mahabharata with his characteristic
performs all of the dialogue, narration
black skin and refined pointed nose and slanted and song and manipulates all of the
eyes (photograph by Charlotte Orrino). puppets. Using a wooden clapper
22
placed under the knee or on the side of the puppet chest, the dalang leads the musical
orchestra, or gamelan, which in Java also includes a female singer who adds her voice
to the performance. Due to a long tradition of court sponsorship of the Javanese Wayang
Kulit, the gamelan is much larger than its Malaysian counterpart and includes many
more metal gongs and cymbals, which are more expensive than drums made of wood
and hide. Performances take place outdoors, sometimes in the ornate open-walled roofed
complexes within a sultan’s court, and they last from sundown till sunup. Puppet masters
do not use a script, but improvise the dialogue and narration based on their thorough
knowledge of the Hindu epic tales, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. A dalang must
have great range of voice and oral style to represent the diversity of characters and must
also possess quick wit and timing for the comic scenes with the clown god, Semar (a
local element integrated into the Hindu epic tales). Within the last few decades, popular
puppet masters have broadcast their dramatic narrations on the radio and “superstar”
puppet masters command high fees and attract large crowds to their performances.
Narto Sabdho (1925–1985) was an innovative dalang who achieved great fame as an
artist and contributed significantly to the contemporary evolution of the form.
A number of specialized forms of shadow puppet theatre have evolved from the
Wayang Kulit tradition.7 Their performance conventions are the same, but they tell
other stories. Wayang Djawa, for instance, dramatized the Panji Tales (described in
chapter two), as well as stories about Prince Diponegoro, famous for rebelling against
Dutch colonizers in the nineteenth century. Wayang Madya performs stories about the
East Javanese kings. Some forms of shadow puppet theatre have evolved into political
propaganda, indicating how central this form is to the Javanese national character.
Wayang Suluh was used to support the Indonesian revolution against the Dutch from
1945 to 1949, whereas Wayang Pantja Sila was used subsequently to promote Indonesian
nationalism and patriotism. The Wayang Klitik form deviates from the Wayang Kulit
tradition by replacing the carved rawhide puppets with flat wooden puppets. Wayang
Golek, which emerged in Sunda, in western Java, about 150 years ago, uses three-dimen-
sional puppets in full view, not casting shadows from behind a screen. The apparent
reason for this variation is that the Sundanese people wanted to watch puppet theatre
during the day and preferred the realism of three-dimensional wooden puppets in broad
daylight.8
Bali’s most important theatrical form is the Wayang Kulit, a performance that is a
treat at any celebration or festival (which are surprisingly frequent in Bali). The Balinese
form differs from the Javanese in that the puppets are more full-bodied and realistic,
and the performance style is likewise more robust and lively. Bali is probably the only
place where the oil lamp is often still used (instead of an electric lightbulb) to cast the
shadows, with the flame on the wick fluttering to create shadow images of the characters
that seem to have a life breath. Dalang Wija (b. 1952) is one of the leading Balinese
puppeteers, a maker of exquisite puppets and a master at performing the clown scenes.
Because he speaks English fluently, he has performed his Wayang Kulit all over the
23
world, including New York City, where in 1992 he designed and crafted ant puppets
out of rawhide for Lee Breuer’s production of The Warrior Ant: The MahabharaANTa.9
What should be noted about both the Javanese and Balinese aesthetic is that,
though it is influenced by India, it has strongly evolved to suit the tastes and preferences
of both the Javanese and the Balinese. As James Brandon states, “Indian influence may
have been stronger in this early period (9th century): dancers in temple reliefs assume
strong stances similar to current Indian dance and unlike contemporary Javanese style.
The sign-mime gestures of India (Mudra or Hasta) are not, however, apparent. Local
aesthetics must soon have remoulded any strong outside stimuli: by the 13th century
temple reliefs in East Java show scenes in which the costume, space usage and character
typology bear a striking resemblance to current Balinese wayang.”10 What is probably
true, then, is that the current form of Balinese Wayang Kulit is the closest we have in
form and style to the pre–Islamic style of Javanese Wayang Kulit. As will be explored
later in this chapter, there is not only a strong aesthetic link between dance forms and
shadow puppet forms throughout much of Asia but also many of the same movement
styles. Thus, as Brandon demonstrates in the above quote, it is useful to note the devel-
opment of the Javanese dance aesthetic to judge the progress of the aesthetic in the
shadow puppet theatre since they have long proven to develop together.
When we look to the shadow puppet theatre in Cambodia and Thailand, it is also
illuminating to trace the cultural influences of their forms back to Java. It was Jayavar-
man II who founded the mighty Khmer empire in Cambodia in the first half of the
ninth century. This Khmer empire was to last until the fourteenth century and create
such cultural wonders as the majestic Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom that includes the
sublimely beautiful Bayon Temple. Jayavarman II was raised in the Javanese courts and
may even have been of Javanese blood. When he moved to Cambodia to found the
Khmer empire he brought with him Javanese artists as well as priests and court officials.11
The Cambodians themselves say that “it was in fact Java that provided the great inspi-
ration for Cambodian dancing and drama, in spite of themes borrowed from other
sources.”12 Therefore, in Cambodian shadow puppet theatre forms we see the influence
of the Javanese Wayang Kulit changed by the local Cambodian aesthetic preferences and
tastes.
Cambodia’s best-known shadow puppet theatre differs in scale and in some of its
conventions from the Javanese Wayang Kulit. The Nang Sbek (very similar to its Thai
derivation, the Nang Yai) uses huge cutout shadow figures. Six to eight performers
manipulate these figures, holding them high over their heads while moving stylistically
behind and in front of a huge shadow screen that measures 30 feet wide and 15 feet
high. The source of light for casting shadow is a large fire behind the screen. Two nar-
rators sit to the side, performing dialogue and chanting verses. The shadow figures are
intricately carved from rawhide (often an entire hide), painted, and attached to two
supporting bamboo rods that serve as handles. These figures measure as much as six
feet high and five feet wide and may portray either an entire scene with several characters
24
and background or a single important character, such as Rama or Sita. The performers
take on the movement attributes of the character or scene they carry, so that puppeteer
and puppet blend into one dancing image. In nearly every other form of shadow puppet
theatre in Asia, the puppeteers try to keep any part of themselves from appearing to
the audience; but in this form (and its Siamese counterpart) human performers inten-
tionally make themselves visible. When behind the screen, figures resemble the relief
sculptures on the Khmer temples at Angkor Wat. The stories are drawn from the
Ramayana, and the accompanying music is provided by a Pin Peat orchestra with oboe,
bronze bowls, xylophone, and drums.
Another form of shadow puppet theatre in Cambodia that much more closely
resembles the original Javanese inspiration is Nang Sbek Touch (also called Ayang or
Nang Kloun), which literally means “theatre of small hides.” Here a single puppet master,
seated cross-legged behind a muslin screen, manipulates the shadow puppets, narrates
the story, and delivers all the dialogue and narration while also leading the Pin Peat
orchestra seated behind him. The shadows are cast by an oil lamp or electric bulb that
hangs in front of the puppet master. The performance technique is similar to that of
the Thai Nang Talung and the Malaysian Wayang Siam. The puppets are modeled on
figures in the bas-relief sculptures at the Angkor Wat temple complex. Carved intricately
from rawhide, the puppets are then painted and sewn onto a slit wooden rod, the end
of which extends from the bottom for use as a handle. The stories narrated in the Nang
Sbek Touch form are also drawn from the Ramayana, and music is provided by a Pin
Peat orchestra.
In the 14th century, Siamese armies invaded and largely subjugated the mighty
Cambodian Khmer Kingdom, which contributed to its eventual downfall. As part of
their victory loot, the Siamese took Cambodian Khmer performers, musicians, and
dancers back to Siam, most likely including shadow puppet masters. Thus the Thai
forms of shadow puppet theatre, as well as classical and masked dance-dramas, are very
closely related to the Cambodian. In Thailand the Nang Yai, probably derived from the
Cambodian Nang Sbek, is likewise a large format shadow puppet theatre that utilizes
large, flat, carved shadow figures that range from three feet to five feet tall. An entire
scene is intricately carved into the large rawhide shadow figures, usually featuring one
or two characters with some surroundings. Each of these square figures with rounded
corners is secured to two poles that hold it up; it is painted with heavy paint so as to
cast a dark shadow. Two narrators seated to the side of the screen narrate the show and
perform the dialogue. Up to twelve performers hold the shadow figures and move in
stylized ways, in front and behind a large muslin screen that is backlit by a bonfire,
making the figures appear alternately in silhouette and shadow. The stories enacted in
this form are drawn from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana. The
accompanying traditional orchestra consists of an oboe, a set of tuned bronze bowls, a
xylophone, drums and cymbals.
Nang Talung is the other form of shadow puppet theatre in Thailand, primarily
25
in the south. Nang means leather or hide and Talung is a shortened form of Pattalung,
a southern city where shadow puppet shows are popular. There is a sizeable Malay pop-
ulation in southern Thailand, so the shadow puppet traditions of both countries share
many of the same attributes and have developed together. Nang Talung is primarily for
entertainment but is also used for healing and to appease the gods. Performances are
usually done on temple grounds or are sponsored by a private home for a wedding,
funeral or other special occasion. The puppets are designed to look like dancers from
Lakon Nai— Thai court dance-drama performed by women — or Khon— Thai masked
dance-drama. These puppets are smaller than in other places in Southeast Asia, more
like the Chinese shadow puppet theatre (as described in the following section in this
chapter). The repertory is drawn mostly from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the
Indian Ramayana, but also from Thai literary and historical sources.13
Therefore, in this work that focuses on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre, we
see how the history and development of other Southeast Asian areas have exerted
influence over Malaysia forms of wayang. The obvious influence from Java is seen in
all forms of shadow puppet theatre throughout Malaysia through the basic conventions,
puppets, stories and music. The Malaysian form Wayang Kulit Jawa is nearly indistin-
guishable from the Javanese original, as it was transplanted to Malaysia by Javanese
immigrants and has not evolved since. The Malaysian Wayang Jawa is very closely
related to the Javanese style, indicated in its name (Jawa which is the Bahasa word for
the Javanese language), but it was modified a great deal by the practitioners of it in
Malaysia, who performed it primarily as entertainment for aristocrats. The stylization
for the puppets resembles Javanese puppets more than the two following forms, which
more strongly resemble Cambodian and Thai stylizations. The Malaysian Wayang Gedek
is largely performed in the northwest of peninsular Malaysia near the Thai border and
shows the influence of the Thai and Cambodian styles in the puppet designs, which
feature tiered headdresses and turned up hands. The same is true for the Wayang Siam
found primarily in the northeast of peninsular Malaysia. Since this form is the most
accomplished in terms of numbers of practitioners, development of accompanying rit-
uals, and recognition as a national symbol for Malaysia, unless otherwise noted it can
be assumed I mean this specific form when referring to the Malaysian shadow puppet
theatre.
Shadow Puppet Theater Throughout Other Parts of Asia

Though Southeast Asian shadow puppet theatre, most notably the Javanese, is
often regarded as the most highly refined expression of this form, it is not the only one
that exists in Asia. Both China and India have beautiful and highly varied forms perhaps
served as the initial creative impetus for the Southeast Asian variety. It is not known
conclusively where or when the shadow puppet theatre of Asia first appeared. Some
26
scholars argue that it was in India that shadow puppet theatre began, and it was then
carried to China through central Asia on the trade routes known as the Silk Road. The
earliest references to Indian shadow puppetry appear in the Jataka tales, Buddhist birth
stories. Indologists debate whether references in old Sanskrit texts prove the existence of
an ancient shadow play in India.14 Others argue that China was the birthplace of the shadow
puppet theatre. The legendary account of Emperor Wu of China, who was reunited with
his dear wife through the art of shadow play, places its origins in the second century BCE,
even though the date is unsupported by other literary evidence.15 It is not until much later,
in the early part of the Sung Dynasty (960–1279) that pictures and writings provide evi-
dence of the existence of shadow puppet shows. The Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–
1912) dynasties were great periods of growth for the shadow theater.
Taking a look at the shadow puppet forms found in India and China reveals the
remnants of what may have been the original inspiration for the Southeast Asian shadow
puppet theatre. Among the Indian traditions of shadow puppet theatre, one of the most
ancient known forms and also the least sophisticated is the Ravanachhaya from Orissa.
Puppeteers manipulate shadow figures made of a whole piece of buffalo rawhide in
which characters are carved out in a rough manner. There is very little ornamental carv-
ing done, except for perforated holes to delineate jewelry or headdresses. The sutradhara,
or narrator, stands to the side of the shadow screen in full view of the audience reciting
an episode from the Ramayana, the great Hindu epic tale. In addition to singing in
between narrations, he also improvises dialogue between the characters, all the while
playing a small percussive instrument. Since there are no articulated limbs to manipulate,
the movement of the puppets is limited to entering, exiting, and swaying to the music.
The narrator compensates for the lack of physical dramatization through dynamic
descriptions of the action.
Not much is known about the Tholu Bommalata, an Indian form of shadow puppet
theatre from Andhra Pradesh dating back to the third century BCE that enjoyed a history
of consistent royal patronage. The Tholu Pava Koothu shadow puppet play from Kerala
State in South India is drawn from the Ramayana and takes forty-one days to present
but can be abridged to as few as seven days. The shadow screen is 15 feet long, with a
row of lights along the bottom of the screen on the inside away from the audience. Pup-
pets are carved from one piece of rawhide in either a sitting or a standing position and
have one articulated arm that can be manipulated. Perforated holes in the rawhide
delineate ornamentation on costumes, headdresses and jewelry. Puppets are painted
with heavy paint in order to be so opaque that a strong black shadow appears on the
screen. One wooden rod is sewn along the center of the puppet to support it, and
another wooden rod controls the articulated arm. A performance begins with an invo-
cation to Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god, after which two Brahman puppets
enter to give a synopsis of the play to be presented that night. Throughout the drama-
tization of the story, the two Brahman puppets reappear to comment on the action. A
blessing song ends a performance each night.
27
Another form of Indian shadow puppet theatre is found in Mysore and parts of
the Maharashtra state that features two to three foot high rawhide puppets. From behind
a muslin screen, puppeteers slowly manipulate shadow figures between the screen and
a flame. One or more characters can be depicted in these shadow figures, which are not
articulated in any way. Thin colorful paints are used to decorate the figures so that the
light passes through, making the shadow itself appear in color. A sutradhara, or narrator,
stands to the side of the shadow screen narrating the performance from stories of the
Ramayana and Mahabharata, the two great Hindu epic tales. Because of the limited
range of motion possible with these shadow figures, they are generally held close to the
muslin screen by the puppeteers so that the audience sees a sharp distinct shadow image,
thus creating a pictorial effect that complements the storytelling.
In China the Pi-ying Xi, the shadow figure theater (also called Teng-ying Xi) is per-
formed throughout the country. The figures used for performances are not called puppets
by the Chinese, who distinguish these flat rawhide characters used for shadow play from
the three-dimensional puppet traditions in China. In the past, troupes did street corner
performances, as well as private performances in people’s homes that were particularly
popular with women since they could not attend public shows. The shadow figures are
carved out of rawhide that is semitranslucent, painted vibrant colors, and supported
with thin wooden rods. The colors of the figures show through in the shadows, and
their limbs are articulated. In the north and northeast parts of China the figures are
only 6–10 inches tall and are ornately carved and painted. In the south, figures are
larger and not so ornate. The bodies are cut into ten to twelve pieces (less for animals)
and jointed at the shoulders, elbows, knees, waist, and wrists. Figures are manipulated
with wire rods attached to loops at the neck and hands. There are usually three rods
to be manipulated by a master.
Traditionally, one master assisted by one apprentice performed the Pi-ying Xi at
one time. Presently, many performers work the figures behind the screen at once. A
great master can move up to four figures in each hand. The performer must evoke a
character through the style of movement for the figure. For example, a female character
is made to walk with a delicate sway. The screen, Ying-chuang, is usually made from
silk and is most often about 5 feet wide and 3 feet high. An even, diffuse light is used
behind the screen so that the shadow images are not distorted and the colors show
brightly. The music for performances carries much of the emotional meaning since the
shadow figures cannot portray emotions facially. The dramatic scripts used for the
shadow theater are the same as for the operas for human performers. Related to the
shadow theatre in China is the Qiao-ying Xi, a theatre of human shadow play performed
during the Sung dynasty (960–1279). Literally meaning “Theater of Larger Shadows,”
Qiao-ying Xi used humans as performers casting silhouettes on a screen. It is thought
that performers sought to imitate the appearance and movement style of the shadow
figures moving in a two-dimensional manner, Pi-ying Xi.16
Looking at the shadow puppet forms from China and India, it becomes clear how
28
they may have influenced the Southeast Asian forms and aesthetic of shadow plays.
However, it is equally clear that Southeast Asia has evolved its own distinct form and
aesthetic for shadow puppet theatre and has highly refined these practices over the cen-
turies, many countries borrowing and being influenced by each other’s shadow puppet
forms. As a result, the shadow puppet theatre of Southeast Asia is worthy of its own
consideration apart from, but within the context of, the original forms that inspired it.
Distinctly Southeast Asian characteristics center on the single light source and the single
performer, although this later characteristic does not hold true for the larger format
shadow play of Thailand and Cambodia. A single light and just one performer make
this theatrical form a near-perfect metaphor for the belief that all of creation emanates
from one creative source, symbolized by the light, with just one primary creator, sym-
bolized by the puppet master, animating all of existence. These uniquely Southeast
Asian characteristics also make for a theatre free from the standard scientific rules of
time and space. Because of this single point from which the light shines out onto the
entire screen, the shadows are often distorted, and, contrary to this being a limitation,
it has been developed in an alluring aesthetic movement that breaks free from the con-
straints of the physical material world into an exaggerated and extraordinary warping
of shape, intensity and shades. When King Rama’s shadow image moves off the screen
from the audience’s vision, each part of his exiting image enlarges as it moves away
from the light source as it simultaneously fades in intensity, seemingly dissolving before
our very eyes before disappearing from sight all together. This effect makes it easier to
believe that its audience is gazing on a mythical time when heroes could fly and gods,
in all their splendor, roamed the earth.
Relationship Between the Shadow Puppet Theatre

and Dance-Drama in Southeast Asia
Throughout Asia, the development of human drama has been intimately linked
with the evolution of puppet dramas of all kinds, such that each has received and given
much richness to the other. J. Tilakasiri goes so far as to state that “to minimize the
role of puppetry in the history of the theatre in Asia is to pervert the facts of history.”17
The interdependence of drama and puppet drama is clearly seen in the relationship
between the Japanese dance-drama, Kabuki, and the intricately complex rod puppet
form, Bunraku. Both human performer and puppet in these two forms strike dynam-
ically dramatic stylized poses to emphasize a given emotion or reaction. Burmese dancers
adeptly imitate the movement style of the Burmese marionettes even to the extent that
at the end of the performance, the dancer sometimes imitates crumbling to the ground
as if the puppeteer has released her strings. Conversely, the marionette puppets are
smoothly manipulated so that the puppet appears to be a human dancing a traditional
Burmese dance. The Thai masked pantomime, known as Khon, developed alongside
29
the large format Thai shadow puppet play, Nang Yai, and each borrowed much from
each other. Perhaps the most obvious example of this interchange is the Wayang Wong
found in Bali, Java and Malaysia, which is a dance-drama styled after the Wayang Kulit
shadow puppet theatre. Though the performers speak and sing, they move and dance
as though they are two-dimensional puppets. Even the costumes are designed to make
the human performers resemble the shadow puppets. The shadow puppets, conversely,
are manipulated in such a way that they glide through the joints to simulate continual
flow of movement like that of their human counterparts.
This exchange between live performers attempting to resemble a puppet and pup-
pets being manipulated to resemble live performers speaks to the very heart of art itself,
that being imitation. Something fundamental about the original subject is revealed
when it is imitated by something quite its opposite. Selected elements of its nature are
revealed. Both dance and puppet theatres are among the oldest forms of theatre. Since
both are about movement and expression of a story or character, they can learn from
each other by watching themselves be imitated. As the audience, we delight in this imi-
tation and are quickened when we experience moments of belief in the transformation
from one thing to another, be it a dancer to a puppet or the other way around.
Though I am certainly not the first scholar to note this correlation between the
two forms, my first personal encounter with it occurred during one of my puppet lessons
with Dalang Hamzah in Kelantan, Malaysia, when I was doing my Fulbright research.
On a hot and humid afternoon while I sat on his living room floor learning to perform
the opening ceremony of the Wayang Siam with the puppets, Dalang Hamzah got exas-
perated with my rigid handling of one shadow puppet and got to his feet. With one
hand on his hip and one arm gracefully extended outwards, he mimicked the graceful
swinging of the puppet’s arm as it ought to be performed. It struck me then how much
he resembled the Malaysian Mak Yong dancers I had seen earlier that month. From that
moment on, the interchange between the two mediums fascinated me. I find the study
of this phenomenon to be most exciting when looking at the large-format forms of
shadow puppet theatre in Thailand and Cambodia, as they literally combine both pup-
pets and dance into one form.
Focus on the Malaysian Wayang Kulit

Though I have observed the shadow puppet theatre in every country in Southeast
Asia where it exists, I am choosing to focus on the Malaysian form not only because it
is the location where I have conducted the bulk of my original field research and have
the most in-depth experience to share but also, beyond that, there is something particular
about this country’s manifestation of this form that calls me back to it time and again.
It seems to masterfully keep its balance on an ever-changing path as it valiantly attempts
to bridge the numerous gaps that seem to exist within Malaysian society. It manages
30
to connect a predominantly Muslim populace with its roots in Hinduism and its indige-
nous belief in local spirits. It crosses the gap between the past and the ever-encroaching
future with its many contemporary influences that threaten, or promise (depending
upon your view), to radically change village life. Perhaps most tenuous of all, it treads
a path between the world of the spirits and our physical existence. These numerous
challenges keep its practitioners remarkably quick footed, with sharp minds and clever
wits to avoid blame for offense, which is nearly inevitable in a nation so divided in
extremes of urbanism versus ruralism, race, income, politics, and lifestyle. The
Malaysian wayang has the uncanny ability to balance all these extremes with bawdy
release and life-affirming vitality.
31
Chapter Two
The Stories of the Malaysian

Shadow Puppet Theatre
When I first experienced a live performance of the shadow puppet theatre of

Malaysia I was a graduate student “backpacker” traveling throughout Southeast Asia.
I was there because I was considering this form as the focus of my dissertation. As I
watched my first performance, with my then minimal language skills, I distinctly
remember wondering why the practitioners of this form didn’t try to be a bit more
clever with the manipulation of the puppets, and why they hadn’t yet developed beyond
the seemingly simple stage conventions I was witnessing. I even questioned why there
were not two or even three puppet manipulators to make the visual portrayal of the
action more impressive. What I didn’t realize then was the primacy of the single puppet
master as storyteller and the emphasis within this theatrical form on the stories them-
selves. The play of shadows and light was subservient to the story being told and to the
importance of the single storyteller as the supreme overseer of the spiritual content
being conveyed. Later I realized these initial urges would be similar to wanting a syn-
agogue or a church to have more than one rabbi or priest presiding and for them to be
wowing their congregations with some kind of high-kicking spectacle. The inappro-
priateness of that is so extreme as to be laughable to anyone familiar with the purpose
of these religious services. Indeed, what I had yet to learn was how steeped in spiritual
importance these stories and this theatrical form were.
A very popular and often performed story in the Malay shadow puppet theatre is
the Indian epic tale, the Ramayana. This amazing story brings together all the best
ingredients of an irresistible story — romance, epic battle scenes, action-packed plot,
unforgettable characters, and spiritual depth. The Ramayana originated in India as an
epic tale written between 400 and 100 BCE and is attributed to Valmiki, but it is believed
to have been added onto through the centuries. This story, along with the other great
Indian epic tale, the Mahabharata, was brought to Southeast Asia by Indian traders,
missionaries, and intelligentsia between 100 and 1000 CE.1 The Ramayana was translated
into Javanese as early at 805 CE but was added onto generously by its translators, who
added much of their own composition. Through Java, the tale traveled throughout
Southeast Asia, spreading both the Hindu faith and inspiring the arts. Though the
major characters retain the same primary attributes as their Indian versions, many
changes are made as well, especially in the introduction of clown characters. Of the
four types of shadow puppet theatre performed in Malaysia (discussed in chapter three),
the Wayang Siam and the Wayang Gedek perform the most scenes from the Ramayana.
32
Two. The Stories of the Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre
The Mahabharata is four times as long as the Ramayana and is much more complex,
both philosophically and intellectually. The tale originated in India between 400 and
100 BCE. It acquired its present form by 300 CE but may have been added to as late as
600, and no single author’s name is attributed to its creation. Arriving in Java the same
time as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata was also translated to be distinctively Javanese
while still featuring the same cast of characters from the original text.2 The Mahabharata
is performed in two different Malaysian shadow puppet forms, the Wayang Jawa, a
Malay form with obvious Javanese roots, and the Wayang Kulit Jawa, which is performed
by Javanese immigrants in Javanese. Also performed by these two forms are the enor-
mously popular Panji tales, which originated in Java. Although the tales may have been
told as far back as ancient times, the surviving stories are set in the 11th to 13th century
CE kingdoms of Eastern Java.
Cerita Mahraja Wana: The Malay Version of the Ramayana

The repertoire for the main story of any given evening of Wayang Siam, the most
often performed wayang in Malaysia, is based (loosely at times) upon the Cerita Mahraja
Wana, the Malay folk version of the Hindu Ramayana. Another Malay version of the
Ramayana is the literary Hikayat Seri Rama. Also performed are stories from the Cerita
Kusi Serawi, which deals with the birth and adventures of Seri Rama’s two sons.3 By
comparing this brief summary of the Cerita Mahraja Wana to the synopsis of the Indian
version of the story that follows, some of the differences between the two come to light.
Primarily, the Malay version is simpler in terms of plot and sophistication than the
Indian and incorporates indigenous Malay characters, most notably the clown charac-
ters.
The Cerita Maharaja Wana tells the story of Seri Rama, who is the incarnation of
Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation. Rama and his brothers have as their father Sirat
Maharaja, the ruler of Susia Mendarapura. Their mother is lusted after by a horrible
demon, the King of Langkapuri, Mahraja Wana (otherwise known as Ravana). She
sends a double of herself to him, and with this double he fathers a daughter, Sita Dewi.
Sita is sent away and is found by Maharisi, the sage, and he raises her. Acting as her
father, Maharisi announces a contest in archery for Sita’s hand in marriage when she
comes of age. Rama wins the contest with the help of his brother and quickly takes his
new wife away. Mahraja Wana doesn’t know Sita is his daughter and desires her. He is
enraged when he arrives to compete in the contest and finds she has been taken away.
Rama, once back in his home kingdom with his new wife, is banished into the forest
for fourteen years by his father, who was tricked into doing so by one of his jealous
wives. Loyal to the end, Rama unquestioningly agrees and goes to live in simplicity
with nature, accompanied by his wife and brother, Laksamana.
Mahraja Wana kidnaps Sita by transforming himself into a golden deer that Sita
33
Malay Laksamana (left) and Rama (right) in performance (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
sees and begs Rama to capture for her. After Rama leaves her and is in pursuit of the
deer, Laksamana and Sita hear cries for help from Rama. Laksamana fears it is a trick
but is persuaded by Sita to leave her and help Rama. Left alone, Sita is then captured
by Mahraja Wana and carried back to his kingdom. He is stopped in mid-air by Jentayn,
a bird in the service of Rama. Jentayn is badly hurt by Mahraja Wana but does not die
until Rama comes by and is able to hear his last words reporting that Rama’s wife was
kidnapped by the villain Mahraja Wana.
Rama and Laksamana then proceed to declare war on Maharaja Wana to free Sita
from her captivity. They meet Hanuman the White Monkey, who is an exceptionally
gifted and mighty warrior. Hanuman convinces Rama that he is Rama’s son from a pre-
vious incarnation. Rama, ever proud, is reluctant to accept a monkey as his son but
finally consents.
As Rama and his followers travel through the jungle they come to Pakian, where
the mighty ape ruler, Bali, was accidentally trapped in a cave and presumed dead. His
younger brother, Sagariwa, takes the throne and Bali’s wife for his own. When Bali
escapes, he is furious and hurls Sagariwa out along with his own two sons, Anila and
Agganda. Rama and his followers come across Sagariwa and agree to join him in a battle
against Bali. After a fierce battle, Bali is killed by Rama. Sufficiently avenged, Sagariwa
and Bali’s two sons join Rama’s service.
34
When Rama and his army arrive at the coast from whence they will launch their
attack on the island of Langkapuri, Hanuman single-handedly builds a causeway to the
island where Mahraja Wana has Sita; but, alas, this causeway is quickly destroyed by
Mahraja Wana. Hanuman then allows himself to be captured by the enemy forces so
he can check on the well-being of Sita. When Hanuman is to be burnt alive, he grabs
the flames and leaps all over the city, reducing it to ashes. When he returns to Rama,
he rebuilds the causeway and while under water meets a fish princess, marries her and
makes her pregnant. She gives birth to Hanuman Ikan, a child who looks just like his
father, Hanuman, but has a tail like a fish (see chapter four for a script of this story,
entitled Hanuman Ikan).
Mahraja Wana gathers his army and deposits his soul in a safe place so that he
cannot be killed. After exhausting attempts by Rama to defeat his rival, Hanuman suc-
ceeds in stealing the villain’s soul and Rama is able to kill Mahraja Wana. Sita is hero-
ically rescued, and all return home triumphantly in a golden carriage, except for the
astrologer Mah Babu Sanam (or Mah Perbu Anam), who is left as ruler in Langkapuri.
An excellent and more thorough synopsis of the Hikayat Maharaja Wana can be found
in The Malay Shadow Play: An Introduction by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof.4
This version of the Ramayana varies at points from the version brought from India.
As the tale was passed down from generation to generation verbally, many favorite char-
acters and scenes were embellished, while other sections were lost. Cerita Mahraja Wana
is the ibu (mother), or trunk, of the Malay wayang repertoire. This is the basic text
with which all dalang are familiar, or at least their own version of it. The most commonly
performed stories are the ranting or branch stories. These are spin-offs from the main
tale featuring the main characters in different plots. Many of these tales use already
popular episodes from other wayang plots of folktales strung together in a different
order. Many branch stories are composed by the puppet masters themselves, patched
together from snatches of other stories, or are drawn from the puppet master’s own
inspiration. Puppet masters never admit the recent origins of these tales to the audience
because they claim that people are not interested in new narratives.5
The following are synopses of the original source versions of each of the primary
stories performed in the Malay shadow puppet theatre.
The Ramayana (Synopsis by Lisa Hall)

The vast and lush tale of Rama centers on the critical importance of duty and
virtue, as well as uncertainty, revenge and the suffering of love. It follows not only the
spiritual journey of its hero from man to god, but also his physical journey across India.
The men, women and gods he encounters along the way form a string of lessons and
challenges that sit at the heart of the tale. The Ramayana, literally meaning the travels
of Rama, is an ancient Sanskrit epic and serves as a foundational text for the Hindu
35
faith. Ultimately, the Ramayana is a vibrant tale of passionate desire and pure love con-
trasted with the importance of familial and religious duty while showcasing the strong
bond between men in war and the often marginal position of women in that struggle.
It exemplifies throughout a blend between the worlds of divine and human existence.
Through the ongoing crush of time, distance, devotion and conflict, we see the interplay
of dharma— a multivalent concept meaning religious virtue, goodness and justice —
and its antithesis, adharma. This tension lies at the heart of every wrenching decision
the Ramayana presents.
The tale begins and ends in the illustrious and bountiful city of Ayodhya, ruled
by King Dasharatha. The men of Ayodhya were heroic and the women virtuous, and,
along with the king, all were strict followers of dharma. Yet, however devoted and pow-
erful the city was, Dasharatha grieved over his lack of a son and heir. He arranged to
perform the elaborate Horse Sacrifice so the gods might grant him this wish. The ritual
was bloody and complex: three hundred creatures were sacrificed along with the precious
horse, and all of the king’s wisest and most trusted counselors participated. At the center
of the ceremony were the king’s three wives: Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi. At the
completion of the sacrifice Dasharatha was told that he would be granted four sons.
Meanwhile, a terrible power was brewing in Ravana, an extraordinarily powerful
supernatural lord. Having earned a boon from the gods, the ten-headed and twenty-
armed Ravana wished to be made invincible against all creatures, including the gods.
Although he had left out humankind, Ravana felt no threat and saw them as a weak
adversary. The gods were in turmoil, seeking a way to defeat the terrible Ravana. They
begged the god Vishnu to be born in human form, to take on an avatar and rid the
earth of Ravana.
Finally King Dasharatha’s first wife, Kaushalya, gave birth to a son they named
Rama. He was born with the beautiful blue-green skin of a divine being, and from his
birth he was revered and celebrated. The king’s youngest and most beautiful wife,
Kaikeyi, gave birth to another son, Bharata, and, finally, Dasharatha’s third wife, Sum-
itra, bore twins named Shatrughna and Laksamana. The children grew happy and pros-
perous, were educated well, and became talented fighters and devoted followers of
dharma. But even among his auspicious brothers, Rama stood out as an extraordinarily
virtuous and skilled boy.
One day, when Rama was not quite sixteen, the sage Vishwamitra came to the
king and requested that Rama be assigned to help defeat some evil rakshasas that Ravana
had sent to interrupt and destroy Vishwamitra’s holy sacrifices. The term rakshasa stood
for any semidivine being that served as a protector and was able to shift shape; however,
many (if not most) rakshasas were evil creatures or demons used to kill and wreak havoc.
King Dasharatha vehemently resisted Vishwamitra’s request, saying Rama was too
young, too precious, and too inexperienced to be sent to fight the rakshasas. Vishwamitra
persisted, and eventually the king allowed Rama, along with his brother Laksamana,
to go with the sage.
36
Vishwamitra instructed the boys in weaponry and fighting, and both (but especially
Rama) proved to be skilled and dangerous warriors. Using divine weapons, they met
success fighting the rakshasas that had so tormented Vishwamitra. Eventually the three
traveled to the kingdom of King Janaka. It was there that Rama met with the woman
who would shape much of his life from that point onwards.
King Janaka had a beautiful and virtuous daughter, Sita, who was born of the
earth: she was found in the furrow of a field. The king was searching for a worthy hus-
band for his blessed daughter, and challenged all potential suitors to string the enchanted
bow of Shiva; but none could even lift the divine weapon, much less manage to string
it. Vishwamitra immediately insisted that Rama be given a chance at the task, and the
king agreed. The bow was carried in by five hundred slaves, and none thought Rama
was equal to the challenge. To the awe of the observers, however, Rama casually lifted
the bow as though it were a feather; as he went about stringing it, the weapon bent to
the breaking point. Victorious in the task, Rama was married to Sita in a lavish cere-
mony.
The happy couple returned to Rama’s birthplace, Ayodhya, where their goodness
and prosperity were much exalted by the people of the kingdom. Soon the aging King
Dasharatha decided to set in motion the intention he had at Rama’s birth: to make the
boy his heir. The plans proceeded smoothly until the scheming maid of the king’s
youngest wife, Kaikeyi, began to fill the queen’s head with anger over the choice of
heir. Kaikeyi’s own son, Bharata, was not next in line for the throne; but her maid con-
vinced her quite quickly that Rama’s ascension would not only cause Bharata’s banish-
ment but would also threaten Kaikeyi’s place as the king’s favorite wife.
Determined to act, Kaikeyi went directly to the king. She reminded him that many
years ago, during the war between the gods and anti-gods, she had rescued him from
the battlefield where he lay wounded and had nursed him back to health. At that time
he had promised her two boons, and she had saved them until now. Oblivious to her
intention, the king readily agreed to grant her wishes. To his horror Kaikeyi demanded
not only that Bharata be placed on the throne, but also that Rama be banished for four-
teen years. Grief-stricken but bound by his word, King Dasharatha agreed.
Once the word came from the king, the dutiful Rama didn’t blink an eye at his
banishment. Seeing it as his obligation to obey his father, he set about preparing to
leave even as the king suffered and wept. When his brother Laksamana suggested they
overthrow Dasharatha to avoid the impending fate, Rama refused. When Sita found
out what had happened, she immediately dismissed Rama’s order that she stay behind.
Citing her duty to follow her husband, she resolved to exile herself with Rama. Lak-
samana followed to serve and protect the couple.
The city of Ayodhya grieved as the three, having left behind their royal clothes
and wealth, departed. They traveled along as subjects of nature, refusing to be taken
in by friends and treated to the luxuries their exile denied them. They reveled in the
beauty of the land and found their new wealth in the offerings of nature. They stayed
37
overnight with the sage Bharadvaja and then proceeded on to Mount Chitrakuta, where
they resided for quite some time.
Back in Ayodhya the royal family was not faring quite as well. Shortly after his
son’s banishment, King Dasharatha succumbed to his grief and died, and the city
plunged into deep mourning. Bharata, who had been living innocently out of the king-
dom, was sent for to be installed on the throne. When Kaikeyi revealed to him the
actions she had taken to secure these events, the virtuous Bharata renounced her, affirmed
the righteousness of Rama’s place in line for the throne, and refused to take over the
kingdom in his brother’s place.
Although the elders encouraged Bharata to take the throne so the kingdom would
be safe from attack, he again refused. Instead, he pursued Rama into the forest, hoping
to persuade him to return and rule. When Bharata finally met with his exiled brother,
he revealed to Rama not only Kaikeyi’s plot but also their father’s death. But Rama
denied the request that he return, saying it was his duty to carry out his father’s com-
mand of banishment. Desperate, Bharata offered to take Rama’s place in exile; but
Rama again refused, knowing it would be an act of adharma. With no other choice,
Bharata took Rama’s sandals and placed them on the throne in Ayodhya. From then
on Bharata ruled in Rama’s name but lived outside the city as a hermit.
Rama, Sita and Laksamana found the benefit and beauty of life in exile, connecting
with nature and moving deep into the forest, which was as dangerous as it was mag-
nificent. During their travels they met Jatayu, a noble and powerful vulture who agreed
to accompany them as protection. They found a new place to build their own ashram
in Panchavati, the land of the rakshasas.
One day the sister of the demon Ravana, who was a rakshasi herself, was wandering
through the forest and saw Rama. Thinking him to be a god, Shurpanakha fell in love
and proposed marriage to him. Rama and Laksamana mocked her and joked that Rama
would abandon Sita for her. The simpleminded rakshasi believed them at first, but
when she realized she could not have Rama, she swelled into a terrible rage and attacked
Sita herself. Laksamana sprang forward and cut off Shurpanakha’s ears and nose. She
fled, howling, wounded and humiliated.
Shurpanakha went immediately to one of her powerful brothers, blaming Sita and
insisting on action. She then embarked with fourteen dangerous rakshasas to kill Sita,
Rama and Laksamana. After Rama easily killed her entire retinue, Shurpanakha again
fled to her brother Khara. This time she returned to Rama with an army of 14,000.
Again Rama defended himself with ease, killing thousands of rakshasas at once and
finally killing Khara himself in a fierce battle. When Ravana received the news that his
brother had been slaughtered by Rama, he decided that the best way to destroy the vir-
tuous warrior would be to abduct his wife. Encouraged by the furious, disfigured Shur-
panakha, Ravana pursued Sita for himself.
Taking the rakshasa Maricha with him, Ravana flew in a chariot to Rama’s ashram.
Maricha changed himself into an enchanting deer, catching Sita’s attention, seducing
38
her and enchanting her mind. Rama and Laksamana recognized this deer as a trick,
but Sita begged them to capture it for her. Unable to deny his wife, Rama ignored Lak-
samana’s warnings and left them in order to hunt the beautiful deer. Lured further and
further away from his wife and brother, Rama finally killed the deer; but it immediately
transformed back into Maricha, and then cried out for help in Rama’s voice before
expiring. Filled with dread, Rama turned to hurry back to the ashram.
When Sita heard Rama’s cry deep in the forest, she implored Laksamana to go
after him. As soon as Sita was alone, Ravana carefully approached the solitary, sobbing
woman. He was love-struck immediately and offered to make her his queen but Sita
denounced him and virtuously declared her devotion to Rama. At that moment Ravana
transformed into his terrible ten-headed and twenty-armed body, and, succumbing to
his desire, he snatched Sita into his arms and boarded his chariot. Sita screamed for the
vulture Jatayu, begging him to go find Rama or Laksamana. Jatayu tried desperately to
reason with Ravana, but the demon would have none of his arguments. Ravana and
Jatayu locked into a terrible fight, but every time Jatayu bit off one of Ravana’s twenty
arms, ten more would spout furiously in its place. When Ravana severed Jatayu’s wings
and talons, the noble vulture plummeted from the sky and Ravana set off for Lanka
with Sita in his arms. As they soared away in Ravana’s chariot, the petals from Sita’s
hair and the gems of her robe rained down mournfully on the earth and Jatayu’s crum-
pled form. Although she cried out for Rama, Sita saw a barren landscape below her
save for a group of monkeys on a hill. She loosened and dropped her gold garment in
hopes these creatures would find it and give news to Rama and Laksamana. Ravana,
blind with lust and victory, noticed nothing.
Back in Lanka, Ravana grew tired of Sita’s refusals and banished her to the ashonka
grove with a group of rakshasas, hoping she could be tamed. He gave her a year to
submit to him or face death. In the forest Rama berated his brother for leaving Sita,
and although they rushed back they were greeted with the sight of a deserted ashram.
The brothers searched frantically for Sita but with no luck. Helpless and unsure, they
stumbled on the near-dead Jatayu, soaked in blood. Before he succumbed to death,
Jatayu managed to tell Rama of Sita’s abduction. Rama and Laksamana held a quiet
funeral for the brave Jatayu before heading south in Ravana’s wake, brimming with the
energy of anger and pride.
Along their journey the brothers skillfully fought and killed the rakshasas who
threatened them, but one particular battle was different. When they killed this rakshasa,
it transformed into a celestial being, revealing that they had redeemed him from a curse.
After Rama told him about Sita’s abduction, the redeemed man advised the brothers
to seek out the chief of the monkeys, Sugriva, who lived in the forest after being banished
by his own brother. Sugriva, the man said, would be able to help them find Sita. The
hopeful brothers set off immediately to find the monkeys and their chief.
When Sugriva saw strangers approaching his land, he immediately thought they
were spies sent by his brother, Vali. Sugriva sent one of his men, Hanuman, in disguise
39
Javanese Hanuman puppet (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
to meet the travelers. Rama and Laksamana proved themselves sincere and were taken
to meet Sugriva. As the men became friends, Rama shared the story of Sita with Sugriva.
The chief of the monkeys revealed that his own wife had also been abducted and that
now he was locked in a battle with his brother. Rama vowed to defeat Vali, and in
return Sugriva promised to find Sita and revealed her golden garment to Rama, which
she had dropped among them.
Finally Sugriva and Vali met in battle, and Rama fulfilled his promise by striking
Vali dead from afar with a deft arrow. Sugriva was installed as king and now their
energies turned towards Rama’s plight. Sugriva sent massive armies fanning out over
the land, among them Hanuman, but the armies all failed. The task fell to Hanuman
alone, who continued to search for Sita with Rama’s ring in his possession, so that he
might comfort the prisoner when he found her. Hanuman’s search led him to the coast,
where, pausing a moment, he realized he was the only one who could cross the sea. He
expanded his form and leapt over the ocean in a single bound, landing on the island
on Lanka. Finding himself alone on the new shore, he pressed on to search for Rama’s
wife.
Hanuman found the island of Lanka heavily guarded, but he knew he must find
a way to search for Sita there. He shrank himself from his giant form into that of a cat
and slipped stealthily past the guards. Soon Hanuman began to despair; Sita was
nowhere to be found. Exhausting the many rooms of the palace he headed to the Ashoka
40
grove guarded by many rakshasas. Knowing the danger of approaching, he concealed

himself carefully in a tree by the grove and waited patiently. Soon he saw a woman
sitting in the clearing, deep in mourning but still beautiful. Although he knew it must
be Sita, Hanuman was still forced to hold vigil in the tree, knowing that many rakshasa
guards surrounded her.
Meanwhile Ravana, unable to wait any longer for Sita’s affection, rushed to the
grove the next morning. Having spent the night hidden, Hanuman observed Ravana
approach. Again Ravana pushed Sita to submit and attempted to persuade her to do
so. However, Sita again resolutely refused, enflaming Ravana further. He gave her two
months to submit to his lust or to die. As he stormed away, Ravana commanded that
the rakshasas force Sita to give in to him. The demons taunted, abused and threatened
the mourning woman, but she held fast.
Hanuman knew it was time to approach Sita, but he feared he would scare her. He
began to sing the story of Rama from his hiding place in the tree. As the melody of those
praises reached Sita’s ears she looked around and saw Hanuman. He approached and
told her to climb on his back, that he would make himself a giant again and carry her
back across the ocean and into Rama’s arms. Fearful, Sita refused. Instead, she asked him
to take news of her back to Rama. Sita was confident that her husband would rescue her
gloriously. She gave Hanuman a jewel from her garment to give to Rama, and Hanuman
set off back towards the ocean. However, before he left, he devastated the Ashoka garden
and killed many of Ravana’s guards, then permitted himself to be captured and brought
before Ravana. Since it was forbidden to kill an emissary, Ravana ordered Hanuman’s
mutilation by having his tail wrapped in oil-soaked rags and set on fire. Hanuman again
grew to gigantic size, bursting his bonds, and proceeded to set the whole city of Lanka
on fire. Extinguishing his burning tail in the ocean, Hanuman leapt back over the sea.
He brought Sita’s jewel immediately to Rama, telling him of her plight. Rama vowed
fiercely to destroy Ravana and rescue Sita, his long-suffering wife. He immediately
brought his army to the coast, where they paused to strategize. In Lanka, Ravana was
deeply afraid of Rama’s impending attack and all of his advisors pleaded with him to let
Sita go. In the face of Ravana’s stubbornness, his own brother defected to the army of
Rama and Laksamana. With the help of the Ocean God, monkey architects constructed
a causeway across 800 miles of ocean, linking the mainland with the island of Lanka.
The war that ensued was bloody and brutal. Many moments found Rama and
Laksamana losing and nearly defeated. The battles were magnificent, violent symphonies
of rage — arrows were loosed in curtains, claiming thousands of lives. Although Ravana
called on every resource he could muster, Rama was able to eventually defeat them all.
It was only when Rama killed Ravana’s son that Ravana met with Rama in battle. The
air was thick with arrows as the two mighty forces finally locked into combat. When
Rama cut off one of Ravana’s heads, another burst forth in its place. The armies watched
them in seven days of furious, relentless battle. Weary but still focused on the thought
of Sita, Rama eventually managed to kill the terrible Ravana with a divine arrow.
41
The moment had come to reunite Rama and Sita, and he commanded that she bathe
and then come to him. From underneath the relief and joy, Rama’s anger began to swell.
The thought of the insult to his marriage rose and turned into displeasure with Sita. The
ever-virtuous Rama feared public scandal and the possibility that Sita’s honor had been
breached. He revealed that the terrible war was not for her sake, but to expunge the shame
and insult of her abduction. Rama’s panic burst, and he dismissed his wife as rumors
swirled that her purity and loyalty had lapsed in her long captivity by another man.
Sita plunged into a deep despair, as she was the only living witness of her lasting
fidelity. Unable to fathom life after Rama’s rejection, she resolved to prove her purity
by commanding that a pyre be built to end her life. Throughout the terrible ritual all
present were deadly silent, and no one could bring themself to look at Rama. Sita
prayed to the god of fire to protect her from the flames if her soul was indeed pure; and
then to the quiet horror of the crowd, she stepped gracefully into the flames. A wail of
grief rose from the humans, rakshasas, and the entire monkey army.
Suddenly the pyre went cold and the flames died. The god of fire emerged with
the luminous, unscathed Sita in his arms. The god Brahma revealed that dharma has
been done, that Sita was pure and could be returned to Rama without any doubts.
Rama tearfully admitted that he had purposefully tested her with the Fire Ordeal to
quiet any rumors from their subjects. The couple were joyfully reunited and took off
in a chariot, retracing their journey on the way home. The subjects of Ayodhya greeted
the pair with enthusiasm and Bharata gratefully handed the kingdom back over to his
brother Rama.
In Ayodhya Rama’s reign was peaceful and prosperous. However, shortly after Sita
became pregnant, Rama began to ask his advisors about any rumors from his subjects.
His advisors reported that the people wondered why Rama had accepted Sita back after
the insult of her abduction by Ravana. Sorrowfully Rama renounced Sita once again,
seeking to avoid public shame. Sita was abandoned at the ashram of Valmiki, left sobbing
and alone. Valmiki kindly took her in, and eventually she gave birth to Rama’s twin
sons: Kusha and Lava.
Back in Ayodhya, Rama continued to rule. In an act of dharma he performed the
year long Horse Sacrifice. Valmiki brought Kusha and Lava to observe the rites and
urged the twins to chant the Ramayana for Rama himself. Almost immediately Rama
recognized the young men as his sons, and he sent for Sita. The people of Ayodhya
exalted her return, and Valmiki endorsed her purity. Yet, before Rama would accept
her back into his kingdom and his arms, he asked her to again prove her purity to the
public. Sita prayed that she might be taken in by the earth goddess to show that she
had been faithful to Rama while in exile. As Sita announced aloud her devotion and
chastity, the earth goddess emerged, embraced Sita, and placed her on a divine throne.
The earth burst open and Sita descended into it; the people of Ayodhya watched as the
woman born of the earth in a furrow returned peacefully into it. Horrified, Rama was
thrown into terrible suffering.
42
Without Sita the kingdom went on, with many passing on to heaven. One day
Kala, the spirit of time, came to Rama in the form of an ascetic and revealed that in
his life dharma had been achieved. Kala gave Rama the choice of returning with the
gods to heaven or staying on earth. However, Kala had ordered that anyone overhearing
their conversation be exiled, so when Laksamana was forced to interrupt and bring an
urgent message to Rama, he was bound for exile.
In his final act, Rama installed his sons as kings of their own domains and pro-
ceeded to the bank of the river Sarayu. All the people and creatures of the kingdom
followed into the waters of the river and left Ayodhya deserted. Rama entered heaven,
and Vishnu and the gods rejoiced.
The tale of Rama’s life reflects his status as an avatar of a god: filled with auspicious
triumph and weighty moral duty. But the heart of his journey, the passion and doubt
of love, is completely human. Robert Goldman defines this as the “conflict between
personal loyalties and adherence to the abstract principles of truth and dharma.”6 With
such a universal message the foundational importance of the Ramayana to both Hin-
duism and many other structures is clear. The Ramayana has had a profound influence
on the cultures of the Indian subcontinent and throughout much of Southeast Asia.
The Mahabharata (Synopsis by Todd J. Coulter)

The Mahabharata is one of the oldest and arguably most complex epic tales known
to the world. Its complexity lies not in a dense maze-like plot, or structure even, but
rather in its admixture of adventure, love (erotic and emotional), and religio-spiritual
doctrine, not to mention the fact that the central conflict rests on the outcome of a dice
game. It is from the Mahabharata that the Hindu Bhagavad Gita is taken. While the
Mahabharata tells much more than just the exploits of Arjuna and the Pandava brothers,
it is Arjuna’s position in the story that we see played out in different wayang forms. His
relationship with Krishna and their triumph in the great eighteen-day war give us an
incredibly rich story interwoven with deep religious doctrine and superhuman feats
and nobility. Here then is the story of Arjuna, his brothers, and their lives.
Three brothers, Pandu, Vidura, and Dhritarashtra, all fathered by King Vyasa (also
considered to be the author of the epic itself ), were to inherit the kingdom. Being blind,
the eldest brother, Dhritarashtra, allowed the powerful Bhishma to rule. While hunting
in the forest, Pandu came upon a stag and a doe making love. Drawing his bow, Pandu
released an arrow that mortally wounded the stag and the doe. In its dying moments,
the stag cursed Pandu and his lover to death whenever he would next make love since
Pandu had struck him down in a moment of supreme happiness. At this point Pandu
was married to Kunti and Madri, whom he immediately ordered back to the court at
Hastinapura. They refused to go and remained with him in the forest. Before she
married Pandu, Kunti had learned a mantra, a spell of sorts, that would make any god
43
come to her and be with her for one night (Kunti had used this mantra once before she
married Pandu and had become the mother of Karna, whom in her shame she put in
a basket and sent down the river). Dismayed at the stag’s curse, Pandu pined for a child
of his own. Kunti told her husband of her mantra. Pandu asked her to call upon Dharma,
the Bearer of Fragrance, and Indra. From Dharma was born Yudhishthira, from the
Bearer of Fragrance (Wind) came Bhima, and from Indra, the Lord of the Heavens,
came Arjuna. Madri also wanted to bring her husband happiness by bearing him a
child, so Kunti taught her the same mantra. Madri called upon the twin Aswins, horse-
men and gods of light and dark and youth and age, and bore Pandu twins, Nakula and
Sahadeva. These five being the sons of Pandu, they became known as the Pandavas.
Unfortunately, desire and love overcame Pandu and Madri and they died in each other’s
arms.
At the same time that Dhritarashtra’s brother, Pandu, became father to the five
semidivine Pandavas, Dhritarashtra also fathered his own sons, who would be known
as the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra’s wife, Gandhari, became pregnant and carried the “child”
for over a year. Concerned, Dhritarashtra consulted with Vyasa, his true father and the
grandfather of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Vyasa told Dhritarashtra that his
wife would carry the “child” for a total of two years. At the end of the two years, Vyasa
told him to prepare one hundred jars filled with clear butter. Gandhari gave birth to a
solid sphere of flesh. Vyasa took the ball and divided it into one hundred parts and had
Dhritarashtra put a piece into each of the jars. There was an extra piece of flesh that
was placed into an extra jar. Vyasa told Dhritarashtra to wait for another two years and
his one hundred sons and one daughter would finally be born. His first son to be born
was the fiery Duryodhana. This is how the Kauravas came to be.
As the respective families grew and prospered it came time for each of the princes
to take a wife. The Pandavas made their way to southern Panchala for the swayamvara
of the fire-born Draupadi. The swayamvara was a large festival complete with a contest
for the princess’s hand in marriage in which the winner was to string a bow and shoot
five arrows at a revolving target above by looking at its reflection on a pan of oil below.
Arjuna succeeded and Draupadi was allowed to choose the eldest Pandava as her hus-
band. Once all the Pandavas brothers returned home, Bhima beckoned their mother,
Kunti, to come see what had been won. Before seeing what it was, she replied that they
should share it among all of them. Once uttered, a mother’s will could not be disobeyed,
so Draupadi agreed to being married to all five brothers.
Soon after the news of Draupadi’s choice of all five Pandavas spread throughout
the world, the Kauravas invited the Pandava clan to their palace in Hastinapura. In the
absence of his noble father, Duryodhana acted as host to the Pandavas and immediately
instigated a high stakes game of dice. Assuming the eldest brother would play, Yud-
hishthira agreed to the match only to be paired with Sakuni. The two threw the dice
many times, with each wager growing larger and larger in value and importance until
Yudhishthira wagered his beautiful wife Draupadi. Yudhishthira lost everything to
44
Sakuni, including his virtuous Draupadi. Called to serve in the kitchens of the Kauravas,
Draupadi’s brilliance and noble nature overcame the evil intentions of Duryodhana and
his brothers. She asked to have all the Pandavas lost to be restored to them. Outraged
by the Pandavas’ restoration, Duryodhana challenged Yudhishthira to one final throw
of the dice. Certain of victory and eager to destroy the Pandava family, he wagered his
and his brothers’ lives and kingdom against the Pandavas. Both sides agreed that the
losing family would retire deep into the forest for twelve years. At the close of twelve
years the family would have to live in disguise in a city for the thirteenth year. However,
if any one member of the family was discovered during the thirteenth year, he and his
family would be forced to retire to the forests for another twelve years. Assuming that
no one was discovered during the thirteenth year, the losing family could ask for the
return of its kingdom. On top of every other offense, the disrobing of Draupadi was
called for. Through a miracle of Krishna, her sari was made to be endless, so that she
was not shamed by being disrobed. In her anger, Draupadi vowed not to tie up her
hair again until she had washed it in the blood of her attacker, Dushasana. Bhima added
to this pledge that he would drink this blood. Even with so much at stake, Yudhishthira
agreed and rolled a six to Duryodhana’s seven.
As Duryodhana and his brothers celebrated their narrow victory, the Pandavas,
with Draupadi, made ready to leave. Once in exile, Arjuna traveled into the thick of
the forest to hunt a deer for his family. Before finding a deer he heard the sad music of
Krishna’s flute. Learning of Arjuna’s plight, Krishna offered to spill Duryodhana’s and
Karna’s blood. Showing his calm nature, Arjuna told Krishna that this was not his battle
to fight. Acceding to Arjuna’s calm, Krishna reminded him that “You are mine and I
am yours. And who strikes you, strikes me also. You come from me, and I from you,
and there is no one who can understand the difference between us.”7 Soon after, Arjuna
decided to leave his family and travel into the wilds alone to reflect and simply to find
what he may. Once again hunting a deer, as is a king’s right, Arjuna felled the same
deer, at the exact instant, as a mountain man shot it. Arjuna allowed the simple man
to claim the deer as his own. The mountain man deemed the young Pandava to be inso-
lent and soon attacked him with a barrage of arrows. Arjuna retaliated, but fell exhausted
as his arrows hit nothing but empty air; he then built a small statue in honor of Shiva.
No sooner had he placed a small flower in the figure than it disappeared and reappeared
in the mountain man’s hair. Arjuna immediately recognized his adversary as Shiva him-
self. Pleased with this show of humility, Shiva revealed himself and allowed Arjuna to
rest.
When Arjuna rose the next day, a heavenly host greeted him and took him to
heaven to be with the gods. Arjuna passed eleven days in heaven, where the gods enter-
tained him with discussion, advice, and dance. Since celestial time is not bound to
human time, Arjuna’s eleven days equaled eleven years on earth. The Pandavas passed
the twelfth and final year in the forest together.
When the thirteenth year began, the noble brothers made good on their bet and
45
lived disguised as servants and teaching masters in the house of Virata. Most beguiling
of all was Arjuna’s disguise. While in heaven, he had incurred the wrath of Urvasi, who
had danced before Arjuna and offered herself to him. Recognizing his mother’s beauty
in the goddess, he rejected her. Incensed at his rejection, she cursed him to pass a year
without the traits inherent to a noble and strong king and to adopt the manners of a
dancing master. This is how Arjuna passed unknown in the court of Virata.
As the year passed, Duryodhana’s and his brothers’ greed grew and they set out to
conquer more land. Soon the lands came under Virata’s rule. As cities and villages fell
to the ravenous Kauravas, Virata’s palace fell into disarray and chaos. The Pandavas
bided their time as long as they could stand it. Seeing Virata’s princely son falter in the
face of battle, Arjuna, still dressed in women’s clothes as a dance master, asked him to
drive to the cemetery. It was here that the Pandavas cached their weapons and armor.
The Pandava armory was glorious to behold, so it needed to be hidden in a place no
person would dare to venture. At Arjuna’s behest Virata’s son climbed a tree where the
royal arms of the Pandavas were hidden. As Arjuna took up his Gandiva bow and sword,
he revealed himself to the frightened prince. At this terrific sight, the Kauravas knew
the Pandavas had returned and had in good faith met the demands of the wager made
thirteen years ago.
With the return of Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and
Sahadeva, war was imminent. Knowing that Krishna would play an integral role in the
outcome of the impending battle, both Arjuna and Duryodhana traveled to see the
wise Krishna at Dwaravati. The two princes stood before Krishna as he slept. Awaking,
Krishna laid eyes first on Arjuna and then noticed Duryodhana. He asked both why
they had come to see him. Duryodhana immediately asked the god to use his magnificent
and terrible chakra to lead the Kauravas to victory. Krishna refused, saying that he
would not take up arms for either side. However, he did present the men with a choice.
He offered himself unarmed or ten thousand Yadava warriors. Arjuna chose first and
chose to have Krishna at his side unarmed. Krishna bestowed on the elated Duryodhana
the ten thousand Yadava warriors. Arjuna did not want Krishna merely for his counsel,
but asked him to serve as ambassador to Duryodhana and plead for peace. The request
was granted. Failing to placate the violent and vindictive heart of Duryodhana, Krishna
rode back to the Pandavas. As his chariot sped through the country, he called upon
Karna. Born from a union between the sun and Kunti, Karna was a brother to the Pan-
davas but he sided with Duryodhana. Krishna warned Karna not to fight against his
own brothers, but Karna’s heart failed to recognize his blood union to Kunti or her
children and swore to fight against them.
Disheartened at the certainty of war, Krishna arrived at the Pandava camp. Here
he promised to drive Arjuna’s chariot into battle. The two great armies met each other
on the battlefield. The sun shone so brightly that each army was blinded by the radiance
of its foe. Trumpets blared and soldiers cried in anticipation of the great battle. Just as
the Pandavas and Kauravas were about to engage in war, Arjuna told Krishna to drive
46
him to a vantage point to look over the armies. As he saw his brothers, teachers, and
uncles prepared to do battle against each other, Arjuna hesitated and mourned for the
great loss of life the war was sure to bring. At this show of compassion, Krishna offered
to take Arjuna away from the battle never to return. He warned Arjuna: “Unless he
surrenders, Yudhishthira will die. Karna will kill Bhima, he will kill Nakula, he kill will
Sahadeva ... he will kill every man of the army; you cannot stop this war.”8 At this
warning Krishna recited the Bhagavad Gita in which he, as Arjuna’s charioteer, explains
in a long dialogue with Arjuna that he is obliged to fight this war — that it is Arjuna’s
dharma. All of this culminates in Krishna’s revealing his true divine form, which stands
as one of the more dramatic moments within the entire epic tale.
Hearing the wisdom of Krishna, Arjuna rode back to face battle with and against
his brothers. The battle raged on and brought forth such horror and heroism that was
never seen before nor has been equaled since. In the course of battle Virata’s son Uttara,
whom Arjuna had befriended, was slain. In a great act of retribution, Arjuna sought
out Jayadartha. Arjuna knew that Jayadartha’s father had pronounced a curse that who-
ever allowed Jayadartha’s lifeless head to fall to the earth would also die. Once he had
severed the head of his enemy with a razor arrow, Arjuna shot a flurry of arrows at the
head so that it flew into the forest where it fell into Jayadartha’s father’s lap and then
to the earth, thus killing both father and son.
The great war of the Pandavas and Kauravas raged on for eighteen days. Both the
Pandavas and the Kauravas lost thousands of men. Through a series of deceit and trou-
blesome half-truths, the Pandavas inched their way closer to victory. In a last attempt
to thwart the impending defeat of the Kauravas army, its sole survivor, Ashvatthama,
released a secret weapon into the air. This enchanted weapon was taught to Ashvatthama
by Drona, who had also instructed the Pandavas in their youth. Recognizing the magic
weapon, Arjuna immediately countered with one of his own. The two massive weapons
reached into the sky countering each other’s power. Krishna held both powers in check.
He commanded Arjuna and Ashvatthama to recall their weapons. Arjuna withdrew his
in spite of the tremendous effort and physical harm it would bring upon the world.
Ashvatthama seemed unable to control his weapon. He was told he first must release
all anger and aggression from his heart, then he would be able to control the weapon.
His heart released all hatred, and the weapons fell from the sky, ending the great eight-
een-day war of the great Bharatas.
The Panji Tales (Synopsis by Jennifer E. Popple)

Rather than one version of the same story, the Panji tales are, instead, a series of
related myths about the Javanese hero. To be classified a Panji tale, therefore, means
that an individual story can differ from others in many respects but is based on a shared
framework of people and places. All of the myths are set in historical Javanese kingdoms
47
and relate the adventures of the heroic prince Panji, the princess (and Panji’s true love),
and the noble men and women of their courts. The prince of one kingdom and the
princess of a neighboring kingdom are betrothed, but a complication, or series of com-
plications, separates them from one another. For example, the princess may be kid-
napped or get lost, or another Javanese king may engage one of their kingdoms in war.
The prince, who is either in disguise or using an assumed identity, must solve the prob-
lem or problems before he can at last reveal himself to the princess and marry her. Once
the prince and princess are married, all chaos clears up and the world is balanced again.
As there is no one “original” Panji tale, what follows is one representative tale, Waseng,
that has recently been translated into English from the Wangbang Wideya, which is a
lengthy set of linked stories.9
Wira Namtami (Panji), the prince of the Kuripan kingdom, was renowned for his
heroic qualities on the battlefield, his courtly charms, and his handsome appearance.
Panji was engaged to marry his cousin Galuh, the beautiful princess of the Daha king-
dom, but a complication emerged. The king of the Magadha kingdom, who was besotted
with Galuh, learned about her upcoming wedding to Panji and sent one of his mantris,
or palace officials, to Koripan to kill the prince. Using a sleep-inducing charm, the
mantri successfully entered the palace, and attacked the defenseless prince. When all
of his efforts to kill Panji failed, the mantri kidnapped the prince, tied him up with tree
roots, and threw him into the river to drown.
Ten days later, Panji’s body washed up on the shores of Daha, and he was discovered
alive by two kadehan (sons or daughters of palace officials, who have been brought up
as friends of the royals) of the princess. Panji, unrecognized, identified himself as a sub-
ject of the Gegelang kingdom and when Galuh saw him, she was immediately besotted
with the stranger. Galuh adopted him into her circle of courtly companions and named
him Waseng Sari, in homage to his devastatingly handsome appearance.
The king of Magadha, meanwhile, had failed in his efforts to woo the princess. The
king attacked Daha, with the assistance of his allies, the kings of Putrasena and Pawon-
awon. Panji, in spite of Galuh’s pleas, prepared to join in the battle and defend his new
home. Just then, a group of Panji’s kadehan, who had been searching for him since his
disappearance, arrived in Daha to help defend the kingdom. The men were overjoyed
when they recognized their master. Panji told them of his adventures and made them vow
not to reveal his true identity to the people of Daha. The group joined the battle and,
after killing the kings of Putrasena and Pawon-awon, Panji faced off with the king of
Magadha. Panji killed the warring king and sent his head as a tribute to the king of Daha.
In order to keep his true identity secret, Panji changed the names of his kadehan,
and they traveled back to Daha, where they were honored as heroes of the battle. The
king of Daha awarded Panji some of the booty won in the battle and made him the
chief of the wong anarawita, a high-ranking group of kadehan who attended Galuh.
This new role in the kingdom meant that Panji was able to spend more time with his
beloved princess.
48
One day, Galuh was playing a beautifully haunting tune on the gamelan. Panji
pretended that he did not know how to play the gamelan and Galuh decided to instruct
him. Through this close interaction, Panji and Galuh’s love grew so intense that they
were incapable of hiding it anymore. When the king and queen of Daha left for a visit
to Gegelang, Panji and Galuh took advantage of the unchaperoned time. They used
Panji’s kadehan to distract the princess’s attendants while Panji and the princess made
love in her apartments. With the reluctant assistance of the princess’s attendants, Galuh
and Panji continued their secret trysts even after the queen and king came back home.
Two months later, Panji could no longer live with his secrets. He decided to go back
to Koripan, reveal his true identity, and ask once again for the princess’s hand in mar-
riage. Panji lied to the king of Daha, telling him he was going to Gegelang to visit his
peasant parents. Panji and Galuh bid one another a tearful goodbye and Panji promised
her that he would return soon.
When Panji, believed dead, returned to Koripan, the city overflowed with joy. In
Daha, however, sadness and fear abounded. The king of Wirabumi attacked the king-
dom in revenge for the death of his brothers, the kings of Putrasena and Magadha. The
vengeful king was defeated and killed but, in the chaos of the battle, Galuh disappeared.
Panji, having heard of Wirabumi’s attack, hastened back to Daha to help defend the
kingdom. When Panji arrived, he heard of the princess’s disappearance. Panji, overcome
with grief, went out into the forest to look for his lost love.
Galuh assumed a new identity, Amahi Lara, and was adopted by a kind hermit
who lived on Mount Arga Manik. Word of Amahi Lara’s beauty and charms eventually
reached the king of Gegelang. The king summoned the “hermit’s daughter” to his king-
dom to be his daughter’s courtly companion. Amahi Lara’s beauty became a good luck
charm, for as soon as she arrived in Gegelang, the kingdom flourished.
Panji, tirelessly continuing his search for Galuh, began conquering kingdoms as
he looked for his love. With each victory, Panji was offered beautiful royal women as
a tribute, but he refused all offers of marriage, holding out hope that he would someday
be reunited with Galuh. Panji, after eight years abroad, returned to Koripan.
Gegelang was attacked by the kings of Paguhan and Pajang, and, luckily, Panji was
able to reach the defensive lines in time to help win the battle. The king of Gegelang,
who did not recognize Panji as his nephew, showered Panji with praise and offered him
Amahi Lara as a bride. Amahi Lara immediately recognized Panji, but he saw her only
as a beautiful reminder of his true love, Galuh. Panji finally relented to the offers of
marriage and agreed to be betrothed to Amahi Lara. Before they could marry, however,
Panji was recognized as the prince of Kuripan. His engagement to Amahi Lara was bro-
ken and he was offered the bigger reward of marriage to the princess of Gegelang,
Angrurah Arsa. The engagement and resulting wedding ceremony occurred without
incident but when the royal orchestra announced that the new husband and wife had
gone into their bedchamber to consummate the union, Amahi Lara, overcome with
grief, fainted.
49
Panji and his new wife took up residence in Koripan and as he enjoyed life with
Angrurah Arsa and his growing number of secondary wives, the memory of his true
love grew fainter. One day, however, Panji heard a familiar tune being played on the
gamelan by his mother’s new lady-in-waiting, Amahi Lara. Recognizing it as a song he
and the princess used to play in Daha, Panji realized Amahi Lara was actually Galuh.
Sick with remorse, Panji became ill. His condition proved impervious to medical treat-
ment and he grew worse every day.
The king of Daha, who had decided to retire and live the rest of his days peacefully
as a hermit in the forest, arrived to give rule of his kingdom to his brother, the king of
Kuripan. When the king of Daha arrived, he instantly recognized Amahi Lara as his
long lost daughter and Panji as Waseng Sari, the loyal court attendant from years ago.
With the truth finally revealed, Panji’s wife, Angrurah Arsa, announced that she would
step aside and allow Panji to keep his promise to marry Galuh, who had the first claim
on his heart. Galuh’s mother gave an alternate suggestion, proposing that Angrurah
Arsa could stay married to Panji as his “younger principle wife” while Galuh would be
Panji’s principle wife. The solution was acceptable to all parties and Panji and Galuh
were married, finally completing their destiny to be together. Panji, Galuh, and the
other wives lived in perfect harmony for the rest of their days.
Summary
Though the story of the Ramayana certainly predominates throughout Malaysia,
each of these stories, and the hundreds of colorful characters within them, contribute
to the richness and diversity expressed through the Malay performing arts. What follows
in the next chapter is how these stories are brought to life through the conventions and
practices unique to the Malay shadow puppet theatre.
50
Chapter Three
The Shadow Puppet Theatre

in Performance
The best way to introduce the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre as distinguished
from other forms throughout Southeast Asia is to examine the culture and nation from
which it originated. Malaysia is a country of extremes. It boasts skyscrapers such as
the Petronas Towers, as well as villages of rustic huts built on stilts in jungle clearings.
Walking down an old street in K.L. (the capital city, Kuala Lumpur), you are likely to
get a whiff of beefsteaks from some relic of a British restaurant, pass an Indian restaurant
wrapping its “to-go” meals in banana leaves, brush shoulders with some giggling Malay
school girls fully draped in floor length school uniforms with their heads covered
in long veils, and spy into the window of a Chinese home and see a tabletop altar to
ancestors and Buddhist deities complete with fruit offerings and incense. Malaysia is
a vibrant mix of cultures that contributes to both its richness and many of its social
conflicts. From the start of recorded history, what is now Malaysia has had an interna-
tional flavor, due to its location directly on a trade route between the Strait of Malacca
and the South China Sea. Contact with spice traders and seafaring people of all nations
has long been a facet of Malay life. The center of early activity, the Kingdom of Malacca,
previously Hindu, was converted to Islam on a grand scale in the fourteenth century.
What is now peninsular Malaysia became British Malaya in 1824 with the signing
of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. It wasn’t until 1957 that Malaysia became completely
self-governing, gaining control in 1963 over Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Bor-
neo.
Islam is currently the national religion, but other faiths are tolerated for non–
Malays, namely Buddhism for most Chinese and Hinduism for most Indians. On the
one hand, modern Malaysia seems to find it a bit embarrassing that some of its citizenry
in the remote rural areas still adhere to the indigenous and Hindu beliefs inherent in
and associated with the shadow puppet theatre, the Wayang Kulit. On the other hand,
the Malaysian government seems to nurture its cultural heritage, which includes the
Wayang Kulit, as a way of preserving its national identity and to have something to fea-
ture in tourist brochures. In balancing these somewhat contradictory feelings, the effort
seems to be to preserve the structure of the traditional Wayang Kulit while subtly elim-
inating the spiritual power and importance of the form. This is done by initiating laws
that demand that wayang performances end by midnight, before the trance-inducing
power of the form has a chance to take effect.
51
Map of Southeast Asian countries (by Melisande Osnes).
The Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre

Compared to its near neighbors, the Malaysian wayang is more rustic in appearance
and robust in performance. Since in Malaysia the shadow theatre has traditionally been
subsidized by the villagers themselves rather than by the courts, as has often been true
in Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, the texture and tempo of performance is suited
to the tastes of the common villagers. The puppets themselves are full-bodied, with
realistic proportions and brightly painted with far less gold adornment than is found
in Java or Bali. In fact, the carving in the rawhide is much less detailed and the design
of paislies and flowers on the puppet’s clothing is larger and less intricate in scale. Even
52
Three. The Shadow Puppet Theatre in Performance
Map of Peninsular Malaysia (by Melisande Osnes).
the performance conventions are suited to the tastes of a village audience, with spirited
and sometimes gruesome fight scenes and bawdy comedy that sometimes borders on
the scandalous. Also, unique mostly to the Malaysian forms, the dalang, or puppet mas-
ter, by necessity often becomes a man of all trades, making most of the instruments,
training the musicians, designing and sometimes making the puppets, training his assis-
tant, the dalang muda, literally “young puppet master,” and performing. The Malaysian
53
Difference in design between a Malay shadow puppet (left) and a Javanese shadow puppet
(right) (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
dalang is a theatre artist of such broad and varied talent that he truly stands out among
world traditions as one-man show extraordinaire.
Historically, there are four regional types of shadow puppet theatre in Malaysia —
Wayang Siam, Wayang Gedek, Wayang Kulit Melayu (or Wayang Jawa), and Wayang Kulit
Purwa. The Wayang Gedek is a derivative of the Southern Thai Nang Tulung and is per-
formed near the Thai border mostly in Kedah but also in Perlis and Kelantan. Most of
the artistic impetus is derived from Thailand, yet the language of the performance is a
blend of Thai and Malay to suit its mixed audience of border-dwelling Thais and
Malays. For its repertoire, the Wayang Gedek traditionally dramatized the Thai version
of the Ramayana, known as the Ramakien, but more recently dramatizes Thai and Malay
folktales such as Menora. The Wayang Kulit Purwa is performed in West Johor and
Selangor by immigrants from Java in old Javanese or, more recently, Bahasa Malaysia.1
Most of its repertoire is derived from Javanese versions of the Indian epic Mahabharata.
This shadow puppet form has not evolved significantly from the Javanese original since
being transplanted into Malaysia, so it will not be considered within this book except
for this noting of its existence. The Wayang Siam and Wayang Kulit Melayu, in spite of
their names, are Malays forms and their areas of distribution largely coincide, both
being found in the states bordering the Thai-Malaysian frontier.2 There has been very
54
little research done on the Wayang Kulit Melayu form, which has obvious Javanese roots
but has been greatly modified by practitioners in Malaysia. In all likelihood this form
is derived from the Javanese Wayang Kulit Gedog.3 As primarily an entertainment for
Kelantanese aristocrats, it thrived only under their patronage. Wayang Kulit Melayu
largely performs stories from the Panji repertoire. In 1991 I met with the only surviving
Wayang Kulit Melayu dalang, Dalang Husain, who at the time was quite old and con-
sidered himself retired. At that time he had no students so it was believed that the form
would die with him. Together with Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, then at the Universiti
Sains in Penang, I sponsored a performance by Dalang Husain, who had great difficulty
gathering his musicians. The traditional wind instrument, the rebab, was not included
as the musician who played it had died.
The Wayang Siam (also referred to more recently by the Malaysian government as
Wayang Kulit Kelantan)
will be the primary focus
of this exploration of the
Malaysian shadow puppet
theatre since it is mostly a
product of Malay creativity
and influence. As the name
suggests, there is ample
influence on this form
from the Siamese who bor-
der the state of Kelantan
just to the north, evident
in the elegantly upturned
hands of the puppet char-
acters, the head dresses,
and the splattering of Thai
words in the opening
incantations. Wayang Siam
is performed in the Kelan-
tan-Pattani dialect and is
suited in taste and style to
its mostly rural audience.
The stories most often per-
formed by the Wayang
Siam are from the Malay
version of the Ramayana
and from branch stories
from the original trunk of Wayang Gedek clown character, performed by Dalang Noh in
the main story. Kedah (photograph by J.P. Osnes).
55
Dalang Husain of Kelantan with two Wayang Kulit Melayu puppets (photograph by Beth
Osnes).
Social Setting
A traditional Malaysian audience of the shadow puppet theatre gathers for a show
sitting on mats or on the ground, from which they are free to talk, smoke, spit, eat,
drink, leave, and return whenever they like. In this relaxed atmosphere, the audience
takes advantage of the social opportunities offered by the performance. They patronize
the food carts, drift in and out of the performance area, chat, and call to each other.
Usually the children chase each other around, stopping only for the comic scenes or the
battles, until they fall asleep on mats near their parents. The young men usually stand
in the back acting a bit aloof, reluctantly getting drawn into the performance. Through
the moist night air surrounding the crowd, animal sounds or cars can sometimes be
heard over the din of the orchestra.
Before the performance, a dalang will often attempt to assess his audience and
their wishes. The puppet masters declare that older people come mainly to hear a good
story, the younger generations wish to see love stories and children love comedy and
battle scenes.4 Though applause and booing are unheard of, a puppet master can gauge
the mood of the crowd by laughter during comic scenes, silence during the serious
56
drama, and cries of encouragement given during the battles. A perceptive dalang, sen-
sitive to the stirring of bored spectators or the attention of interested ones, will tailor
his performance to fit the mood of his audience.5 At the end of a performance, the
audience will simply get up, collect their mats and children, and leave with no recog-
nition for the performers. There is no applause at the end; rather, appreciation is
expressed throughout the performance through audience reception.
The wayang season begins each year after the rice paddy harvest and extends to
the beginning of the rainy season, during which time there are relatively long stretches
of leisure. Any evening or celebration can warrant an excuse for a show, such as a wed-
ding, circumcision, birth, or the end of a successful harvest. Performances are forbidden
only on Thursday nights, the eve of the Muslim Sabbath. It has been a law in Malaysia
that all performances end by midnight, but if the performance is taking place in a
secluded area where no government officials are likely to take notice, the play of shadows
may continue until sunrise.
Performances are sponsored in several ways and for a variety of reasons. When
presenting a wayang performance for the sake of entertainment, a family or even an
entire village will take on the financial and planning responsibility, which includes
hiring a wayang troupe, erecting a performance hut, and feeding the entire wayang
troupe before each performance. There have been instances of entrepreneurs wishing
to sell refreshments who shared the expense and duties of hosting a show.6 In rural areas
where entertainment is a bit hard to come by, it was popular between the 1930s and
1980s for a person or group of people to organize a wayang performance for profit,
charging an entrance fee usually equivalent to half the price of the cheapest movie house
ticket. The commotion of setting up and the noise from the orchestra the night of the
performance is usually the only advertising needed for these performances.
Other performances take on a deeper meaning and intentionally have a more serious
purpose when planned to heal either an individual who is sick, a village beset with bad
crops, an epidemic of cholera, or some other evil. If some misfortune comes to the village
people, it is suspected that the gods of the Wayang Kulit are angry for some reason and
need to be appeased through a performance in order for balance and peace to be restored
in the area. Dalang Noh of Kedah told me that when he was a boy he fell ill and had a
dream one night that told him a wayang performance would cure him. He told his
parents of the dream and they made the arrangements for a performance. After the shad-
ows had played out their drama upon the screen, he was not only cured, but also so
deeply moved that he decided to begin training to become a dalang himself.
Religious Setting
Imagine the religious history of Malaysia as layers of belief, each level being added
over the one before without entirely eliminating the former’s foundational importance
57
or influence. Before any of the major world religions came to what is now Malaysia, it
was believed that spirits inhabited the winding rivers, the forest trees, and even the
heavy monsoon rains. Since this early form of indigenous belief held that objects and
natural occurrences had souls that affected the lives of the people, these spirits needed
to be appeased and kept happy for good fortune to fall upon the community. This
indigenous belief has long been an integral reason for the function of the Wayang Kulit
in rural Malaysia, though it continues to fade as modernism and Islam increase their
influence. Many puppet masters are also a bomoh, a traditional medicine man or spiritual
healer, and their power comes predominantly from this earliest belief system. It is not
just in the rural areas that the bomoh are held in esteem; even in the 1990s it was not
uncommon for a bomoh to be called in before a major sporting event to make sure it
did not rain.
The next layer of religion in Malaysia is that of Hinduism and Buddhism that
came to the area of Malaysia from India from about 100 to 1000 CE. Hinduism had an
electrifying effect on the development of the arts in the area, mostly because of the
richness of the great Indian epic tales, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. These
lengthy tales of adventure and wisdom were subsequently naturalized throughout the
area of Southeast Asia so that local demons and deities were interwoven into the stories,
sometimes added into the plot line, sometimes morphed with other characters in the
original stories. The bulk of the Wayang Kulit repertoire is drawn from these two stories,
but the Ramayana is clearly favored in Malaysia.
Although there is archeological proof that Islam reached peninsular Malaysia in
the 14th century, until Malacca (a large trading port on the west coast of Malaysia) was
converted early in the next century, the religion of nearly all the area was a mixture of
Hinduism and Buddhism for the educated, and indigenous belief and Shamanism for
the villagers.7 So after Indian missionaries had already converted the Malays to Hin-
duism, they returned hundreds of years later to spread Islam. It is widely believed that
according to Islamic law it is a sin to make an image of humans in stone, wood, with
paint, or as portrayed in plays or dances. Though some may agree with this, there are
others who believe this stems from a caution against idolatry. In the Qu’ran, idolatry,
particularly of the Prophet Muhammad, is strictly forbidden. Theatre, whether it is the
wayang or live theatre performed by human actors, contains the portrayal of humans
and, many times, Hindu gods; this might be interpreted as idolatry. Also, this portrayal
is sometimes seen as the creation of life, which is considered to be solely the ability of
God. Historian Albert Hourani points out that “although the depiction of living forms
was not explicitly forbidden by the Qu’ran, most jurists, basing themselves on the Hadith
(traditional understanding of what the Prophet said and did), held that this was an
infringement of the sole power of God to create life.”8 This consideration did have
some impact on theatre in Malaysia but not so strongly as it did in Persia or its Arabic
homeland: “One reason for this was that the conversion of Malaya and Indonesia was
accomplished by Indians, to whom dance and drama were normal forms of expression,
58
Performance hut, or panggung, outside the home of Dalang Noh in Kedah (photograph by
J.P. Osnes).
whether in religion they were Buddhist, Hindu, or Moslem.”9 So puppet masters made
the Hindu incantations used for performance unobjectionable by calling them prayers
to Allah, the Islamic name for God, even mentioning the names of Hindu gods who
they claimed are fighting the battle against evil on behalf of Allah. As Richard Winsteadt
states, “A faculty that has always made for the Malay’s progress has been his (or her)
power to accept the new and adjust it to the old.”10
Physical Setting
Shadow puppet performances in Malaysia traditionally take place in a panggung,
which is a simple hut raised about three to four feet from the ground. It measures from
ten to twelve feet wide by twelve to fourteen feet long. Once the main four posts for
the structure are erected, a bomoh, or traditional healer, is called to perform the proper
59
ceremonies. The two front posts slope slightly forward so that the shadow play screen
placed between them will lean forward for easy viewing. Since it is a taboo to use any
nails in the entire construction process, posts are secured into place with bamboo rope.
The structure is roofed with overlapping palm fronds that are sewn into place with
strips of bemban. Walls are constructed with strips of plaited bamboo and coconut
fronds. The entrance to the stage is by a door built on the right upper or middle side.
A crude ladder used for the performers to enter is pushed down once they are all in the
panggung in order to keep curious members of the audience from entering.
The front of the stage is covered with a piece of white screen, usually muslin,
known as Dinding Dunia, “Wall of the World.” Since there is only one puppet master
who manipulates all of the puppets, he needs some kind of a stand in which to place
puppets while he animates other characters. Placed on the floor on the inside of the
screen are two lengths of banana stem, each about nine to ten feet long and about eight
inches in diameter. The banana is not really a tree; its “trunk” is formed of the bases
Back view of performing area from behind shadow screen. In view are the puppets in the
banana stem base, the light hanging from above, and a drum in place for performance (pho-
tograph by Beth Osnes).
60
of leaf stalks, one inside the other, making a strong sheath. This pole or stem makes a
firm but easily pierced base into which the sharpened bamboo handles of the puppets
can be stabbed. Even if the repeated sticking of the puppets into the banana stems
reduce the banana stem base to a mess, it is considered taboo to replace them until a
given puppet master’s series of performances is over.
Throughout Southeast Asia, the source of light that casts the shadows on the screen
was traditionally an oil wick lamp that was hung from the ceiling about one and a half
to two feet back from the center of the screen and about two to three feet from the
floor. In the second half of the 20th century the nearly unilateral transfer to the use of
an electric lightbulb was embraced by puppet masters who were more than a little tired
of spilling hot oil on their arms while flinging the puppets into action. The added
strength of the light from the electric bulb also meant that a dalang could perform for
a larger group of people, which is another vote in favor of electric light. For either light
source, a square piece of thin wood is secured to the back of the light to shield the
blindingly bright light from the eyes of the dalang.
Seated front and center directly behind the light and the screen is the dalang, who
arranges his puppets before a performance within arm’s reach and in the order he antic-
ipates using them. One or two assistants may be on hand seated to either side of the
dalang to hand him puppets as he needs them during a show. However, these positions
are the first to be omitted from the troupe if there is a shortage of members or if each
member in the troupe wants a bigger cut from the performance payment. Behind him,
seated on the floor, are the various musicians of the gamelan, of which there are usually
about thirteen. A microphone for the dalang is most often hung around his neck with
a rope and the speakers are usually secured near the roof of the panggung above the
screen. Microphones for the musicians are usually just laid on the floor near the instru-
ments. Electronic amplification has been the norm in Southeast Asia since about the
1950s and, like the electric light, allows the dalang to reach a much larger audience.
Before a show starts, the entire troupe changes into their proper ceremonial dress
of matching slacks and collarless dress shirts with a ceremonial sarong around the waist
and a matching head wrap. If finances allow, a special fabric woven with gold thread
called songket is used for the sarong and the head wrap, and, if not, a matching batik
is used. Nowadays you’re just as likely to see a dalang performing with a head wrap,
sarong and Pepsi tee shirt. Much attention and importance is placed on these last items:
the presetting of hot tea or coffee and cigarettes for performers, which are enjoyed
throughout the sometimes eight to ten hours of uninterrupted performing.
The Puppets of Malaysia

Since the characters from the great Hindu epics are so intimately familiar to Malay
audiences, if the design of a puppet were to fall beneath the dignity and beauty of a
61
prince or princess or the ferocity and rancor of the given god or demon, it would be
considered an insult to both the audience and the character being represented. In addi-
tion to that expectation, there are the regional preferences for each character’s design
throughout Malaysia. For instance, in Kedah, Sita is often portrayed with her face to
the front and is dressed fashionably in a modern gown; yet in Kelantan, Sita is portrayed
in profile with the traditional garb and crown. In general, the Malaysian puppets are
less ornately carved and painted than the Javanese, with the same general internal designs
for clothing and ornamentation, though similar, rendered in a slightly larger scale. This
is in keeping with the folk tradition from which the primary Malay forms developed,
in contrast to the courtly heritage of the Javanese form. Also, the external designs of
the Malay puppets are more realistically full-bodied than the Javanese puppets, many
of which are stylistically elongated. For a detailed description of the methods of con-
struction, see the section on puppets in chapter one.
Unlike many countries in Southeast Asia, in Malaysia the dalang himself most
often designs and sometimes makes all of his puppets. Those who don’t use puppets
handed down to them from their teachers or purchase puppets from nearby puppet
masters who do make them. Though it requires more talent and expertise by a man
already expected to be a skilled performer, having a puppet character both created and
performed by the same artist
gives it a completeness of inter-
pretation seldom achieved else-
where. Though the process of
creating a puppet is laborious
and extremely time consuming,
the finished rawhide puppet can
be expected to last for many
generations.
Dalang Baju Merah, from
Kelantan, told me in an inter-
view how he designs a suitable
puppet for the character of
Rama. He said that Rama’s
clothing must be of royal qual-
ity, and that he holds a bow as
a symbol of his authority; but it
is a special bow, not one like
normal people use. He said that
he makes Rama’s waist a bit
slimmer than normal because he
Sita shadow puppet, Kelantanese design, made by Beth thinks it looks handsome. Most
Osnes from elk hide (photograph by Charlotte Orrino). small variations made to the tra-
62
ditional designs are a result of

the personal preference on the
part of the person making the
puppets. I asked Dalang Hamzah,
also from Kelantan, the same
question, and he replied that the
artist simply tries to draw as fine
a king in a way befitting a king
as one can according to one’s
own conception of who the
character is. When I asked him
what he thought of other local
puppet master’s Rama puppet,
he said, “Don’t ask.” Naturally,
he is most fond of his own
designs. Then he brought out a
book that had a picture of a
Rama puppet from Kelantan.
He pointed out how this puppet
was not graceful enough, how it
was static and hard, not as subtle
as it should be. After attending
a wayang performance in town
with Dalang Hamzah in which
a clever dalang had used clear
plastic for the face of Rama onto
which he had drawn colorful
features, I asked Hamzah what
Rama shadow puppet designed by Dalang Hamzah held
he thought of this innovation. in the sunlight. Notice the refined slim waist and com-
Shaking his head in disapproval posed facial expression (photograph by Charlotte
he retorted, “That is not Wayang Orrino).
Kulit; that is Wayang Plastic.”
There are certain colors
prescribed by tradition for certain puppet characters that stay consistent with all Malay
puppet masters, such as green for the skin of Rama, red for Laksamana, yellow for Sita,
black for Pak Dogol, red for Wak Long, and white for Hanuman. Other characters are
left to the discretion and whims of the artist. The colors are not regarded as constituting
a guide to the temperaments of the various puppet characters as it sometimes alleged
to be the case with Javanese puppets.11 One exception to this that I encountered was
that my teacher, Dalang Hamzah, told me that he painted the faces of the ape warriors
red to show their aggressive natures. As a highlight, precious gold paint is added to
63
designs of swords, jewelry and the trimming on the clothing on the puppets, though
Malaysian puppets as a whole boast much less gold ornamentation than their Javanese
counterparts.
In the Wayang Siam there are two additional characters used only (to my knowl-
edge) in the Dalang Muda (see script for this in chapter four), which serves as the
opening ceremony. They are Dewa Perempuan, or female demigod, and Dewa Laki-
laki, or male demigod. Both puppets have no articulated limbs and are in a fighting
posture with a weapon in each hand. The female demigod is a symbol of the refined
elements in the story of the Ramayana. This character has facial features similar to Rama
and the other refined characters. The male demigod is the symbol of all that is unrefined
in the story and has facial features like the other rough characters, with large round
eyes, a rounded bulging nose, and a grimacing mouth with exposed sharp teeth. An
Shadow puppet of Rama with a clear plastic face with facial features drawn on, from a per-
formance in Kelantan, clearly not a traditional way of making puppets. This puppet master
was likely trying to appeal to a modern audience with design innovations. The dragonfly in
the upper corner, as is also evident on the front cover of this book, is a frequent though not
invited guest; a variety of insects, attracted to the light source, often appear in shadow along
with the puppets (photograph by Beth Osnes).
64
Demigods of good and evil on either side of Maharisi. To the left is Dewa Perempuan, or
female demigod, and to the right is Dewa Laki-laki, or male demigod (photograph by Char-
lotte Orrino).
important aspect of contrast is the notion of the “refined” and the “unrefined” (or rough)
as represented in the physical make up of the demigods themselves.12
Properties and scenic puppets tend to be quite limited and, except for the pohon
beringin, or tree-of-life puppet, none are very important beyond their obvious function.
Some popular properties are a dagger, sword, club, kris (ceremonial dagger with a ser-
pentine blade), and letter. The properties are carved out of the same type of rawhide
as the puppets and are attached to thin rods of wood to manipulate them on the screen.
The properties are usually placed in the hand of the puppet by holding the rod for the
property in the same hand as the rod for the arm of the given puppet. The scenery
employed is usually confined to palace entrances, audience halls, and trees, which are
also made of rawhide, internally carved, intricately painted, and almost always supported
by one single rod of wood so they can be easily thrust into the banana log stand. The
palace entrances are usually designed with only a decorative roof supported by two
pillars on an ornate floor. The trees are usually coconut or palm trees, but other types
of trees are also used.
By far the most important item of scenery, though in most aspects this puppet
transcends that categorization, is the pohon beringin, or tree-of-life, puppet, which is
used to represent a variety of places such as mountains, forests, and caves. This puppet
65
is also the first one used to open any performance and is the last visible puppet at the
end of each show. In between scenes it can be passed across the screen to erase the
imagined location of a scene in the audience’s minds in order for the dalang to verbally
paint a new one. The puppet itself is in the shape of a leaf with the design of a tree
carved within it, with the trunk running up the center. There is a supporting rod of
bamboo cut down the center into which the tree-of-life puppet is placed and sewn
securely. A handle of this supporting rod extends beyond the base so that the dalang
can manipulate it without his hand being cast in shadow upon the screen. Just as the
tree metaphor figures prominently in the description of the Ramayana as the main trunk
of the story and the ranting tales as the branch stories, so too the design of this literal
tree puppet within a leaf functions to suggest the likeness of this design with the nature
of the performance structure itself. Though one gets to experience only a small portion
of the entire story of the Ramayana (or other epic tale or myth) within the course of
one night’s performance, the wisdom of the entire story is contained within the design
of even its smallest part, a leaf.
Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof describes the strategic use of this all-important puppet
at the beginning and ending of each performance with eloquence: “The opening side
to side motions of the Pohon Beringin indicate the beginning of life in the universe.
Nothing moves before it does on the screen. From passivity it moves into motion, and
from motion into final passivity; from nothingness to life, and from life to death, but,
importantly, with the potential for future revival.”13 He notes that, although this par-
ticular interpretation is derived from Islam, it nevertheless transcends the confines of
any one specific religion to the realm of the metaphysical.
Inner Magical Knowledge in Performance

Inner magical knowledge plays a large role in performing and witnessing the
wayang. Both training and aptitude play a part in a puppet master’s ability to harness
spiritual forces from beyond the material world and bring them down to the physical
plane. This is not a task to be taken lightly, for any mistake or lack of consideration
concerning the spirits, which can be either benevolent or evil, could result in personal
sickness or catastrophe for the entire village. Ilmu Dalam (inner magical knowledge) is
the quality most coveted by puppet masters — both students and established performers.
In keeping with this, the most skilled performers are believed to be the most magically
knowledgeable. According to Dalang Hamzah, the magical knowledge for a Wayang
Siam performer is like sugar in tea. Certainly tea can be drunk without sugar, just as
a technically competent dalang can perform without magic. However, tea is much better
with sugar, just as a good performer is that much better with magic.
The aptitude necessary for acquiring inner magical knowledge is directly related
to experiencing the agin, which literally means “wind.” In this context, however, the
66
term agin takes on a more specialized, loftier meaning; it indicates a susceptibility to

be moved greatly by the music of the gamelan, to be swept away by the momentum of
the plot, as well as a capability of identifying oneself completely with the characters
coming to life through the puppets, all causing one to experience intense emotions.14
The agin is not considered to be hereditary and even non–Malays can acquire it or have
a propensity towards acquiring it. After studying with Dalang Hamzah, and having my
“graduation” performance, he awarded my efforts by telling me that he believed I had
the agin, which I received as the ultimate compliment. Sweeny notes that a Chinese
man from a village in Kelantan who studied the wayang was considered to have excellent
agin.15 Once a dalang is in possession of agin, he must perform regularly to exercise this
driving force or he may fall ill. Some dalang will even perform free of charge if they
feel the great need to exercise their agin.
The dissemination of inner magical knowledge to a student is approached with
extreme caution on the part of the teacher. As Dalang Hamzah told me, this magical
knowledge is as powerful as a knife; and if you hand it to a student whom you do not
completely trust, it could be used against you. One dalang reported that his father, who
was his teacher, would not teach him the buka panggung incantations until he had
matured, as his father feared that if the son learned the spells he would use them to
attract women.16 In general, a dalang will easily accept a student who wishes to learn
the external knowledge, such as the stories, songs, puppet manipulation, and how to
play musical instruments, because of the prestige and financial benefits it offers the
dalang. However, a dalang will carefully assess a student’s character before he decides
to impart his precious internal knowledge, and a student may wait for years before ever
being considered worthy. Even a hint of disloyalty will ensure that he never does. More-
over, it is commonly held knowledge that a dalang never imparts all of his magical
knowledge to a student.17 What keeps the shared magical knowledge from decreasing
from one generation to the next is the practice of puppet masters gathering their inner
knowledge from a variety of sources, such as magic formulas from Menora (the Thai
musical drama form) or even Islamic formulas. The result of this is that every puppet
master’s knowledge resembles, to a greater or lesser extent, a potpourri gathered from
several disparate sorces.18
In my field research, I found that puppet masters are equally cautious and dis-
trustful in imparting their inner magical knowledge to scholars, especially those visiting
from another culture. Through my extended relationship with Dalang Hamzah I gained
his trust considerably and eventually was able to discuss this delicate subject with him.
Struggling to put it into words, he indicated that it is concerned with a spirit that comes
to him when he is performing, an esoteric knowledge or inner force that brings out the
character from within him. Part of the magical knowledge is being able to render his
voice sweet and glowing in the ears of his audience. He said that his voice is not so
good, but when he performs it is magical, alive and captivating. It is a subtle attraction
that makes the audience receptive to the power of the wayang. Before performances can
67
begin, spirits must be called to arise from their resting place. This is accomplished
through incantations and rituals that contain much of this secret knowledge.
Ritual Conventions
All the major rituals associated with the wayang in Malaysia are a sort of feast to
which the dalang invites all the spirits of land, sea, and universe of whom he has ever
heard. He offers a sort of “dinner party” to the most motley collection of guests imagi-
nable: “Respectable Archangels may be found in company with vampires and devils of
all description; prophets mingled with fearful monsters like dragons, jungle ghosts and
fabulous giants; and ancient gods of the Indian heaven are degraded to being ushers of
local ghosts.”19 The rank and status of the different spirits seem to be ignored; instead,
all are invited to join for fear of incurring the wrath of any one spirit who might be for-
gotten. Puppet masters are indiscriminant in honoring all powerful spirits, whether they
are good or evil. Even though these powers have no place in a modern Islamic society,
these practices have continued well into the 20th century for the reasons stated by Anker
Rentse: “It would be madness to omit this opening ceremony. Even now a days, when
the ancient gods have been dethroned by Islam, one dare not be confident that they are
so far away that they will be unaware of human transactions. The sound of the gong
alone would suffice to awaken them and bring an army of angry powers to the stage to
spread harm, disease, lunacy and perhaps death among performers and spectators.”20
Before a single wayang performance or a series of performances, whether played
purely for entertainment or for ritual purposes, there is an offering of kenduri, which
is the recitation of spells with accompanying offerings. At the opening of this ceremony
the white screen is rolled up so that the stage is revealed to the audience. Sitting cross-
legged with his back to the audience, the dalang places the offerings onto a large tray.
These offerings consist of yellow rice made with turmeric, cakes, parched rice, conse-
crated water, betel nut and a cotton band around the foot of the censer. On a smaller
brass tray is placed an offering of unboiled rice with a raw egg in the middle surrounded
by raw thread that has never been used and some old Kelantanese coins.
The dalang leans forward and bathes his body in the smoke emerging from the
burning incense in a censer placed in front of him. He then passes the tray of offerings
several times over the smoke and while doing so invokes the spiritual powers to partake
of the feast prepared for them. At the end of this the dalang informs each category of
spirits what he is planning to do, either a regular performance for entertainment purposes
or a berjamu ritual. He them admonishes the spirits to conduct themselves well since
the prime function of the kenduri is the warding off of quarrels and strife and to ensure
harmony during a performance.21 At the conclusion of the incantation the dalang lifts
his head, yells “Ha cha!” and forcefully throws a handful of puffed rice on the floor,
upon which cue the orchestra breaks into a thunderous rhythm as the dalang continues
68
to throw rice on the stage, the puppet figures and the audience. When the music con-
cludes, the screen is rolled down so that the performance can begin.22
If the performance is taking place in a new panggung, or performance hut, then a
buku panggung ceremony, the kenduri, takes place directly following the previously
described ritual. Many considerations are being cared for by this buku panggung ritual,
including the safety of the dalang, his musicians, and the audience; the good standing
of the dalang in the estimation of his human as well as his supernatural audience; due
respect being expressed for a puppet master’s teachers and supernatural beings present
in and around the performance space; and finally to draw and engage as many viewers
for the show as possible.23 Again offerings similar to the previous ritual are prepared on
a tray and placed before the dalang. These are intended to honor a puppet master’s
teacher as well as his Ultimate Teacher (Guru Yang Asal, Guru Yang Mula), sometimes
identified with the Muslim term for God, Allah.24 The words used in this ceremony,
apart from a few of the first incantations, are a carefully guarded secret and are spoken
softly so that they are mostly inaudible. Offerings are placed at various points on or
near the performance space. The ritual concludes with the orchestra beginning to play
a prelude, simultaneously drawing an audience and setting the atmosphere for the per-
formance to come.
When the last performance within a series ends in a given panggung, or performance
space, there is a closing ceremony, lapas permainan, which literally means “after playing.”
After the screen is rolled up, the drums and gongs are smeared with rice-paste and are
put into a resting position. The musicians and puppet master’s assistants, if there are
any, leave the stage to sit with the remaining audience. With a piece of incense in his
hands, the dalang faces the audience and fans the smoke with pinang leaves while
bidding farewell to the assembled spirits.
The most important of all the wayang rituals in Malaysia is the berjamu, or feasting
of the spirits. The berjamu lasts three nights, with the first two nights’ activities following
the standard structure of a regular performance. The third night of performance lasts
all night, sometimes until the sun rises, and during the late hours several important
ritual activities take place. The purpose for hosting this ritual can be varied — to celebrate
the opening of a new performance space, to mark the fulfillment of a vow, for the grad-
uation of a new dalang, or for an adjustment of the “wind.” This final type serves to
bring about an emotional/spiritual release in a dalang or in anyone who is particularly
attracted to or affected by the wayang.25 Every dalang is expected to perform the berjamu
every few years if he is to sufficiently pacify the spirits he beckons to play in his per-
formance of the wayang.
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof describes the order for the events of the third night and
early morning of the next day as follows:
1. The Statement of the Feast

2. The Musical Prelude
69
3. The Invitation to the Spirits

4. The Dalang Muda Episode (script for this is included in chapter four)
5. The Wak Peran Hutan Episode
6. The Dalang Muda Episode Continued
7. The Main Story Performance
8. The Bentara Kala Episode (script for this is included in chapter four)
9. Preparations for Berjamu
10. Musical Interlude for the Trance Sessions and the Invitation
11. Getting the Semangat from Betara Guru (Shiva)
12. The Invitation
13. The Feasting
14. The Sending Off
15. The Release
16. The Bathing or Washing Ceremony.26
The Wak Peran Hutan takes place in the middle of the Dalang Muda and is per-
formed by the dalang muda, or young puppet master, and concerns the forest clown,
Peran Hutan — and his dog — who encounters a tiger. It is no chance encounter; in this
story the tiger was sent by Maharisi as a test for Peran Hutan, who happens to be
Maharisi’s disciple and son. Once the tiger is killed and cast aside, Maharisi is informed
that a berjamu is to be performed by Seri Rama and that he, Maharisi, is invited to
attend.
The drama for the final night’s performance should include Seri Rama, and it
should be completed on that night so that it can end happily. If the performance were
to end on an unhappy note, there could potentially be bad consequences for all involved
in the ritual to follow. After the completion of this Rama story on the third night,
usually at about midnight, the Cerita Bentara Kala is performed. Since this performance
is considered to be very dangerous, children are not allowed to sleep in front of the
stage while it is being performed. On the surface the story appears to be very simple.
It centers on Kala, a god of very limited intelligence who is insatiably hungry. Mak
Babu, a kindly woman, offers Kala some soup, which she accidentally bled into while
cutting the vegetables. Kala, upon tasting the blood, wants more and begins to chase
her. Terrified, Mak Babu runs away and comes across a wayang stage where the clown
character, Wak Long, is performing as the dalang. She quickly hides inside the stage
and when Kala comes along, Wak Long says he has not seen her. As Kala watches Wak
Long’s performance, he often interrupts to ask questions about many of the practices
and traditions surrounding the performance, even the deeper spiritual meaning of the
wayang. During this “wayang within a wayang” the audience learns the symbolic and
mystical meaning of the wayang. Once Kala’s questions are answered, he is fed, leaves
satisfied, and abandons his pursuit of Mak Babu, symbolic of the performance itself
being the feast that satisfies the hunger of the gods.
70
After the completion of the above performance, all the necessary paraphernalia needed
for the ritual portion is assembled in front of the stage and the screen is rolled up. There
is a miniature palace, a miniature boat-shaped offering, bamboo strands with open
coconuts on top, and a pair of bamboo poles with trimmings of crepe paper and leaves,
all arranged before the stage.27 After the musical interlude, the dalang receives semangat,
the life force or spirit, from the Betara Guru (Shiva) puppet. Assuming the identity of
the clown Wak Long, who served as an intermediary between the physical and spiritual
world in the previous portion, the dalang goes into a trance and invites the spirits to come
to the wayang stage and feast. Clearly the previous Bentara Kala story functions as a pre-
cursor to this ultimate feasting of the spirits. Finally, this is where the actual berjamu
begins. As soon as the invited guest, who has been contacted by Wak Long, inhabits the
body of the dalang, the dalang discards the Wak Long puppet he was holding and grabs
hold of the puppet of his possessor.28 The individual spirit possessing the dalang examines
the offerings to their satisfaction and then literally consumes them, either by the face of
the puppet being thrust into the offerings or by the dalang eating them.
The berjamu is concluded by first taking the remaining offerings far off to the edge
of the forest or into the sea, and second by breaking the pot of water that had been
hanging above the screen, thus signifying the ritual purification of the space as well as
the release of the spirits which have been held captive by the dalang the past three
nights.29 The first activity is the bathing of the dalang and any other participant who
wishes to wash off any bad influences remaining after mingling with the supernatural.
These rituals are an integral part of a puppet master’s life. Performing without
giving offerings and homage to the gods would be like producing a copyrighted play
without paying royalties. In all instances, one must give acknowledgment, credit, and
some tangible payment to the original source of the performance. Not only do these
rituals give back something to the gods, they also serve as enrichment and a healing
experience for those who both observe and enact each ritual.
Performance Conventions
Once a puppet is created, if well designed and crafted, it will pull the performer
along, challenging him to manipulate the puppet in a manner befitting the position
and personality of the character, and to give suitable words and texture in the voice.
As a puppet master of the wayang, I have felt the humility of trying to do justice to the
portrayal of a charter through performance. If I accidentally move a puppet in a jerky
manner, I can almost feel the disappointment of the puppet character, who, though a
god, is dependent upon my mortal hands for expression. It is useful at this point to
remember the extent to which the puppets themselves function as totems for the spirits
of the gods, heroes and demons to make themselves visible in the material realm. By
extension, then, the dalang is also a part of this channel between the spiritual and mate-
71
rial realm, adding voice and movement to the otherwise static and voiceless puppets.
When performing, a dalang often loses a sense of himself personally, aided by the fact
that he is hidden from the view of the audience and because the performance demands
are so great on this one puppet master who manipulates all of the puppets, improvises
the dialogue and narration based on his comprehensive knowledge of the stories, and
leads the gamelan, or orchestra. The cyclical quality of the music combined with his
continuous focus on the one light hanging in front of him, added to the extreme
longevity of the performance all contribute to this loss of self, resulting in the dalang’s
often entering into a partial trance-state. Indeed, how else could it be possible for one
man to perform at such a high level of intensity from sunset till sunrise?
As with most traditional theatre in Asia, the Malaysian Wayang Kulit is a theatre
of conventions. Theatrical conventions are general usages or customs, the knowledge
of which is generally shared by both the performers and the audience. An example of
a western theatre convention is the use of a front curtain that opens to a scene on a
stage and then closes and opens again to indicate a change in time or place. An under-
standing of theatrical conventions can be conveyed formally through a book such as
this, or simply by exposure to a performance. In the following quote by James Brandon,
he is referring specifically to the Javanese wayang, but the spirit of this passage holds
true for the Malaysian wayang as well:
No one but a wayang expert can identify all the wayang melodies or figures. Does this
mean that communication does not take place? Not at all. What it does mean is that
because codes of most traditional theatre forms are complex only devoted study will yield
up all their intricacies to the spectator.... Devotees take pride in learning all of the code
they possibly can. At each level some communication takes place, more with each succes-
sive level of expertise and knowledge on the part of the spectator. Also a spectator may
respond to a code after being exposed to it many times, without consciously knowing
what he is responding to. Naming is not communicating.30
Theatrical conventions for the Malaysian wayang are plentiful and somewhat dif-
ferent from western theatre conventions, such that some amount of formal instruction
is useful to more fully appreciate this form. For instance, the side of the screen from
which a puppet character enters the screen — from the right or the left — alerts an audi-
ence member as to the character’s allegiances and temperament. As a rule, the good
characters are on the puppet master’s right side and the evil characters are on the left,
so that it appears opposite that for the audience seated on the other side of the screen.
The puppet’s physical appearance will usually correspond, so that the refined characters
will be on the puppet master’s right and the rough on the left. Olive Blackham notes
an exception to this rule when referring to the Javanese wayang but, again, it is applicable
to the Malaysian wayang: “You get characters who you would expect to find on the
Dalang’s right, but who, through force of circumstance, or through relationship by
marriage, are fighting with the forces on the left (from the audience’s perspective); their
leanings towards the refined forces will be shown in their coloring or the formation of
72
the face. Similarly, not all the combatants on the right have reached the same degree of
refinement; so you will find blunt-nosed figures fighting on the same side as those with
the bird-like profile [a sign of refinement in Javanese puppets].”31
There are other instances when good characters are on the puppet master’s left.
For instance, when Rama is conversing with his warriors, since all the puppets are in
profile, they need to be facing each other to clearly represent to the audience that a
conversation is occurring. To avoid confusion as to whether the warriors are good or
evil, the dalang will usually have Rama enter from the right and stand right of center
screen facing center. Then the warriors will enter one at a time from the right, to
indicate their goodness, turn and bow before Rama to again confirm their allegiance to
the forces of good, and then stand on the left side of the screen facing Rama. Usually
it is the most important character in a scene that is placed on the appropriate side of
the screen.
Within a given scene when there are many puppet characters on the screen, the
dalang will use his vocal intonation to indicate who is doing the talking during a dia-
logue, often by using a separate voice for each character. Some of the voices are very
easy to distinguish, like Pak Dogol, who has a husky and animated vocal delivery. The
refined characters have a smooth, slow delivery of their words, and the rough characters
have a deep, aggressive style to their delivery. The dalang also attempts to move the
arm of the puppet that is speaking. This is especially helpful when there is a long line
of monkey warrior puppets talking in turn. When there are many characters of the same
type speaking or when lesser-known characters are speaking, it is often difficult for the
audience to identify who is speaking unless the puppet master moves the puppet’s arm.
For those puppets that have movable jaws, the dalang manipulates their mouths
when they are speaking and sometimes one of their arms too. When the mouths are
moved with the string that pulls the mouth open, this causes the whole puppet to jiggle.
This quivering movement lends a comic effect to the delivery of the clowns, and it
makes the old sage, Maharisi, look even older and feebler than before. If the puppet
has neither articulated limbs nor a movable jaw, the dalang will sometimes move the
puppet forward and back slightly to indicate it is speaking. There are instances during
performance, when the dalang is reaching for another puppet that is soon to enter, that
he does not move the speaking puppet at all. The audience seems to accept this easily,
and since this usually occurs at the end of a scene, the audience can figure out who is
talking through the context. Indeed, sometimes it doesn’t really matter that the audience
know who is speaking so much as the dalang wants the content of what is being said
to be conveyed to the audience. The static puppets that are not speaking are generally
considered to be patient listeners. Indeed, their alert postures truly make them appear
attentive and interested.
When puppets are entering, they generally follow an arc-shaped path, starting
high and coming down to the place where they can be struck into the banana stem.
When a refined character, such as Rama, enters, usually the dalang will extend the arm
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forward so that the first image the audience sees is the enlarged upturned hand moving
slowly onto the screen. As the entrance continues, the long arm comes into view and
the hand becomes smaller and more sharply focused. Then the body follows, appearing
exaggerated in a size disproportionate to the long slender arm until the entire puppet
moves to center screen, sharply focused in its entirety and proportionate. The reverse
effect is employed when exiting. The arm extends forward in the direction the puppet
is traveling, becoming disproportionately long with an enlarged hand. As the body of
the puppet follows, it too becomes enlarged and unfocused until it becomes just a blur
and disappears. When warrior puppets enter, they usually enter with great force and
speed. The image of the warrior puppets is also enlarged when projected on the outer
sides of the screen, but they enter so quickly that the transformation in size has less of
an effect. When the clown characters enter it is usually quite abrupt and unceremonious,
as if they were pushed onto the screen. Some of the demigods (as depicted in the Dalang
Muda script in chapter four) that enter the screen come down from the top of the screen
to indicate that they are arriving from the spiritual realm or heaven. It is very dramatic
Exaggerated shadows of the demigods descending from the heavens to where Maharisi stands
waiting to give a blessing. The top tips of the puppets are held closer to the screen, while the
lower bodies are held farther from the screen which distorts their shadow images (photograph
by Beth Osnes).
74
to see the image of the highly decorative demigods descending headfirst onto the screen.
Their bodies are held close to the light with the tips of their crowns touching center
screen. The image of their enlarged bodies in shadow fills the outer sides of the screen
with their intricate design. The same effect is produced when they ascend to the heavens
face-up. Customarily they pass in front of the screen at least twice on their ascent to
heaven so as to indicate just how far upwards they are traveling.
Another feature of the puppet’s movement is that of opposition. In The Secret Art
of the Performer, Eugenio Barba calls this the “dance of opposites,” which he characterizes
as the tension between opposing forces. As an example, he notes how in Chinese
opera the actor’s entire dynamic pattern is built on the principle that every movement
must begin in the direction opposite to that in which it will ultimately be carried out.32
Likewise, in the Malaysian Wayang Kulit, when a puppet is intending to move in one
direction, the puppet master will first pull the puppet back slightly in the opposite
direction, almost as if stringing it onto a bow which will then spring it towards its
intended direction with even more energy and a greater commitment to its mission. As
in much Asian performance, this energy and commitment are not overtly expressed
with increased speed or largeness of gesture, but through a more contained and for-
malized intensity.
Since there is rarely any scenery to indicate how far a character is traveling, usually
a character will simply travel across the screen in one direction several times, entering
and exiting each time, to indicate that a long distance is being traveled. If a very long
distance is being covered then the puppet may travel across the screen four or five times.
This convention is related to a linguistic convention in the language of Malaysia, Bahasa
Malaysia or Malay, to indicate that when there are many of something, bananas, for
instance, the word is simply repeated more than once. So one would say “banana banana”
to indicate many bananas. If there were scads of bananas, one would say “banana banana
banana!” There are other instances during a performance when the location of a given
puppet within the setting of the story is not only unimportant, it doesn’t really exist in
any kind of realistic manner. For instance, when a character is parading, as in the Lagu
Maharisi section of the Dalang Muda script in chapter four, it is not actually traveling
anywhere or accomplishing anything in a functional sense. Since the intended audience
for a Malaysian wayang performance knows all of the characters and their accompanying
stories, these parading sections are a chance for the audience to benefit from simply
observing the inherent grace or strength of the puppet parading, whether it is the regal
Rama or the fierce Hanuman. These sections exist outside the linear notion of time in
a sort of theatrical liminal time and are easily accepted by an audience accustomed to
theatrical expression not bound by the physical laws of time and space. Also remember
that there is no driving force compelling the performer towards a conclusion and no
suspense on the part of the audience regarding the conclusion of the story since it is
already known. Instead, there is a heightened sense of savoring the theatrical moment;
otherwise put, the moment is the destination.
75
The leaf-shaped kayon, or pohon beringin, or tree-of-life, puppet is used extensively

to indicate change of time or place. At the start of a performance, it is used as a front
curtain as in western theatre, to indicate to the audience that a show is beginning.
Simultaneously it awakens the audience’s receptiveness to the medium of shadow play
as it flutters about and swings like a pendulum, the tip of the puppet seemingly fixed
to the hot spot on the screen where the light is most intense. This puppet is also used
to close a night’s performance, though much less ceremoniously. After a quick resolution
to the story is conveyed by the dalang orally, he plunks the tree-of-life puppet center
screen into the banana stem and the show is over. This puppet has a remarkable range
within the conventional use of it in the wayang and can be used to represent a mountain,
a wall, or a gate between two characters. Beyond that, accompanied by the sounds from
the gamelan, or orchestra, it can be swept across the screen to represent such things as
storms, raging seas, and other violent, natural phenomena, even the conflict of battle.33
By simply passing the tree-of-life puppet across the screen, the dalang can wipe the
audience’s mind clear of the previous location and time of the former scene. Once clear,
he can orally paint a new backdrop onto the imagination of his audience for the following
scene. The passing of the tree-of-life puppet across the screen can also indicate a change
in time — a few hours, days, or even years.
Within the performing of certain scenes from the Ramayana or well-known branch
stories, there is no predetermined time allowance for any given scene or story. A section
or sequence of events can be quickly performed by just skimming over the primary
actions or drawn out by comic interludes or extended dialogues. In fact, as was discussed
above, there are instances when there is a complete departure from the linear time
presented in the drama, as with parading. The dalang is quite free to follow his pref-
erences and whims. Puppet masters known for their comedy will attempt to meet and
satisfy expectations by interrupting the story with numerous comic interludes. Indeed,
all puppet masters incorporate some humor into their performances in a wide variety
of ways.
Humor Conventions
Most of the humor in the Malaysian Wayang Kulit is based on the etiquette of the
refined or “high” characters being insulted, imitated, or ignored by the rough, or “low,”
characters. This is a staple source for humor in theatrical traditions the world over and,
since the Malay wayang is predominantly a popular art form for the people of “low”
social standing, the delight in this form of humor is only exaggerated. Royal characters
are almost never comical, whereas the rough peasant and clown characters provide comic
relief. Clown characters criticize and satirize the statements made by the refined char-
acters or even just the manner in which the refined characters speak, which is in a very
elevated language that the village audiences sometimes do not understand. As the clown
76
characters cuttingly mimic the refined speech, they simultaneously translate the content
for the audience, which serves a practical function as well. There are also instances
when the clown characters are simply making fun of the ignorance or shortcomings of
the refined characters. Even though Rama, for instance, is an incarnation of the Hindu
god Vishnu, he has many human attributes. Especially in the Malay’s version of the
Ramayana, Rama is often rash in his decision-making, short sighted, and proud. Also,
in the Malay version, Rama has no idea that the leader of the clowns, Pak Dogol, is the
highest of all the gods merely disguised as a servant, and, thus, Rama is often insulting
him and incurring his wrath. In Java and Malaysia the clowns poke fun at the gods,
heroes, and demons alike and have the same license as court jesters in western tradi-
tions.34 Likewise, the dalang himself has great license in extemporizing the clowns’
dialogue since the scenes including the clowns are often the puppet master’s own cre-
ation.
Apart from language-based humor, there is an even more generous supply of low
bawdy humor in operation. Wayang humor delights in scatological and sexual innuendo.
While a prince and princess engage in high-flown amorous oratory, their servants accost
each other in licentious repartee and direct invitation. Barbara Wright notes that in one
production by Dalang Abdullah Baju Merah, the clowns argue over the ladies-in-waiting
Javanese Semar, clown character who is the highest god of all in disguise as Rama’s servant
(photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
77
and challenge each other to “fight naked.” The clown, Samad, drops his loincloth and
runs across the screen to the delight of the audience.35 I was told of a performance at
the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang by Dalang Noh during which his humor became
so lewd that the young Muslim women in the audience ran away covering their ears!
There is also a wide variety of low physical humor where clown characters will
expel gas, kick each other in the buttocks, and punch each other’s noses. Some of the
best physical humor takes place during the battles and chase scenes where the action of
the drama is at a level of high intensity, which only serves to increase the audience’s
delight. In one performance I saw, two of the clowns were walking through the jungle
and came across a ferocious tiger. Upon being seen by the tiger, they were savagely
chased by him, entering one side of the screen and exiting the other side at a break-
neck speed, all the time being pursued by the tiger. Both thinking they had outrun the
beast, the clowns cautiously backed onto the screen from opposite sides, bumped into
each other in the middle, ran off in the direction each was facing, entered at the same
speed, smashed into each other and went flying up and landed on the ground. In another
performance a warrior character drew an arrow in his bow and let it fly, aimed towards
the right of the screen where his enemy was. The arrow crossed the screen in the same
direction several times to show how far it was traveling. Then one of the clown characters
strolled onto the
screen, saw the arrow,
and ran off in the
opposite direction
being pursued by the
arrow. The clown did
a few clever turns and
jumped to avoid the
arrow and ducked just
in time to allow the
arrow to strike its
intended target, the
original enemy of the
warrior who shot the
arrow. In yet another
performance, during
the final blows of a
fierce battle with
swords, the evil demon’s
head was cut off and
went flying up into
Malaysian Pak Dogol, clown character who is the Malay equivalent the sky. After his
to the Javanese Semar (photograph by Charlotte Orrino). decapitated body fell
78
on its back, the head fell from the sky and landed with a “thud” on the fat belly of the
dead demon.
Musical Conventions
All puppet movement is dependent upon the music of the gamelan, or orchestra,
as there is almost never a situation in which a puppet moves unaccompanied by music.
Though this is true for the performance itself, the music does even more than accompany
puppet movement, as it makes the first contact with the intended audience even before
the show begins. Making its way from the performance hut through the village, the
music not only alerts the audience that a performance is about to commence, but also
awakens a readiness for the experience and generates excitement for the performance
that is to follow. Throughout a performance, it supports the action of these two-dimen-
sional puppet figures by lending weight to their clashes in battle scenes, accenting their
impact with a heavy beat of a drum. Between scenes the music bridges the gap in action
until the next scene and helps to maintain the level of intensity. The transition music
can also adjust the level of intensity to suit the scene to follow. It can even “cover” for
the dalang while he pauses to roll a cigarette or drink some coffee.
The only time the orchestra does not play music during a performance is when
the dalang is speaking, either in narration or in dialogue between the puppets. However,
even during these spoken portions, various musicians will provide rattles, single drum-
beats, or clanks to emphasize a statement or accent a word. In this case the music in
not directly being led by the dalang, but is, rather, led by the intuitive connection
between the dalang and the members of the gamelan. Indeed, during performances, it
often seems as if they are of a single mind. The music played during all other times is
prescribed by the activity being performed. For example, there is a specific type of
music played for battle scenes, the traveling of high characters, the traveling of low
characters, the entrance of high characters, the exit of low characters, the parading of
warriors and many more. According to my talks with Dalang Hamzah, there are 32
traditional wayang songs, but the exact number can shift somewhat from one dalang to
the next. The musicians know which song to play by the context of the drama or by a
signal given to the musicians by the dalang, who gives a certain number of claps on his
clapboard.
Wayang Siam accompaniment is played on an assortment of primary percussive
instruments including three kinds of drums, three types of bronze instruments, and the
serunai wind instrument. This quadruple reed instrument provides the only melody for
the orchestra and is quite difficult to master, as circular breathing is employed to create
a continuous note free from any interruptions for breaths. Bass rhythms are created by
the double-headed drum (gendang ibu), or literally, “mother drum.” Naturally smaller,
the gendang anak—“child drum”— is a smaller version of the previous one. In keeping
79
with this familial naming of instruments, the pot drums also come in two sizes, the
larger gedombak ibu and the smaller gedombak anak. A war drum beaten with sticks is
called the geduk ibu and geduk anak, again to indicate that the first is a larger version
of the latter. Hand-held metal clappers are known as kesi. The canang is an instrument
made with two small gongs set horizontally on thick cloth strips in a wooden frame.
Two large hanging brass gongs face each other so that one musician can use only one
mallet to beat them both. At the end of each performance, it is the duty of the gong
player to make a small opening in the roof to allow evil spirits to leave the stage area.36
The device used by the dalang, who is busy using his hands to manipulate puppets, to
lead this orchestra is the pemetik, or wooden clapper, placed under the puppet master’s
knee. A certain number of claps are used to cue the musicians, who seem to magically
snap into action from their relaxed positions once the action of the drama needs their
musical support.
The correspondence of puppet movement and music can be either close or remote.37
A close musical analogy indicates that the movement is completing its rhythmic pattern
in the same time and with the same accents as the music. A remote musical analogy
indicates that the puppets do not necessarily move in the rhythm that is established by
the music. Usually it is during relatively controlled types of movement, such as parading,
when there is a close analogy between music and movement. It is usually during chaotic
types of movement such as fighting or chase scenes when there is a remote analogy
between music and movement. Blows in battle scenes are punctuated with a single
drumbeat but not by the entire orchestra. Also during other abrupt movements, like
turning, bowing, or quick exits, there is a remote analogy between the two.38
There are also other ways in which the play of shadows in the wayang is dependent
upon music, not just for movement in general, but also in the more subtle transmission
of emotions and mood. Because shadow characters cannot change facial expression and
are two-dimensional, the puppet masters use music and song to express and flesh out
deep sentiments at important moments in the play.39 I saw a performance where Sita,
with her head graciously bowed, encountered Rama, a character equal to her in grace
and radiance of form and stature. Their meeting was slow and tender, and as the shadows
came together they overlapped one another, each gazing past the other’s shoulder in an
embrace. It looked like what an embrace feels like to the heart, a temporary joining of
soul and flesh. The music softly enhanced this tender moment, giving an added intensity
to the action of their touching. Another instance in which the music can give expression
of emotion is when a character is standing in one place and is given shocking news.
The music charges in and gives substance to the rage of the character that has just heard
the news. Even though the character does not move, the audience knows there has been
a dramatic change in the mood of the character.
Moebirman states in his work on the Wayang Purwa of Java that the most important
feature of the gamelan is the tonality of the melody chosen to correspond to the mood
of the play during its various phases. He mentions that there are three successive states
80
Dalang Hamzah (third from the left on the upper row), with his troupe of musicians, posed
in front of his home in Tumpat, Kelantan (photograph by Beth Osnes).
of mind that the audience should go through and that the gamelan should correspond
in tone to each of these states. As these states pass to more metaphysical planes, the
music is played at a higher pitch. The change of tonality punctuates the different phases
of the repertoire; it symbolizes the slow rise of the subject matter across the human
desires to the final intelligence of the divine.40 Thus the shadow play and its gamelan
music accompaniment are no longer a simple diversion but contain a vigorous moral and
acquire a metaphysical significance.41 Although there are differences in the music between
Java and Malaysia, the tone of the melody and the key of the gamelan music still corre-
sponds with the subject matter as it departs from the physical world to more lofty heights.
Much of the action in a truly traditional wayang performance is slow moving for
long stretches of time. It is the more modern types that are dominated by the slapstick
comedy of the clown characters. Thus, for the more traditional performances, the ele-
ment of music, because it is trance inducing, is a necessary element. The music draws
an audience to the performance and then the hypnotic quality of it holds them under
its spell, allowing them to watch the performance in a state of hyper-consciousness,
81
with a clear mind and focused attention. The element of music is so strong that gov-
ernment officials have been wary of the Wayang Kulit for that reason alone: “The role
of the rhythm of the orchestra in inducing trance is recognized as being so significant
by the opponents of the wayang, that they often state that their dislike of the wayang
is due to the effect of the music.... [O]n hearing the first strains of the orchestra, [people]
are unable to control themselves further but rush down from their houses to the place
of the performance and sit, almost mesmerized, until the end of the show.”42
The notion of “return” is important in all the pieces of music in the Malay Wayang
Kulit repertoire, for the musical pieces themselves are cast in the framework of temporal
cycles.43 That notion of “return” also applies to the stories themselves and the style of
movement in the shadow puppet performances. There is a great deal of puppet move-
ment that is cyclical in nature, rather than linear. This type of movement might seem
monotonous if not for its partnership with the orchestra. Combined, these two elements
become an inviting departure from the real world. By allowing themselves to fall into
this partial or full trance, the audience members can enter into the world of shadows
created by the Wayang Kulit. This world of shadows offers a glimpse of the gods in
living motion, showing their grace and splendor, and enacting mythical tales that pro-
vide instruction and higher understanding.
Life and Training of a Puppet Master

In western theatre traditions, there is no equivalent to the dalang as the sole per-
former in a “one-man-show.” The dalang performs narration, song and improvised dia-
logue, depending on his memory to recollect the story of the Ramayana and all its
branch stories. He manipulates all of the puppets himself and conducts the orchestra
behind him through a variety of cues. He is most often solely responsible for choosing
the drama to be performed, maintaining the pace of the performance, and adjusting
the performance to fit the mood of the audience. He is also the primary medium through
which the living gods descend into the worldly shadow images. In short, the dalang
must be at once a director, performer, producer, orator, singer, conductor, stage man-
ager, and priest. Even though the process of becoming a dalang is a long and arduous
task, the rewards for this effort are few and rarely tangible. The economic lot of the
Malay dalang is usually little better than that of his fellow villagers. Few have had a
formal education and the majority are illiterate or semiliterate. A total of 20.5 percent
of all puppet masters interviewed by Barbara Wright in the late 1970s were illiterate,44
a figure that was average for adult rural Kelantanese at that time. When I interviewed
puppet masters myself, many relayed that when they were young men their attraction
to the wayang drew their attention away from their schoolwork. They generally described
themselves as being dreamy during schooltime and sleepy many days because they would
attend wayang performances until late in the night.
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Sujiah Salleh states in his article entitled “Shadow of an Art” that youths in modern
society cannot be lured to take over the continuation of the wayang tradition because
they cannot make a living at it.45 A rare exception to this in the 1990s was Dalang Omar
bin Ismail of Kelantan, who said that his two sons had become his students and that
his youngest son dropped out of school to dedicate himself completely to the task.
Sallah reported that Dalang Omar did not mind that his son had dropped out of school
because as villagers they lead a very simple life: “In the village I don’t have to pay for
anything. I have my own rice field, water and fish — we have no need for anything
else.”46 However, it seems that not many young people would be satisfied with so simple
a life. Modernization brings with it a yearning for many material goods and consumer
products. Also, many young people continue to be attracted to pursuing careers in the
urban areas since opportunities for employment there are constantly improving with
Malaysia’s rapid development.
Very few puppet masters in Malaysia, even of the top echelon, live entirely on
their income from performances or teaching, and those who attempt to do so have a
meager existence during the rainy season when they are forced to live on what has been
saved during the wayang season; this is seldom much.47 Thus, many puppet masters
have secondary occupations that fall into the categories of either secular or magico-reli-
gious. Secular occupations include tending land or livestock or driving a trishaw (a
bicycle-like taxi). The magico-religious occupations include being either a general-pur-
pose bomoh, or spiritual healer, or a bomoh of the Main Puteri. According to Sweeney
in the early 1970s approximately 60 percent of Kelantanese puppet masters over 35
years of age also were practicing as a bomoh.48 Being a general-purpose bomoh includes
such services as providing charms, traditional medicine, or blessings for a special pur-
pose. Dalang Baju Merah said that on some days he is so busy with bomoh work that
he cannot even leave his house. He said people come with requests, such as a first wife
who wants to get a charm to woo the attention of her husband away from the second
wife, or a man opening up a store coming to get a charm to attract business. He even
said that a film star came to him for a love potion and is now happily married. When
I was at Dalang Hamzah’s for my daily lessons, many villagers would drop in to be
treated for either a physical sickness or a bad spirit inside of them. Once a dalang estab-
lishes a good reputation as a bomoh, this can be a stable yet somewhat meager supplement
to his income. A dalang may also expect to make some of his income through teaching.
Though it is not the normal practice for a teacher to demand a fixed sum for teaching,
the student is expected to give small presents occasionally, feed him when he visits the
pupil, and give him money for cigarettes and other small items. The main payment,
which consists of a money gift plus an assortment of other gifts, comes when a student
graduates.
An individual may wish to become a dalang for various reasons, but the primary
motive is nearly always that he experiences intense pleasure from observing the wayang
and subsequently has the urge and angin, or wind, to perform. Most puppet masters
83
seem to have felt their calling to become performers early in life, but some start later
in life either by choice or by accident. Dalang Wak Margono of Johor states that he did
not become a dalang until he was thirty-five years old, and then it was by chance and
not his choosing. A performance was to be held in a village one night, but the dalang
suddenly got stage fright so Wak Margono was dragged in to take over.49 From that
time on he was called upon to perform and did.
Of the three standard ways of becoming a dalang, the most popular method is to
train with an established dalang. Sweeney states that 94 percent of all Wayang Siam
puppet masters interviewed by him in the early 1970s stated that they learned their art
from a teacher.50 Another method is for a person to claim that he has received the ability
to perform through revelation. This is not often claimed, just as it is not often believed;
but there are a few who believe the gift of performing was bestowed upon them from
the spirits. The other method is for a person to learn from imitation. Often these puppet
masters are also known as “child puppet masters” since they often start imitating the
wayang performances as children. Dalang Baju Merah is one example of a very successful
dalang who learned through imitation. He told me that when he was twelve years old
he saw a wayang performance by Dalang Pakda Meknya. When he returned home he
was so inspired that he made his own set of puppets out of mango leaves. Dalang Pakda
Meknya found out about this and offered to come and perform for him personally at
his house. After that one performance Dalang Pakda Meknya returned home and died
a week later; thus, the young Dalang Baju Merah had to learn on his own by watching
others.
There are two paths that may be taken when a student decides to learn the wayang
through a teacher. The first path is to join a puppet master’s troupe as a musician. After
learning to play one or more instruments, the student progresses to becoming the dalang
muda, literally “young puppet master,” who performs the opening ceremony, which is
also called the Dalang Muda (see the script for this in chapter four). This is considered
an ideal piece for instruction as it contains all the basic movements of the puppets
required for a performance of the wayang and a variety of voices. Also by virtue of the
fact that the form of this prologue is relatively set — unlike the form for the other wayang
dramas, which can vary as far and wide as the imagination of each dalang— the student
merely has to learn the lines and the correct sequence of action. The student is then
able to concentrate on the techniques of manipulating the puppets and changing the
voice. After a few years of performing the Dalang Muda a student often builds his own
performance hut and invites his troupe’s puppet master to come and be his teacher.
During an enrollment ceremony, the teacher sits behind the student and recites incan-
tations to open channels through which the teacher’s knowledge can be imparted.
The second path for learning through a teacher is for a person or group of people
to build a performance hut and invite a dalang to come and act as the instructor.
Sweeney notes that this method was increasingly popular in the 1970s in Kelantan.51
However, a dalang who is available for this is, by nature of his availability and willingness
84
to teach in this fashion, usually either old and senile or an unpopular dalang. Thus, the
instruction is usually second rate. Furthermore, no amount of lessons can make up for
the value of the constant exposure to performances gained from the first path. If a
student gains proficiency as a musician in a troupe first and then gradually works towards
performing, it is assumed this person will have a greater command over all the per-
formance elements at his disposal and will, thus, be a better dalang than someone who
simply took lessons.
When a dalang is giving instruction to a student in either path, he sits behind and
gives criticism and instruction. Around them a small audience usually assembles to
watch with casual interest. As there is little theoretical instruction, the method for
learning the technical aspects is “hands-on.” The teacher demonstrates and the student
is to imitate without questions. Once the basics are mastered, a student is told to
perform an episode of a story, usually the Cerita Mahraja Wana, as this is the main
trunk of the story from which the branch or ranting stories originate. The goal is to
learn coordination of hands and mouth to enable the student to improvise and to speak
continuously, which is considered essential. While the student attempts to perform the
wayang, the teacher continues to sit behind to give criticism. Sweeney states that “it is
considered kinder to give this criticism afterwards and in private but in practice it is
often delivered immediately and with passion.”52
When a student reaches a certain level of performance, he is ritually bathed by his
teacher, or sometimes by his teacher’s teacher, in a ceremony called pelimau, or bath
with limes. There are no rules as to when this happens, but after it occurs a student is
considered able to give a full evening’s performance and may perform the berjamu ritual
as well. This bathing with limes ceremony makes public the bond between teacher and
pupil and is the teacher’s acknowledgement of his pupil’s ability. It is considered a sort
of graduation ceremony. Students often study with more than one teacher, and if they
have studied long enough with more than one, they may undergo more than one peli-
mau.53
It is difficult to summarize the exact position of puppet masters within their society.
They are neither held in awe nor scorned. They do not receive the highest respect nor
do they seem to be treated with disapproval. Generally they are popular and well liked,
as they usually have dynamic personalities and people are drawn to them. Their lifestyle
does not vary greatly from that of their neighbors except that puppet masters have
usually traveled more and are a bit more cosmopolitan because of it. On the whole,
Kelantanese puppet masters seem to marry more often than laymen. Few ever have
more than one wife at a time, but this is compensated by the rate at which they change
their wives. Islamic Malaysian law allows a man to have four wives, but a man must be
able to support each wife and his children by each wife before taking another. This is
something most puppet masters cannot afford to do. Puppet masters are known to have
more extramarital affairs than laymen, perhaps because they travel more but also because
women seem to become infatuated with wayang performers. Dalang Hamzah’s wife
85
told me that one night after a show by her husband, she had to chase a woman away
with a frying pan because the woman wanted Dalang Hamzah so badly. Some assume
that puppet masters tend to be a bit lax in their observance of Islamic duties. Sweeney
notes that he has never heard of a dalang who was also haji, a title given after completing
the pilgrimage to Mecca.54 This could be because making the pilgrimage is quite expen-
sive or because the puppet masters are not interested enough to make the sacrifices nec-
essary. Finally, perhaps puppet masters are simply viewed as being different, a separate
group from the average populace and, thus, are not expected to maintain the same social
mores as their neighbors because of the extenuating circumstances involved in their
work and what they ultimately contribute to their communities.
Just as the wayang is not always mere entertainment, the dalang is not simply an
entertainer. The dalang has a dual role in society as entertainer and spirit medium. The
dalang is a resource person who can be consulted for advice regarding spiritual issues.
He is a sort of security for the area because he places himself in the dangerous position
of being the first channel through which the spirits travel to the physical world to mingle
amongst humans. The dalang can also perform as an embodied symbol for the entire
community of an area. During the menyemah ritual, which is performed for a village
to ward off the threat of cholera by the propitiation of local spirits, the dalang has a
special role. Sweeney states that “here the dalang symbolizes the collective aspirations
of the inhabitants of an area and by performing the menyemah, some collective action
is being taken, through the dalang, to interpret and combat an explainable danger where
otherwise there would be blind fear of the unknown.”55
Profile: A Very Special Dalang

I first heard of this different sort of dalang in 1991 from a Chinese shop owner in
Kota Bharu when he was serving me my morning tea. After I had explained to him that
I was in Malaysia doing research on the Wayang Kulit, he told me about a man he had
heard of who was developmentally disabled and living in the village of Gunong. This
man performed his own form of the traditional shadow puppet theatre. Intrigued, I
was curious to experience a performance by him for myself. With the help of my
Malaysian friend, Surinam, who was a schoolteacher in that district, we found out this
puppet master’s name, Hassan Bin Daud, and the general location of where he lived.
The day Surinam and I arrived in Gunong by taxi, we asked a few shop owners where
Hassan lived. Each person conferred with Surinam as to the purpose of this request and
seemed obliged to tell us with some note of apology that he wasn’t a real dalang and
that he was “not right.” As his house was out of the small town center, we walked down
the narrow dirt road, consulting with children along the way as to his location. We were
greeted by his mother, who said we needed to consult with his “auntie,” the only person
to whom he listened. After waiting for her to return from the rice paddy leading her
86
Dalang Hassan seated behind the performance screen performing his own style of shadow
puppet theatre. In his hand he holds a microphone; in front of him is his cardboard version
of a tree-of-life puppet (photograph by Beth Osnes).
two cows, we were informed that he was otherwise engaged. We made arrangements to
come back the next day for a special performance and an interview.
We arrived at 11:15 the next day and noticed that he was already busy setting up
his small performance shack that faced the road. He had an air of importance about
him and would not respond to our greetings when we walked to the side of the per-
formance platform on which he sat. He had a screen that was strung to a wooden frame
and a banana tree log at the base of his screen where his puppets were already arranged.
All the traditional elements of the Wayang Kulit were present, just in miniature and
more economically executed. For instance, his screen size was approximately one forth
the size of a usual screen and his puppets were crafted from cardboard cigarette packages
instead of rawhide. Though we were sitting only an arm’s length from the screen, he
still used the usual amplification method of a dalang of having a microphone hanging
from a string around his neck that connected to a megaphone-looking speaker mounted
to the front supporting beam of the shack. For music he used taped gamelan tunes he
had recorded from a Wayang Kulit show he had attended and also a tape of gamelan
87
The cardboard puppets of Dalang Hassan in the banana stem base behind the shadow screen
ready for performance (photograph by Beth Osnes).
music he had bought in Kota Baru. This music was supplemented by Hindi music from
Indian films that were recorded from the television.
The show was taking place in the middle of the day because it would not have
been proper for my still-single friend, Surinam, to go out with me, an American woman,
at night. Thus, the only audience for this performance was Surinam and I, perched on
two throne-like chairs brought from inside the house, and the kids from the neighbor-
hood, who seemed far more interested in watching the two of us than the actual show.
In a booming, overly amplified voice, he formally welcomed his audience and noted
that the show was intended to start at 11:00, letting us know that we had, indeed, arrived
late. The performance began with a modified, shorter version of the Dalang Muda, after
which the actual shadow play drama began with the horrible Maharaja Wana stealing
Sita’s two eyes because of his anger towards Rama. A mighty chase scene ensued, with
Rama hot on the tracks of Maharaja Wana. Unsuccessful in his pursuit, Rama was,
instead, banished. One of the clown characters took up Rama’s chase and went to a
mountain where the eyes had been deposited for safekeeping but he couldn’t find them.
88
Dalang Hassan relaxing behind the performance screen after his performance. A child to his
side also sits backstage after having enjoyed the performance (photograph by Beth Osnes).
Finally, Pak Dogol came and, since Maharaja Wana was afraid of Pak Dogol, Maharaja
Wana told Pak Dogol where to find Sita’s eyes.
The flow of Hassan’s performance was often interrupted, as he had to stop the cas-
sette tape and search for the appropriate music for the given situation, such as Rama’s
entrance music or fighting music. He used many of the standard techniques for manip-
ulating the puppets, such as having the warrior puppets do a few quick, aggressive steps
in place before exiting the screen in an upward swooping movement. The design of his
puppets was a nearly equal mix of traditional Wayang Kulit style and the design aesthetic
of Pablo Picasso. Cut with scissors from cardboard, all the puppets had articulated,
jointed arms, and the clown characters even had hinged jaws that could be pulled open
with a string in the customary manner. These figures were painted in bright primary
colors in broadstrokes. Bamboo sticks were sewn on to support the puppets.
In an informal interview after his performance, his auntie relaying all of the ques-
tions, Hassan said that he has been performing for over three years and that he began
because he was drawn to the stories, some of which he creates himself. With his portable
show setup packed onto his bicycle, he performs anywhere people will let him. Head
down and a bit to the side, he complained that he sometimes gets chased away from
89
Cardboard shadow puppets made by Dalang Hassan held up by children who gathered to
watch his performance (photograph by Beth Osnes).
coffee shops. On a brighter note, he boasted that some men have been known to drive
several kilometers to pick him up and take him home to perform for their children
when their televisions were not working.
Without access to proper training or even the supplies usually needed to create a
wayang theatre, Hassan persevered, inspired by his love of the stories and the fantastic
characters who people them so grandly. His spirited performance, interrupted only
by his annoyance with his limitations, and the seriousness with which he approached
his art touched me deeply. Walking away from his home on that same dirt road, I left
with a newfound admiration for both him as an artist and the form of shadow puppet
theatre itself. This one-of-a-kind form of Wayang Kulit, more accurately called Wayang
Kertas (Paper Show), stands as a testimony to the ultimate accessibility of the shadow
puppet theatre and its ability to generously accommodate varying levels of ability and
wealth.
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Keeping Tradition Alive by Penelope Cole
As a conclusion to this chapter on theatrical conventions and practices for the

Malaysian shadow puppet theatre, listed here are some of the efforts being made to pre-
serve the conventions and practices within their traditional form. The artists of the
Wayang Kulit, as well as educators, intellectuals, and other artists across Malaysia,
responded to the potential loss of an important part of their cultural heritage through
the creation of institutions and the implementation of numerous projects designed to
keep the art alive and in the public’s eye.
• The Asia Center was started in Penang by Dr. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof and has
published many texts by him on the Malaysian performing arts. Dr. Yousof has
an amazing collection of cultural artifacts, videos, and other source materials
for the study of the performing arts. More information on this centre can be
found at www.theasiancentre.com.
• Pusaka, the Centre for the Study and Documentation of Traditional Performance
in Malaysia, was founded in 2002. The director, Eddin Khoo, created a program
called the Semarak Seni Project, conducted in 2005, which aimed to document
the five traditional performance arts of Kelantan through on-site photographs,
audio and video recordings, interviews, and writings. As part of this project
Khoo interviewed master Dalang Pak Dollah while members of his team recorded
the conversation. Pak Dollah died not too long after this interview but the pho-
tographs taken that day were part of an exhibit at Galeri Petronas, in Kuala
Lumpur, during the spring of 2006 that showcased the intensive fieldwork being
done by Pusaka to preserve the cultural heritage of Malaysia.
• Gelanggang Seni, the Cultural Centre in Kota Baru, Kelantan, provides a place
for Wayang Kulit performances and demonstrations in puppet making. The plays
presented in Kota Baru are subject to new guidelines imposed by the PAS gov-
ernment when it relaxed the ban on Wayang Kulit performances. The center is
open to the public most days, except during Ramadan, and information can be
found on the Kelantan tourism Website.
• Istana Budaya, the National Theatre of Malaysia, was established in 1999.
Located in Kuala Lumpur, the theatre hosts Wayang Kulit performances of
numerous Wayang troupes as well as workshops for children in puppet making
and Wayang Kulit plays. In 2007 there were five different Wayang Kulit perform-
ances, each by different artists, presented at Istana Budaya between March and
August. The troupe of Dalang Saupi performed to a crowd of several hundred
people.
• ASWARA (formerly ASK), the National Art Culture and Heritage Academy,
also located in Kuala Lumpur, offers training in the traditional art forms of
Malaysia. First year students who study theatre are required to take a full year
91
of training in Wayang Kulit. The academy routinely offers public performances

of these traditional arts to enhance the public’s awareness and understanding.
One such event was the 2001 Festival Wayang Nusantara in which multiple styles
of wayang were performed and several scholars of Malaysian theatre were present.
The Five Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur also offers introductory training in
Wayang Kulit to the members of its youth theatre company, Akshen. One former
member became so intrigued with Wayang Kulit that he sought out Eddin Khoo
and became one of the researchers and authors of the Semarak Seni Project.
• “Amazing Malaysians” is the title of a corporate responsibility program imple-
mented by DiGi Telecommunications. Eddin Khoo, founder and director of
Pusaka, was one of five individuals honored with the title of Amazing Malaysian
in 2006. Each individual so named participated in a three-phase project with
school children that took place over the course of several months. Khoo, with
the assistance of Dalang Saupi and other traditional performance artists, guided
these young students through an introduction to Wayang Kulit, training in pup-
pet making and manipulation, and a final showcase of the children’s work.
These are some of the high profile institutions and programs that have been instru-
mental in the preservation of Wayang Kulit, the traditional shadow puppet theatre of
Malaysia. The programs sponsored by these theatres, cultural centers, schools, and cor-
porations are aimed primarily at educating Malaysians about their cultural heritage,
creating a new audience for the performances, inspiring new artists, and providing a
space wherein this cultural heritage can, if not flourish, survive.
Many practicing artists have responded to the waning importance of their art form
in the lives of modern Malaysians, along with government imposed parameters for per-
formance, by fusing traditional performance practices with new stories, contemporary
themes and images, and current issues, thus making the performances more accessible
to the modern audience. Other Malaysian artists have begun an exploration of what
Wayang Kulit means to them, seeking to find new means of expression that honor the
spirit of the tradition while creating something brand new.
The repertoire of stories has expanded beyond the original Indian epics to include
tales based on local folklore and history as well as new stories that include contemporary
issues such as drug abuse. Often the dalang will improvise the story as the performance
progresses, noting the reactions of the audience and adjusting the story line accordingly.
The puppets themselves have changed. They can be seen wearing modern clothing, are
able to play numerous characters as opposed to one archetypal character, and often
speak not only in the Kelantanese dialect (traditional) but also in Bahasa Malaysia and
English. Popular songs, music from television shows, and Bollywood songs provide a
contemporary sound track for these modern puppets. The modernization of Wayang
Kulit is drawing younger audiences to performances at Gelanggang Seni (Cultural Cen-
tre) in Kota Baru. Projek Wayang is a group of young Malaysian artists, based in Kuala
92
Lumpur, who are exploring the potential for using Wayang Kulit Siam as a point of
departure in their understanding of the development of wayang in Kelantan and how
the form speaks to the rest of Malaysia. These are not just theatre artists but visual
artists, musicians, and writers. Their Website (http:/projekwayang.blogspot.com) pro-
vides current information, lots of pictures, and descriptions of their projects and per-
formances.
In the summer of 2007 a new play was performed that Projek Wayang stated
“marked the successful collaboration among KL art practitioners from various fields in
an attempt to engage with the Wayang Kulit Siam tradition” (http:/projekwayang.blog
spot.com/2007-06-01-archive.html). Dua, Tiga, Dalang Berlari, directed by Mark Teh,
is the story of two famous puppet masters, Pak Hamzah and Pak Dollah Baju. The play
is described as a docu-performance that investigates the place of the Wayang Kulit dalang
in the shifting contexts of Malaysian history. The staging of the play borrows from the
traditions of Wayang Kulit but uses human figures to make shadows on a screen at the
back of the playing space, away from the audience. Portions of the script were taken
from a traditional Wayang Kulit Siam story, Betara Kala. Five Arts Centre in Kuala
Lumpur produced the play.
The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra commissioned and performed a new com-
position in September 2007. Empunya yang beroleh Sita Dewi is based on the music and
stories of traditional Wayang Kulit. The modernization of Wayang Kulit stories and per-
formances as well as the use of Wayang Kulit as a lens through which to explore their
cultural heritage as artists by a new generation of Malaysian visual and performing
artists are already influencing the path the art form will take in the twenty-first cen-
tury.
93
Chapter Four
Five Scripts
Now is the occasion for all of these disparate tales, conventions, and practices to
converge into the scripts for actual performances. Attempt to infuse your reading of
these plays with the previous testimony as to how the music, movement, performance
setting, and magic enhance and uniquely flavor the living experience of the Wayang
Kulit. What follows are five scripts for the Malaysian Wayang Kulit that range from pre-
cisely traditional to more experimental and contemporary. All five scripts rely on the
traditional cast of characters and traditional stagings, and an introduction before each
script describes its origins and history. Included in chapter five are directions for assem-
bling your own shadow screen and making your own shadow puppets, complete with
patterns for each character represented in these scripts. This theatrical form is highly
accessible, and extraordinary results can be achieved from very ordinary materials such
as poster board, muslin cloth, and a hanging lightbulb. Having presented on this form
for nearly two decades at universities, Asian cultural festivals, schools, and museums, I
am consistently amazed by how the wayang deeply engages people of all ages who par-
ticipate in creating the play of shadows. Once one is open to the experience of the
wayang, it becomes quite easy to convey to them more in-depth information on the
culture and history of Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Included here are a few practical notes for performing these scripts. All stage direc-
tions are the puppet master’s right and left side. Whenever a puppet enters or exits,
it is facing the direction it is moving. Shadows appear exaggerated in size and distorted
when the puppet is held farther from the screen, while shadows appear crisp and true
to size when the puppet is held close to the screen. When puppets enter it is customary
for them to enter the field of light farther from the screen and move closer to the
screen (often even touching it) once each puppet’s handle is thrust into the banana
stem stand. When a puppet is talking, it is customary to move the arm of that puppet
to indicate to the audience who is speaking. Characters with movable jaws should
be manipulated so that their jaw movement corresponds with their speaking. As much
as you can, try to have the puppets act out what the puppet master is saying. Remember
that this form is non-realistic and interpretive, rather than realistic. Action can be
conveyed in a variety of ways. For instance, if the puppet master is narrating about
Hanuman going on a long journey, you can simply have the puppet for Hanuman cross
the screen a few times in one direction, which can symbolize a long journey. There
is also no realism for timing, so you can hurry the action along or draw out any section
as much as you see fit. Likewise, it is culturally acceptable to have times when there
is no dialogue or narration, but just action by the puppets. In these cases, there would
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Four. Five Scripts
always be music accompanying the action. As for scenery, the tree-of-life puppet can
represent nearly anything you need, such as a jail in Hanuman Ikan or the palace of
Jawa in the Dalang Muda. Though it is the custom to have a sole dalang manipulating
all of the puppets and giving voice to all aspects of the performance, in an educational
setting it is often easier to have multiple puppeteers as the skills of a dalang take years
to master.
Many of the same characters appear in multiple scripts. Since their physical appear-
ance does not change from one script to the next, only one puppet design is included.
However, their function within a script may differ from one to the next; therefore there
is a description of each character at the beginning of each script. For instance, Wak
Long portrays a dalang in the script Cerita Bentara Kala and is uncharacteristically wise
about all aspects of the wayang in that script, whereas in Ezra and Icebaby Wak Long
is the slow-witted sidekick to Pak Dogol. It should be emphasized that these scripts are
not traditionally written, but, rather, improvised by the dalang based on his thorough
knowledge of the stories. These scripts have been written and provided here to give
students, educators and enthusiasts the chance to experience this performance form
without dedicating years of study to the traditional stories and their many characters.
As such, either use these scripts as they are presented here or feel free to adjust, edit,
or use them as inspiration to create your own, or better yet, to engage students in
writing their own scripts.
Dalang Muda: An English Translation of the

Opening Ceremony for the Wayang Siam
Each night before a Malaysian Wayang Siam shadow puppet performance begins,
there is an opening ceremony entitled the Dalang Muda performed by the dalang muda,
or apprentice puppet master. After the sun has set, the musicians in the performance
hut begin to play. A crowd begins to gather from cafes and nearby homes as the young
puppet master gets into position behind the screen. What he performs is quite stan-
dardized in both form and content and lasts only about forty minutes. The Dalang
Muda serves to attract an audience, awaken the performance space, and create in the
audience receptiveness for the medium of shadow play. This short prologue embodies
the struggle between the good and evil forces in the story through the battle between
the two demigods while also reasserting the prominent position of the mighty King
Rama and his followers. To my knowledge, the Wayang Siam in Malaysia is the only
form of shadow puppet theatre in Southeast Asia to have a set opening piece that is
performed by an apprentice puppet master.
I translated and compiled this text while I was conducting field research in Kelantan
on the traditional Malaysian shadow puppet theatre as a Fulbright Scholar in 1991. I
was accepted as a student of performance by Dalang Hamzah Awang Hamat, who
95
taught me to perform the Dalang Muda. I took lessons from him almost daily for
approximately five months. This opening ceremony is an ideal piece for learning the
various performance aspects of the shadow puppet theatre since included within it are
sections of singing, dialogue and most types of puppet manipulation.
The meaning of the first incantation by Maharisi is unknown even by the puppet
masters themselves. P.L. Amin Sweeney provides a translation of some of the words in
his work on the Malaysian Ramayana.1 I include this incantation as it was dictated to
me by Dalang Hamzah and it is the same as Patricia Matusky’s transcription.2 Sweeney’s
version of this incantation varies slightly.3 English translations of names will be used
for character names that are descriptive rather than proper names. The character Babu
Sanam is called Mah Perbu Anam by Rama in the text even though he is listed as Babu
Sanam.
The apprentice puppet master performing this piece sits about an arm’s length
away from the screen, cross-legged on the floor of the performance hut. The light hangs
from the ceiling directly in front of the performer’s face with a shield placed directly
Opening setup for the Dalang Muda with Maharisi standing behind the tree-of-life puppet
in center and the demigods on either side of him (photograph by Beth Osnes).
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Four. Five Scripts
behind the light to shield the eyes of the performer. The thick banana stems that are
the stand for the puppets are laid at the base of the screen and the puppets are arranged
at the right side of the performer on the floor for easy access. Minimal musical cues are
included in this script. See Matusky’s work on the music for the Malay shadow play for
a detailed account of the music in the Dalang Muda. Whenever the text indicates that
the serunai, a quadruple reed instrument, is playing, there is never singing since they
both provide the melody in the music and would drown each other out. Clearly the
music plays an important role in this performance as it does in every wayang perform-
ance. In the resource guide there is contact information for requesting a copy of the
music for the Dalang Muda.
Opening Setup
Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet) is in stand center screen, Maharisi is directly
behind the Pohon Beringin puppet facing left, Dewa Panah Perempuan (female
demigod) is to the right in the stand facing the tree-of-life, Dewa Panah Laki-laki (male
demigod) is to the left in the stand facing the tree-of-life.
Cast of Characters in Order of Appearance

Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet)— is used at the opening to arouse the recep-
tiveness of the audience for the medium of shadow puppet theatre. The design of
this puppet, a tree within the shape of a leaf, is symbolic of the wisdom of the entire
story, symbolized by the tree, being present within even its smallest part, symbolized
by a leaf shape. The presence of this puppet reminds the audience that even though
only a small part of a story can be presented in one night, the wisdom of the whole
is present within that small part. This puppet is also used very practically to start the
performance, like a front curtain in western theatre. In this play, it is only used at the
opening and then again rather abruptly at the end to indicate that the Dalang Muda is
complete.
Dewa Panah Perempuan (female demigod)— represents all that is good in the story
of the Ramayana, and also, more symbolically, all that is good in the universe. This
puppet does not speak in this performance, but only enters, observes, dances and
exits.
Dewa Panah Laki-laki (male demigod)— represents all that is bad or evil in the
story of the Ramayana, and, symbolically, in the universe. When this puppet fights with
the other demigod of good it is meant to dramatically represent in real time the struggle
between good and evil that gives vitality to the entire world. Their fight also represents
the constant struggle for balance between good and evil forces. This puppet does not
speak in this performance, but only enters, observes, dances and exits.
Maharisi — a wise old sage who comes to give the requisite blessing before the per-
97
formance begins. He is very old and wise. He speaks in an old Kelantanese dialect with
many Thai words also included in his speech. His blessing is not completely understood
even by the puppet masters who recite it, but it is faithfully recited as handed down
through the generations to ensure safety during a performance. Maharisi has a movable
jaw, so that should be manipulated when he speaks. His voices should sound like that
of an old man.
Rama — introduced in all his splendor and wisdom in this performance. The rev-
erence with which his subjects regard him as their king is a highlight of this entire
Dalang Muda performance. Rama is an avatar or incarnation of the Indian god Vishnu,
who came down to earth to rid the world of the evil forest monster, Ravana, thereby
restoring balance to the world. His actions are smooth and regal as is his vocal deliv-
ery.
Laksamana — the loyal brother of Rama, who serves in a supporting role in this
performance. His only function here is to accompany his brother during a parading
section, stand beside him as he addresses the troops, and watch over the troops’ exit
once Rama leaves. His actions, like Rama’s, are befitting someone of high status and
great refinement.
Babu Sanam — one of Rama’s loyal subjects who serves as the spokesperson for the
other monkey warriors. He is also called Mah Perbu Anam by Rama within this script.
His physical appearance is distinctive from the others. His voice is respectful and strong.
Sagariwa — loyal subject to Rama and a monkey warrior. Though there is a story
behind how Sageriwa and the other monkey warriors listed below each joined Rama’s
army, they (with the exception of Hanuman) are largely portrayed as undifferentiated
characters. As they pay their respects to Rama their voices are respectful but gruff due
to their rough natures.
Anila — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Anggada — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Saburarong — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Raja Tilan — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Lang Lobit — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Lang Lobat — loyal subject to Rama; monkey warrior.
Hanuman (The White Monkey)— loyal subject to Rama; the greatest of the mon-
key warriors, who leads the army and oversees them as they show off their might. Since
he is a rough character, he appears aggressive and fierce, but he is clearly in service of
all that is good. In this performance, the physical prowess of Hanuman is meant to be
superior to any of the warriors that precede him on the screen. His loyalty to Rama is
supreme. As we will see in a later script, Hanuman Ikan, this is in part because Rama
is his father in the Malaysian version of the Ramayana. His voice is strong and gruff
since he is a rough character.
(This section is called Lagu Maharisi, or Song of Maharisi. Music starts, the two
demigods exit backwards off either side quickly, Maharisi exit left, tree-of-life exit
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Four. Five Scripts
down center. Wait for 7 cycles of music, enter tree-of-life and sway right and left for
7 cycles of music, sway quickly center and exit down center, wait for 7 cycles of music,
enter Maharisi right, sway back and forth in arc center for 7 cycles of music, exit left,
Maharisi enter left, sway back and forth in arc center for 7 cycles of music, exit right,
Maharisi enter right and stand in banana stem, move Maharisi’s mouth by string to his
singing.)
MAHARISI : (sung) Om, om, sisi praksi pertidek yaul maupul maupul aul maupul
maupul kenong siam, kautor dokmar ton tiam bochar tuan ni wal wei (quick short
beating of the drum). Om, om perbu perban platek platan dokmar dokcho kechaipi-
tan pakian badi me om som se (quick short beating of the drum).
(This section is called Lagu Dewa Panah Turun, or Song of the Demigod with
Bows to Descend. Both demigods enter from above facing down and bounce in rhythm
to music over Maharisi with bodies leaning in towards Maharisi, when drums speed up
both demigods cross down and exit down center, repeat entrance and exit of both
demigods same, simultaneously female demigod enter right and male demigod enter
left, both stand in banana stem, Maharisi sing above incantation one more time.)
(This section is called Lagu Dewa Panah Perang, or Song of the Demigod’s War.
Maharisi exit left, both demigods exit backwards, female demigod enter right, dance
forcefully center, exit left, male demigod enter left, dance forcefully center, exit right,
both enter and exit in the same way once again.
The following sequence to be repeated 3 times, alternate who attacks first during
fight scene, same one who attacks first is the one to be thrown off screen and chased,
female demigod swoops across right to left, male demigod swoops across left to right,
female demigod enter right and male demigod enter left at same time, both criss-cross
3 times at 45 degree angle from screen to the left, both crisscross 3 times at 45 degree
angle from screen to the right, male demigod exit left, female demigod follow exit left,
male demigod enter left and female demigod enter right at same time, both spar back
and forth a few times, male demigod attacks female demigod, both struggle together
overlapped, female demigod throws male demigod off, spar again, female demigod
attacks male demigod, both struggle together overlapped, male demigod throws female
demigod off, both spar, male demigod attacks female demigod, both struggle together
overlapped, female demigod throws male demigod off and male demigod exits left,
female demigod exit left chasing, male demigod enter right, exit left, female demigod
enter right, exit left chasing, male demigod enter left, exit right, female demigod enter
right, exit left, marking the end of that sequence.
Female demigod enter right, dance forcefully center, exit left, male demigod enter
left, dance forcefully center, exit right, both demigods enter right, dance forcefully cen-
ter, exit left, both demigods enter left, dance forcefully center, exit right, both demigods
facing up with tips together bottom center ascend slowly to top and exit.)
(This section is called Lagu Seri Rama Keluar, or Song for Seri Rama Emerging.
The screen is empty.)
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NARRATOR : (sung) This is the story I wish to tell. I wish to tell you the story of a great
country with a mighty king. The name of this mighty king is the illustrious King
Rama. The name of his younger brother is the young King Laksamana. Please,
younger brother, enter into the palace, ah...
(Rama and Laksamana enter right, sway back and forth center in an arc slowly in rhythm
with music, quick short beating of the drum, both exit left, wait 7 cycles of music, Rama
enter right, sway back and forth center in arc slowly in rhythm with music, quick short beat-
ing of the drum, exit left.)
(This section is called Lagu Hulubalang Seri Rama, or Song for the Warriors of
Seri Rama. Each of the following warriors in the order listed enter right, dance forcefully
center, exit left, some may enter twice, forceful dancing should be accompanied by
excited yelps and shouts, intensity of music and movement should increase as each new
warrior enters:
Babu Sanam
Sagariwa
Anila
Anggada
Saburarong
Raja Tilan
Laksamana (left) and Rama(right) entering the screen to parade (photograph by Charlotte
Orrino).
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Four. Five Scripts
Lang Lobit
Lang Lobat
Hanuman, White Monkey.)
(This section is called Lagu Menyembah, or Song for Paying Respect to Seri Rama.
The screen is empty.)
NARRATOR (could also be seen to be the voice of Babu Sanam): (sung) Ahhhh ... A thou-
sand apologies, my lord. I beg for your pardon, sir. Unworthy servant, that I am, I
beg your pardon. If you should desire anything to be done for you, I shall do it
grandly. I would do it the farthest, the deepest, the highest as can be! Your smallest
wish is my command. If you want to kill me, I surrender my life to you completely.
[Serunai plays.]
(Place palace puppet in right end of banana stem, enter Rama right, stand a bit right of cen-
ter, Enter Laksamana right, exit left, Laksamana enter left, bow deeply before Rama with
hand over head, stand behind Rama facing left, enter Babu Sanam right, exit left, Babu
Sanam enter left, bow deeply before Rama with hand over head, stand a bit left of center
facing Rama.)
NARRATOR : (sung) The hall of the grand palace is filled with echoes, the echoes of
excited chatter from all the King’s subjects. All are anxious to see the King and excited
to hear his words.
[Serunai plays.]
(Sagariwa enter right, exit left, Sagariwa enter left, bow deeply with hand over head before
Rama, stand behind Babu Sanam, warriors stand very close together overlapping so that all
will fit on banana stem, Anila enters right, exit left, Anila enter left, bow deeply with hand
over head to Rama, stand behind Sagariwa.)
NARRATOR : (sung) The King is pleased to see so many subjects in attendance, all
crowded into the hall, oh, the grand hall of Jawa. I am waiting with my fellow sub-
jects, and I feel pride for my country rising through me, ah, pride for Jawa.
[Serunai plays.]
(Anggada enter right, exit left, Anggada enter left, bow deeply with hand over head before
Rama, stand behind Anila, Saburarong enter right, exit left, Saburarong enter left, bow
deeply with hand over head before Rama, stand behind Anggada, Raja Tilan enter right, exit
left, Raja Tilan enter left, bow deeply with hand over head to Rama, stand behind Sabu-
rarong.)
NARRATOR : (sung) Sir, what is your decree? What is your judgment? I long to hear you
with both of my ears. I want to behold you with both of my eyes. I humbly beg of
you, sir, please, tell us.
[Serunai plays.]
(Lang Lobit enter right, exit left, Lang Lobit enter left, bow deeply with hand over head
before Rama, stand behind Raja Tilan, Lang Lobat enter right, exit left, Lang Lobat enter
left, bow deeply with hand over head before Rama, stand behind Lang Lobit, Hanuman
White Monkey enter right, exit left, Hanuman White Monkey enter left, bow deeply with
hand over head before Rama, stand behind Lang Lobat.)
NARRATOR : Enough chatter, now the story shall proceed. We begin as King Rama
ascends the throne; the throne is named “Mas Naja Seri,” the grand chair. The king
sits regally upon his throne. He looks to the left. He looks to the right surveying his
subjects and troops. The king smiles. Between his lips his smile shimmers like gold,
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like newly shined copper. Now the king is preparing to speak. He is consulting with
Mah Perbu Anam.
SERI RAMA : So then, Mah Perbu Anam.
BABU SANAM : Yes, your highness, you have my utmost respect. If you desire anything, it
shall be done grandly. If you want to sell anything, we shall sell it far. If you want to
hang anything, we will hang it high. If you desire to kill me, I surrender my life to
you completely. I will always be with you. If you depart in the early morning, I will
rise and follow. If you depart late in the night, I shall deny sleep and follow.
SERI RAMA : Yes, I believe you speak the truth, Mah Perbu Anam.
BABU SANAM : Even if your highness departs for war early in the morning under a blan-
ket of darkness, I shall follow. You, our king, anxiously sweating, the beads glistening
like a necklace from heaven, falling from your brow like leaves blown off the limbs of
a tall tree. To which part of the gulf and to which part of the mountain do you wish
to go?
SERI RAMA : Your words are true.
BABU SANAM : Yes, your highness.
SERI RAMA : I shall depart, but I am not leaving for war at the mountain. Instead, I am
going to request news from all my subjects, all the guards of my palace, all of my
attendants. I shall ask them who is here and who is not here today.
BABU SANAM : Yes, your highness, I think all are present. No one would dare desert you.
All are most humbly present.
SERI RAMA : Very good, Mah Perbu Anam. Wait and listen carefully all. You shall hear
my decree.
BABU SANAM : Please, your highness!
SERI RAMA : Who in this land is present or is not present, Mah Perbu Anam? Master
Sagariwa, brother of King Bali, is he present or is he not present, Mah Perbu Anam?
SAGARIWA : Yes, your highness, I am here!
SERI RAMA : Anila? Anggada?
ANILA : Present, your highness!
ANGGADA : I am here too, your highness!
SERI RAMA : King Hanuman the White Monkey, who rules the state, is he present as
well?
HANUMAN : Highest respects, your highness. I present myself to you most humbly.
SERI RAMA : So, all are here. Are there any others we are forgetting, Mah Perbu Anam?
BABU SANAM : All are present, your highness.
SERI RAMA : Very well, then I shall say one or two words to my subjects.
BABU SANAM : Yes, your highness! Please, address your words to us. Give us your decree.
(This section is called Lagu Seri Rama Berkabar, or Song for Seri Rama Telling the
News.)
SERI RAMA : Listen, all my subjects, to what I am going to tell you.
BABU SANAM : Please, proceed, your highness.
SERI RAMA : (sung) I shall tell you, oh, you, my subjects, about the news of this country.
[Serunai plays.]
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Four. Five Scripts
(Rama sways back and forth in arc center in rhythm to music, serunai stops, Rama places
hand on shoulder of Babu Sanam, holds that pose while singing next song.)
SERI RAMA : (sung) Listen carefully, my subjects, to the words I shall say. I shall tell you
the decree of this grand country.
[Serunai plays.]
(Rama sways back and forth in arc center in rhythm to music, serunai stops, Rama places
hand on shoulder of Babu Sanam again.)
SERI RAMA : (sung) So, please, my subjects, treasure our country. Do not fight among
yourselves. I am afraid there is rebellion brewing. Do not allow our fine country to
descend into chaos under the control of Mahraja Wana. Laa ... ah.
[Serunai plays.]
(Rama sways back and forth in arc center in rhythm to music, Rama stands in former place
just before music stops.)
SERI RAMA : That is all, Mah Perbu Anam. I have given my decree to you in full.
BABU SANAM : Your words contain no evil, your highness, but bring only goodness to us.
I understand all the wisdom of your words.
SERI RAMA : Oh? Is that true, Mah Perbu Anam? Then let us all proceed into the grand
hall of the palace and take our places.
BABU SANAM : If you so desire, then, please, it shall be done.
(This section is called Lagu Seri Rama Masuk Istana, or Song for Seri Rama to
Enter the Palace.)
(sung ) So all the subjects proceed to enter, proceed to enter the palace, and take their
places before their mighty King Seri Rama.
(Babu Sanam bow deeply with hand over head before Rama, exit right, Sagariwa bow deeply
with hand over head before Rama, exit right, Rama sways back and forth in arc center, exit
left, Rama enter left, sways back and forth in arc center, exit right, Laksamana sways back
and forth in arc center, exit left, Laksamana enter left, sways back and forth in arc center,
exit right, Hanuman the White Monkey moves to right side, stands in banana stem facing
center, Anila bows with hand over head before Hanuman, dances forcefully center, swoops
out right, Anggada bows same before Hanuman, dances same, exit right, Saburarong bows
same before Hanuman, dances same, exit right, Raka Tilan bows same before Hanuman ,
dances same, exit right, Lang Lobit bows same before Hanuman, dances same, exit right,
Lang Lobat bows same before Hanuman, dances same, exit right, Hanuman dances with
extreme force center, exit left, Hanuman enter left, dances with extreme force center, exit
right, palace puppet is removed from banana stem, music stops, place tree-of-life puppet cen-
ter screen, the Dalang Muda is finished.)
The End
Cerita Bentara Kala

This script gives a glimpse into the rich symbolic beliefs underlying the Malay
shadow puppet theatre and is traditionally performed on the third (and final) night of
a ritual Berjamu performance (see chapter three for a description of this ritual). Though
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the basic story remains constant from one dalang to the next, the subtle interpretations
of spiritual meaning expressed in each performance give an insight into each puppet
master’s unique interpretation of these spiritual beliefs. This episode is unique, as it
contains within it a “play within a play” or, more accurately, a “wayang within a wayang.”
The puppet master shares his views on the mystical aspects of the wayang through the
clown character Wak Long. When Bentara Kala gives up his hunt for food to satisfy
his ravenous hunger after his encounter with Wak Long’s performance, we are left with
the realization that it was the wayang itself that satiated the brute. Thus, the belief is
fortified that the Wayang Kulit is, in and of itself, a suitable offering to appease the
gods.
I wrote this script based on scholarly research and have imbued it with my own
interpretations of the spiritual mystery of the wayang, primarily informed by my teacher,
Dalang Hamzah. The female character in this story is called Mak Babu Kalang Dermi
by P.L. Amin Sweeney4 and Mak Mabu Kelan Dermi by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof.5 I use
the shortened version of the first spelling only because it is the first one I encountered
in my research. At times, the character Mak Babu adds “lah” to the end of a word to
add emphasis, as is the custom in Malaysia.
Opening Setup
Begins with a blank screen as the dalang begins the story.

Mak Babu — an old woman who is preparing a ritual feast for an offering to the
god, Bentara Kala. She is portrayed much like a servant character and is therefore a
humorous character like a clown, but she is not specifically categorized as a clown char-
acter. As such, she has an articulated jaw, so it should be manipulated when she speaks.
Her voice can be exaggerated to sound old and scratchy.
Bentara Kala — a dewa, or god, who has come down to earth to receive an offering
in the form of a literal feast. His voice and his actions are unrefined and aggressive.
Wak Long — takes on the role of the puppet master or dalang in this “play within
a play” (the actual puppet master of this ritual performance communicates his inter-
pretation of the wayang through Wak Long’s dialogue with Bentara Kala). Wak Long
is a clown character and the sidekick to the main clown character, Pak Dogol (who is
in disguise as a servant to Rama, but is really the highest god of all). Wak Long was
created out of mud (or excrement) by his master, Pak Dogol, so that Pak Dogol would
not be lonely on earth. In this story, Wak Long, though still a clown character, is really
quite wise. He is a bit like a court jester in the European tradition in that he is a fool
who speaks the truth. His voice is quick and comical in delivery.
Small version of puppets for Hanuman, Rama and Sita for Wak Long to use —
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Four. Five Scripts
small enough and with sufficiently long poles (or handles) to be “held” by Wak Long
(puppet master would simply hold the pole for Wak Long’s arm right alongside the
poles for the small puppets).
Panggung, or shadow puppet performance hut for Wak Long — serves as Wak Long’s
performance hut when he does his “wayang within a wayang.”
The play begins.
NARRATOR : Betara Guru informs all of the dewas far and wide that a feast is being
offered in their honor. Betara Guru has a son named Bentara Kala who is born with a
ravenous hunger. He meets his father, Betara Guru, and complains of his hunger. His
father tells him of a feast being given by an old woman, Mak Babu. Bentara Kala then
descends to Earth and seeks out his meal. He meets Mak Babu.
MAK BABU : The meal is not yet ready. Go out and hunt for some food.
BENTARA KALA : Okay, I will go and search. [Exits, finds nothing and returns quickly.]
There is nothing to be hunted. I beg you, something to eat, please! I will die of star-
vation soon.
MAK BABU : Okay, okay-lah. I have some stale leftovers you may have if you wish. [She
spills the food in front of him and he feasts wildly. As his head comes up from the
food, he is growling and nearly possessed.] What?
BENTARA KALA : Why is that old leftovers should be so delicious? Tell me; tell me, what
did you put in here?
MAK BABU : Nothing. They were just scraps. Oh, I did cut myself while I was chopping
some of the vegetables you ate. There may have been some of my blood mixed in.
BENTARA KALA : [Growling loudly, he lunges at her.] More! I want more.
MAK BABU : Ahhh! [She runs off.]
BENTARA KALA : Ahhh! [He runs after her crazed with hunger for her blood. During his
pursuit, he falls into a hole.] My curse upon anyone who does not fill the hole made
for a cooking fire. [He continues his pursuit.]
(Meanwhile, a shadow puppet show is beginning. Wak Long is the dalang. He begins the
show behind a Panggung, or shadow puppet performance hut, and then Mak Babu comes
running to them.)
MAK BABU : Help! He’s going to eat me. Hide me, quick!
WAK LONG : What? Who is going to eat you?
MAK BABU : Bentara Kala. He got a taste of my blood when I cut myself while cutting
vegetables, and now he wants more. Quickly, please. He’s right behind me.
WAK LONG : Okay, okay. You get into the panggung. We will hide you here. You know
any music? We have no player for the cymbals.
MAK BABU : Oh sure, I play the cymbals a little.
WAK LONG : Okay, let’s start. Satu, dua, tiga [translates to one, two, three]...
(This next part is the “wayang within the wayang” and is performed by Wak Long
using the mini-versions of the characters in the following dialogue.)
HANUMAN : Seri Rama, all of your warriors are assembled here at your palace. What do you
command?
RAMA : Very good, Hanuman. We will be going to war against the evil monster, Ravana,
105
Wak Long (center) and Mak Babu (right) talking outside the performance hut (photograph
by Charlotte Orrino).
Maharaja Warna, who kidnapped my beloved wife, Sita. But before we go, I want to be
certain that Sita is alive and well. Go Hanuman. Go to her prison. Bring me proof that
she is well.
HANUMAN : Yes, your grace. Highest respect to you, King Rama. [Hanuman flies to the
island of Ravana. There he meets Sita.] I am Hanuman, a great warrior in the service of
your husband, Seri Rama. He has sent me for proof of your well-being.
SITA : Take my fan and give it to Rama as proof of my continued faithfulness and well-
being.
[Hanuman takes the fan and flies back to Rama.]
RAMA : Now let us quickly proceed into the palace to prepare for war.
(Bentara Kala rushes in, interrupting Wak Long’s performance.)
BENTARA KALA : Where is she? I want her. Where is she?
WAK LONG : Who? Where is who, and who are you, you cursed beast, to interrupt the
words of Seri Rama?
BENTARA KALA : Huh? [Sees the shadow performance in progress.] Oh. [Remembering
his hunger.] Where is she?
WAK LONG : Who, you big oaf?
BENTARA KALA : Mak Babu! She was supposed to have a feast for me, but it was not
ready. I accidentally tasted her blood, and now I want to eat her.
WAK LONG : She is not here. There is only me, Wak Long, as dalang and my musicians.
BENTARA KALA : (suspicious) How many musicians?
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Four. Five Scripts
Wak Long performing a miniature Sita puppet as the puppet master in this “wayang within
a wayang” (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
WAK LONG : Eleven ... plus one.

BENTARA KALA : (Counts the musicians and doesn’t notice Mak Babu because she is actu-
ally playing.) All is as you say. Well, play, why don’t you?
WAK LONG : You must first pay us in some way.
BENTARA KALA : Here, take this ornament.
WAK LONG : Okay, satu, dua, tiga...
(Musicians start to play.)
BENTARA KALA : Wait, stop. You, Wak Long, what puppet masters did you descend from
that you are qualified to perform the wayang?
WAK LONG : I was taught by Dalang Hamzah Awang Hamat, who was taught by the
great master Dalang Awang La himself of Tumpat in Kelantan.
BENTARA KALA : That is good, very good. Here, take some money, too. Continue. [Wak
Long cues his musicians again, but they play only a few moments before Bentara Kala
interrupts again.] What do you call this screen you are performing on?
WAK LONG : I call this screen dinding dunia, wall of the world.
BENTARA KALA : Wait a minute. I smell Mak Babu. You are hiding her. I’m going to
jump through your screen and eat her up.
WAK LONG : No, no, no, you big oaf! It would be bad luck like you can’t know to step
over the banana stem at the bottom here that I use to stand my puppets in. Even I
can’t step over these. When this show is over, I have to take these to the sea or a river
and let them float away. If I leave them in pieces all over, little kids stepping over
them might get sick with fever or fits.
107
BENTARA KALA : Why do you stand your puppets in this banana stem?
WAK LONG : That stand is like the Earth where all creatures carry out their actions just
how their puppet master wants them to. The puppets depend on the puppet master
because they come to life under his power.
BENTARA KALA : Ohhh.
WAK LONG : But also, the puppet master depends on the puppets because he could not
know his power or unfold his stories without them.
BENTARA KALA : How come you only have one light, Wak Long? You could have a whole
bunch of lights, and your show would look really amazing.
WAK LONG : No, no, only one light. That is how it should be. Even though there are
many shadows of many shapes and sizes, there is only one light creating all the shad-
ows.
BENTARA KALA : Then you should have more than one puppet master so you can really
make those puppets move. Here, I come and help you, Wak Long.
WAK LONG : No again. There should be only one puppet master. That way the wayang
works as, how you say, a “symbol of the cosmos.” It is more important that the wayang
work as a symbol than it be a fancy show.
BENTARA KALA : If the wayang is not a fancy show, then why do you do it?
WAK LONG : The wayang teaches little children about the stories that are important to
their people. This is much wisdom, many lessons, and many shared laughs for every-
body. Adults need the wayang to keep balance in their lives. It is through this shadow
puppet show that people can mingle with higher forces.
BENTARA KALA : Higher forces?
WAK LONG : Yes, like you. You are the son of Betara Guru, Shiva, king of all gods, and
you come to this shadow play show hungry. Well, we going to give you a feast, an
offering at the end of this show once you have said all your lines.
BENTARA KALA : My lines? I am so confused.
WAK LONG : So as you see, not all gods of the wayang are wise. Some, as you see, are
quite stupid. Since we bring you down to Earth in shadows, we better be sure you
leave satisfied so you don’t destroy our crops or bring disease, like cholera, to our vil-
lage.
BENTARA KALA : Yeah, you should make me happy; I like that. But I still have questions.
Why do all this in shadow?
WAK LONG : Shadows are the perfect way for gods to become visible to humans here on
Earth. Gods have no bodies, right? Shadows have no bodies either. The gods can
come down to Earth through the shadows.
BENTARA KALA : Very interesting. But you, Wak Long, why do you hide?
WAK LONG : If you don’t see me, not even my hands as I move these puppets, then you
can forget all about me and just think about the story. Also, then when gods give
advice that is sometimes hard for humans to hear, everybody will think it is the gods
speaking so harshly to them and not me.
BENTARA KALA : Ah ha! So you are trying to hide.
WAK LONG : No, no. It is not me performing. I am just a servant, a clear messenger for
the stories to pass through.
BENTARA KALA : If you’re not so special after all, then you let me perform.
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Four. Five Scripts
WAK LONG : No, no, no! It would be too dangerous to bring down gods and demons
into a shadow puppet show without someone trained, like me, to act in between.
BENTARA KALA : You’ve got a lot to do, Wak Long. How do you keep it all straight?
WAK LONG : Once the musicians start to play, and I have my puppets all around me, I
think of nothing else. I go into almost a trance and can perform without stopping
from sundown to sunup.
BENTARA KALA : Wow! You have all those stories memorized?
WAK LONG : I know all the stories so well that I improvise the words as I go. When I
perform my best, I lose myself entirely to the actions of the puppets. I am so much
with the characters in my drama that I feel intense rage at their defeats, and I weep
with their sorrow.
BENTARA KALA : Where do you get theses puppets from?
WAK LONG : The best puppet masters make their own so that the actual character is in
the design. When I make a good puppet, I only need to look at it when I go to per-
form, and I feel its voice, and it leads me to move it in the right way.
BENTARA KALA : Then I think I want to watch you perform from the backside of the
screen so I can see these puppets too.
WAK LONG : No, no. I do my show for those watching the shadows. If you watch me
then you will get distracted by all the mechanics of my performing, and you will miss
the best part of the show.
BENTARA KALA : Oh.
WAK LONG : Besides, the shadows can do much more than the puppets themselves. Here,
let me show you. If I want a warrior to appear enormous in strength, I hold him far-
ther from the screen and the shadow grows huge. But the puppet cannot change size.
BENTARA KALA : You are very wise about all this, Wak Long. I think I understand what
the wayang is now.
WAK LONG : We see ourselves and our struggles in the drama of these mighty gods and
heroes. The wayang is like a magic mirror that reflects our lives, but it leaves out the
details and shows us only the essence.
BENTARA KALA : All this talking has made me very hungry.
WAK LONG : Enough talking, you are right. It is time for your feast finally, Bentara Kala.
(Wak Long lays an offering at the base of the screen and Putera Kala hungrily devours it.)
PUTERA KALA : Oh, thank you, Wak Long. Yum, yum. Much better for my tummy.
Ummm, yes. Good show, Wak Long. Good-bye.
(Exits contented.)
WAK LONG : Well, that is finished. Let us stop for tonight.
MAK BABU : Thank you, Wak Long. You have spared my life. Back to my chores now.
Good-bye.
WAK LONG : Oh, not at all. That’s all. You are all safe now because we have feasted the
gods. Go home. That’s the end. You’ll be okay now. Salamat Jalan.
The End
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Hanuman Ikan: Adventures of the Monkey Fish

Throughout Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, the story of the Monkey Fish
delights audiences of traditional dance, drama and shadow puppet theater. A branch
story from the Malay version of the Ramayana, the title character, Monkey Fish, is
known as Hanuman Ikan in Malaysia and as Matchanu in Thailand. He is the son of
the famous monkey warrior Hanuman, and his mother is Supanna Matcha, a beautiful
mermaid. Throughout much of Southeast Asia it is believed that Hanuman is the son
of Rama from Rama’s former incarnation, Dewa Berembun, who impregnated the
Princess Maya Angin.
I wrote this script in 2002 after a research trip to Thailand, Burma and Cambodia.
While in Thailand, my two children were fascinated by the story of the monkey fish as
it is told through the painted storyboard along the walls within the Thai palace complex
in Bangkok. On this trip we had also visited a Cambodian orphanage in Siem Reap,
“New Family,” that teaches the children the traditional performing arts, including the
shadow puppet theatre, to give them pride in their rich Khmer culture. Upon our
return, my kids and I set out to create a shadow puppet show based on this beloved
monkey fish in order to raise funds for the Cambodian orphanage we had visited. What
follows is an original script, based on research of the story, for a traditional shadow
puppet theater performance on this exciting tale.
Opening Setup
Begins with a blank screen as the dalang begins the story.

Rama—primarily the father of Hanuman in this play even though Rama is the avatar,
or incarnation, of the Indian god Vishnu, and the protagonist of the epic tale Ramayana.
He is the very picture of refinement, strength and wisdom. He is, however, a bit slow to
fully acknowledge Hanuman as his son, which explains why Hanuman works so hard to
gain Rama’s approval. Rama’s voice is refined and regal as is befitting his position.
Hanuman — the great white monkey, the greatest of Rama’s loyal monkey warriors
and the actual son of Rama from Rama’s former incarnation, Dewa Berembun, who
impregnated the Princess Maya Angin. She gave birth to a white ape who had an insa-
tiable appetite and one day attempted to eat the sun. He was so badly burned that the
sun god, seeing his plight, took pity on him and restored to him his great strength and
told him that Rama was his father. He is also the father to the title character, Hanuman
Ikan. His voice is rough and strong, but he is very good and kind.
A Variety of Fish with rocks in their teeth — in service to the lovely Supanna
Matchu. They only swim and do not speak.
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Four. Five Scripts
Hanuman Ikan, the title character who has the upper body of a monkey and the tail of a fish.
This shadow puppet was made by Beth Osnes from goat hide (photograph by Charlotte
Orrino).
A Variety of Fish without rocks in their teeth — more fish who are also in service
to the lovely Supanna Matchu. They also only swim and do not speak.
Supanna Matchu — queen of the sea and daughter of Ravana. After a love affair
with Hanuman, she gives birth to Hanuman Ikan but abandons him for fear of her
father’s wrath. She is charged by her father to see that Hanuman cannot successfully
build his bridge to Ravana’s island. She is an extremely beautiful mermaid. Her voice
is lovely and enticing as befits a young queen.
Cage for Rama; or the Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet) can be used for this:
to trap Rama in the underworld. The design for a cage can be constructed or, to be
more in keeping with the Malaysian conventions, the tree-of-life puppet can be used
to represent the cage.
Flaming Volcano; or the Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet) can be used for this:
that Hanuman stomps down flat and extinguishes. Again, the design for a flaming vol-
cano can be constructed, or to be more in keeping with the Malaysian conventions, the
tree-of-life puppet can be used to represent the flaming volcano.
Several Mosquitoes — huge bugs that attack Hanuman. They make a nasty buzzing
sound as they fly around him.
Hanuman Ikan — defends the lotus pond in the underworld. His mother, Supanna
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Matchu, abandoned him at birth because she feared the wrath of her father, Ravana.
His father, Hanuman, never knew of his existence until their encounter dramatized
in this script. Hanuman Ikan was taken in and raised by Maiyarap, King of the
Underworld, and works for him defending the lotus pond. Hanuman Ikan has the
body and head of a monkey and the tail of a fish. Ikan means fish in Bahasa Malaysia.
His voice should sound rather young yet confident and not nearly as deep as his
father’s.
Stick for Hanuman Ikan — to use to hit his father, Hanuman. Can simply be a
stick attached to a rod so that the puppet master can hold the rod to Hanuman Ikan’s
arm and the rod for the stick in one hand.
Sun, Moon and Stars (for Hanuman to exhale, can be connected as one puppet)—
for Hanuman to breathe out to prove to his son that he is, indeed, the great Hanuman.
The play begins.
NARRATOR : Our story begins just as Rama has gathered his army in order to fight
Ravana, who has kidnapped Rama’s wife, Sita. Ready for battle, now the challenge lies
in getting to the island of Ravana.
(Rama, Laksamana and Hanuman enter.)
RAMA : We must build a bridge from the mainland to the island of Longka so that our
army and supplies can travel across the water. For this most important job, I com-
mand Hanuman to build this bridge in seven days time.
HANUMAN : I promise it will be done within those seven days or I will pay with my life.
RAMA : Very good, proceed!
(All exit.)
NARRATOR : Hanuman gets to work with the help of his monkey army hurling rocks into
the water to build the base for their bridge. The rocks are heavy and the sun beats
down on them, making the work tiring and difficult. Hanuman’s superhuman strength
spurs on the lesser monkeys, and they redouble their efforts. By the second day
progress is good, and it seems certain they will finish on time. On the third day, how-
ever, a curious thing happens — all progress stops. The monkeys continue to hurl
rocks into the water but it does not advance their work. It is as if the rocks are being
hurled into a bottomless gulf. They keep throwing rocks in but by the end of the
third day, they have nothing to show for their labor. Hanuman decides he must dive
down below the green waves and see why their work is being held up. In fact, he is
glad for the cool diversion. He has grown hot and tired slaving away in the sun. So he
dives into the turbulent waves. (Hanuman dives.) As his eyes grow accustomed to the
murky water, Hanuman is astonished to see all the fishes below all swimming this way
and that. (Fish with rocks in their teeth swimming away.) Then with a shock of
indignation, he realizes that those fish swimming towards the bridge have empty jaws,
those swimming away from it have rocks fixed firmly between their teeth — the very
rocks they have been throwing into the water for the bridge!
HANUMAN : Now then, off with you all, or you’ll end up over a fire for my dinner!
NARRATOR : All the fish are frightened except one hazy image of a fish that is not fright-
ened away. Hanuman is really angry now that anyone would dare confront him. He
raises his fists, ready for a kill. But as this vision comes into clarity, his arm falls, his
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Four. Five Scripts
Supanna Matcha, the beautiful mermaid, and Hanuman, the Great White Monkey, confront
each other (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
resolution deserts him, and he gapes with awe. Facing him, her tail twitching this way
and that with outrage, is the most exquisite, beautiful mermaid he has ever seen.
(Supanna Matchu comes into view as a blurry shadow, but then her image becomes clear.)
SUPANNA MATCHA : How dare you frighten my subjects like that? I’ll have you know that
you are dealing with Supanna Matcha. My father is Ravana of Longka and my mother
is the Queen of the Ocean. From this moment you are my prisoner.
HANUMAN : Prisoner? (Doubles over in laughter.) You are my prisoner. [In a flash he leaps
on her.] Now, tell me everything. Why did you have your subjects taking away the
rocks I need to build my bridge?
SUPANNA MATCHA : (struggling in his arms) Ravana saw the rapid progress you were
making with your bridge to Longka. He sent orders to me to make sure that all the
monkeys’ work was brought to nothing. So I ordered my subjects, those fish you saw,
to carry away the rocks as soon as they were thrown into the sea.
HANUMAN : I am Hanuman, son of Rama and his most important military general. I can
exhale the moon and the stars in my breath and move mountains with my amazing
strength. I gave Rama my word that I would build this causeway in seven days’ time
or pay with my life.
SUPANNA MATCHA : Your life? Rama would kill his own son?
HANUMAN : I offered it up as assurance of my dedication to his most worthy cause.
SUPANNA MATCHA : You are noble, indeed, and strong and handsome, nothing like my
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Supanna Matcha in Hanuman’s arms. What started as an attack melts into an embrace as
they are overcome by mutual attraction (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
coarse father. I can assure you that your bridge will be built without interference if
you will come with me to my home in the cave.
HANUMAN : Well, I really shouldn’t, work to do, you know. Oh, you are so beautiful and
smooth. Just for a little while could not hurt. (They exit.)
NARRATOR : Swept away by the fire that kindled in their veins by being locked in each
other’s arms, they went to her home and were soon tasting the delights of love in each
other’s lips. Days went by as they fell deeper and deeper in love. True to her word,
Supanna Matcha had her fish subjects return all the rocks they had taken away, so
many that they finished the bridge to Longka. So much in love, Hanuman could not
muster the strength to leave her, until he realized that the day was, indeed, the seventh
day, on which he promised his father, Rama that he would complete the bridge. Ter-
rified, he leapt out of her underwater abode and was amazed when he saw the cause-
way completed.
(Scene changes to land on the topside of the bridge, Rama and Laksamana enter.)
RAMA : All our men and supplies are ready for the crossing. Wherever could that Hanu-
man be?
HANUMAN : (just coming up from the water) Highest respect to you, Rama! I most
humbly present you with this bridge.
RAMA : Well done, Hanuman. My, you look refreshed. Let us proceed across to defeat
Ravana and his army. My Sita awaits!
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Four. Five Scripts
(All march across the causeway, first Rama, Laksamana, Hanuman, army.)
NARRATOR : The army crosses the bridge and arrives on the island of Longka, where they
set up camp and begin to prepare their strategy for declaring war on Ravana and his
army of demons. Meanwhile, Ravana feared a full-on battle with Rama, knowing the
gods were on Rama’s side. So, to be sneaky, Ravana contacted his ally, the king of the
underworld, Maiyarap, and asked him to kidnap Rama and lock him away in a metal
cage in the underworld. So, in the night, while sleeping, Rama was kidnapped and
taken down deep into the underworld, and there was locked in a cage so solid he
could never escape. Laksamana chose Hanuman to go and rescue Rama from the
underworld. [Hanuman enters and starts traveling.] Hanuman travels to the entrance
of the underworld and encounters many obstacles. Upon encountering a flaming vol-
cano, he flies to a peak [Hanuman flies up and begins stamping] and there stamps
about so heavily that the mountains collapse, extinguishing the flames. Next, swarms
of mosquitoes [enter several mosquito puppets], each the size of a partridge, attack
him and try to drain him of his blood. Hanuman coolly crushes them as they fly at
him, until not one remains. He approaches a lotus pool, and out of the water pops a
strange creature that is half monkey, half fish who shouts at him. (Enter Hanuman
Ikan, who is a monkey on top with the tail of a fish.)
HANUMAN IKAN : Now then, what are you doing here? Be off quickly, before I lay hands
on you.
HANUMAN : Well spoken, small fry. Now be a good lad and show me the way to the heart
of the underworld kingdom. [to himself ] Quite a handsome boy.
Hanuman Ikan and Hanuman fight, both unaware that they are actually father and son (pho-
tograph by Charlotte Orrino).
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HANUMAN IKAN : Never!

(Picks up a long wooden stick and soundly hits Hanuman with it.)
HANUMAN : You have just found the end of my patience, and I am done being polite.
Very sorry, but I must now crush the life out of you.
(They begin fighting. After a ferocious struggle, they both draw back and regard each other
with new respect.)
HANUMAN : You are strong for your size. I’m impressed.
HANUMAN IKAN : You’re not so bad yourself, old man.
HANUMAN : What are you doing down here? You are at least half a monkey, and yet you
are working for the demons, our deadly enemies. Who are you and how did you come
down here? Speak up, now, and tell me all about yourself.
HANUMAN IKAN : My name is Hanuman Ikan.
HANUMAN : Hanuman Ikan?
HANUMAN IKAN : My mother is Queen of the Sea, Supanna Matcha, and my master is
Maiyarap, King of the Underworld. My mother, you see, is Ravana’s daughter, and
when she found that she was going to give birth to me, she was terrified — not being
married — as to what her father would say. As soon as I was born, she decided to leave
me to whatever fortune the gods thought suitable for a foundling. I can’t say I blame
her. Ravana is supposed to have a very nasty temper when he’s crossed. Well, to cut a
long story short, the King of the Underworld found me and, since he needed some
more help in his kingdom, he decided to take me on. He brought me back here from
the over world, and set me up as guardian of this pond. Even though I’m something
of a prisoner, I must say I’m grateful to the old boy, because it’s more than my real
father, Hanuman, ever did for me.
HANUMAN : Well, bless my soul. I had no idea! I had no idea, but I might have known it!
Handy with your fists, hot-tempered and handsome — in other words, a real chip off
the old block. My boy, prepare yourself for a surprise. You are now looking at your
true father, Hanuman, the Great White Monkey!
HANUMAN IKAN : (doubles over with laughter) A likely tale! My mother told me that my
father was amazingly powerful. She told me that I would know my father because he
can exhale the sun and moon from his mouth. If you can do that, my dear sir, I’m
prepared to believe your claim, but otherwise —
(Hanuman leaps into the air and exhales the sun, moon and stars into the sky.)
HANUMAN IKAN : (bowing) Oh, Father, please accept my apology. I have waited all this
time to meet you and now I have insulted you.
HANUMAN : Not at all, you were quite right to stop me.
HANUMAN IKAN : But what are you doing here? How did you find me, Father?
HANUMAN : I am down here trying to find Rama, who was kidnapped by your master,
the King of the Underworld. I need you to direct me to his castle so I may release
Rama.
HANUMAN IKAN : I cannot. I owe my devotion to the King of the Underworld, who
raised me and cared for me.
HANUMAN : But son, I never knew you existed or I would have cared for you myself. I
need to free Rama because it is my fate to serve him, and because he is my father,
who I also found late in life.
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Four. Five Scripts
HANUMAN IKAN : I will be faithful to you and my master by telling you the way in the
form of a riddle:
Not in the air, nor on the ground
But through the water you must go —
Completely dry. For it is so
That what is lost may yet be found.
HANUMAN : I understand completely, I will magically shrink myself and reach the castle
by passing through the lotus stalk in the center of the pool. Thank you my son, we
shall meet again....
(Hanuman dives down.)
NARRATOR : Down deep into the underworld, Hanuman sneaks into the chamber where
Rama is imprisoned. Using magic to bend the heavy bars, Hanuman reaches in and
gently lifts the still sleeping Rama, and flies up and out of the underworld, back to
camp where he awakes Laksamana to watch over Rama. Then, with a score to settle,
Hanuman dives back down into the underworld. Hanuman puts the King of the
Underworld in prison and puts his own son in charge.
HANUMAN IKAN : Thank you, Father, for releasing me from that boring job as guardian
of the pool. I will do my best to earn your admiration.
HANUMAN : You already have it, my son. Now I must be off to help Rama win his war
against Ravana.
HANUMAN IKAN : When will I see you again, Father?
HANUMAN : Once this war is over, we will visit often and come to know each other as a
father and son should. Until then, rule wisely, my son!
HANUMAN IKAN : Thank you, Father.
(Enter Rama, Laksamana and Hanuman)
RAMA : Hanuman. Hanuman, you have more than proved yourself a worthy soldier, war-
rior and son. When we return to my kingdom after Ravana is slain, you shall rule at
my side.
HANUMAN : (bowing to Rama) This honor fills my heart; I shall not let you down.
RAMA : But before that dream can be a reality, on to the palace of Ravana! Let us declare
war and rescue my beloved Sita!
HANUMAN : I am with you, Father!
The End
When Elephants Fight

This is a fully original script I created using the traditional wayang characters
within the action of the Ramayana. By using traditional characters to focus on current
issues, such as the use of war as a method to settle disputes, audiences can see how such
issues played out in historical/mythical time can gain an expanded perspective. This
play introduces visual tricks not traditionally used in the wayang, such as having Pak
Dogol leak light by having a high powered focused flashlight be held by an assistant
through the puppet to give the effect. It also uses convenient conventions employed by
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the traditional wayang, such as passing the tree-of-life puppet across the screen to indi-
cate a change in time or place.
Opening Setup
Shows a war in full swing. We see monkey warriors fighting, arrows flying, swords
clashing, and warriors falling. Then we see Pak Dogol dragging a wounded soldier out
of the action.

Pak Dogol — trying to prevent the war between Rama’s army and Ravana’s army.
Pak Dogol is a clown character and servant to Rama but is only in disguise. His true
identity is that of Batara Guru, the highest god of all. He came down to earth to check
on all of creation and covered himself in mud to mingle undetected. His voice is a bit
raspy and unrefined as he is an old man and a clown character.
Wak Long — the sidekick to Pak Dogol and actually created by Pak Dogol out of
mud (or excrement) to keep Pak Dogol from getting lonely while on earth. Since Wak
Long is also a clown, his voice is unrefined and comical in delivery.
Bodies of Soldiers (can use monkey warriors such as Sagariwa and Anila from the
Dalang Muda script)— used only to litter the battlefield and get dragged off by Wak
Long and Pak Dogol. They are assumed to be dead or seriously injured.
Arrow —flies onto the screen and impales Pak Dogol. The pole to which this arrow
is attached should be sufficiently long so that the puppet master can have it fly onto the
screen as if by itself without the puppet master’s hand being seen.
Rama — an avatar or incarnation of the Indian god Vishnu, who came down to
earth to rid the world of the evil forest monster, Ravana, thereby restoring balance to
the world. His actions are smooth and regal, as is his vocal delivery.
Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet)— used mainly to indicate a change in time in
this script. By passing the puppet stylistically across the screen, the notion of a flashback
is communicated. The design of this puppet, a tree within the shape of a leaf, is symbolic
of the wisdom of the entire story, symbolized by the tree, being present within even its
smallest part, symbolized by a leaf shape. The presence of this puppet reminds the
audience that even though only a small part of a story can be presented in one night,
the wisdom of the whole is present within that small part.
Hanuman — the great white monkey and the greatest of Rama’s loyal monkey war-
riors. His voice is rough and strong, but he is very good and kind.
Babu Sanam — a loyal spokesperson and monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Sagariwa — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Anila — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Anggada — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
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Four. Five Scripts
Wak Long (left) and Pak Dogol (right) taking care of injured soldiers on the battlefield (pho-
tograph by Charlotte Orrino).
Saburarong — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.

Raja Tilan — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Lang Lobit — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Lang Lobat — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.
Ravana — the enemy of Rama. He kidnaps Sita and takes her to his island where
he hopes she will submit to his advances. He is a ferocious fighter and a worthy foe for
Rama. His actions are strong and rough.
Bonfire for Sita’s test of fire, or can use Pohon Beringin (tree-of-life puppet)— the
large fire into which she steps to endure the test of fire in order to prove her purity in
the face of all of Ravana’s advances.
Chariot for Rama and Sita (can have a smaller Chariot and use the smaller version
of Rama and Sita from the script for Cerita Bentara Kala)— a chariot on which Rama
and Sita ride off at the end of the play.
The play begins.
PAK DOGOL : Hey, Wak Long. Help me.
WAK LONG : Sure thing, Boss. Hey, what side is this guy on anyways?
PAK DOGOL : That doesn’t matter. Let’s just take care of him.
(They drag injured monkey warrior to the side together; just then an arrow comes down and
hits Pak Dogol in the buttock.)
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PAK DOGOL : Ahhhhh! Ouch!

WAK LONG : Ahhh! Just stay still, Boss. I pull it out.
(Wak Long pulls out the arrow and light shines out from where the wound is. Have an assis-
tant puppet master shine a focused light through a hole in the puppet that can be covered
again by opaque tape once the wound is dressed.)
WAK LONG : Boss, you bleeding light! What is happening?
PAK DOGOL : Yeah, well, I ... ouch ... just need some mud and I can take of this.
WAK LONG : Okay Boss, I get you some — some mud? What you talking about?
PAK DOGOL : (getting mud for himself off the ground) Well, if you must know, I am
Batara Guru, the highest god of all.
WAK LONG : You, Boss? Then why you so ugly?
PAK DOGOL : Well, I came down to Earth to check up on my creation. You know, I
wanted to see how everything I created was working out. But I was so radiant, what
with being the highest God of all, that I had to cover myself in mud as a disguise so I
could mingle unnoticed.
WAK LONG : Then am I a god too? Look! I got mud on me too!
PAK DOGOL : Not exactly, Wak Long. You see I thought I might get lonely so I made
you out of a pile of, well, excrement.
WAK LONG : Ohh ... that why I dumb as —
PAK DOGOL : Exactly.
(From off stage we hear Rama yelling for Pak Dogol.)
PAK DOGOL : Quick, Wak Long, get me more mud. I can’t let Rama know who I really
am, him especially!
WAK LONG : I guess not since you his servant, ha!
PAK DOGOL : Let’s get out of here!
(Strong, stylized entrance of Rama; he enters right, dances in center showing off his strength
and grace, exits, enters stage left, dances again, turns to face left.)
RAMA : Where is that fool Pak Dogol? I need for him to get my chariot so that I may
return home to my kingdom to return victorious and ascend the throne.
PAK DOGOL : (from offstage) Coming, your highness, coming ... just as soon as ... ouch!
Just as soon as I can cover this. Ouch. [Enters stage right backwards, still fussing with
his wound.] Okay, Boss. What do you need?
RAMA : It is customary to bow before your king before speaking.
PAK DOGOL : Sorry your bigness. [bows] So, what’s up?
RAMA : (sighs) I need you to get my golden chariot so that my beloved wife, Sita, and I
may return home to our awaiting palace where we shall ascend the throne and right-
fully reign as king and queen.
PAK DOGOL : What about the war? Did I miss something?
RAMA : Miss something? Well, I should say so! Ravana has been defeated and my beauti-
ful wife, Sita, has been rescued. The world is once again in balance, no thanks to you.
Where have you been?
PAK DOGOL : Never mind that. Tell me, so, how did it happen?
RAMA : Since you were off doing some kind of foolishness and missed it, I shall tell you,
Pak Dogol. [sings] Listen carefully, and I shall tell you about the mighty war against
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Four. Five Scripts
the evil Ravana. Ohh, listen carefully all my subjects, and I shall tell you the story of
my beloved wife, Sita. Gather around and you shall hear a mighty tale.
(Show flashback transition by passing the tree-of-life puppet across the screen to communicate
to the audience that the story is going back in time to dramatize Rama’s telling of the great
war.)
RAMA : After my beloved wife, Sita, was kidnapped by the evil forest monster, Ravana,
my loyal brother, Laksamana, and I needed to assemble a mighty army to win her
back. As we were dwelling in the forest, we summoned the help of monkey warriors,
the greatest of all being the mighty Hanuman.
(Enter Hanuman, strong entrance from the right that bursts into the scene. He dances vigor-
ously center, shows his strength, exits quickly, enters again from the left, dances vigorously,
exits, enters again from the right, dances, and stops center.)
HANUMAN : It is I, the great white monkey — Hanuman! I am here to gather a mighty
army of warriors for the most righteous Rama to defeat the evil Ravana. In this pur-
suit, I shall not fail.
(Hanuman exits and calls each warrior by name, at which point each enters, shows his
strength through dance and exits; the energ y and intensity of each warrior mounts until the
last)
HANUMAN : Babu Sanam,
Sagariwa,
Anila,
Anggada,
Saburarong,
Raja Tilan,
Lang Lobit,
Lang Lobat.
(Enter Hanuman, who stands to the right.)
HANUMAN : Come, my warriors! Come before me. Present yourselves for the service of
the mighty king Rama.
(Each enters from the right, bows before Hanuman saying “Highest respect to you, Hanuman”
and stands left facing center; they line up behind each other, overlapping so they all fit. Once
Hanuman exits, the warriors all exit in the order they arrived. Another passing of the tree-of-
life puppet across the screen to indicate a time change. Pak Dogol and Rama enter.)
PAK DOGOL : That’s an impressive lineup, especially Hanuman.
RAMA : Yes, and Hanuman can fly as well. That is why I sent him to Ravana’s island of
Lanka, where my wife Sita was a prisoner. I wanted him to be sure Sita was alive and
well.
(Another passing of the tree-of-life puppet across the screen.)
RAMA : Hanuman easily bound over the water between the mainland and the island of
Lanka, Ravana’s island, to first find Sita and then discover if she was alive and well.
HANUMAN : (hushed whisper) Sita! Sita!
SITA : Who is there?
HANUMAN : It is I, Hanuman.
SITA : Go tell your terrible master, Ravana, that I will never give myself to him. Never! I
will forever remain true to Rama.
HANUMAN : No, you’ve got it wrong. I work for Rama, your husband, not Ravana.
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SITA : I tire of your tricks. Go away.

HANUMAN : No, it is true. I will prove it. When it was time for you to choose a bride-
groom, all the princes who came to seek your hand were asked to string a giant bow.
No one else could even lift the bow; but as Rama bent it, he not only strung it but
broke it in two.
SITA : Anyone could find that out. Your story proves nothing.
HANUMAN : (looks more closely at her) Rama is right, when you are angry, your brow
does quiver and your lips close tightly like a lotus at sunset.
SITA : Yes, that is how my Rama described me. It is true! Oh, tell me everything.
HANUMAN : I haven’t much time. I have come to make sure you are alive. Rama has
assembled an army and is planning to rescue you.
RAVANA SOLDIER : (from offstage) Who is in there? I hear voices.
HANUMAN : I must go. Hold true to your faith in Rama.
(He prepares to fly away.)
SITA : Wait! Give this fan to my Rama as a symbol of my faithfulness and love.
HANUMAN : It shall be done.
(Flies off. As he flies across the screen again he is pulled down and the tree-of-life puppet
flickers like fire near his tail.)
RAMA : Hanuman was caught by guards who set his tail on fire [Hanuman flies across the
stage with the tree-of-life puppet flickering near his tail], but Hanuman managed to
free himself. He jumped from building to building, setting houses on fire as he went.
Ahh, I wish I could have seen it.
(Another passing of the tree-of-life puppet across the screen to indicate a time change.)
RAMA : That is how it happened that I knew my Sita was alive, thanks to Hanuman.
PAK DOGOL : So, that’s when you went to war?
RAMA : Well, of course I tried diplomatic means first. I sent a peacekeeping mission,
which Ravana rejected. Then I declared war.
PAK DOGOL : Just one question, your mightiness. Why didn’t you just have Hanuman
rescue Sita if he was there with her and can fly?
RAMA : Then I could not have fulfilled my destiny of destroying Ravana.
PAK DOGOL : Yeah, but think of all the deaths caused by a war.
RAMA : Yes, but Ravana would not have ceased his evil until he was destroyed.
PAK DOGOL : But you slay one Ravana and another one always seems to pop up.
RAMA : This is true but it is beyond my control. For me, I was obliged to fulfill my own
duty, which was to rid the world of Ravana.
PAK DOGOL : I see your point. I guess that’s the way it looks from down here. I’ve got to
work on this when I get back.
RAMA : What’s that?
PAK DOGOL : Oh, nothing. So tell me about the war, how did it play out?
(Show flashback transition by passing the tree-of-life puppet across the screen.)
RAMA : We began by building a causeway from the tip of our land to Lanka and used it
for our army to cross over to Lanka. A mighty battle ensued. Soldiers raged against
their enemies. I killed several of Ravana’s brothers, after which I finally confronted the
many-headed Ravana. I chopped off head after head until finally the last was severed
and he finally fell to his death.
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(Another passing of the tree-of-life puppet across the screen to indicate a time change.)
PAK DOGOL : Wow, what a story! And is Sita okay?
SITA : I am here, Pak Dogol, having survived my test of fire. I am ready to return with
Rama to the throne to rule as king and queen.
PAK DOGOL : Test of fire? What test of fire?
(Show flashback transition by passing the tree-of-life puppet across the screen.)
SITA : I’ll tell this part of the story. I heard the horrible throngs of battle from the grove
in which I was being held prisoner by Ravana. I waited in agony, not sure if my hus-
band, Rama, would be killed or be triumphant. When the gate to my prison was
finally thrown open, it was Rama who entered victorious and delivered me from my
captivity. However ...
PAK DOGOL : What? What? What could be wrong at this point? Ravana is dead. The war
was over.
RAMA : Yes, but I am of nobility, and she had resided in the home of another man for so
long, a man who made constant advances towards her. I had to be sure.
PAK DOGOL : Sure of what?
SITA : Sure of my purity. I volunteered to undergo the test of fire to prove that I had not
given in to Ravana’s advances but, rather, had remained pure. An enormous bonfire
was built and I stepped into the center of it. As it was lit, the flames licked up,
devouring the heavy logs and increasing the intensity of the fire. I, however, remained
untouched by the flames, thereby proving my constant devotion to Rama.
PAK DOGOL : Weren’t you angry he didn’t just believe you, Sita?
SITA : Pak Dogol, this is what women endure. As it is stated, “as shadow is to substance,
so wife is to husband.” It is not my dharma to change this, but, yes, of course it hurts,
and I suffer as many women do.
PAK DOGOL : But don’t you blame Rama?
SITA : I do not blame Rama, as he is set in his role just as I am set in mine, but perhaps
the telling of my story in years to come will fuel the desire to change how things are.
PAK DOGOL : Another thing I’ve got to work on.
WAK LONG : (from offstage) I got the chariot ready, Boss.
RAMA : Come, Sita, let us leave this place. Pak Dogol, don’t you want to join us for the
festivities upon our triumphant return?
PAK DOGOL : No, thanks but I’ve got a bit more to do here.
(Rama and Sita board the Chariot and are flying overhead when we hear Rama speaking.)
RAMA : That Pak Dogol is such a fool.
(Pak Dogol and Wak Long walk along the bottom of the screen back to the battlefield and
begin carrying more bodies of hurt soldiers.)
PAK DOGOL : You know, Wak Long, this reminds me of a saying I once heard that goes
like this: “When elephants fight, it is the ground beneath that gets hurt.”
WAK LONG : Yeah, Boss, why do all these people have to die just because Ravana and
Rama fight?
PAK DOGOL : You know, that’s one more thing I’ve got to work on.
The End
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Ezra and Icebaby

I wrote this play upon returning from Malaysia after my Fulbright year and is
intended to translate some of the key concepts surrounding the Malaysian shadow pup-
pet theatre to a largely western audience. I add three characters: Ezra, who is an earnest
old scholar in the shape of a flying seahorse; Icebaby, who has the head of a baby and
the tail of a fish and doesn’t speak; and the Great Wind, who is an all-knowing spiritual
character. In Ezra’s search for enlightenment he is given the rather unlikely gift of
Icebaby by the Great Wind. Ezra and Icebaby travel to Southeast Asia to unravel the
mystery of how to “feel the wind.” Once there, they encounter the traditional cast of
characters of the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre and get embroiled in their drama.
This play is written as a musical, with clearly delineated sections of narration, dialogue
and lyrics, all meant to be sung, oftentimes in the voice of the puppet performing the
song. The performance conventions are similar to the traditional wayang save for a few
more modern special effects that can be performed as low- or high-tech as the performers
prefer, such as the swirling trail of lights upon Icebaby’s initial entrance (which can be
portrayed by using LED lights or any other way, such as holding a lit ball of Christmas
tree lights in your fist behind the screen and moving it around in a circular motion).
It is my hope that this script serves also as an inspiration for how new characters can
be integrated into the traditional tales to either serve as a cultural bridge or make the
performance more accessible to its audience. The music for this piece was composed
by Dr. David Silver and is available for educators. Please consult the resource guide for
instructions.
Opening Setup
A jagged rock juts out from the base of the stage and the sound of wind and waves
crashing thunders until Ezra speaks.
Cast of Characters
Ezra — an original character created for this show. He has the body of a flying sea-
horse. He is an older scholar in search of the true meaning of life. His voice is low and
a bit gruff, but he is intelligent and kind.
Puppet of a rock jutting out of the water — used in the opening scene for Ezra to
perch upon when summoning the Great Wind.
Icebaby — another original character created for this show. Icebaby’s gender is never
addressed, purposely, so it can fulfill whatever expectation the audience brings to this
character. Icebaby does not speak, but does make noises that should be performed in
as playful a way as possible.
Great Wind — the final original character created for this show. She has a serious
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and authoritative voice. I made this spirit character a woman because it seemed to me
that a female character would be more likely to think that a man could reach a greater
understanding of life by receiving a child into his care.
Wak Long — the sidekick to Pak Dogol, who is the servant to Rama. Wak Long
communicates some of the idiosyncrasies of rural Malay use of language. His voice is
quick and comical in delivery.
Rama — readying his troupes for war against Ravana so that he can rescue his wife,
Sita, and restore balance between good and evil here on earth. He is an avatar or incar-
nation of the Indian god Vishnu, who came down to Earth to rid the world of the evil
forest monster, Ravana, thereby restoring balance to the world. Rama is the master to
Pak Dogol, who is his servant. Rama has no idea of Pak Dogol’s true identity and, thus,
unknowingly offends him often, to the delight of the audience. Rama’s actions are
smooth and regal, as is his vocal delivery.
Hanuman — the great white monkey and the greatest of Rama’s loyal monkey war-
riors. His voice is rough and strong but he is very good and has kind intentions with
his words.
Pak Dogol — trying to prevent the war between Rama’s army and Ravana’s army.
Pak Dogol is a clown character and servant to Rama but is only in disguise. His true
identity is that of Batara Guru, the highest god of all. He came down to earth to check
on all of creation and covered himself in mud to mingle undetected. His voice is a bit
raspy and unrefined, as he is an old man and a clown character.
Laksamana — the loyal brother of Rama, who supports him in his battle against
Ravana. His actions, like Rama’s, are befitting someone of high status and great refine-
ment.
Puppet of the Crescent Moon — used in the scene in which Pak Dogol, Wak Long,
and Icebaby are in the rowboat and see the reflection of the moon in their boat. It
should be placed high above the boat. If easier, this puppet can be hung from the top
of the screen instead of held by a rod from below.
The play begins.
NARRATOR : One stormy night at sea, Ezra climbed to a jagged rock jutting out from a
tumbling ocean. One sheer slate of rock rose high into the sky. Ezra climbed higher
and higher. At finally reaching the top his tired soul whispered to the sky, the gods,
and anyone who would listen.
EZRA : (sung)
Beauty is so rare a thing, so few drink of my fountain.6
Beauty is so rare a thing, so few drink of my fountain.
NARRATOR : Just then the winds broke loose. Ezra had to cling to the rock so as not to be
thrown to the water far below. (enter Great Wind puppet) The Great Wind itself
emerged from behind a moonlit cloud.
GREAT WIND : What is it you cry for, Ezra? You speak in riddles and in poetry not easily
understood. Speak clearly. What is it you want? It shall be granted.
EZRA : I am nearing the end of my life here on Earth. My heart and soul thirst for some
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understanding, some insight into the meaning of life. All my life I have been a serious
and disciplined student of the arts, the sciences, philosophy, and theology. I have
searched and tried, but I have always been on the outside looking in, separated by
words on a page. I want to feel life now before it is too late, but I am old and stub-
born and awkward with anything but my words. I need some gift from you, Great
Wind, that will break through my defenses, and lead me into some new way of under-
standing.
NARRATOR : At that, a mighty gust broke loose from the sky. A stream of glittering light
chased from behind creating a swirling trail of fireflies.
(Show lights swirling across the screen.)
GREAT WIND : I leave you with two warnings, Ezra. Listen carefully and remember. Do
not hide from the wind in your fear. Feel the wind. Feel the wind if you are to under-
stand. Secondly, Icebaby will melt away someday. You must learn from Icebaby
quickly and slowly all at once. (Great Wind exits.)
NARRATOR : And the wind swirled away. Ezra was confused by his warning and the men-
tion of an ice baby. Did the Great Wind not hear his request correctly? [Icebaby
appears on the screen] Just then a small cry could be heard from the rocks way below.
ICEBABY: Whah. Whahhhh.
NARRATOR : Ezra looked down and could see something down below on the rocks right
near the water’s edge. He carefully made his way down the high rock. The closer he
got to this little wet creature, the louder its cry became.
Icebaby (left) and Ezra (right) upon meeting each other for the first time. Ezra looks down
on this strange little creature in disbelief (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).
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ICEBABY: Whah. Whahhhh.

NARRATOR : He finally reached the bottom and cautiously approached the little creature.
It was a baby made of ice. It had the tail of a fish and hands like fins. Its body was
trembling, and it was fiercely upset.
ICEBABY: WHAHHHH!
EZRA : Where on Earth or sea could this little thing have come from? Why, I never in all
my life have seen the looks of anything like it before. It appears to be crying.
ICEBABY: WHAAAAHHH!
EZRA : Didn’t the Great Wind mention something about an Icebaby? Something about
learning quickly and slowly from an Icebaby? From a baby? Made of ice? This? Am I
being made fun of? Is this a joke? I REFUSE! Little thing, I can appreciate your distress.
I see how this is all very clever, Great Wind. But not on my life will I be saddled with
your care, Icebaby. A man of my age? What am I expected to do, keep you?
ICEBABY: Ach choo!
EZRA : Bless you. There, there, now you’ve gone and made me feel like a beast. You must
be catching a cold. Oh, this is all too absurd. How can something made of ice catch a
cold? It is cold. You needn’t sob. Not that you’ve lassoed some fool into your sneaky
little plan. You are still alone in this absurd existence of yours.
ICEBABY: WHAHHH!
EZRA : Don’t tell me you understand what I’m saying.
ICEBABY: Whah?
EZRA : No, of course not. Well, this has been a most interesting chance encounter.
Good-bye. (Ezra begins to exit.)
ICEBABY: Sob. Sob. Whaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. [Ezra walks back and Icebaby gets
excited.] Ach choo.
EZRA : (Wipes Icebaby’s nose) Jump on.
(During the following song, Ezra and Icebaby swoop several times across the screen, indicat-
ing they are flying a great distance, Icebaby riding on Ezra’s back.)
(sung )
Ezra and Icebaby travel the world
riding a breeze, high over the trees
and down on their knees.
They search for the wind in hopes they will see
before Icebaby melts into the sea
learning the truth about how to be free.
NARRATION : Ezra flew around in the sky with Icebaby on his back for a long long time
before he could think what to do. He mused on his thoughts.
(Ezra stops to rest with Icebaby on his back)
EZRA : (sung)
Icebaby will melt some day.
Learn from it quickly and slowly.
A riddle, no doubt.
Feel the wind.
Do not hide from the wind in your fear.
Feel the wind.
Feel the wind.
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Ezra and Icebaby flying through the night sky in search of how to “feel the wind” (photograph
by Charlotte Orrino).
That’s it! That’s it. I have an idea. [Puts Icebaby in front of him and speaks to Ice-
baby.] Now listen, little Icebaby. I have heard of a place in the East, very very far away
where there are people who are said to have felt the wind. There are people in the
Southeast of Asia who perform a shadow play at night in the jungle. They use beauti-
ful puppets in the images of the great Hindu gods, and then when they shine a light
on the puppets from behind a screen, the actual living gods appear on the screen. This
way people can receive great wisdom from the gods. Now the people who move the
puppets and give voice to the gods are said to have the agin, which in their language
means “to feel the wind.” Perhaps the reason you were given to me, Icebaby, was to
lead me towards this great source of knowledge. We will go to the Southeast of Asia
and ask the great gods what in means to “feel the wind.” Are you prepared for a great
journey, Icebaby?
ICEBABY: (Squealing in delight) WHEEEEEEEEEEE!
EZRA : On my back, Icebaby. We will depart immediately.
(Again Icebaby gets onto Ezra’s back and they fly across the screen several times during the
following narration.)
NARRATOR : They flew upwards, higher and higher, until the land was far below them, so
high that they were over the clouds. Sometimes while they flew, Icebaby rode on Ezra’s
back. When Icebaby would get sleepy, Ezra would hold Icebaby in his arms. [Ezra
swoops across the screen flying with Icebaby in his arms.] At one time during the
night when Icebaby was on Ezra’s back, Icebaby grabbed onto the bottom of the cres-
cent moon and swung off of Ezra’s back. [Crescent moon appears and Icebaby grabs
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onto it and swings into the sky.] Before Ezra could grab Icebaby back, Icebaby swung
in a huge arc off the moon and down, down, down into the sea. Splash. [Icebaby falls
into the sea.] Luckily Ezra is just as good at swimming as he is at flying. Splash again.
[Ezra dives into the sea and swims around underwater.] Down into the sea went Ezra.
He looked around madly for where Icebaby might have gone. He couldn’t find Ice-
baby anywhere. His head was spinning with horror. He lost track of where he had
entered the sea. The water was becoming murky where he lashed about looking for
Icebaby. [Same visual effect for Icebaby’s entrance, but even grander — a beautiful
show in the night sky of light.] Then out of the dark waters of the sea, Ezra saw a
swirl of lights like fireflies in a great chase.
[When finished, Icebaby jumps back onto the shore and stands before an amazed Ezra.]
EZRA : I don’t even remember how afraid I was that I lost you. You do hold secrets, don’t
you, Icebaby? A magical child. A magical child, indeed. Come my song.7
(sung )
Come my song. Let us sing of perfection and rusticus, and flying fish.
Come my song, let us sing of a day without hours, an hour without time,
A song without rhyme.
Come my song, let us sing with green beans in our ears,
And a mouth full of buffalo tears.
I’ve never sung a song from the tip of my tongue before.
Come my song, make your music ignite my heart,
Dance right through me and never part.
Come my song.
COME!
ICEBABY: (Squeals of delight from Icebaby) Ach choo!
EZRA : Oh, you did catch a cold from all this, in and out of the water. That will do it, all
right. Well, we’re going to be very careful the rest of this trip. No more episodes like
this. Yes, I got carried away too, but from now on ...
(Ezra and Icebaby fly on their journey again — Icebaby riding on Ezra’s back.)
NARRATOR : They were off on their journey once again. Ezra was confused by the effect
Icebaby had on him and the way he himself had been acting. He professed to himself
to be more serious and focused on his mission of learning the meaning of life. With
Icebaby’s being sick, he felt like he should be more careful than he had been in the
past. They were getting very close to Asia now.
EZRA : Look, Icebaby. Down below over there. That’s the Philippines. And over there,
that’s Borneo. Big, isn’t it? We’re getting very very close, indeed. We’re aiming for
Malaysia right near where it touches Thailand. We’ll land in the South China Sea
right off shore. There it is. Here we go!
(They both splash into the water as Wak Long enters and watches them come to shore.)
WAK LONG : Apa kabar? Dari mana? [which in Bahasa means, “How’s it going?” “Where
are you from?”]
EZRA : Hmmmmmm. He seems to be speaking some local language. I’ll ask him if he
speaks English. [Slowly and very loudly.] You speak English?
WAK LONG : Speak English can. Not speak English, also can-lah.8
EZRA : Stupendous! Icebaby, do you hear? He speaks English very well.
WAK LONG : Apa ini? What that? [Indicating Icebaby]
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EZRA : Ha ha. You mean this delightful child I’m traveling with? He’s from ... Iceland.
Yes, a relative visiting from Iceland! I’m wondering if you could direct us to a tradi-
tional performance of the Wayang Kulit traditional shadow puppet theatre? We’re
interested in making inquiries to the gods regarding the meaning of the phrase to “feel
the wind.”
WAK LONG : You in shadow puppet show now.
EZRA : Excuse me?
WAK LONG : This Wayang Kulit! This shadow play. My name Wak Long. I’m the loyal
friend and sidekick to Pak Dogol. He made me out of mud in stream because when he
came down from heaven he got lonely. He covered his own body with mud too
because he so bright a god he had to cover up so people don’t know who he is. Then
he got boils all over his butt from the mud and now cannot sit down.
EZRA : (With sarcasm) Yes, a bright god, indeed, this master of yours.
WAK LONG : I think you want to meet him, no?
EZRA : What I really had in mind was meeting some of the mighty Hindu gods from the
great story the Ramayana. Do you know where I could formally introduce myself to
them?
WAK LONG : Them in big war. Rama, you know Rama? Main big guy. Can I tell you a
secret? Before Rama come down to earth, he really big god called Vishnu in heaven.
Really, how you say, big shot. Ha ha. But now, you see, Rama in big war to save his
wife, Sita. She kidnapped by Ravana. You know, Ravana, he always want Sita, but
Rama won Sita’s hand in marriage. Now Ravana really mad. Ravana trick them all and
kidnap Sita. Take Sita to island. Rama want war with Ravana now. My master, Pak
Dogol, on island right now making good plan. You want to see him, I think?
EZRA : No, no. Please, do you know where I might find Rama? If he is the incarnation of
Vishnu he must be wise and mighty, indeed. When could I meet him? We have come
all this way to ask him a question.
WAK LONG : Wait! I hear his music now. [Entrance music for Rama is heard in the back-
ground.] We move over out of way. Big shot god like full screen, center stage. You
know what I mean?
EZRA : Oh, yes, of course.
(Rama enters slowly with arm extended outward before him, once he is center screen he
dances by rocking back and forth majestically in the center.)
RAMA : (sung)
I am the great King Rama.
I shall rid the world of evil by killing the great forest monster Ravana.
EZRA : (clearing his throat) Excuse me. May I introduce myself? [No response from
Rama, who keeps parading center stage.] He doesn’t seem to even hear me. What is he
doing?
WAK LONG : Oh, all the big shot gods do this parading, this “see how mighty I am”
dance. It take a long time. If you in audience, you just got to sit and watch for long
time. Some people, I think they like it ’cause Rama very full of grace, as you say. Me?
I think it take a long time, too much long time.
EZRA : Yes, well, he does move beautifully. [Rama finishes parading and remains on
stage.] Oh, he appears to be stopping. Who is that coming on?
(Hanuman flies onto the screen.)
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WAK LONG : That the really great Hanuman. Everybody love Hanuman. Me? I love
Hanuman too. He have really special wow powers. He can fly and turn into most any-
thing he want. He even can move mountain if he want.
RAMA : Well, Hanuman, you have returned from the island where Ravana has Sita, my
beloved wife, held kidnapped. Is she alive and well? Did you see her?
HANUMAN : Highest respects to you, King Rama! I have seen your faithful wife, Sita, and
she is alive and waits for you to come and rescue her from the horrible monster,
Ravana.
(Pak Dogol comes onto stage riding in a humble rowboat.)
PAK DOGOL : Hanuman! Do you have her? I saw that you got in, so now Sita is rescued!
That is stupendous news.
WAK LONG : (To Ezra) That my mighty master, Pak Dogol.
HANUMAN : No. Sita is still on the island waiting for the proper rescue from her husband,
Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu, who came to earth to rid the world of the evil forest
monster, Ravana. That is his destiny. If I would have rescued Sita, our great King
Rama would have no excuse to declare war on Ravana.
RAMA : You speak wisely, Hanuman.
HANUMAN : Highest thanks to you, King Rama.
PAK DOGOL : You mean to tell me that you flew all the way over to the island, avoided
all the guards, snuck into Sita’s prison, and then didn’t even rescue her?
HANUMAN : But I did receive from Sita a token of her unending devotion, this ring that
she asked me to present to you, Rama, a ring from her own hand to prove she is still
alive.
PAK DOGOL : You, you ... UHGGG! She might be alive even longer if you would have
brought the whole hand, attached to her whole body, that is. [Aside] You got to be
careful what you say to these soldier types.
RAMA : Listen, all my subjects. You will hear my decree. I send you out to the farthest
reaches of the land to gather a mighty army. We shall construct a bridge that stretches
from our shore to Ravana’s island so that our army may cross it and declare war. But
first, we must build a bridge! Go! Go now, and recruit the mightiest warriors you can
find.
(Rama and Hanuman exit.)
EZRA : Wait! Wait, I just wanted to ... Icebaby, come along. We must follow this wise god
so we can ask our question and be gone before this war starts. Come quickly!
(Ezra exits; Icebaby follows but then sneaks back to Wak Long and Pak Dogol; when Pak
Dogol sees Icebaby he yelps and hides behind Wak Long.)
PAK DOGOL : Apa ini?
WAK LONG : Ini orang orang dari Iceland. Nama dia, Icebaby.9 Don’t you worry, Boss.
But he no speak Bahasa, and I think he and his stuffy friend bring people for audience
out there from America; you know, America, where everybody dance hip-hop, like
this. [Wak Long tries to dance hip-hop.] Okay, kind of like that.10
PAK DOGOL : Sure thing. Speak English can, not speak English, also can-lah.
WAK LONG : That’s how I say it-lah!
(Icebaby laughs.)
PAK DOGOL : I kind of like this little kid. You’re alright, kid. Stay with us, and you’ll
have a great time.
131
ICEBABY: Ach choo!

PAK DOGOL : What was that? [Icebaby whispers in Pak Dogol’s ear.] Oh, yeah, of course.
Ach choo to you too. Now, Wak Long, to get down to business. I got this rowboat
and snuck over to the island of Ravana. I met the guard at the back gate and talked
him into letting me come back just to give Sita a love letter from her husband. This
guard was a hopeless romantic, then —
WAK LONG : You got love letter from Rama? Let me see!
PAK DOGOL : No, of course I don’t really have a letter from the big honcho; he’s too busy
thinking about his war. I’ll just said I do to get a way into Sita’s prison room. Then
once I get in, I’ll sneak her out somehow and row her back on the boat, return her to
her husband, and stop this stupid war where far too many people will get hurt.
WAK LONG : I think you good idea got.
PAK DOGOL : I think me good idea got too! [They give each other a high five.] You think
me good idea got too, Icebaby? Hee hee!
(High five with Icebaby.)
WAK LONG : Me too, Icebaby! Me too-lah!
(High five between Wak Long and Icebaby.)
PAK DOGOL : Let’s go back to the island and get Sita! Get in.
(Wak Long, Pak Dogol and Icebaby get in the rowboat and exit.)
EZRA : Icebaby! Where are you, Icebaby? Oh no, I can’t seem to locate Icebaby. Here we
are in a foreign land, and Icebaby is running off. That clearly won’t do. I’d best go
look for Icebaby. Oh no. Oh dear. [Enter Rama and Laksamana, after which come
many monkey warriors; Ezra is pushed to the side by the others who enter.] Here
comes the great god, Rama, and Icebaby isn’t even here to meet him! I’ll see if I can
introduce myself, and then I’ll go look for Icebaby.
RAMA : Ah, my subjects, gather round. Listen, oh, my subjects. I shall tell you our strat-
egy for traveling to the island of Ravana.
EZRA : I beg your pardon, oh, Rama. I’ve come all this way to ask you —
RAMA : Is he a soldier? He looks rather small. Where does he come from?
EZRA : No, I landed in this story by mistake, and I assure you that I am no kind of a sol-
dier. I just wanted to ask you a question about the meaning of life.
RAMA : I absolutely have not time for questions now. I am preparing my strategy for get-
ting to Ravana’s island. This man is small, but he speaks as though he is intelligent.
We’ll make him an advisor or something of that nature. Now, as I was about to tell all
of you, we need to send every available person far out into the woods to gather strong
trees from which to build our mighty bridge. You there, do you know how to design a
bridge? [Ezra looks behind himself.] Good! You shall design our mighty bridge that
will carry us from the mainland here to the island of Ravana over there. It needs to be
completed by tomorrow morning at sunrise. Laksamana, go with this foreign gentle-
man, and get him started on his work.
EZRA : But there is a misunderstanding! I’m not even in this story.
RAMA : Oh, there is no problem in that. Wherever we go, in whichever land we become a
part of, we take on many local characters. You’ll fit in just fine and, better yet, you
will be useful.
EZRA : Oh heavens. Well, it is only a day’s work, but I still must find Icebaby. Hmmm.
What should I do? If I design you a bridge will you give me the answer to my ques-
tion?
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Four. Five Scripts
RAMA : Yes, yes. I’ll have plenty of time then. Peace allows for much free time.
EZRA : All right then, I’ll design you a bridge. If only I knew where Icebaby was. I would
feel much better, what with Icebaby sneezing all over the place with a cold and all.
(Ezra and Laksamana exit.)
RAMA : Oh, where is that annoying Pak Dogol? I have an errand for him to run. I need
for him to inform the enemy of where and when our might battle will begin. I shall
look for that annoying servant of mine.
(Rama exits.)
WAK LONG : (Wak Long, Pak Dogol and Icebaby in the rowboat) We there yet, oh big
master?
PAK DOGOL : Yes, yes, almost. Oh no. I can see yonder that construction on the bridge
has begun already. No time to waste. Here we are on the backside of the island where
Ravana, the horrible monster, has Rama’s wife, Sita, captive. You and Icebaby wait
here in the boat and I’ll sneak into the back entrance and get Sita. Be ready to start
paddling the very instant I get out of here with Sita. There might be guards and sol-
diers chasing me. Here I go.
(Pak Dogol exits.)
WAK LONG : You hold on, Icebaby. When he come back, we go vroom! [Wak Long mim-
ics paddling the boat fast; Icebaby giggles.] We go vroooom! [Wak Long mimics pad-
dling the boat again with increased ferocity; Icebaby giggles again.] VROOOM!
VROOOOOOOOM! VROOOOOOM! [Wak Long and Icebaby continue this joke as before.
Upon seeing Pak Dogol return, Wak Long really madly paddles the boat off the
screen, forgetting to let Pok Dogol into the boat first, then Wak Long paddles back to
the shore.] Me so sorry, big master. You no got Sita, and you no got chased.
PAK DOGOL : Wak Long, I shall never ever understand what motivates people.
ICEBABY: Ach CHOO!
PAK DOGOL : See, Wak Long? Icebaby agrees. Sita would not come with us because she
says Rama must be the one to free her. I told her about the horrible war that would be
fought on her behalf, and she said that it had to be, that it was destined, that Rama
was destined to conquer Ravana. I asked what the point was of doing anything here
on Earth if it’s destined to happen a certain way. And anyway, humans can always
change things because they are free. She said that it didn’t apply because Rama wasn’t
really human, and he had to do it to make a point. Let’s go, Wak Long, and see what
else we might do.
(They row offstage together; Rama enters just as the boat rows to the shore where Rama is
standing.)
RAMA : Ah, there you are, Pak Dogol. Playing your games again, were you?
PAK DOGOL : Actually I was trying to play in your game, but I got intercepted.
RAMA : I have an important errand for you. It requires our immediate attention. Send a
message via our swiftest messenger to Ravana, our enemy, that we will be prepared for
battle tomorrow morning at sunrise. We will march onto his island on our mighty
bridge, which we are building right now, as we speak, and will be ready to engage in a
mighty and, of course, victorious battle once we are in formation. Send this message
immediately! Now, remember, at sun up right near our bridge on the island.
PAK DOGOL : Okeydokey, Boss. Well, what do you think, Icebaby? Is this my next
opportunity to stop this war? Hee hee. Okay, Wak Long. Take this down, you, me
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and the Ice Kiddo will be my swift messenger. Dearest Ravana, oh most horrible
mucus-oozing and scariest of monsters, How goes your evilshipness? I write to warn
you that I, Rama, and my army, will be crossing the big bridge we are making to get
Sita, my wife, who you kidnapped. You, Ravana, and your army should meet us at
sunrise with Sita in front of you. If you hand her over unharmed, then no harm will
come to you. If you do not, then something you would never expect and could never
imagine will happen. Yours, most insincerely, in total malice and hatred, King Rama.
Now you, me, and Ice Giggles will row over to Ravana’s island and deliver this letter.
WAK LONG : But wait, you no tell me what amazing thing going to happen if they not
hand Sita over.
PAK DOGOL : I don’t know what’s going to happen yet, but we have a whole night to
figure it out. We just have to try to find something really amazing that will scare them
off or totally amaze them into not fighting.
WAK LONG : But it no can work, no way possible.
PAK DOGOL : Oh, yes, it can; all is possible.
ICEBABY: Ach Choo!
PAK DOGOL : See?
WAK LONG : What? What? I no see nothing, but Icebaby go “ach choo” all the time.
What that mean, Pak Dogol?
PAK DOGOL : You’ll see. Let’s go.
(They all exit in the boat just as Ezra enters.)
EZRA : I could swear I just heard Icebaby sneeze. Oh, there, I see Icebaby on a rickety
boat with those two servant characters. [Calling to Icebaby] Over here! Bring Icebaby
back over here! Icebaby already has a cold or a flu or something terrible because I have
taken such poor care of Icebaby. Laksamana, please come here. You see those two
characters on that boat with that baby? I just met them briefly when we landed in the
sea and now the child for whom I am guardian has run off with them, and I fear my
baby may be deathly ill, and I worry for it being on that rickety boat.
LAKSAMANA : Oh, yes. That is Pak Dogol, the servant of Rama, and his sidekick, Wak
Long. I assure you that your baby will get into trouble with those two clowns, but
don’t mind them too much. It won’t be anything too serious.
EZRA : I have to go and try to get Icebaby.
LAKSAMANA : You have to finish leading us in making this bridge.
EZRA : I resign! You have to finish your own bridge. I have to get my baby.
LAKSAMANA : Well, you see, your baby is headed towards the island of Ravana on an old
boat that will surely fall apart before they can come back. This bridge is the only
other way to the island, so if you want to see your baby again, you’d best finish the
bridge.
EZRA : Yes, you speak wisely. I was getting hysterical. Let us work twice as hard to finish
this bridge so I may cross and rescue Icebaby.
LAKSAMANA : By the way, did you say “Icebaby?” A baby made of ice?
EZRA : Yes, I did, I mean, it is, yes, a baby made of ice.
LAKSAMANA : If you don’t mind, where did you procure such a child?
EZRA : Well, ahh [at a loss], there was the Great Wind, and then all my dissatisfaction
with written accounts of Western Thought and philosophy, and, I mean, I was just
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Four. Five Scripts
there on the rock in a great storm when I found ... Oh heavens! [Giving up and saying
quite simply] It’s a relative visiting from Iceland.
LAKSAMANA : Oh, very good. I understand. Well let’s go check on our workers, shall we?
EZRA : Yes, indeed, we must make sure that they are working as fast as they possibly can.
It’s starting to get dark already, and I’ve got to get across to save Icebaby.
(Right after they exit, the boat enters with Pak Dogol, Wak Long, and Icebaby; moon should
be in the sky.)
PAK DOGOL : Well, now that we have that fake message from Rama delivered to Ravana,
all we have to do is find something amazing or really scary that will stop the war.
[Looking down] Ahh! Look at all this water in our boat. Our boat has a leak, Wak
Long.
WAK LONG : You must be right, Boss, ’cause look, you see moon in puddle in our boat,
mirror of the moon. How you call that? Reflection.
PAK DOGOL : Oh, Wak Long, oh no, now I’m getting homesick for heaven where I was a
god before I thought I’d come down to Earth to check out how things are going.
From heaven you can look down just like I look down in this boat and see the moon
high over the Earth. This Earth is a lonely place at night.
WAK LONG : Now me sad too, Boss.
PAK DOGOL : You’ve never even been to heaven. I didn’t make you until I got down here.
WAK LONG : I know, I know, but still I cry ’cause it make me all like it so pretty and
everything inside. Oh, Icebaby, I have longing and sad hole in my heart.
(sings)
See the moon in a puddle in our boat,
I think it so far and remote,
But here it is I can hold it if I cup my hands
Here it is, I can see it but I no understand,
’Cause look up there, the moon is hanging in the sky
Then what in boat is no real, it’s a lie.
What we see we think we can hold so tight,
But when we grab it then we know that it was just a little light
That all, that all it ever was
That in our boat.
(Wak Long bursts into tears.)
PAK DOGOL : What a sad song, (sniff, sniff ) so sad —[Pak Dogol bursts out crying too;
Icebaby starts to sniffle too and cries.] Now we made the baby cry too. Look, it has a
tear coming down its face. [Tear falls down its face and into the boat; when it lands it
becomes a sparkling array of glittering lights.] Wow! Did you see that? That tear fell
into the water in the bottom of the boat and turned into sparkles! There goes another
one. [More glittering lights.] What kind of baby is this with us? Icebaby, you’re amaz-
ing! That’s it. That’s it!
WAK LONG : What? What, big master?
PAK DOGOL : That’s it! Icebaby will stop the war. If one tear is this amazing, can you
imagine if we dunk the whole kid in water?
WAK LONG : Oh, yes! I want to see this. I think we should ask Icebaby, see if Icebaby
mind going into water.
(Icebaby sneezes and nods excitedly.)
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PAK DOGOL : Okeydokey! I’ll stay behind here on the land and spread the word among
Rama’s soldiers that there may be some amazing god appearing — that’s you, Ice-
baby — that will stop the war, get them all spooked and feeling superstitious. Hee hee.
Icebaby, you’re the greatest.
WAK LONG : Icebaby so great we should do song for Icebaby. Maybe song not so sad so
nobody go home crying tonight.
PAK DOGOL : Excellent suggestion, Wak Long.
(sung )
I’ve never met a baby made of ice before
One that frosty outside and frozen to the core
In tropical climates it isn’t often seen
So when we get one, it’s ever oh so keen
Icebaby, Icebaby, give us your spark
Icebaby, Icebaby, oh, what a lark
Icebaby, Icebaby, you’ll save the day,
Then Icebaby, Icebaby, we’ll all sail away.
WAK LONG : Let me try now to sing to Icebaby!
(sung )
I think Icebaby is doky ok
It laugh at all of my joke
And when it hot and I just have to sit
It nice and cool if I sit next to it
Icebaby, Icebaby, you get big cheer
Icebaby, Icebaby, wow, what a tear!
Icebaby, Icebaby, you save the day
Then Icebaby, Icebaby, we’ll all sail away!
PAK DOGOL : Now you and Icebaby go get ready by the end of the bridge where it just
meets Ravana’s island. Right at sunrise when both armies are about to fight, you have
Icebaby jump into the water and fly all around them with big amazing sparkles. I’ll go
spread the word among the soldiers that an amazing god is coming to stop the war.
(Pak Dogol gets out of the boat, waves good-bye to Icebaby and Wak Long as they row away;
Pak Dogol walks off the other way humming the Icebaby tune; Rama enters.)
RAMA : Enter loyal brother and able bridgeman. [Laksamana and Ezra enter.] It is very
near to the time when I must join my mighty army and engage in a ferocious battle
with my enemy. Is the bridge completed?
EZRA : Yes, I finished it as fast as I could because the baby that I —
RAMA : (interrupting) Very good. Now Laksamana assemble all the warriors so we may
cross it and declare war on Ravana.
LAKSAMANA : Your soldiers are already on the bridge, so many warriors, so tightly packed
that we will have to stand at the back I think, King Rama.
EZRA : What?
RAMA : Oh, yes, of course, I have a moment now. You wanted me to give you answers to
your questions.
EZRA : My questions? I can’t be bothered with questions now! You can’t declare war right
now. Icebaby is on the island. You have to stop it or postpone it or —
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Four. Five Scripts
RAMA : I am sorry, but it is destined. Laksamana, I shall go and join my warriors for a
mighty and victorious battle!
(Rama and Laksamana exit; Ezra is left alone fretting; finally Pak Dogol enters.)
EZRA : No! This is the end. This is the end. I am a total fool, a completely selfish fool. I
lost Icebaby, and then I find out that Icebaby is on an island were there is going to be
a terrible war, and the warriors are getting to the island over a bridge that I built. Oh
cruel trick of circumstance! I never could even talk to the highest god of this story
because he was always too busy preparing for a war that he was destined to win anyway.
PAK DOGOL : (Clears his throat) If you would look over by the bridge, I may be able to
relieve you of some of your misery.
EZRA : What? Oh, it’s you! Where is Icebaby? WHERE IS ICEBABY?
PAK DOGOL : Look! [Ezra looks and gasps in amazement at the sparkling lights.] See
those incredible sparkles in the sky over the bridge that you built?
EZRA : I see. I see. And that is Icebaby in the sky! I have seen that before and never until
then and now have I seen anything so beautiful in all my life.
PAK DOGOL : Now do you see both the armies running from each other? Rama’s army is
running back over the bridge away from Ravana’s island, and look! Sita is with them!
It really worked! The war has been stopped. Destiny is thwarted. Ha, ha! Icebaby did
it.
EZRA : I can breathe again. Icebaby is alive! That must be what the Great Wind meant by
Icebaby melting away someday. Icebaby melts into sparkles, but they are beautiful.
Oh, I never even did find the highest god of this story, but who cares? Icebaby is alive.
PAK DOGOL : I am the highest god of this story.
EZRA : You? Are you joking?
PAK DOGOL : No, I am the highest god of this shadow play story.
EZRA : But, it isn’t possible.
PAK DOGOL : Ach Choo.
EZRA : Did you catch a cold from Icebaby?
PAK DOGOL : No, that’s a word I learned from Icebaby. In Icebaby language it roughly
translates to mean the supreme yes, total confirmation, all is possible. It’s a great
word. We should have one like it in our language.
(Ezra completely breaks down in laughter and tears.)
EZRA : Oh, where is Icebaby? I have to tell Icebaby what a fool I am, what an overjoyed,
stupendous fool I am! Icebaby was right all along. Icebaby was the perfect gift! But
wait, if you are the highest god of all then what does it mean to feel the wind?
PAK DOGOL : To answer that question, I need the help of everyone out there watching
this show, every single one of you. I need everyone to blow at the screen as hard as
you can. Okeydokey? Okay, blow! Harder! Still more! [Ezra almost gets blown away.]
Okay, that’s enough. Thank you, oh, so much. That’s it.
EZRA : That’s it? Do you mean that to feel the wind simply means to breathe? To be
alive?
PAK DOGOL : Ach CHOOOOOOO! ( Just then Wak Long runs onstage yelling.)
WAK LONG : Here comes Icebaby! Look up!
EZRA : Icebaby! I’m coming to join you! Here I come. Thanks for everything, Pak Dogol
and Wak Long!
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(Ezra jumps into the sky and Icebaby lands on his back. They continue to fly across the sky
during this final song.)
(Sung )
Ezra and Icebaby travel the world
riding a breeze, high over the trees
and down on their knees.
They search for the wind in hopes they will see
before Icebaby melts into the sea
learning the truth about how to be free.
The End
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Chapter Five
Teaching and Performing

Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre
Presenting and performing another culture’s art form brings up many questions.
Some of these questions are practical in nature since the means of production for such
a performing art form as the Wayang Kulit are very different from our performance
forms. These practical considerations will be addressed in the following chapter. Other
questions arise as to how to teach this form in an educational setting when one is not
from the country of origin and has, most likely, never even experienced this form first-
hand. Here also strategies and styles are explored for teaching on this form at a variety
of educational levels, from graduate seminars to grade school. Finally, ethical consid-
erations arise in which a teacher or presenter may question their right to teach or perform
a form from another country. Here authoritative answers are not provided, as there may
not be any one authoritative source for such questions; rather, the questions themselves
are explored and considered. My intention in this section is to ready educators and
enthusiasts to feel equipped and prepared to use the scripts and puppet designs in this
book for experiential learning on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre.
Practical Considerations
Given the amount of illusion and spectacle created, a shadow puppet performance
is relatively easy and inexpensive to mount. Its accessibility makes it a perfect medium
through which to actively explore the stories, aesthetics and culture of Malaysia. What
follows are some practical guidelines and suggestions to make your mounting of a
shadow puppet performance as easy as possible. Please feel free to develop your own
solutions or innovations beyond those offered.
The Puppets
If you have the time, resources, and ability, you could consider making your pup-
pets in the traditional manner carved out of rawhide. Be warned that this takes an
extraordinarily long time to do, but it deeply instills an appreciation for the art form.
You will need to purchase either a large piece of rawhide or an entire skin for one large
puppet. Sometimes more than one puppet can be cut from one hide depending on the
size and design of the puppets. See the resource guide for where to obtain all of the
139
supplies discussed here. You will also need a variety of metal carving tools with flat
edges of various lengths and various sized curves. These tools get pounded through the
rawhide in order to carve the intricate designs. A rubber mallet works well for pounding.
The surface upon which you carve should ideally be a board cut through the grain of
the wood so that the grain is running vertically. Cutting boards for cooking can be pur-
chased at some Asian food stores that are cut like this and they work wonderfully for
carving puppets. Chapter one discusses many of the intricacies of creating traditional
Southeast Asian puppets. Just be sure to completely carve and paint all of the pieces of
your puppet — the body, forearms, lower arms, and jaw — before joining the pieces
together.
Another method for making these puppets is to carve them out of large pieces of
cardstock. Use black cardstock for heavy, dark shadows, and white cardstock that can
be colored with markers or paint for more translucent, colorful shadows. The outer
edge of each puppet, once traced onto the cardstock, can be cut mostly with scissors.
The internal designs can be carved out with an exacto knife. The supporting rods can
be either sewn onto the puppets or taped. Brass brads available at office supply stores
can be used to attach the various pieces of the puppets together. A common hole punch
can be used to make the perforations in the shoulders and at the ends of the arm pieces
that need to be jointed. Puppets can be constructed to be the actual size (as is indicated
at the base of each puppet design) or shrunk to fit onto a 8" ¥ 11" piece of standard-
sized cardstock that can be copied on a machine. Also, feel free to simplify the amount
of detail in the design within a puppet if it better suits your needs. Wooden skewers
used for grilling meat, available at many grocery stores, can be used as the supporting
rods for smaller puppets and for the rods to manipulate the arms and can easily be
attached with tape. For larger puppets, wooden dowels can be purchased at a hardware
store and either sewn or taped onto the puppet.
Shadow Screen
The physical setup for a shadow puppet performance can be achieved very easily
in a variety of ways, some of which replicate the traditional setting as it would be pre-
sented in Malaysia and some that are much easier, yet with the same basic effect. For
the truly ambitious, it is conceivable to build a traditional panggung, substituting mate-
rials as needed given what is available in your area. This would be a square hut raised
about five feet off the ground on four posts, with the front wall of the hut slanted down-
ward a bit and framing a muslin screen about 12 feet in width and 8 feet high. There
would be a door in the back of a sidewall with a ladder providing access into the hut.
Ideally this would be built outside in a clearing where people are likely to gather for a
performance. A step down from that level of ambition would be constructing a wooden
frame for the shadow screen with a hinged arm that can be weighed down with a sandbag
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Five. Teaching and Performing Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre
to keep the screen from tipping over. A frame anywhere from 4' ¥ 6' to 8' ¥ 12' would
suffice nicely to serve as a screen for shadow play. If you plan to involve multiple pup-
peteers to manipulate the puppets, you will want a wider screen. A flat frame made of
half-inch plywood with four right triangle wooden reinforcements screwed onto each
corner makes for a perfectly functional screen. Adding a right triangle made of half-
inch plywood that is the same height as the screen and hinged to one of the interior
sides will keep your screen from falling over. Simply apply weights over the bottom
wood of the triangle to keep your screen from tipping while you perform.
The muslin screen can be attached to the interior wood of the screen by simply
using a staple gun to secure the fabric to the wood. To remove the screen after use, a
flat-headed screwdriver can be used to pull the staples out of the wood, thereby releasing
the screen. I have used this method with the same piece of muslin for many uses, and
the cloth has held up just fine. Be sure to pull the cloth taut so that the screen does not
billow when the shadow puppets are pressed against it during performance. The fabric
for the screen can be muslin purchased from a fabric store (many stores sell muslin in
wider widths than is customary for other fabrics), or a white full, double, or king-sized
sheet can be used. Theatrical supply stores sell muslin in wider widths, which can be
ordered over the phone or online (see the resource guide for specific supply companies).
There are even easier ways to create a shadow screen, by simply hanging a screen.
Once you acquire your screen fabric, you can sew a pipe pocket at the top and the bot-
tom of your screen through which a pipe can be placed. Sew the pipe pocket so it is
open at the ends. Once you place a pipe that is at least a foot longer than your screen,
each end of the pipe that extends outside the upper pipe pocket can be tied with a rope
and then attached to secure points in the ceiling so that your shadow screen can hang
from above. It is recommended to also place a somewhat heavy pipe in the lower pipe
pocket that touches the floor to keep the screen taut. Weights can be placed on either
end of the lower pipe that extends beyond the pockets to keep your screen from moving
when puppets are pressed against it. If you are presenting in a theatre with a fly gallery,
your screen can easily be “flown” in and out for performance.
Certainly the easiest way that I have encountered to create a secure and perfectly
adequate shadow screen is to fasten, with a staple gun, the top edge of your screen
around a two by four that can be hung from above by ropes (or supported by two
ladders of the same height) and to fasten the lower edge of the screen in the same way
around another long piece of wood that rests on the floor. With any type of shadow
screen, it is important to have the bottom edge flush with the floor, or masked in some
way, to avoid having the light from behind the screen shine beneath the screen and
draw attention away from the shadow play. When deciding where your audience will
be placed, also be sure to check for sight lines on the extreme sides of your audience so
that audience members are not being blinded by the light source coming from behind
the screen. Masking can also be added to the sides of the screen so that the audience
can extend more generously out to the sides without the result of blinding audience
141
members. Remember as well that if your school or university has a white theatrical scrim
already hung in a theatre, that too can be used for shadow puppets. The only problem
is that they are usually the full size of the proscenium and can dwarf the small puppets
being performed. However, the ease of use may outweigh this consideration. Perhaps
there are some curtains already in place that could be pulled in to limit the space from
the sides at least. There is also the possibility of renting a rear projection screen. These
can be rented in many dimensions, and often have foldable aluminum frames and stands
accompanying them. The rear projection fabric works fine for shadow puppet theatre.
Light Source
The next practical consideration is the light source. If you are able to perform out-
side and have permission, a hanging flame lantern makes for a beautiful performance.
In Southeast Asia a coconut lantern filled with oil in which a wick was placed was used
in centuries past. In the last few decades, Bali is the only place, of which I am aware,
where this is still used. When lit by a flame that flickers and undulates in the breeze,
the shadow images seem to have a life breath of their own. Clearly this choice is not
without its dangers and inconveniences. If a puppet accidentally hits the lantern, which
is likely, hot oil can be spilled on the performer. Also, the light from a flame is not as
strong as an eclectic light, so visibility becomes an issue for a large audience. What is
most commonly used is an electric bulb hanging from above, about a foot away from
the screen at a height of about two feet. If you like, you can secure a rectangular board,
about 6" ¥ 8", to the back of the bulb facing the puppeteers so that they are not bothered
by the intensity of the light, though this is not necessary. The light source really should
be hanging from above, rather than supported from below, since the puppet master
needs to be able to manipulate the puppets in that lower space without interference.
Puppets should be manipulated with care so that the light is not bumped into, as the
resulting swaying of the light distorts the shadow images and distracts from the per-
formance. If this does occur, it can be remedied by having the puppet master stop the
swaying with his or her hand.
Puppet Stand or Base

In Southeast Asia a banana log is used as a stand for the puppets and is placed at
the base of the screen on the floor in front of the puppeteer. Since a banana log is not
a true log, but rather a fibrous plant stalk, the sharp ends of the puppets can easily be
thrust into the stand. An easy substitute for a banana stalk is Styrofoam. You may need
to stack a few cut sheets of Styrofoam together to get a base that is at least 4" thick and
about 6" wide. This base should extend nearly the entire length of your screen so that
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Amelia Charter, a student at Fort Lewis College, sitting in place before a shadow screen with
a puppet base at her feet and a light hanging in front of her (photograph by Kathryn Moller).
143
puppets can be placed anywhere along the acting area. Since Styrofoam is so light, it
is advisable to attach the foam to a heavy board of wood that extends the entire length
of the base. Otherwise when you pull a puppet out of the base, it might lift the entire
piece of Styrofoam into the view of the shadow screen. Using string, the multiple pieces
of Styrofoam can be strapped to the board to weigh it down without impeding the
sharp end of the puppets from being thrust into your base. Once constructed, this type
of a base can be used for a surprisingly long time since holes made in the Styrofoam
can be used again and again to place other puppets as well.
Musical Accompaniment
How to provide music for a performance sets a unique set of challenges. Music is
integral to the shadow puppet theatre for giving both weight and emotional range to
the otherwise lightweight puppets with unchanging facial expressions. The music is
also important for holding the established mood during transitions when there is no
action occurring on the screen. One rather difficult yet highly rewarding option is to
seek out a partnership with a local gamelan. The resource guide for this book lists many
musical ensembles and their contact information. If it is not feasible for you to work
with them directly or in a live setting, they could be contacted to see if they would be
willing to share any recordings of their music. Also listed in the resource guide for this
book are recordings of gamelan music that can be purchased, though most will be from
Indonesia rather than Malaysia. Though not traditional, this music can be used as back-
ground to your shadow puppet performance. In a traditional setting, the music played
would match the action occurring or the temperament of the puppet entering, but in
this instance, you could listen to different tracks on the CD and try to match them to
the action occurring throughout your performance. It may also work to have live music
played for your performances by a synthesizer that can somewhat conjure the feel of a
traditional musical ensemble from Malaysia. To highlight certain actions by puppets,
such as the clashing of swords in battle or a demon falling dead to the ground, any per-
cussion instruments can be performed live backstage by someone closely watching the
action of the drama. As is the tradition in Malaysia, you can construct a clapboard that
can be placed under one of the crossed legs of the puppet master to be clapped by the
puppet master’s legs whenever impact occurs between puppets. Certainly these plays
can be performed without music as well, but adding even the simplest of musical accom-
paniment and simple sound effects will enhance your performance richly. Also see below
in the pedagogy section on High School through Kindergarten Level for an example
of how one grade school teacher created her own musical accompaniment. For the
Dalang Muda script, you can consult the resource guide to see how to request a recorded
copy of the music for educational purposes. Also, sheet music is available upon request
for the music composed by Dr. David Silver for the script Ezra and Icebaby.
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Performance Conventions
As for performance conventions for performing these scripts, much can be gleaned
from chapter three, which details the conventions and practices for the Malaysian shadow
puppet theatre. A few major points will be reiterated here. Attempt to match the move-
ment of the puppet to the temperament of the character being presented. Thus, Rama
should move in a slow and stately manner, always smoothly extending his arm for
entrances and when commanding the attention of his loyal subjects. Hanuman and the
other monkey warriors are swift and strong, aggressive in their gestures and entrances.
The clown characters lack all semblance of grace and can abruptly enter and exit, often
being at the receiving end of physical abuse of some kind. Their movements can be
sudden and exaggerated, all in an effort to draw out the physical humor in their por-
trayals. It is best not to let your hands show at all on the shadow screen so that the
audience can believe that the gods and demons are present among them and not being
manipulated by mere mortals. This requires the puppet master to hold the manipulating
rods at the extreme ends and to experiment during rehearsal with tilting the bottom
edge of the puppet away from the screen so that his or her hands are not made visible.
The resulting distortion of the bottom portion of the puppet image is not a problem,
but, instead, actually adds to the beauty and hypnotic quality of this form.
Know that in a performance in Malaysia, the puppet master does not actually
memorize a script, but rather improvises based on his thorough knowledge of the tra-
ditional stories. For performances in educational settings, feel free to improvise based
on your reading of the script or memorize the script as is. Since your performers are
not in view of the audience, performers can certainly have a script resting on their knee
to which they can refer during performance. This gets a bit awkward with puppets to
manipulate, but it can be done. Another option is to have certain people assigned to
performing the lines and other people assigned to manipulating the puppets. Though
this is not the custom in Malaysia or other parts of Southeast Asia, it actually is the
tradition in many parts of India where shadow puppet theatre is presented (see chapter
one). It is also encouraged to adjust jokes to suit local references to draw out the humor
more. A puppet master in Malaysia always seeks to make his material relevant to his
audience by making references to local happenings or traditions. Humor is also an
opportunity to allow for more improvisation in both the spoken words and in move-
ment. Feel encouraged to play and experiment during rehearsal and to be open to inspi-
ration in the moment during performance.
For a traditional performance of the Wayang Kulit in Malaysia, the puppet master
would sit cross-legged directly behind the screen in the center, with the light source
hanging just a bit lower than his face. If finances would allow, he would have an assistant
sitting at his side to help hand him puppets when needed. Since the skills of a puppet
master take years to master, you may want to have multiple people behind the screen
manipulating puppets. Since the audience cannot see these performers, you can easily
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alternate and change performers to give more people the direct experience of performing.
Any musicians can be seated behind the puppet master or masters in close enough prox-
imity that they can receive cues, but not so close as to impede the manipulation of pup-
pets. It is advisable to preset your backstage area and stack puppets in order of use for
easy access. Having a person assigned to assisting the puppet master or masters is highly
advisable and helps to ensure the continuous action of the story being performed.
Pedagological Considerations
Mounting a Malaysian shadow puppet performance or experimenting with per-
forming it in the classroom can be a dynamic tool for teaching on puppetry, theatre,
Malaysian or Southeast Asian culture, or cultural customs in general. In Martin Bick-
man’s article, “Active Learning in the University: An Inquiry into Inquiry,” he states,
“What has increasingly become my guiding principle is that active learning is not merely
another approach or method to cover the same material, but the only way students can
achieve real knowledge.”1 Even more succinctly, he goes on to state in the same para-
graph, “For to have knowledge is to make it, to construct it, not to record, absorb, or
memorize it.”2 Swiss scholar Jean Piaget, a psychologist and philosopher well known
for his pedagogical studies, confirms this notion when he states as fact “that intelligence
derives from action.”3 These are hardly revolutionary ideas in these times when the
benefits of experiential learning are commonly acknowledged, yet we are often slow to
authentically implement these commonly held believes into our classrooms. It seems
that teaching on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre is a challenge tailor made for
experiential learning. The form itself is so foreign to the western experience that it
almost has to be seen or experienced to be understood. What follows are some strategies
I have used for experientially teaching the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre at a variety
of educational levels. These suggestions should be taken not as strict guidelines, but
rather as examples intended to prompt many innovative ways of engaging students in
their understanding of this rich performance form and the culture from which it
emerged.
Also, I wish to urge educators at every level to use this book as it best suits your
needs. The scripts, especially the last three, should be regarded a fluid entities that can
be changed and adjusted to serve your needs and circumstances. Remember that in
performance in Malaysia, a story would never be bound in print like this, but would,
rather, be improvised live to respond to it’s audience’s moods and preferences. I also
urge you to consider these scripts as just examples of how a script can be created and
to consider creating your own based on parts of the source stories that delight you and
your students. Puppets can be crafted over the course of several months out of rawhide,
or created in less than an hour out of cardstock paper with scissors. Also, feel free to
experiment with scale. Your puppet theatre could be the size of a shoe box with a paper
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shadow screen and puppets the size of your thumb. Conversely, you could decide to
experiment with the Thai Nang Yai (nearly identical to the Cambodian Nang Sbek)
form of shadow puppet theatre that is a large format shadow puppet theatre that utilizes
large, flat, carved shadow figures that range from three feet to five feet tall (as described
in chapter one). There are no limits to how this form can be used. An educator could
even guide students in examining how this form has served Malaysian society and use
this as a place of departure to then challenge students to create a form of shadow theatre
that suits their society’s cultural values and preferences, performing stories important
to their culture.
Graduate University Level

When I teach on this form in my graduate level Asian Theatre seminar I only allot
one two and a half hour-session to this subject since we have so much material to cover
in one semester. In preparation for this session, I assign a reading on the performance
conventions for the Malaysian Wayang Kulit. In the next class period I share contextual
slides of Malaysia in general, highlighting the unique cultural nature of this nation as
a mix of Malays, Indian and Chinese. I also want my students to get a feel for the
general physical context by showing what villages, urban centers, and holy places (such
as mosques, Indian temples, and Buddhist shrines) look like. Focusing more on the
form, I share photos and stories about various puppet masters and show the setting for
the presentation of the form in its traditional setting. After giving a simple demonstration
for carving one simple paisley design into a piece of rawhide using a mallet and carving
tools on a cutting board, I pass all of this around the room, inviting each student to
create one design they have seen in the puppets, such as a circle or a stylized slash. Next
I introduce the major characters of the Ramayana and pass the puppets around the
room for them to get the feel of these rawhide puppets.
We then move from our seminar room into an open acting studio where I perform
the entire Dalang Muda for them, which lasts about 40 minutes. I encourage them to
watch both from in front of the screen, to appreciate the play of shadows, and from
behind the screen, to observe the manipulation of the puppets. At the completion of
my performance, I invite each of them to experiment with manipulating the puppets.
I play the CD of the music so they have the gamelan accompanying the movement of
the puppets. Each student chooses whatever puppet she or he likes and does whatever
action she or he chooses. It is useful for the other students to watch each other’s attempts
as it conveys a deeper respect for how difficult it is to smoothly manipulate these rather
simple looking puppets. Only after this experience do we enter into a discussion of the
form. The resulting conversation is always deeply rooted in their experience, though
brief, and informed by their reading, which helps them contextualize the information
and their understanding of it.
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In Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei’s article, “The State of Asian Theatre Studies in the
American Academy,” she bemoans the state of Asian Theatre studies in institutions
across the U.S., stating that “Asian Theatre, whatever and wherever it is, remains the
ultimate Other, unknowable, unlearnable, unfathomable.”4 I am dedicated to including
the Malaysian Wayang Kulit in a seminar course on Asian Theatre since the arts of
Southeast Asia are usually omitted in preference of the traditions from India, China
and Japan in such courses on Asia, which as Sorgenfrei notes, are already far too few.
Since most of my students are PhD students who will soon be designing and teaching
classes at universities and colleges across the U.S. and beyond, I want them to have
some direct experience of this form performed close to how it would be presented in
Malaysia. Though I have video footage of this form as well, which I share with my stu-
dents, nothing replicates actual contact with a live performance, holding the puppets
in your hands, manipulating them to dance in time with the music, and experiencing
the trance-inducing effect of the live play of shadows. I want them to not only include
this subject in what they will teach in the future, but also hope they will teach on this
form from an embodied understanding of it. I also hope that they will adopt experiential
methods for conveying it and even evolve methods beyond my own.
Undergraduate University and College Level

The Malaysian shadow puppet theatre is so radically different from our western
idea of theatre that it draws awareness to theatrical and cultural conventions with which
we are so familiar that they become invisible to us until drawn out by the contrast with
another form. For a lower division, undergraduate, introduction to theatre course at
the University of Colorado, I began our fall semester class by performing the Dalang
Muda in an outdoor setting in the courtyard among the residence halls at night. I
instructed the students to bring food and beverages, to sit on blankets or mats on the
ground in front of the screen, to feel free to smoke if they were smokers, to talk amongst
themselves whenever they felt like it, to spit at will if they so felt the urge, and to not
clap for me at the end of the performance. We decided beforehand that we would not
advertise the performance, but would rather just play the gamelan music loudly for ten
minutes before the performance to gather an audience. I told the students that these
are all audience conventions for the traditional presentation of the Malaysian shadow
puppet theatre. What the students found was that following these new audience con-
ventions was not only a liberating and exhilarating experience, it also became a reference
point for all other discussions of theatrical conventions in any culture for the duration
of the semester.
When I involved students with this form in an upper-division theatre course enti-
tled “20th and 21st Centuries World Theatre,” I attempted to stagger the presentation
of written information on this form and its cultural context with direct experience with
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the form. The students came to class having read an article about the Wayang Kulit and
then experimented with puppet manipulation and carving the rawhide using the tools.
Had I simply introduced the subject with the appearance of the actual puppets and
handling them, I suspect they would have been less impressed and less engaged than
they were. It was as if the opportunity to engage with the materials and shadow play
after the reading satisfied many questions that had arisen in their minds during the
reading. I believe that having their curiosity piqued through the reading and then
satisfied through direct experience, rather than being told about the subject, created
greater retention and the ability to write about this form in a much deeper and more
engaging manner (as demonstrated in the essay questions specific to this subject on the
final examination). When we progressed to classical Malaysian and Javanese dance-dra-
mas after this class and discussed the influence of the shadow puppet aesthetic on this
form, they were actively engaged and related the movement styles in the videos of the
dance-drama to the movements they had executed using the puppets, many students
even using their bodies to physically demonstrate similar gestures and bodily poses.
My colleague, Kathryn Moller, who is a professor of theatre at Fort Lewis College
in Durango, Colorado, uses the Southeast Asian shadow puppet theatre as a starting
point for experimenting with various light sources for her performance art class. She
has found that rooting a theatrical convention, such as shadow play, in an age-old tra-
dition grounds her presentation of it and deepens the students’ understanding of how
this convention can function within a society. As students move beyond this form to
innovations of their own to create original work, they carry with them this specific
grounding that helps them justify their own artistic choices.
In a related experience, I was invited to Colorado State University in Fort Collins
where I presented a three-hour workshop on shadow puppet theatre for their cast and
design crew for an upcoming production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt
Brecht, with the aim being to incorporate shadow play into the production. The faculty
designer overseeing the production asked that I incorporate the traditional shadow pup-
pet theatre from Southeast Asia as the foundation for this workshop so that the students’
creative work would be rooted in one culture’s traditional use of this medium as a way
to strengthen their own creative work.
When I presented a week-long Southeast Asian puppet theatre workshop for stu-
dents at the University of Cork in Ireland, they responded extremely well to having the
cultural history of the various forms of puppet theatre told to them verbally as I passed
around the actual puppets and showed slides and video of the form within its cultural
context. Here in this studio setting, we had long afternoons to allow hands-on exper-
imentation with each puppet form, Wayang Golek, the rod puppets from Java, and the
Wayang Kulit as it is practiced in Malaysia, Java and Bali. This artist-in-residence week
culminated in an informal hour-long performance during which students performed
pieces for which they had created skeletal scripts. They used the rod puppets to perform
the story “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen, which seemed all the
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Amelia Charter, a student in Kathryn Moller’s class at Fort Lewis College, experimenting
with shadow play using puppets she created out of cardstock (photograph by Kathryn Moller).
more haunting and sad given the elongated facial features of the Wayang Golek puppets.
With the shadow puppet performance, they performed a section from the Ramayana
and combined all of the shadow puppets from the various regions of Malaysia and
Indonesia. It was a highly effective way to understand the design differences in each
style and the unique attributes of each. For instance, though the Malaysian puppets
were less ornate and refined that the Javanese puppets, the Malaysian puppets looked
much more able-bodied in fight scenes, with their fully proportioned bodies, than the
Javanese did. Since this performance was just for the faculty and other interested students
in the department, we did not feel the burden of fully explaining or contextualizing
our use of these puppets for our audience. I simply introduced each piece informally
and explained how we were using them in cross-cultural ways. A talkback session fol-
lowing the performance allowed our audience to ask for any other clarification or con-
textualization they desired.
For acting courses, participating in shadow puppet theatre can give student actors
many new perspectives on performing. Because the human performer, or actor, is hidden
behind a shadow screen, there is much less self-consciousness while performing shadow
150
puppet theatre than is encountered in conventional western theatre. It can be a pro-

foundly liberating experience for an actor to be giving voice and movement to a puppet,
channeling all of the actor’s expressive energy into a character portrayed by an object
being manipulated. The challenge is so consuming that it tends to free the student actor
from inner doubts or criticisms that can interfere with pure, unencumbered expression.
I find it also to be useful for giving a heightened experience of extreme focus. Because
the visual range is limited by the screen to just the action before the puppeteer, a high
level of focus is encouraged by the design of this performance situation. If actors are
able to experience this heightened focus in a shadow puppet theatre situation, they will
likely be able to draw upon that experience when attempting to improve their focus in
other performance situations. It also presents students with a radically different per-
spective on character than the traditional method-based training predominant in western
institutions. These mythological characters, as portrayed in the Malaysian shadow pup-
pet theatre, have just a few salient traits for which they are known, and the portrayal
of them is not rooted in psychological complexity, but rather in a shared communal
understanding of each character. There are also many undifferentiated characters, such
as the monkey warriors, which simply need to portray strength and aggression to be
performed competently.
High School through Kindergarten Level

Though I have never been an elementary or high school teacher, I have presented
on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre as an artist-in-residence at several high schools
and elementary schools and have presented on the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre to
K–12 teachers through a program arranged by the Center for Asian Studies at the Uni-
versity of Colorado. Furthermore, I have regularly presented for a grade school program
at the Denver Museum of Art —AM at the DAM. In grade school, middle school, and
high school, the Malaysian Wayang Kulit can be taught through many disciplines —
such as human geography, sociology, literature, fine art or music — or as a cultural offer-
ing to the entire school. I performed the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre for Cherry
Creek High School in Denver for their All-Cultures Day during a lunchtime open
period in their auditorium. It was simply an hour-long performance, demonstration,
and talk about this form and how it functions within its culture. I was surprised to see
hundreds of students in the audience during this free period. Students were delighted
when I brought several of them from the audience to demonstrate specific puppet
manipulations. At the end of my presentation, dozens of students climbed onto the
stage to touch and manipulate the puppets. I was impressed by their authentic interest,
which assuaged my previous assumptions that they would be “too cool” to engage in a
form that they might have thought of as childish.
I have found that there is something inherently alluring about this artistic medium
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for students of all ages. Because the mechanisms for production of the illusion are
hidden behind a screen, they seem to feel the privileged status of a magician of sorts
who has secret knowledge of how it is all created. Indeed, in Elizabethan England, the
person in charge of stage tricks was known as the Master of Secrets. Handing over the
means of production and allowing students to be creative within that construct can be
a very empowering exercise and can encourage them to take an active role in learning
both the form and the culture from which it originates.
A friend and fellow puppeteer, Betsy Tobin, presented a semester-long residency
at Flatirons Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, working with children K–5 on
creating a Southeast Asian–style shadow puppet performance. Her primary hosts for
this project were the art teacher, Jan Gustafson, with whom she worked with the students
to create the puppets, and the music teacher, Jan Osburn, with whom she worked with
students to perform the puppets and the accompanying music. This was a fantastic
Kindergarten students crafting their own shadow puppets of Hanuman Ikan out of cardstock.
Here the design of the puppet was copied onto an 8" ¥ 11" piece of cardstock and the children
simply colored the image, cut it out, and attached the pieces (photograph by Rebekah Ander-
son).
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opportunity, since musical accompaniment is so integral to the puppet movement.

When I contacted Jan Osburn to ask her about the project, she stressed how for them
the process was more important that the product. She stated that the end performance
wasn’t too polished, but that the students and the teachers really grew in their knowledge
and appreciation of another culture through the process. She worked with a book called
Balinese Music by Michael Tenzer (see resource guide at the end of this book) and simply
worked with the instruments she had, stating that the gamelan music worked well with
Orff instruments (xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels) and that cymbals and
metals were a must. She went on to say that much of Balinese music is what is called
ostinato, a repeating pattern. Each instrument has a different ostinato and, thus, when
layered, the music sounds quite complicated. Her students composed music in a rondo
fashion, ABACADA, which is not a Balinese form — it is European — but worked for
their purposes. The A part was the whole ensemble. The B, C, and D parts were smaller
groups of either barred instruments or percussion. She stated that the great thing about
gamelan is that it promotes ensemble playing. For it to be successful, the group really
has to work together. Drawing from resources for Balinese and Javanese musical ensem-
bles, which are more plentiful than Malaysian, works fine for accompanying Malaysian
shadow puppet theatre if that is all that is available.
Ethical Considerations
Though it is certainly not my aim to provide definitive answers as to what can or
cannot be done in regard to presenting the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre, it is my
aim to consider the ethical questions regarding this topic that tend to emerge when
presenting or teaching on this traditional subject outside its place of origin. My hope
is to both assuage doubts educators may have in feeling qualified or entitled to teach
on this subject, and to encourage respect for this tradition by teaching it within its cul-
tural content. These considerations are often the same as those taken into consideration
by postcolonial scholars and those critical of unchecked intercultural assimilation of
the artistic forms of formerly colonized peoples.
One extreme view on this would be that it’s all up for grabs. This side would argue
that there are no true or pure forms anyway and that every form has borrowed from,
stolen from or been influenced by some other culture anyway. This view might ask why
we should worry about offending Malaysian culture by gaining inspiration and ideas
from their forms when they so obviously took generous influence and source material
from India, China and probably even Arab Sufisim.5 There is also the notion that we
are all drawing from common principles in the creation of our various cultural forms.
Theatre researcher and practitioner Eugenio Barba has dedicated his life to bringing
together theatre artists from Asia and Europe to discover good bits of advice that could
be useful to performers wherever they reside. He writes that “different performers, at
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different places and times and in spite of the stylistic forms specific to their traditions;
have shared common principles.”6
Another view would argue the exact opposite, that it is this indiscriminate bor-
rowing and assimilation of artistic forms without recognition for the original authors
of these cultural treasures that is the most pernicious continuation of colonialism and
imperialistic ways of living. As stated in Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics,
“Colonialism is insidious: it invades far more than political chambers and extends well
beyond independence celebrations. Its effects shape language, education, religion, artistic
sensibilities, and, increasingly, popular culture.”7 So not only are former colonizing
nations responsible for what they assert to the people they colonize in terms of culture,
but they are also responsible for what they take in the form of culture from those people
who were colonized.
In the summer of 2009 I co-presented a panel, “Orang Putihs Teaching Southeast
Asian Theatre in American Classrooms,” at the Association for Theatre in Higher Edu-
cation conference in New York City. The phrase “orang putih” literally translates to
“person white,” but is used to refer to foreigners in general. In the informal setting of
this session, my co-presenter, Kathryn Moller, and I presented many of the ethical
questions that tend to arise when teaching Southeast Asian theatre forms in the class-
room; we engaged those in attendance to join in the discussion. We asked the group
assembled to consider several questions in relation to our topic. Is this ours to teach?
If it is, how do we best teach it? In what way is the vibrancy of the original form pre-
served? How are students invited to add their own artistic inspiration beyond the source
material in creating intercultural theatre work? What is lost, and what is gained in this
process?
To begin the session, I conveyed a few stories that seemed to address the Malaysian
view of non–Malays learning and performing these forms. I remembered a time when
my teacher, Dalang Hamzah, told me of a Kelantanese Chinese man he knew who was
a well-respected puppet master of the Malaysian Wayang Kulit and had, according to
Hamzah, excellent agin (literally “wind,” here meant to indicate the man had been
deeply moved by the wayang and had a strong propensity for being able to perform it).
From this story, and based on the fact that Dalang Hamzah had no problem accepting
me as a student once he observed I was serious and had aptitude, I concluded that there
is largely no resistance for accepting non–Malays as performers of this form among
puppet masters in Malaysia. Such a situation is unusual, and, therefore, a curiosity, but
it is not a taboo or seen as morally wrong. Furthermore, the fact that the Malaysian
officials of the Fulbright committee awarded me a scholarship to reside in Malaysia for
a year knowing that I intended to study and learn to perform their shadow puppet the-
atre also seems to stand as proof that Malaysians, even at higher societal levels, approve
of and even act to reward those who want to learn their Malaysian cultural forms.
Kathryn then spoke of her strong attraction to the Wayang Kulit as a theatre artist
and educator, and of her different position as someone who has learned of these forms
154
through research and western practitioners, not through direct contact or by immersion
in the country of origin. Kathryn is a professor of theatre and the director of the Theatre
Department at Fort Lewis College, a small liberal arts college in Southwest Colorado
bordering the Ute Reservation. Kathryn invited me to teach a weekend-long workshop
at her college in 1998 and she studied with me for a summer in 2004 to learn how to
make the traditional wayang puppets and perform them. She spoke of her desire to clas-
sify herself as an enthusiast sharing this form with her students rather than as someone
teaching it. This was in an effort to be fully transparent to her students as to how she
came to know of this form and to what level she understood it. Acknowledging her and
her student’s place as outsiders looking in, the shadow puppet theatre became a keyhole
through which they were gaining a view of this rich culture so different from their own.
She felt that, given the demographics of her students, 20 percent of whom are Ute and
the rest mostly rural, she felt that expanding their world perspective through teaching
the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre was an extremely rewarding opportunity. She had
continued to research Dalang Hamzah on her own after our time together and incor-
porated his work into her teaching. When we were together preparing for this conference
session she said that she couldn’t help but think that Hamzah would be glad she was
sharing his work with her students. As a friend and student of Hamzah, I believe that,
indeed, he would have been deeply gratified to know that she had been so moved by
his work and was disseminating it to students on another continent and in the years
beyond his death.
The thing that everyone attending the session who had taught Asian theatre con-
curred on was that our students were looking to us for permission and direction in the
ethical aspects of exploring these forms. Kathryn conveyed a simple story of when this
became perfectly clear to her. As a student sat behind the shadow screen with a puppet
of King Rama the student had just crafted out of cardstock, she hesitated, looked up
at Kathryn, and asked, “Can I do this?” Not only are they asking us this question, they
are also asking it of each other, as is demonstrated in the following antidote related to
this subject though it deals with a different Asian form. In a World Theatre class I
taught a few years ago, we had a class session in which we all learned the classical dance
Bharata Natyam with a master teacher guiding us in creating the sacred hand gestures
and stomping the complex rhythms with our feet. In the next class session, one of the
male students earnestly asked a female student who was Indian and a Hindu if she
found it at all offensive that we had all done this form even though we did not share
the same faith as she and this form. She responded that when the clothing store Gap
made a perfume and called it OM, the most sacred sound in Hinduism, she found that
to be very offensive. However, she found it extremely gratifying to have her fellow stu-
dents study and then experience a sacred expression of her culture. Furthermore, she
said she believed it would work to create a more accurate understanding of her culture
by Americans than was offered by pop culture. Another participant in our conference
session, a brother at a Catholic preparatory high school, shared a story about directing
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his students in using 17th century Japanese Kabuki theatre techniques to stage an original
interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic Richard III. His students became so intrigued by
the form and the conventions that they took on researching the cultural context and
even integrated some of the meditative Zen Buddhist practices into their warm-up exer-
cises before performing. He said that this made him and his students feel more respectful,
connected, and grounded in borrowing these techniques from Japan. The general con-
sensus that emerged in this session among us educators was that it was our duty to hon-
estly expose these ethical questions to our students and to share responsibility for them
with our students in an open and continuous dialogue. In a sense, getting students
aware enough to be asking the questions is the education.
Finally, I wish to assuage doubts educators may have in using the puppet designs
included in this book and experimenting with them in performance. In Malaysia, and
every other Southeast Asian country where the shadow puppet theatre is performed, it
is a common practice to sell the rawhide puppets to tourists, signaling that they don’t
mind having outsiders manipulate and handle this cultural material. It is believed that
the actual gods and demons are present in the shadows, not the puppets, which are only
a device for making present the divine. Also, Dalang Hamzah himself taught the
Malaysian Wayang Kulit form to students in various universities in Malaysia, Singapore,
and abroad, as well as indepth to several foreign researchers, of whom I am one. Within
Malaysia, many of his university students were of Indian or Chinese heritage, which
made them outsiders to this form as it exists within Malaysian culture. Remember that
even the Malay puppet masters are Muslim in faith, which makes it less likely that they
would find it offensive for western educators to be replicating Hindu gods and demons.
I also feel compelled to warn educators that students, when they first get a wayang
puppet into their hands, usually enact some rude physical act, such as having the puppet
pick its own nose. Though this certainly would not be the way a Malaysian puppet
master would manipulate a high character like Rama, there is a strong cultural precedent
for rude physical humor, often at the expense of the high character’s dignity.
It is my belief that if the contextualizing information in this book and other sources
is consulted the well-intending educator or enthusiast should feel free to recreate these
puppets, enact these stories, and experience firsthand the accessible and abundant rich-
ness of this cultural treasure.
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Afterword: July 2008
Sitting across the desk from Ghulam, books and manuscripts piled high in his
musty office at the Universiti Malaysia, he said with a sign, “That’s it. It’s over. I have
a few more publishing projects to finish up, but after that, it’s over.” Ghulam was refer-
ring to nothing less than the traditional performing arts in Malaysia as he had once
known them. On January 1, 2001, my teacher, Dalang Hamzah Bin Awang Amat, lead-
ing performer of the Wayang Kulit, died of a heart attack at the age of sixty. In September
of 2000, Khatijah Awang, master teacher and best-known performer of the ancient
Malay dance-drama form Mak Yong, passed away following a brief illness. In the year
2000, Aminah Binti Nani, popularly known as Mak Minah, one of the greatest per-
formers of Bangsawan, a Malay popular opera form, died at the age of 79. Their deaths
left a major vacuum, which, in the years following, has proven impossible to fill. Though
there are still a few performers of each of these forms and some forms are taught in
schools, there are no replacements to match that previous level of achievement or skill.
Aside from that, the traditional methods for dissemination and training through years
of apprenticeship and cultural immersion have been radically disrupted. A simple course
at a university in any of these forms cannot replace the rigor or the results from tradi-
tional methods of training. It had been seventeen years since I had been back to Malaysia,
and, though I had known of Hamzah’s death from an e-mail from Ghulam, I wasn’t
aware of the others or the full implications of Hamzah’s death to the future of the
Wayang Kulit in Malaysia. Sitting across from Ghulam, my dear friend and colleague,
I felt simultaneously a great sadness and a feeling of gratitude for having been privilege
to receive Hamzah’s instruction and friendship while he was at his prime.
The professional life of Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof spans nearly all academic schol-
arship done on the Malaysian performing arts, save for a few British academics who
took an authentic interest in Malaysian culture (such as Mubin Sheppard and P.L. Amin
Sweeney), and he is the Malaysian culture’s ultimate champion. Born in Malaysia in
1939 of Indian and Muslim descent, he was the first Malaysian to receive a PhD in any
of the performing arts and went on to found the first performing arts program in
Malaysia at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. Beginning with his field research
on Mak Yong for his dissertation for a PhD in theatre at the University of Hawaii, he
continued to research, teach, write, and present at conferences on the Malaysian per-
forming arts for decades. At the very early stages of experiential learning, in the 1970s
Ghulam had secured contractual teaching jobs for Malay masters of Wayang Siam and
Bangsawan and was, with the artists, developing methods for teaching these forms expe-
rientially in the university for performing arts students. The main artist with whom
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Afterword
Ghulam most consistently worked at the university was Dalang Hamzah, who was my
teacher during my Fulbright year in Malaysia.
As someone who has known Ghulam’s friendship and hospitality through the years,
I was one of the many who have enjoyed filing through his home, befriending his family,
savoring the delicious food of his wife, Hajrah, and staying up far too late passionately
discussing the arts. His spirit of hospitality permeated all that he did and it still does.
Without proprietal ownership, he has openly encouraged visiting students and scholars
to pursue study of the Malay performing arts, and beyond that, has freely shared his
experiences, resources, and contacts. My gratitude to him and his family is immense,
not just for my own personal benefit, but also for what it has done to nurture and pre-
serve the unique and dynamic arts of Malaysia that can no longer be experienced live
by the same master performers who once, not so long ago, gave refinement, vibrancy,
and excellence to their art.
Ghulam’s relationship to Malay culture is not without its own complications. As
an Indian by descent, though born in Malaysia and in terms of nationality a Malaysian,
he is not Malay, the race in Malaysia that receives government-sanctioned privileges in
terms of hiring, promotion and opportunities that are both overtly and covertly
enforced. He is, however, a Muslim, which provides a strong connection through faith.
In a sense, he has had to swim upstream as an “outsider” himself. Transcending his own
personal feeling concerning this and the added obstacles it caused for him throughout
his career, he has been a friend to the arts in the most widely used definition of the
word — as a person attached to another by respect and affection. Beyond that he has
also been a friend to the arts as one who supports, promotes, advocates and defends the
arts and individual artists. Extending this definition even further, he has, as an academic,
forged a friendship between academia and the practice of the performing arts. He has
created and modeled a vibrant and authentic friendship between theory and practice.
This is not such an easy task, as theatre theorist Jill Dolan states in her book, Geographies
of Learning. Though her book is directed primarily towards American theatre, the sen-
timent is useful in this application: “Contestations over theory and practice are partic-
ularly pernicious in the arts, because of historical frictions between artists and critics,
and the romantic presumption that thought ruins creativity.... But theory is not anti-
aesthetic or anticreative, and thinking about theatre might actually enhance its value”1
The Friendship Between Academia and the Performing Arts

What I’ve learned from Ghulam and Hamzah’s examples is that for a friendship
between academia and the arts to be healthy and authentic many qualities are necessary
in making it mutually beneficial. Efforts should be made to ensure that friendship
advances the financial security or benefits for both sides. Often an academic with job
security can inexpensively hire a performing artist for contractual work at a university.
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Since universities are in the business of conferring academic credentials, they unsur-
prisingly use such credentials in assigning the level of compensation appropriate for
contractual work. Though master performers such as Dalang Hamzah can boast decades
of experience and integral roles as healers and entertainers within their communities,
Ghulam continually had to advocate for Hamzah’s “fair” compensation by academic
and governmental institutions in such instances as the following. When the Malaysian
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports wished to invite Hamzah to Kuala Lumpur for
a performance following his two-day teaching stint in Penang, Ghulam asked if an
airline ticket was being provided. The ministry insisted that Hamzah travel by train,
second class, since he did not have the qualifications to travel by air according to the
government salary scales. Ghulam told them that in that case he would not be going
to Kuala Lumpur. Finally upon appeal to higher authorities within the ministry an air
ticket was obtained for Hamzah.2 Through the years of their academic association,
Ghulam has had to continually advocate for Hamzah’s appointments and remuneration
against such opinions as that of the dean of the School for Humanities at the Universiti
Sains Malaysia who said that “given Hamzah’s low academic qualifications, he could
not even be considered for a gardener’s post.”3 Ghulam told me that Hamzah was often
asked why his son didn’t want to be a dalang; and Hamzah replied that he would not
wish that upon his son, adding that if it wasn’t for Ghulam that he, Hamzah, would
starve.
Another necessary quality for a true friendship between academia and the arts is
for the friendship to lead towards increased or sustained opportunities to actually do
what each party brings to the friendship. In Ghulam’s case as an academic, Hamzah’s
work was the subject of many of Ghulam’s publications, such as The Malaysian Shadow
Play: An Introduction, and for chapters included in Panggung Inu: Essays on Traditional
Malay Theatre. In Hamzah, Ghulam also gained an experienced teaching collaborator
who brought complementary skills to their team effort. With Hamzah, Ghulam had
the opportunity to pioneer pedagogy for teaching the traditional arts all within one
experiential, academically rigorous course. Likewise, through his association with Ghu-
lam, Hamzah received many more invitations to perform outside of Kelantan than he
might have otherwise received. Though Hamzah’s international tours were not coor-
dinated by Ghulam, many of his domestic performances were arranged through Ghulam.
Also, Hamzah would not have had the opportunity to teach without the friendship of
Ghulam, since Hamzah had no students in the village who sought him out for the tra-
ditional style of apprenticeship.
An additional quality necessary for a mutually beneficial friendship is access to
recognition both locally and in the broader sense. In this area, both Ghulam and Hamah
have benefited richly as a direct result of their friendship. Coincidentally, my visit to
Ghulam in Penang in the summer of 2008 occurred just as he was being awarded the
Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negreri (DSPN), which carries with it the title of Dato (like
the English “Sir”) which was awarded by the Tuan Yang Terutama Yang DiPertua Negeri
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Afterword
Pulau Pinang (Governor of Penang). Ghulam mentioned that it was quite exceptional
to get this award for his contributions to culture since it is usually awarded to those in
politics. Ghulam’s other awards include, but are not limited to, the International Award
for Outstanding Contribution for Humanity, Peace, Culture, and Education from the
Forum for Culture and Human Development in 2001 and the Boh Cameronian Lifetime
Achievement Awards in Kakiseni, Malaysia, in 2008.
Hamzah’s crowning life recognition came in the form of a national award for which
Ghulam served as his nominator and primary champion. When the Malaysian Ministry
of Culture, Arts and Tourism introduced the Anugerah Seni Negara (National Arts
Award)— the highest award for an artist — in 1993, Hamzah Awang Amat was unani-
mously selected as its first recipient. This award carried with it a cash award of RM
30,000.00 and an invitation by the ministry to spend a year in Kuala Lumpur as artist
in residence serving as a resource person. During his term as artist in residence, Hamzah
was appointed as part-time lecturer in the National Academy of Arts (Akademi Seni
Negara), which opened its doors to its first batch of students in July 1994.4 He was also
engaged in numerous projects to both preserve and disseminate this traditional form,
which could be considered a national treasure and was on the verge of dying out.
Ghulam took on the arduous task of nominating Hamzah for this award, requiring him
to compile a detailed curriculum vita for Hamzah’s achievements. This was doubly
difficult, as Hamzah was terrible at keeping records of what he had done, and Ghulam
had to keep the process secret from Hamzah while he was gathering all of this infor-
mation. Another expectation of the awardee was to write an autobiography of her or
his life. Being as Hamzah could never complete such a task given his level of education,
this task fell on Ghulam as well. Angin Wayang: A Biography of a Master Puppeteer by
Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof was published by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism
Malaysia in 1997.
On a personal level, this national recognition was a high point for both Hamzah
and Ghulam. Hamzah gained the kind of prestige and status that, given his humble
origins, must have seemed nearly inconceivable to him. In his last years he not only
enjoyed financial stability for the first time in his life, but was also given the opportunity
to disseminate his vast knowledge and considerable talent with more people, students,
and artists than ever would have been possible without the support of the award. I feel
it was a high point for Ghulam because he was able to convince his country that this
man, in whom he had invested considerable time, affection, and admiration, was indeed
worthy of being the first ever recipient of an award recognizing indigenous Malay artistic
excellence. Finally, Hamzah was given his proper recognition after having spent decades
trying to convince bureaucrats to just pay him a decent wage. Furthermore, recognition
for Hamzah served as a validation for the worth of all the curriculum and research that
Ghulam had created in partnership with and about Hamzah and the Wayang Siam.
But besides the glamour of awards and the financial aspects, I believe the sweetest
nectar of this friendship, and maybe any friendship, was the sustaining inspiration,
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Afterword
growth, and refinement for each of them within the larger context of their life’s work.
I asked Ghulam about this aspect quite directly while I was talking with him during
our last visit. Ghulam told me that Hamzah imparted more of his knowledge to him
than he had to anyone else. By this, Ghulam meant also the inner spiritual knowledge
hidden within the wayang and the healing rituals of the main puteri. Even just during
the process of writing Hamzah’s biography, Ghulam became increasingly aware of
another side of Hamzah. Although he had known Hamzah since 1975 and had worked
with him without a break since 1977, there were surprises even for Ghulam. Above and
beyond information regarding Hamzah himself, Ghulam reported that he gathered
much more insight into Dalang Hamzah’s bomoh techniques as well as main puteri,
Malaysia’s most complex form of shamanism. Hamzah had become an accomplished
main puteri practitioner, an aspect of his career which has been almost totally over-
shadowed by his fame as a puppeteer. In many ways, his main puteri is every bit as
important as his wayang. The belief systems that underlie traditional healing techniques
and facets of the Malay mind manifested in that genre have only recently begun to be
adequately explored.5
Ghulam has a profound interest in the spiritual, religious and metaphysical aspect
of culture. This is made evident in his seminal writing, “Semangat: A Note on the Tra-
ditional Malay Concept of Soul,” which is a chapter in his book Panggung Semar: Aspects
Dalang Hamzah’s wife, Siti Esah, and youngest daughter (left), Beth Osnes (center) and
Dalang Hamzah (right) (photograph by J.P. Osnes).
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of Traditional Malay Theatre. Since Hamzah had no students in the traditional way, Ghu-
lam instead became the recipient of the spiritual knowledge that accompanies the more
technical aspects of performance. Only a trusted student receives this magical knowledge
since it is very powerful and a puppet master’s most valuable asset. Through his genuine
interest and continual integrity through the years, Ghulam was rewarded with being let
into Hamzah’s inner experiences regarding the play of spirits and their power to heal. This
direct and intimate contact with Hamzah has enriched Ghulam’s writing, understanding,
and awe for the spiritual wealth contained within the wayang and main puteri.
As Hamzah has passed away, I asked Ghulam what he thought Hamzah had most
gained from their friendship. He replied that he believed that Hamzah learned a lot
from knowing him. Hamzah sat on many panels with him at conferences and festivals
and, thereby, learned how to articulate things in a more learned way. Otherwise, Ghulam
noted, he would just perform and never think about it. Through all of this, Hamzah
developed a much more complex understanding of his own art form. For example,
Ghulam told me that Hamzah had no idea that the Ramayana originated from India
and was a famous and influential epic tale dated from 400 to 100 BCE. Hamzah thought
it was just a tale made up by puppeteers in Malaysia!
Also, Hamzah’s and Ghulam’s shared inclinations towards the spiritual dimensions
of art and their resulting dialogues on the subject led them both to a deeper under-
standing than either could have achieved on his own. To this friendship, Hamzah
brought traditional knowledge as transmitted through village practitioners. He also
brought direct contact and experience with the spirit world as he regularly became
entranced by spirits as a bomoh, or healer, and during the rituals accompanying wayang
performances. Ghulam brought a historical and theological context to their shared con-
siderations, such as knowledge of Islamic thought and practice in regard to such phe-
nomena and the history of Javanese influence. As a Muslim, Hamzah came to a higher
understanding of how his spiritual practices fit into the Islamic understanding of the
cosmos. He needed this in order to defend his art and his actions in the face of state
authorities and religious officials. It is clear from the sophistication of Hamzah’s argu-
ment that he had greatly benefited from his talks on this subject with Ghulam. Against
the serious objections to the non–Islamic spiritual content in both the wayang and the
rituals surrounding it, Hamzah replied that “firstly, there is acknowledgement of the
existence of super-natural forces.... The fact that such forces exist cannot be denied.
They are mentioned in the Holy Quran, just like angels.... [T]he jinn, created from
smokeless fire, live in their own world, parallel to our own.”6 Ghulam goes on to explain
Hamzah’s reconciling of these seemingly opposing spiritual views by acknowledging
that some of the material in the rituals is pre–Islamic, as many aspects of the traditional
Malay culture are. However, Ghulam also maintains that it does not necessarily come
into conflict with Islam. In this case as well as with the case of other genres, Hamzah
felt that a proper dialogue between the Kelantan state authorities, the religious officials,
performers and academicians could resolve the apparent conflicts.7
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Finding My Place as an American Researcher/

Practitioner Within This Relationship
During my time in Malaysia I was warmly welcomed into the friendship between
Ghulam and Hamzah. I remember going for coffee at a little outside stand with Ghulam
and Hamzah in Kelantan near the end of my Fulbright research and fully enjoying the
company and the conversation. As I have found with artists from many parts of the
world, there is a comradery between people in the arts who share a passion for a given
form that supersedes usual social norms. I never felt like I was treated differently by
them because I was a woman or a westerner, though the Malaysian society kept me a
bit more at arm’s length in general and seemed to find it very strange that a woman
from the USA would spend her time, away from her husband in the backwoods area
of Malaysia, enamored of the Wayang Kulit. I was asked countless times who was cooking
for my husband if I was here. However, I felt that Ghulam and Hamzah never questioned
A main puteri healing ritual at which Dalang Hamzah was presiding. Pictured here are the
musicians and the ritual offerings within the ritual space (photograph by Beth Osnes).
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why I was there. They both recognized that I shared their passion for this form. At that
visit for coffee mentioned above, Hamzah even gave me the ultimate compliment as a
performer: he believed I had the agin— to have “felt the wind,” or to be deeply moved
by the performance of the wayang. Directly after that compliment, however, came the
warning that now that I had the agin I would have to perform the wayang regularly in
order to exercise it or I would become sick. All these years since working with Hamzah
I have heeded his warning and have performed the wayang at least a few times each
year. In fact, the scripts included in this book are a direct result of needing to continue
my art as a dalang as instructed by Hamzah.
It was during this last visit to Malaysia that I also learned of, and fully realized
the impact of, my apprenticeship with Hamzah during my Fulbright research. I was
able to obtain a copy of Ghulam’s biography of Hamzah’s life and was voraciously read-
ing it in my Cathay Hotel room in Penang when I came to a section of it that gave me
a flush of emotion:
Beth Osnes surprised as well as thrilled Kelantanese audiences by performing the dalang
muda part in the performance of Hamzah’s troupe at the Cultural Complex (Gelanggang
Seni) in Kota Baharu before Hamzah himself took over for the story proper. Hamzah
reports that the performance was a sensation. Never before, as far as is known, had a
woman performed as a dalang in Kelantan. The fact that she was white obviously added
tremendously to the appeal.8
My memory of this performance was a bit more humble, as I remember hearing

the uproarious laughter of the crowd as word spread that it was a tall white lady per-
forming. But in a lifetime of performing steadily for over three decades, that night
stands out as a peak experience for me too. There is just nothing in this world like the
power of the gamelan music being performed directly behind you. That night in my
journal I drew a picture of myself plastered onto the front of a speeding locomotive
with a wayang puppet clenched in each fist and a huge grin on my face. Having the
orchestra follow my cues, I felt like a god changing the direction of the winds or com-
manding thunder in the sky. I remember being so consumed by the task of performing
that time and the outside world almost ceased to exist. Simultaneously, it was ultimately
humbling, as my entire person was in service to the puppets themselves, including their
movements and vocalizations, and, by extension, to every element of the performance.
I am one of three American researchers who have done extensive research with
Hamzah. Patricia Matuskey, an ethno-musicologist, conducted extensive research on
the music for the Wayang Siam in the 1970s and beyond and even developed a system
of notation for it. Her excellent writing on this subject has been invaluable to me and
stands as a major contribution to the field. Also, Barbara Wright conducted an ethno-
graphic study of the Wayang Siam for her dissertation for Yale University. Though I
was certainly aware of their work, reading our names listed in Hamzah’s biography as
the only ones to have worked directly with him for an extended period of time brought
home to me what I uniquely hold as a part of Hamzah’s legacy. Patricia has gone on to
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Afterword
Beth Osnes performing the Dalang Muda in Kelantan (photograph by J.P. Osnes).
teach and develop curriculum around the music and performance of the wayang and,
to my knowledge, Barbara Wright was never a performer, but rather primarily an aca-
demician. As someone who has studied the element of performance extensively with
Hamzah and as someone able and interested in writing about it, I realized that if I
didn’t bear testimony to this part of his contribution, it may otherwise remain untold
and lost to some extent.
This leads me to some deep churnings within myself that were also set into motion
by my most recent trip to Malaysia, specifically regarding my role as a scholar of another
culture’s art form. While doing my Fulbright in 1991, I remember my Malay friend,
Surinam, introducing me to a former schoolmate of hers. After a bit of polite conver-
sation about what I was doing in Malaysia, he asked, with a sly and penetrating glance,
“So when my kids want to learn about our Wayang Kulit they will read your book?” In
my defense I retorted, “Well, you could write it.” He smiled good-naturedly in response.
The unspoken answer was clear to all of us. As a Malay man with a good government
job, he, of course, would have no interest in doing such a thing. Within Malaysia the
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general view of the wayang is described as “nothing more than a mere rural form of
entertainment localized to Kelantan. Even most Kelantanese outside the villages did
not take it seriously; it was at best a mere curiosity, a frivolity.”9
Though his ribbing was all in good fun, remembering this exchange I realize that
I have carried with me a shadow of doubt about the authority of my voice as a scholar
on the Malay Wayang Kulit. I could blame, or credit, postcolonial theory, which evolved
as an identifiable “ism” after my initial research in the early 1990s. Reading the work
of Edward Said for the first time just a few years ago, I cringed and wondered if I was
yet another westerner mining the exotic of Asia or perpetuating the idea of “orientalism.”
Was I complicit in, as Said states in his seminal work, Orientalism, “the corporate insti-
tution for dealing with the Orient — dealing with it by making statements about it,
authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short,
Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, resurrecting, and having authority over
the Orient?”10
And what is the power relationship between a western academician and a Malaysian
performer? Said states that “The relationship between Occident and Orient is a rela-
tionship of power, of domination, of varying degrees of a complex hegemony.”11 Reading
these words, I remember a male friend in Kelantan saying wistfully, though I’m quite
sure he didn’t make it up, “When America sneezes, we get a cold.” Yet I protest. If any-
thing, my being there — not only by my own volition but after a Herculean effort to
secure funding — as a North American woman, inverted the relationship Said asserts
and believes endemic to Orientalism at its core — that of western culture believing itself
to be superior to eastern culture.12 Said refers not only to political hegemony but also
to cultural hegemony. Interestingly, throughout the 20th and 21st centuries in western
theatre, indeed, the exact opposite seems to be the case. French theatre theorist, Antoin
Artaud, in his passionate writing on the Balinese theatre, states that “Everything in
this theatre is immersed in a profound intoxication which restores to us the very elements
of ecstacy.”13 Bertolt Brecht, Richard Schecner, and Eugenio Barba are just a few
more of the many prominent theatre practitioners and theorists who often privilege the
theatre of the east to the west, though some may say in an essentialist manner. But
beyond admiration and the subsequent appropriation of Asian techniques, conventions
and aesthetics that often follows, there is real work to be done in restoring balance in
the wake of colonialism and other influencing factors. According to the postcolonialist’s
agenda, as stated by Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins in Post-Colonial Drama: The-
ory, Practice and Politics, our task is “to dismantle the hegemonic boundaries and the
determinants that create unequal relations of power based on binary oppositions such
as ‘us and them,’ ‘first world and third world,’ white and black,’ ‘colonizer and colo-
nized.’”14
This brings me directly back to the friendship between Ghulam and Hamzah and
how it successfully models and includes the necessary elements for creating a mutually
beneficial relationship, based on true affection and respect, between scholarship and
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A monkey warrior bowing in respect to the great Hanuman (photograph by Beth Osnes).
the arts, a model that can be applied to the relationship between East and West (since
both relationships have run into trouble when power is held more by one than the
other). It advances us in the process of “unlearning the inherent dominative mode”15
endemic to both binaries. It has taught me a very personal lesson about scholarship.
Through the writing of this last section, what has been revealed to me is that scholarship
doesn’t have to be a sort of colonial pursuit in which one seeks out a terrain yet unex-
plored by other scholars, exploits those indigenous to the area, plants one’s name on it,
and somehow claims ownership over the terrain and the resulting insights and ideas. It
has taught me that scholarship is about friendship based on a spirit of hospitality and
respect that fosters a community in which one can advance the shared understanding
of a given body of knowledge. I thank Ghulam for his example and this lesson. I can
feel proud to dedicate a life to such a noble pursuit.
As I sit writing this in my office at an American university where I just taught sec-
tions on the Malaysian wayang in both my Asian Theatre seminar and my class on 20th
and 21st Centuries World Theatre, I feel the irony of this last section of Hamzah’s biog-
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raphy I wish to share; it is almost as if his prophetic eye is watching me from above
with a grin:
Reflecting upon all this early response to the wayang and to later events that were to
bring many a casual foreign visitor, and more importantly, foreign academicians and
researchers to his door in Kampong Gerong, and realizing the seriousness with which
these visitors took his art form, he often commented on the depressing lack of interest
amongst Malaysians at nearly all levels of society in wayang kulit as well as in other arts
forms such as mak yong. Over the years only a handful have emerged to establish them-
selves in these areas. He often expressed his view that in future one would have to visit
America, in particular, to study Malaysian wayang kulit, musing that while the wayang
kulit would one day decline, and perhaps even disappear in the land of its origin, it
would possibly still be active in academic institutions in the West.16
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Appendix: Puppet Designs
Used in Scripts
These puppet designs were hand drawn by Juliana Forbes with India ink on vellum
paper from a variety of source materials, primarily actual Malaysian puppets, but some-
times from small renderings in books. Her challenge was to create a unified design that
would draw out the characters and remain faithful to traditional designs of the Malaysian
shadow puppet theatre.
All characters appear in the performance scripts in Chapter Five. To learn more
about the puppets in their traditional settings, see “About the Puppets” in Chapter One.
For more information on how they can be constructed for classroom use or performance,
see “Practical Considerations” in Chapter Five. Suggestions for materials to be used in
the puppets’ construction can be found in the Bibliography.
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Appendix: Puppet Designs Used in Scripts
Left: Pohon Beringin, or Tree-of Life (19" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda and When Ele-
phants Fight). Right: Dewa Panah Perempuan, or female demigod (24" high, puppet appears in
Dalang Muda).
170
Left: Dewa Panah Laki-laki or male demigod (24" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda).
Right: Maharisi (20" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda).
171
Left: Rama (25" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda, Hanuman Ikan, When Elephants
Fight, and Ezra and Icebaby). Right: Laksamana (25" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda,
Hanuman Ikan, and Ezra and Icebaby).
172
Left: Babu Sanam (22" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda). Right: Monkey Warriors (24.5"
high. This puppet design is for undifferentiated characters who are monkey warriors that include
Sagariwa, Anila, Anggada, Saburarong, Raja Tilan, Lang Lobit, and Lang Lobat who all appear
in Dalang Muda).
173
Left: Hanuman (28" high, puppet appears in Dalang Muda, Hanuman Ikan, When Elephants
Fight, and Ezra and Icebaby). Right: Mak Babu (14" high, puppet appears in Cherita Bentara
Kala).
174
Left: Bentara Kala (22" high, puppet appears in Cherita Bentara Kala). Right: Wak Long
(10.5" high, puppet appears in Cherita Bentara Kala, When Elephants Fight, and Ezra and
Icebaby).
175
Small versions of puppets for Hanuman, Rama, and Sita (9" each, puppets appear in Cherita
Bentara Kala, Hanuman Ikan, and When Elephants Fight).
176
Top left: Panggung or Performance Hut (16" high, puppet appears in Cherita Bentara Kala).
Top right: A Variety of Fish with Rocks in Their Teeth (around 11" high, puppets appear in
Hanuman Ikan). Bottom left: A Variety of Fish without Rocks in Their Teeth (around 11"
high, puppets appear in Hanuman Ikan). Bottom right: Supanna Matchu (11" high, puppet
appears in Hanuman Ikan).
177
Top left: Bonfire for Sita’s Test of Fire (10.5" high, puppet appears in When Elephants Fight).
Top right: Arrow (11" long, puppet appears in When Elephants Fight). Bottom left: Flaming
Volcano (13" high, puppet appears in Hanuman Ikan). Bottom right: Sun, Moon, and Stars
(8" high, puppet appears in Hanuman Ikan).
178
Top left: Cage for Rama (11" high, puppet appears in Hanuman Ikan). Top right: Several
Mosquitoes (around 4" high, puppets appear in Hanuman Ikan). Bottom left: Crescent Moon
(4.5" high, puppet appears in Ezra and Icebaby). Bottom right: Stick for Hanuman Ikan (9"
long, puppet appears in Hanuman Ikan).
179
Left: Sita (17.5" high, puppet appears in When Elephants Fight). Right: Ravana (28" high,
puppet appears in When Elephants Fight).
180
Top left: Hanuman Ikan (11" high, puppet appears in Hanuman Ikan). Top right: Pak Dogol
(12.5" high, puppet appears in When Elephants Fight and Ezra and Icebaby). Bottom left:
Chariot for Rama and Sita (7.5" high, puppet appears in When Elephants Fight). Bottom
right: Rock Jutting Out of the Water (12" high, puppet appears in Ezra and Icebaby).
181
Top left: Ezra (15" high, puppet appears in Ezra and Icebaby). Top right: Icebaby (12" high,
puppet appears in Ezra and Icebaby). Bottom: Great Wind (18" high, puppet appears in Ezra
and Icebaby).
182
Chapter Notes
Preface have an explanation. In all of my research, I have

never come across any information to explain this,
1. One of the expectations of Dalang Hamzah but the strangeness of it is worth noting.
upon being awarded the Anugerah Seni Negara — 2. P. L. Amin Sweeney, The Ramayana and the
the highest award for an artist in Malaysia — was for Malay Shadow-Play (Kuala Lumpur: National Uni-
him to write his autobiography. As Dalang Hamzah versity of Malaysia Press, 1972), 28.
was barely literate and not at all skilled or practiced 3. H. Ulbricht, Wayang Purw: Shadows of the Past
in writing, this task fell to his good friend and long- (Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1970), 1.
time collaborator, Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, who was 4. James Brandon, The Cambridge Guide to Asian
expected to complete the task in only three months. Theatre (New York: Cambridge University Press,
Accepting the heroic challenge, he completed all the 1993), 121.
necessary library and field research, interviews, and 5. It is interesting to note the current account for
writing in that time frame. The book was published the origin of the Javanese shadow puppet theatre now
in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. Given that it in an Islamic Java. Though there is evidence that the
is such an important record of Hamzah’s life and art, shadow theatre developed during the period of time
and that it was written by such an extremely qualified that Java was Hindu and Buddhist, Javanese shadow
scholar, it is a shame that it has had such a limited puppet artists “trace the origin of their theatre
publication and is so hard for scholars outside practice to the Wali Sangga, the ‘Nine Saints’ who
Malaysia to obtain. Even I only have a photocopied converted the island to Islam.” Wali Sunan Kalijaga
version of this important work. is credited with devising Wayang Kulit Purwa, per-
2. Ronald Grimes, Beginnings in Ritual Studies forming it in mosques and requiring the Muslim
(Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1982), confession of faith as the price of viewing. Though
11. not necessarily historical fact, these statements reveal
inner truth — the local tradition was redefined, and
new features characterized Muslim-Javanese as op-
Introduction posed to Hindu-Balinese arts. For more on this see
James Brandon, The Cambridge Guide to Asian The-
1. Since the manner for indicating the plural form atre (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993),
for a noun in Bahasa Malaysia is to repeat the word 124.
twice (and three times if there are many of some- 6. Ibid.
thing), I use the English phrase “puppet masters” to 7. The Wayang Beber —though not actually
substitute the use of the equivalent term dalang evolved from the Wayang Kulit but rather a form that
dalang in Bahasa, as I anticipate that this substitution likely influenced the evolution of the Wayang Kulit—
would be more intelligible for the average reader. is another form that is worth noting. Though it is
2. For more in-depth information on the various neither in shadow nor does it involve puppets, it rep-
layering of gods as expressed through the Malaysian resents an early visual extension of storytelling from
shadow puppet theatre, see Beth Osnes, The Quest, which the Wayang Kulit probably evolved. One of
“Understanding Religious Beliefs through the the oldest forms of performance storytelling, the
Malaysian Traditional Shadow Puppet Theatre,” Wayang Beber dates to the fourth or fifth century.
Theosophic Society, Wheaton, IL (Spring 1994): 70– The storytelling is done by a narrator who with one
73, 89. hand unrolls a scroll wrapped around a pole while
with the other hand winding the other end of the
scroll onto a second pole. The story-pictures on the
Chapter One scroll follow the narrator’s dramatization. This tra-
dition of using visual aids in telling the stories of the
1. When I first learned that they made shadow Ramayana and the Mahabharata was greatly elabo-
puppets out of cowhide, I thought it was very strange rated in the Wayang Kulit form. For more on the Ja-
to dramatize a Hindu tale using cowhide since the vanese wayang see Ward Keeler, Javanese Shadow
cow is sacred in India. I asked my teacher, Dalang Puppets (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).
Hamzah Awang Amat, about this and he did not 8. For more information on the Wayang Golek see
183
Chapter Notes
Andrew Weintraub, Power Plays: Wayang Golek 9. For more information on the Panji Tales see
Puppet Theater (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004), S.O. Robson, Wangbang Wideya: A Javanese Pañji
and Mimi Herbert, and Nur Rahardjo, Voices of the Romance (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1971), and
Puppet Masters: The Wayang Golek Theater of Indone- P.J. Zoetmulder, Kalangwan: A Survey of Old Javanese
sia (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002). Literature (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1974).
9. For more information on the Balinese wayang
see Mary Zurbuchen, The Language of Balinese
Shadow Theater (New Jersey: Princeton University
Press, 1987).
Chapter Three
10. James Brandon, The Cambridge Guide to 1. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, The Malay Shadow
Asian Theatre (New York: Cambridge University Play: An Introduction (Penang: Asian Centre, 1997),
Press, 1993), 121. 6.
11. D.G.E. Hall, A History of South-East Asia, 1st 2. P.L. Amin Sweeney, The Ramayana and the
ed. (New York: St. Martin’s, 1955), 99. Malay Shadow-Play (Kuala Lumpur: National Uni-
12. Samdach Chaufea Thiounn, Danses Cam- versity of Malaysia Press, 1972), 3.
bodgiennes (Phnom Penh, 1956), 89. 3. Yousof, The Malay Shadow Play, 7.
13. For more information on the Thai shadow 4. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay
puppet theatre see James Brandon, The Cambridge Shadow-Play, 54.
Guide to Asian Theatre (New York: Cambridge Uni- 5. Barbara Ann Stein Wright, Wayang Siam: An
versity Press, 1993), 243–4. Ethnographic Study of the Malay Shadow Play in Ke-
14. Stuart Blackburn, Inside the Drama-House: lantan (PhD diss., Yale University; Ann Arbor: Uni-
Rama Stories and Shadow Puppets in South India versity of Michigan Press, 1980), 94.
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996), 1. 6. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay
For more on this debate see Victor Mair, Painting Shadow-Play, 26.
and Performance: Chinese Picture Recitation and Its 7. Richard, O. Winstedt, The Malays: A Cultural
Indian Genesis (Honolulu: University of Hawaii History (Singapore: Graham Brash, 1981), 27.
Press, 1988). 8. Albert Hourani, Albert, A History of the Arab
15. Roberta Helmer Stalberg, China’s Puppets People (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard Uni-
(San Francisco: China Books, 1984), 86. versity Press, 1991), 56.
16. For more information on the shadow puppet 9. James Brandon, Theatre in Southeast Asia
theatre of China see Roberta Helmer Stalberg, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974), 32.
China’s Puppets (San Francisco: China Books, 1984), 10. Winstedt, The Malays, 1.
85–99. 11. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay
17. J. Tilakasiri, The Puppet Theatre of Asia (Cey- Shadow-Play, 41.
lon: Department of Cultural Affairs, 1968), 7. 12. Patricia Matusky, “Music in the Malay
Shadow Puppet Theater,” (PhD diss., University of
Michigan,1980), 118.
Chapter Two 13. Yousof, The Malay Shadow Play, 64.
14. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay
1. James Brandon, Theatre in Southeast Asia Shadow-Play. p. 42.
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974), 29. 15. Ibid.
2. Ibid., 90. 16. Wright, Wayang Siam, 123.
3. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, The Malay Shadow 17. Ibid., 44.
Play: An Introduction (Penang: Asian Centre, 1997), 18. Ibid., 46.
8. 19. Anker Rentse, “The Kelantan Shadow Play,”
4. Ibid., 25–39. Journal Malayan Branch 14 (1936): 285.
5. Barbara Ann Stein Wright, “Wayang Siam: 20. Rentse, “The Kelantan Shadow Play,” 285.
An Ethnographic Study of the Malay Shadow Play 21. Sweeney,The Ramayana and the Malay
in Kelantan.” (Phd diss., Yale University; Ann Arbor: Shadow-Play, 274.
University of Michigan Press, 1980), 105–107. 22. Rentse, “The Kelantan Shadow Play,” 290.
6. Robert P. Goldman, “Resisting Rama: Dharmic 23. Yousof, The Malay Shadow Play, 50.
Debates on Gender and Hierarchy and the Work of 24. Ibid.
the Valmiki Ramayana,” in The Ramayana Revisited, 25. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, “Feasting of the Spir-
edited by Mandakranta Bose (Oxford: Oxford Uni- its: The Berjamu Ritual Performance in the Kelan-
versity Press, 2004), p. 24. tanese Wayang Siam Shadow Play,” Journal of
7. William Buck, trans., The Mahabharata Malaysian Studies (1 June 1983): 96.
(University of California Press: Berkeley, 2000), 106. 26. Ibid., 98.
8. Ibid., 259. 27. Ibid., 110.
184
Chapter Notes
28. Ibid., 112. 6. This line is from the poem entitled “Villanelle:
29. Ibid., 114. The Psychological Hour,” by Ezra Pound, page 40 in
30. Brandon, Theatre in Southeast Asia, 317. Selected Poems of Ezra Pound, 1957 New Directions
31. Olive Blackham, Shadow Puppets. (New York: Paperbook: New York. Indeed the character of Ezra
Harper, 1960), 29. in this play is inspired in sprit by the poetry of Ezra
32. Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese, The Pound and is intended only out of deep affection for
Secret Art of the Performer: A Dictionary of Theatre his writing and not from his biographical life, which
Anthropolog y (New York: Routledge, 1991), 12. is more problematic (as he was an expatriate living in
33. Blackham, Shadow Puppets, 30. Italy during World War II and was indicted for
34. Ibid., 29. treason by the U.S. government in 1943 for anti–
35. Wright, Wayang Siam, 145. American views he expressed during the war,
36. Matusky, “Music in the Malay Shadow primarily against bankers).
Puppet Theater,” 94. 7. The phrase “Come my songs” is from another
37. Ibid., 49. poem by Ezra Pound, “Salvationists,” Selected Poems
38. Ibid., 175–177. of Ezra Pound. New York: New Directions, 1980, 32.
39. Roberta Helmer Stalberg, China’s Puppets 8. The suffix “lah” is used colloquially in
(San Francisco: China Books, 1984), 86. Malaysia to give emphasis to a word or to the entire
40. Moebirman, Wayang Purwa ( Jakarta: statement.
Yayassan Pelita Wisata, 1973), 45. 9. Translates to “This is a person from Iceland.
41. Ibid., 46. His name is Icebaby.”
42. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay 10. Replace the cultural reference to America
Shadow-Play, 36. (here hip-hop) with any that you think will most de-
43. Matusky, “Music in the Malay Shadow light your particular audience. Just set Wak Long up
Puppet Theater,” 61. to get a laugh.
44. Wright, Wayang Siam, 100.
45. Sujiah Salleh, “Shadow of an Art,” Malaysian
Tattler ( July 1991): 146.
46. Ibid.
Chapter Five
47. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay 1. Jill Dolan, Geographies of Learning: Theory
Shadow-Play, 31. and Practice, Activism and Performance (Middletown,
48. Ibid., 32. CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2001), 4.
49. Salleh, “Shadow of an Art,” 146. 2. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, Angin Wayang: A Bi-
50. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay ography of a Master Puppeteer (Kuala Lumpur: Min-
Shadow-Play, 41. istry of Culture 1997), 43.
51. Ibid., 43. 3. Ibid., 44.
52. Ibid., 44. 4. Ibid., vi.
53. Wright, Wayang Siam, 102. 5. Ibid., vii.
54. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay 6. Ibid., 66.
Shadow-Play, 36. 7. Ibid., 67.
55. Ibid., 38. 8. Ibid., 43.
9. Ibid., 27.
10. Edward Said, Orientalism (New York:
Chapter Four Vintage, 1979), 3.
11. Ibid., 5.
1. P. L. Amin Sweeney, The Ramayana and the 12. Ibid., 7.
Malay Shadow-Play (Kuala Lumpur: National Uni- 13. Antoin Artaud, The Theatre and Its Double
versity of Malaysia Press, 1972), 408. (NewYork: Grove, 1985), 65.
2. Patricia Matusky, “Music in the Malay 14. Helen Gilbert and Joanne Tompkins, Post-
Shadow Puppet Theater.” (PhD diss., University of Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice and Politics (New
Michigan,1980), 76–77. York: Routledge, 1996), 3.
3. Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay 15. William Raymond, Culture and Society, 1780–
Shadow-Play, 348. 1950 (London: Chatto & Windus, 1958), 376.
4. Ibid., 277. 16. Yousof, Angin Wayang, 28.
5. Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, The Malay Shadow
Play: An Introduction (Penang: Asian Centre, 1997),
54.
185
Bibliography
by Candace M. Joice and Elizabeth Jochum
The following is intended to assist you in locating the tools, scripts, and materials you
will need to create your own Wayang Kulit shadow puppet theatre, and to assist you
in further study of the Malaysian shadow puppet theatre. You will find that we have
included not only some of the books, videos, and music resources that might assist
you and your students in fully conceiving a Wayang Kulit shadow puppet production,
but we have also included some helpful ideas regarding where you can access some of
the physical materials you will need to create your own puppets, shadow screen, and
other production paraphernalia. It is our hope that this guide will provide you with
exactly what you are looking for, or that it will at least serve as a springboard for you
to find everything you need for your own puppet theatre.
Print Sources Blackburn, Stuart. Inside the Drama-House: Rama

Stories and Shadow Puppets in South India.
(Please note that books that are especially Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
valuable as music resources are included in the Blackham, Olive. Shadow Puppets. New York:
music section of this resource guide.) Harper, 1960. This text gives descriptions of
Artaud, Antoin. Theatre and Its Double. New shadow puppet theatres across the world, in-
York: Grove, 1985. cluding practical information regarding ma-
Asian Theatre Journal. Honolulu: University of terials for puppets, staging, sets, and lighting.
Hawaii Press, 1984. In addition to the nu- Blank, Jonah. Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God:
merous articles on shadow puppet theatre Retracing the Ramayana through India.
across Asia, a number of entries in the Asian Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992.
Theatre Journal include scripts for shadow Bohmer, Gunter. Puppets. London: Macdonald,
puppet plays. Of particular interest are arti- 1969.
cles in volume 18, which features numerous Brandon, James. The Cambridge Guide to Asian
articles on shadow puppet plays. Theatre. New York: Cambridge University
Barba, Eugenio, and Nicola Savarese. The Secret Press, 1993.
Art of the Performer: A Dictionary of Theatre _____. Theatre in Southeast Asia. Cambridge:
Anthropolog y. New York: Routledge, 1991. Harvard University Press, 1974.
Bickman, Martin. “Active Learning in the Uni- Broman, Sven. Shadows of Life: Nang Talung.
versity: An Inquiry into Inquiry.” In On Orchard: Bangkok, 2006. This text describes
Teaching. Vol 1. Edited by Mary Ann Shea. the Thai shadow puppet theatre. Though the
Boulder: University of Colorado, Faculty theatre of Thailand is quite distinct from the
Teaching Excellence Program, 1990. Malaysian shadow puppet theatre, this text
Binyon, Helen. Puppetry Today: Designing and may be useful to you in that it does include
Making Marionettes, Hand Puppets, Rod Pup- photographs of 147 Thai puppets.
pets, and Shadow Puppets. New York: Wat- Buck, William, trans. The Mahabharata. Berke-
son-Guptil, 1966. This text provides a prac- ley: University of California Press, 2000.
tical guide for designing puppets. Chen, Fan Pen Li. Visions for the Masses: Chinese
187
Bibliography
Shadow Plays from Shaanxi and Shanxi. year, this is an international scholarly journal
Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004. that focuses its study of the region on lan-
Cohen, Matthew Isaac, Alessandra Lopez Y. guages, literature, art, archaeology, history, re-
Royo, and Laura Noszlopy. “Indonesian Per- ligion, anthropology and the performing arts.
forming Arts Across Borders.” Indonesia and Irvine, David. Leather Gods and Wooden Heroes.
the Malay World 35, no. 101 (March 2007): Singapore: Time, 2006. Containing numer-
1–7. New York: Routledge. ous illustrations in both color and black and
Cuisiner, Jeanne. Le Theatre D’Ombres a Ke- white, this text focuses on the wayang purwa
lantan. Paris: Gallimard, 1957. puppet theatre, including origins, stories,
Currell, David. The Complete Book of Puppetry. music, types of puppets, performance topics,
Boston: PLAYS, 1975. and principal characters.
_____. Shadow Puppets and Shadow Play. Wilt- Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic
shire: Crowood, 2008. This text gives de- Society. This journal has been published under
tailed descriptions and diagrams for con- three different names in its 130-year history;
struction and manipulation of shadow it covers historical topics relevant to peninsular
puppets, framework and scenery. Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, and Sin-
Dolan, Jill. Geographies of Learning: Theory and gapore.
Practice, Activism and Performance. Middle- Keeler, Ward. Javanese Shadow Plays, Javanese
town, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. Selves. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
Exner, Carol R. Practical Puppetry A–Z: A 1987.
Guide for Librarians and Teachers. Jefferson, _____. Javanese Shadow Puppets. New York:
NC: McFarland, 2005. Intended for teachers, Oxford University Press, 1992.
this text offers further assistance in using Mair, Victor. Painting and Performance: Chinese
puppets in the classroom, with a brief section Picture Recitation and Its Indian Genesis.
focused solely on shadow puppetry. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988.
Gilbert, Helen, and Joanne Tompkins. Post- Matusky, Patricia. Malaysian Shadow Play and
Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice and Politics. Music: Continuity of an Oral Tradition. Kuala
New York: Routledge, 1996. Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Goldman, Robert P. “Resisting Rama: Dharmic _____.“Music in the Malay Shadow Puppet The-
Debates on Gender and Hierarchy and the ater.” PhD diss. University of Michigan, 1980.
Work of the Valmiki Ramayana.” In The Ra- _____. The Music of Malaysia: The Classical,
mayana Revisited. Edited by Mandakranta Folk, and Syncretic Traditions. London: Ash-
Bose. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. gate, 2004.
Grimes, Ronald. Beginnings in Ritual Studies. Meschke, Michael, and Margaretta Soerenson.
Lanham, MD: University Press of America, In Search of Aesthetics for the Puppet Theatre.
1982. New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre
Hall, D.G.E. A History of South-East Asia. 1st for the Arts, South Asia Books, 1992. This text
ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1955. mainly addresses aesthetics in puppetry, but
Herbert, Mimi, and Nur Rahardjo. Voices of the the appendix includes a section on how to
Puppet Masters: The Wayang Golek Theater of make and play shadow puppets. Also useful
Indonesia. Honolulu: University of Hawaii are the detailed descriptions of movement.
Press, 2002. Miettinen, Jukka O. Classical Dance and Theatre
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab People. in South-East Asia. Singapore: Oxford Uni-
Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard Uni- versity Press, 1992. This text gives a description
versity Press, 1991. of theatrical traditions in Burma, Thailand,
Indonesia and the Malay World. New York: Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Routledge. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/ Moebirman. Wayang Purwa. Jakarta: Yayassan
titles/13639811.asp. Published three times a Pelita Wisata, 1973.
188
Bibliography
Morgan, Stephanie, and Laurie Jo Sears, eds. Aes- Samdach, Chaufea Thiounn. Danses Cambodgi-
thetic Tradition and Cultural Transition in Java ennes. Phnom Penh, 1956.
and Bali. Madison, WI: Center for Southeast Scott-Kemble, Jeune. Javanese Shadow Puppets.
Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, 1984. Great Britain: Shenval, 1970. This text dis-
Mrazak, Jan. Phenomenolog y of a Puppet cusses cultural and historical perspective of
Theatre: Contemplations on the Art of Javanese Javanese puppet theatre, with many terrific
Wayang Kulit. Jakarta: Kitlv, 2006. color photographs and detailed plates of
_____. Puppet Theater in Contemporary Indonesia: puppets and stages.
New Approaches to Performance Events. Ann Shahrum bin Yub. “The Technical Aspects of
Arbor: University of Michigan Centers for the Kelantan Malay Shadow Play Theatre.”
South and Southeast Asian Studies, 2002. This Federal Museums Journal 15. Kuala Lumpur:
is a collection of published essays on wayang Museums Department, States of Malaya,
performances and aesthetics in Indonesia. New Series, 1970.
Mulyono, Ir. Sri. Human Character in the Sheppard, Mubin. Living Crafts of Malaysia.
Wayang. Singapore: Gunung Agung, 1981. Singapore: Time, 1978.
Osnes, Beth. “Malaysia’s Evolving Shadow Simmen, Rene. The World of Puppets. New
Puppet Theatre.” Asian Theatre Journal 9 York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975. This in-
(Spring 1992): 112–116. cludes a chapter on shadow shows and cre-
_____. “Theatre: South and Southeast Asia.” ating your own puppet shows.
In World Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed- Sorgenfrei, Carol Fisher. “The State of Asian The-
ited by Gary Xu and Vinay Dharwadker. atre Studies in the American Academy.” Theatre
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2007: 320–334. Survey 47, no. 2 (November 2006): 217–223.
“Understanding Religious Beliefs Through the Stalberg, Roberta Helmer. China’s Puppets. San
Malaysian Traditional Shadow Puppet The- Francisco: China Books, 1984.
atre.” The Quest. Theosophical Society Sweeney, P.L. Amin. Malay Shadow Puppets:
(Spring 1994): 70–73, 89. The Wayang Siam of Kelantan. London:
Piaget, Jean. Science of Education and the Psy- Trustees of the British Museum, 1972.
cholog y of the Child. Translated by Derek _____.The Ramayana and the Malay Shadow-
Coltman. New York: Orion, 1970. Play. Kuala Lumpur: National University of
Pound, Ezra. Selected Poems of Ezra Pound. New Malaysia Press, 1972. This text examines the
York: New Directions, 1957. shadow puppet theatre of Malaysia in rela-
Raymond, William. Culture and Society, 1780 – tionship to the telling of the story of Rama.
1950. London: Chatto & Windus, 1958. Tilakasiri, J. The Puppet Theatre of Asia. Ceylon:
Reiniger, Lotte. Shadow Puppets, Shadow The- Department of Cultural Affairs, 1968.
atres and Shadow Films. New York: Watson- Ulbricht, H. Wayang Purwa: Shadows of the Past.
Guptil, 1970. Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1970.
Rentse, Anker. “The Kelantan Shadow-Play.” Van Ness, Edward, and Shita Prawirohardjo.
Journal Malayan Branch 14 (1936): 284–301. Javanese Wayang Kulit. New York: Oxford
_____. “The Origin of the Wayang Theatre University Press, 1984.
Shadow Play.” Journal Malayan Branch 20 Weintraub, Andrew. Power Plays: Wayang Golek
(1947): 12–15. Puppet Theater. Athens: Ohio University
Robson, S.O. Wangbang Wideya: A Javanese Press, 2004
Pañji Romance. The Hague: Martinus Ni- Winstedt, Richard, O. The Malays: A Cultural
jhoff, 1971. History. Singapore: Graham Brash, 1981,
Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Wright, Barbara Ann Stein. Wayang Siam: An
Books, 1979. Ethnographic Study of the Malay Shadow Play
Salleh, Sujiah. “Shadow of an Art.” Malaysian in Kelantan. PhD diss. Yale University, Ann
Tattler ( July 1991): 144–149. Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1980.
189
Bibliography
Yousof, Ghulam-Sarwar. Angin Wayang: A Bi- ternational, 1994. This is a Chinese film that
ography of a Master Puppeteer. Kuala Lumpur: includes Chinese shadow puppet theatre.
Ministry of Culture 1997. Wayang Golék: Performing Arts of Sunda, West
_____. Dictionary of Traditional South-East Java. Directed by Milton Keynes. BBC, En-
Asian Theatre. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford Uni- gland: Open University; New York: Distrib-
versity Press, 1994. uted by Insight Media, 1998. This video
_____. “Feasting of the Spirits: The Berjamu demonstrates the performing arts of Java, in-
Ritual Performance in the Kelantanese cluding Javanese puppet theatre.
Wayang Siam Shadow Play.” Journal of The Year of Living Dangerously. Directed by
Malaysian Studies (1 June 1983). Peter Weir. Warner Home Video, 1983. This
_____. The Malay Shadow Play: An Introduction. film includes scenes featuring Javanese
Penang: Asian Centre, 1997. Wayang Kulit.
_____. Panggung Semar: Aspects of Traditional
Malay Theatre. Selangor, Malaysia: Tempo,
1992. Music Resources
Zoetmulder, P.J. Kalangwan: A Survey of Old
Javanese Literature. The Hague: Martinus (Please note that the following resources in-
Nijhoff, 1974. clude both sound recordings and books with
Zurbuchen, Mary. The Language of Balinese musical compositions.)
Shadow Theater. New Jersey: Princeton Uni- American Gamelan Institute. http://www.game
versity Press, 1987. lan.org/. This fantastic Website will not only
connect you to a catalog of gamelan music
available for purchase and to a library of edu-
Videos cational gamelan resources, but it also contains
Exploration of the Shadow World. http://shad- a directory of gamelan groups around the
owlightstore.semkhor.com. The series in- world. Each directory entry indicates the reper-
cludes the documentary films as well as the toire, instruments, and contact information.
traditional and innovative shadow work per- Felciano, Richard, and Frank Retzel. Frank Ret-
formed by the Shadow Light Company, di- zel: Horae; Richard Felciano: In Celebration
rected by Larry Reed. of Golden Rain: Concerto for Organ and Or-
Gamelan Music of Java: An Introduction. East- chestra. Opus One, 1995. CD.
West Center and University of Hawaii at Indonesia: Music of the Theatre. Naïve, 1999.
Manoa. Honolulu: East-West Culture CD. This is a sound recording that includes
Learning Institute, East-West Center, 1983. Langen mandra wanara (“Song of the Mon-
The JVC Video Antholog y of World Music and keys”) from the Ramayana and Langen
Dance: Southeast Asia. Tokyo: JVC, Victor driyan. Entertainment for the Heart. www.
Company of Japan, 1988; Rounder Records: unesco.org/culture/cdmusic.
Cambridge, 1990. Indonesia: Wayang Golek: The Sound and Cele-
The JVC Video Antholog y of World Music and brations of Sudanese Puppet Theatre. Multi-
Dance: Southeast Asia. Produced by Ichikawa cultural Media, 2001. CD. This is a sound
Katsumori. Directed by Nakagawa Kunihiko. recording of live performance of The Birth
Tokyo: JVC, Victor Co. of Japan. Berlin, VT: of Gatotkaca; the booklet includes detailed
Distributed by Multicultural Media, 2005. notes of performance and performance flow-
The Prosperity of Wibisana: A Performance of Ja- chart. A six-CD set.
vanese Wayang Kulit. Resonance Media, Port- Jayus Nyoman Bamboo Ensemble. Indonesia:
land, 1995. This video also demonstrates Ja- Jegog, the Rhythmic Power of Bamboo. Music
vanese puppet theatre. Earth Multicultural Media, 1997. CD.
To Live. Directed by Yimou Zhang. ERA In- Lombok, Kalimantan, Banyumas: Little-known
190
Bibliography
Forms of Gamelan and Wayang. Smithsonian Various Artists. Gamelan Music of Bali. Lyri-
Folkways, 1997. CD. A recording of gamelan chord Discs, 1993. CD.
for shadow puppet theatre plays is presented Ziporyn, Evan. Gamelan Galak Tika: Amok!
and includes Mayagn Sasak; Jemblung; Tire Fire. New World Records, 2000.
Mayang Banjar; and Topeng Banjar.
Matusky, Patricia. The Music of Malaysia: The
Classical, Folk, and Syncretic Traditions. Lon-
CDs
don: Ashgate, 2004. This text examines the (To obtain a copy of the recorded music used
history and tradition surrounding the many for the Dalang Muda script, please contact Beth
forms of Malaysian music and provides nu- Osnes. Copies will be provided on a person-
merous musical compositions of traditional to-person basis for educational purposes.
Malaysian music that you may find useful Handwritten sheet music for Ezra and Icebaby,
should you like to create your own live accom- composed by Dr. David Silver, is available for
paniments. Portions of the book are available nonprofit and educational purposes by contact-
as an online resource at books.google.com. ing Beth Osnes: Beth Osnes, Assistant Professor,
Pickvance, Richard. A Gamelan Manual: A Department of Theatre and Dance, University
Player’s Guide to the Central Javanese Game- of Colorado UCB 261, Boulder CO 80309.
lan. Jaman Mas, 2006. This is an introduc- Phone: 303-492-0731; e-mail: beth.osnes@col
tory guide to performing gamelan music and orado.edu.
would be especially useful for a beginner.
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. Soundscapes: Exploring
Music in a Changing World. Norton, 2001. Scripts
This book intends to introduce the study of Brandon, James R., Pandam Guritno, and
music to students by first introducing the Roger A. Long. On Thrones of Gold: Three
various cultural and social “soundscapes” of Javanese Shadow Plays. Honolulu: University
the world. of Hawaii Press, 1993. This is a practical
The Sultan’s Pleasure: Javanese Gamelan and guidebook for staging Javanese shadow pup-
Vocal Music. Music of the World, 1989. CD. pet plays, with information about music and
Sunandar Sunarya, Asep. Indonesia: Wayang movement techniques, as well as English
Golek, The Sound and Celebration of Sun- translations of play scripts for The Reincar-
danese Puppet Theater. Multicultural Media, nation of Rama; Irawan’s Wedding; and The
2001. CD. Death of Karna.
Tenzer, Michael. Balinese Music. Berkeley: Chen, Fan Pen. “The Temple of Guanyin: A
Periplus, 1998. This text not only covers the Chinese Shadow Play.” Asian Theatre Journal
history and culture of Balinese music, it also 16, no. 1 (Spring 1999): 60–106. Honolulu:
contains such practical considerations as the University of Hawaii Press. This article in-
construction and tuning of instruments, and cludes color photographs of the puppets
other information that may be helpful to the along with the playscript.
educator or student interested in accompa- Chen, Fan Pen Li. Chinese Shadow Theatre:
nying their own shadow puppet theatre. History, Popular Religion, and Women War-
Various Artists. Jegog of Negara: Bamboo Game- riors. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University
lan And Other Bamboo. World Music Library, Press, 2007. This book includes three Chi-
1994. CD. nese shadow scripts.
Various Artists. Gamelan Semar Pegulingan: deBoer, Fredrik E., and Nyoman Rajeg. “The
Gamelan of the Love God. Nonesuch, 1972. Dimba and Dimbi of I Nyoman Rajeg: A
CD. Balinese Shadow Play.” Asian Theatre Journal
Various Artists. Javanese Court Gamelan. None- 4, no.1 (Spring 1987): 76–107. Honolulu:
such, 1991. CD. University of Hawaii Press.
191
Bibliography
Shadow Screen arapuppet.com/. This is the Website of the

Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust in New Delhi.
Online Fabric Store —www.onlinefabricstore. Puppeteers of America. http://www.puppete
net. This supplier provides muslin as large ers.org/. This Website includes resources,
as 125" ¥ 36" to create your shadow screen. services, events, and materials related to
Rose Brand. www.rosebrand.com. This supplier many forms of puppetry, and it also includes
specializes in theatrical fabrics and other re- access to the Puppetry Journal. See volumes
lated production needs. You will find high- 50, 55, and 60 for articles on Indonesian and
quality muslin in almost any size you need. Balinese shadow puppetry in particular.
Puppetry International. http://www.unima-usa.
org/publications/index.html. A biannually
Puppets issued journal published by UNIMA (Union
LCI Paper. www.lcipaper.com. To make puppets Internationale de la Marionnette, the oldest
out of cardstock, visit LCI Paper, where you international theatre organization in the
can purchase 13" ¥ 20" cardstock. This non- world, founded in 1929) that often has issues
traditional size is difficult to find in local on Asian and Southeast Asian shadow pup-
stores, but it is better for making puppets in petry. Some issues are available online.
order to increase their visibility for the audi- Shadow Puppet Museum in Jakarta. http://
ence. Inexpensive poster board, which is easily www.indonesia-tourism.com/jakarta/shadow-
available, can also work in making puppets. puppets-museum.html. Should you travel to
Murni’s Online Shop. http://www.murnis.com/ Indonesia, you may wish to visit the Shadow
onlineshop/shadow_puppets_balinese/index.h Puppet Museum. The above Website pro-
tm. This online shop provides you with vides information on the museum.
the opportunity to purchase authentic pup- UNIMA. http://www.unima-usa.org/about/ind
pets. There is a wide range of products avail- ex.html. Union Internationale de la Marion-
able on this site, including Wayang Kulit nette, the oldest international theatre organ-
puppets. ization in the world, founded in 1929. The
Tandy Leather Factory. www.tandyleatherfactory. organization’s mission is to promote inter-
com. You can purchase rawhide, mallets, and national understanding and friendship
carving tools from TLF. In addition to their through the art of puppetry.
online catalog, you can request a free mailer- University of Colorado’s Center for Asian Stud-
catalog from TLF to better peruse the ies Video Library. http://www.colorado.edu/
available options. Dr. Osnes especially rec- CAS/Video_library.html. Go to the CAS
ommends the rawhide bends for the clown Website for a video recording of Dr. Osnes
puppets as it is especially strong, and goat performing the Dalang Muda.
rawhide for the all of the other puppets. You
may also wish to consider purchasing rawhide
lace for securing puppets at the joints by mak-
ing a knot at each side after placing the lace
Panels
through the holes in the two puppet pieces. “Ritual and Performance in South and Southeast
Asia.” Western Conference of the Association
for Asian Studies (September 14, 2008).
Other Internet Resources “Revealed in Shadows: The Malaysian Shadow
ASEAS. http://www.aseansec.org/. This is the Puppet Theatre.” Here you will find videos
official Website for the Association of South- of Dr. Osnes as she demonstrates perform-
east Asian Nations, which includes a section ance of the Dalang Muda script. The video
on culture and the arts. provides both the perspective of the audience
Ishara International Puppet Festival. www.ish and the perspective of the puppet master.
192
Index
adharma 36 Daha 48 Hinduism 21

agin 66–67, 83 dalang 10, 18, 56–57, 61, 69, 72– humor 76–79
Allah 69 73; life and training 82–86 Husain 55–56
alus 15 Dalang 10
Amahi Lara 49 Dalang Muda 3, 64, 70, 74, 84, ibu 35
Andhra Pradesh 27 88, 97, 192 Icebaby 124, 182
Anggada 34, 98, 118, 173 dalang muda 53, 84 ikan 112
Angkor Thom 24 Dalang Wija 23 Ilmu Dalam 66
Angkor Wat 24 Dance-drama 29 India 26
Angrurah Arsa 49 dance of opposites 75 Indonesia 19
Anila 34, 98, 118, 173 Dasharatha 36 Indra 44
Anugerah Seni Negara 160 Dewa Berembun 110 Islam 19, 21, 68, 162
Arjuna 43–47 Dewa Laki-laki 64–65 Istana Budaya 91
Ashvatthama 47 Dewa Panah Laki-laki 97, 171
Awang La 107 Dewa Panah Perempuan 97, 170 Janaka 37
Ayang 25 Dewa Perempuan 64–65 Jataka 27
Ayodhya 36 dharma 36 Jatayu 38–39
Dhritarashtra 43–47 Java 13, 21, 77
Babu Sanam 98, 118, 173 Dinding Dunia 60, 107 Jayadartha 47
Baju Merah 62, 77, 83–84 Draupadi 44–47 Jayavarman II 24
baka 7 Drona 47 Jentayn 34
baku panggung 67 Duryodhana 44–47 jinn 162
Bali (character in Ramayana) Dushasana 45 Johor 54, 84
34
Bali (island in Indonesia) 13, 21, Ezra 124, 182 Kabuki 29
23 Ezra and Icebaby 124 kadehan 48
Bangsawan 157 Kaikeyi 36–37
Barba, Eugenio 75, 153 Galuh 48 Kala 43, 70
Bentara Kala 70, 104, 175 gamelan 11, 49, 61, 79–82, 191 Karna 46
berjamu 68–71, 85, 103 Gandhari 44 Kauravas 44–47
Betara Guru 71, 108, 118 Ganesha 27 Kaushalya 36
Bhagavad Gita 43, 47 gedombak anak 80 kayon 76
Bharadvaja 38 gedombak ibu 80 kazar 15
Bharata 36 geduk anak 80 Kedah 2, 54–55
Bhima 17, 44–47 geduk ibu 80 Kelantan 3, 54–55, 81
Bhishma 43–47 Gelanggang Seni 91 kenduri 68–69
bomoh 83, 161–162 gendang anak 79 kesi 80
Brahma 42 gendang ibu 79 Khara 38
branch stories 35, 66 Gunong 86 Khatijah Awang 157
Buddhism 19 Guru Yang Asal 69 Khmer 24
buku panggung 69 Guru Yang Mula Khon 26, 29
Bunraku 29 Khoo, Eddin 91–92
Burma 4 haji 86 kris 65
Burmese Marionettes 29 Hamat, Hamzah Awang 2, 4, Krishna 22, 43–47
30, 63, 66, 79, 81, 83, 104, Kunti 43–44
Cambodia 3–4, 13, 24, 110 107, 155–156, 158, 183 Kuripan 48
canang 80 Hanuman 34, 98, 110, 118, 174 Kusha 42
Cerita Bentara Kala 103 Hanuman Ikan 35, 98, 110–111,
Cerita Kusi Serawi 33 181 Lagu Dewa Panah Perang 99
Cerita Mahraja Wana 33, 85 Hassan Bin Daud 86–90 Lagu Dewa Panah Turun 99
China 26, 28 Hastinapura 43–47 Lagu Hulubalang Seri Rama 100
comedy 76–79 Hikayat Seri Rama 33 Lagu Maharisi 75, 98
193
Index
Lagu Menyembah 101 Pak Dogol 17, 77–78, 89, 104, Supana Matcha 110–111, 177
Lagu Seri Rama Berkabar 102 118, 125, 181 supernatural 19
Lagu Seri Rama Keluar 99 Pakda Meknya 84 sutradhara 27–28
Lagu Seri Rama Masuk Istana 103 Panchala 44
Lakon Nai 26 Panchavati 38 Teng-ying Xi 28
Laksamana 33–43, 98, 112, 125, Pandava brothers 43–47 Thailand 13, 24–26, 54, 110
172 Pandu 43–47 Tholu Bommalata 27
Lang Lobat 98, 119, 173 panggung 59–61, 69, 105, 177 Tholu Pava Koothu 27
Lang Lobit 98, 119, 173 Panji tales 33, 47–50, 55 tree-of-life 65–66, 76, 87, 97,
Langkapuri 35 Pawon-awon 48 111, 118, 170
Lanka 40 pelimau 85
Laos 13 pemetik 80 Ultimate Teacher 69
lapas permainan 69 Peran Hutan 70 Urvasi 46
Lava 42 Perlis 54 Uttara 47
Longka 112 Picasso, Pablo 89
Pin Peat 25 Vali 39; see also Bali
Madri 43 Pi-ying Xi 28 Valmiki 32
Magadha 48 pohon beringin 65–66, 76, 97, Vidura 43–47
magical knowledge 66–68 111, 118, 170 Vietman 4
Mah Babu Sanam 35 puppet master 18 Vishnu 98, 125
Mah Perbu Anam 35, 98 Pusaka 91 Vishwamitra 36
Mahabharata 21, 28, 33, 43– Putrasena 48 Vitrata 46
47, 54 Vyasa 43–47
Maharaja Wana 33, 88 Qiao-ying Xi 28
Maharashtra 28 Qing Dynasty 27 Wak Long 70–71, 104, 118, 125,
Maharisi 33, 97, 171 Qu’ran 58, 162 175
Main Puteri 83, 161, 163 Wak Margono 84
Maiyarap 112, 115 Raja Tilan 98, 119, 173 Wak Peran Hutan 70
Mak Babu 70, 104, 174 rakshasa 36 Wangbang Wideya 48
Mak Babu Kalang Dermi 104 Rama 33–43, 62, 70, 77, 80, Waseng 48
Mak Mabu Kelan Dermi 104 88, 98, 110, 118, 125, 172 wayang 10, 57
Mak Minah 157 Ramakien 25–26, 54 Wayang Berber 183
Mak Yong 30, 157 Ramayana 21, 25, 27–28, 32, Wayang Djawa 23
Malacca 58 35–43, 55 Wayang Gedek 26, 32, 54
Malay 10 Ravana 33–43, 98, 111, 115, 119, 180 Wayang Golek 23, 149
Malaya 10 Ravanchhaya 27 Wayang Jawa 26, 33
Malaysia 10, 13, 110 rebab 55 Wayang Klitik 23
mantri 48 Wayang Kulit 10, 21
Maricha 38–39 Sabdho, Narto 23 Wayang Kulit Gedog 55
Matchanu 110 Saburarong 98, 119, 173 Wayang Kulit Jawa 26, 33
Menora 54, 67 Sagariwa 34, 98, 118, 173 Wayang Kulit Kelantan 55
menyemah 86 Sahadeva 44 Wayang Kulit Melayu 54, 56
microcosm 20 Sakuni 44 Wayang Kulit Purwa 22, 54, 80,
Ming Dynasty 27 Samad 78 188
monkey warriors 173 Selangor 54 Wayang Madya 23
Mount Chitrakuta 38 Semangat 70–71 Wayang Panja Sila 23
Mua Roi Nuoc 4 Semar 17, 77 Wayang Purwa 80
music 79–82 Semarak Seni Project 91 Wayang Siam 25–26, 32, 54,
Myanmar see Burma serunai 79 64, 66, 84, 157
Mysore 28 shadow puppets 14 Wayang Suluh 23
shaman 19 Wayang Wong 30
Nakula 44–47 Shatrughna 36 Wira Namtami 48
Nang Kloun 25 Shiva 45 Wirabumi 49
Nang Sbek 24 Shurpanakha 38 wong anarawita 48
Nang Sbek Touch 25 Sita 16, 33–43, 62, 80, 180 wooden clapper 80
Nang Talung 25–26, 54 songket 61
Nang Yai 4, 25, 30 Sufisim 153 Yadava 46
Noh, Mohd. 2, 55, 57, 59, 78 Sugriva 39; see also Sagariwa Ying-chuang 28
Sumitra 36 Yousof, Ghulam-Sarwar 2, 55,
opposition 75 Sunda 23 66, 69, 91, 104, 157, 183
Orissa 27 Sung Dynasty 27–28 Yudhishthira 44–47
194

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The Shadow Puppet

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

¡. Wayang. 2. Shadow shows — Malaysia.

British Library cataloguing data are available

© 2010 Beth Osnes. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

Front cover: Shadow image of Rama and an

Manufactured in the United States of America

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

One: The Shadow Puppet Theatre in Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Afterword: July 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

What Is the Shadow Puppet Theatre of Malaysia?

The Shadow Puppet Theatre

The shadow puppet theater of Southeast Asia is a centuries-old performance tra-

About the Puppets

separated from each other backstage by an adrenalin-charged performer, and being

Java and Bali, is to carve a tiny bar-

to the amusement of the audience.

The Puppet Master

A dalang, or puppet master, of the shadow puppet theatre in Southeast Asia is a

Mystical Aspects of the Shadow Puppet Theatre

Shadow Puppet Theatre Throughout Southeast Asia

Shadow Puppet Theater Throughout Other Parts of Asia

Relationship Between the Shadow Puppet Theatre

Focus on the Malaysian Wayang Kulit

The Stories of the Malaysian

When I ﬁrst experienced a live performance of the shadow puppet theatre of

Cerita Mahraja Wana: The Malay Version of the Ramayana

The Ramayana (Synopsis by Lisa Hall)

Javanese Hanuman puppet (photograph by Charlotte Orrino).

grove guarded by many rakshasas. Knowing the danger of approaching, he concealed

The Mahabharata (Synopsis by Todd J. Coulter)

The Panji Tales (Synopsis by Jennifer E. Popple)

The Shadow Puppet Theatre

Map of Southeast Asian countries (by Melisande Osnes).

The Malaysian Shadow Puppet Theatre

Map of Peninsular Malaysia (by Melisande Osnes).

The Puppets of Malaysia

ditional designs are a result of

Inner Magical Knowledge in Performance

term agin takes on a more specialized, loftier meaning; it indicates a susceptibility to

1. The Statement of the Feast

3. The Invitation to the Spirits

The leaf-shaped kayon, or pohon beringin, or tree-of-life, puppet is used extensively

Life and Training of a Puppet Master

Proﬁle: A Very Special Dalang

Keeping Tradition Alive by Penelope Cole

As a conclusion to this chapter on theatrical conventions and practices for the

of training in Wayang Kulit. The academy routinely offers public performances

Dalang Muda: An English Translation of the

Cast of Characters in Order of Appearance

Cerita Bentara Kala

Cast of Characters in Order of Appearance

WAK LONG : Eleven ... plus one.

Hanuman Ikan: Adventures of the Monkey Fish

Cast of Characters in Order of Appearance

HANUMAN IKAN : Never!

When Elephants Fight

Cast of Characters in Order of Appearance

Saburarong — a loyal monkey warrior in Rama’s army.

PAK DOGOL : Ahhhhh! Ouch!

SITA : I tire of your tricks. Go away.