Wayang kulit,
shadow puppets

Wayang Kulit in Central Java is probably one of the oldest continuous traditions of storytelling in the world, and certainly among the most highly developed.

Wayang is well integrated in Javanese society, and it is considered to be a highlight of Javanese culture.

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Wayang is a Javanese word meaning "shadow" or "ghost" and is a theatrical performance of living actors (wayang orang), three dimensional puppets (wayang golek) or shadow images projected before a backlit screen (wayang kulit).

The wayang kulit use two-dimensional puppets chiseled by hand of buffalo or goat parchment; like paper dolls, but with arms that swivel.

A wayang kulit puppet is a stylized exaggeration of a human shape.

Of the many different style of wayang kulit, by far the most popular is the form practiced in Central and East Java, the most populated island of Indonesia.

In the following page, you will find a description of a performance in a Javanese village. Then we have made several pages to explain whet Wayang is about. Most of the stories are from Indian epics but they were transformed by generations of Javanese tellers.

News
UNESCO rewards Wayang Kulit

In 2003 the UNESCO proclaimed the Wayang puppets Theater of Indonesia as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity"
The related action plan recommends that specialized schools play a greater role in the transmission of traditional skills linked to wayang and that support be provided to enable puppeteers to earn a living as professional performers. The plan also calls for the creation of inventories, publications, audio-visual recordings and seminars designed to encourage research.