Artistry Wayang in Java
Ditulis pada: July 12, 2021
Wayang is a native Indonesian traditional arts rapidly growing areas of Java and Bali islands, similar Art also can we find in some regions such as Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula affected and Hindu Javanese culture.
The term Wayang itself comes from the Javanese language which means Shadow. If viewed from the philosophical meaning of "wayang" it can be interpreted as a shadow or a reflection of the traits that exist in the human soul, such as anger, virtue, greed and others.
Puppet art has several types, namely Wayang Kulit or Purwa, Puppet Klithik, Wayang Golek and Wayang Orang. and consists of several sets to demonstrate the story, usually performed by a puppeteer who leads the show assisted by several gamelan musicians and one or two waranggana as vocalists.
a dalang sometimes also has a special assistant for himself, who is in charge of arranging the puppets before the game starts and preparing the types of puppet characters that the dalang will need in presenting the story.
In Puppet Show known set right and set left. The right set is a collection of characters or warriors who defend truth and virtue, while the left set is a place for angry characters. To demonstrate various settings/decorations and change scenes, symbols in the form of mountains are usually used.
Puppet shows can be done during the day or night, or day and night. usually the length of the show for one play takes about 7 to 8 hours.
The musical instruments used to accompany the complete wayang show are the Javanese gamelan pelog and slendro. female vocalist in a musical accompaniment called waranggono can be one or more people.
In addition, there is still a male vocalist called penggerong or wirasuara, which consists of 4 to 6 people and is tasked with accompanying the waranggana with a "chorus" sound. This male vocalist can be specially provided or doubled by gamelan musicians, so gamelan musicians are also penggerong.
The type of puppet greatly influences the play that can be presented through the puppets. A set of shadow puppets can only play stories from the Mahabharata or Ramayana and cannot be used to perform the Chronicle of Menak, as well as for other types of Puppet Arts, such as Wayang Golek which is impossible to play the Mahabrata story.
In traditional societies, which are generally still obedient to the traditions and customs of their ancestors, we find many taboos on certain plays for wayang performances. Some people, for example, think that the Bharatayuda play is taboo to be staged in a wedding celebration ceremony. If this taboo is violated, people believe that the family will experience difficulties.
In the village clean ceremony, namely the post-harvest salvation, the play that must be performed is "Kondure Dewi Sri" (Dewan Sri's return), while for the ngruwat ceremony the play is Batara Kala.
Regarding the History of Puppet Arts in Indonesia, Sri Mulyono, who is supported by strong data, argues that the wayang kulit show is in its original form, namely with all the means of the stage/equipment that are all simple, namely by using leather puppets carved (inlaid). ), kelir, blencong, kepyak, box and so on.
This art is basically a religious ceremony or ceremony related to belief to go to "Hyang", performed at night by a medium (shaman) or carried out by the head of the family by taking stories from their ancestors or ancestors.
This ceremony is intended to call and connect with ancestral spirits to ask for help and blessing when the family is about to start or has finished carrying out a task.
This kind of ceremony is thought to have arisen since the Neohithic era of Indonesia or around 1500 BC. but there is still no evidence to suggest that wayang existed before Hinduism spread to South Asia. It is thought that performing arts were brought in by Indian traders.
However, the local genius and culture that existed before the arrival of Hinduism merged with the development of performing arts that entered giving its own color to the performing arts in Indonesia.
Until now, the earliest records that can be obtained about wayang performances come from the Balitung Inscription in the 4th Century which reads as si Galigi mawayang.
When Hinduism entered Indonesia and adapted the existing culture, this performing art became an effective medium for spreading Hinduism. The puppet show uses the Ramayana and Mahabharata stories.
Likewise, at the time of the entry of Islam, when performances featuring "God" or "Gods" in human form were prohibited, puppets made of cowhide appeared, where when the performances were watched only shadows appeared. This puppet is what we now know as wayang kulit.
To spread Islam, Sadat puppets were also developed which introduced Islamic values. When a Catholic missionary, Father Timotheus L. Wignyosubroto, SJ, in 1960 on his mission to spread Catholicism, he developed Wayang Wahyu, whose source of the story comes from the Bible.
This is an article about the Puppet Arts in Java, which in a long period of time then continued to develop gradually but still maintained its core function, namely as an activity related to the belief system and education.
For detailed information on the types of Wayang such as Wayang Kulit/ Purwa; Puppet Klithik; Puppet Golek and Puppet People. God willing, a separate article will be made.
