WAYANG IN ALL ITS ASPECTS – COURSE – H.I.R.

HINZLER, MARCH 2015-04-26

WAYANG IN BALI AND JAVA – MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL CULTURE

CHANGES AND CONTINUITY

Wayang as indocator and guide of material culture and thought, concepts of esthetics and
ethics, and of written and oral history of inhabitants of Java and Bali in past and present

This course is based on materials collected by Dr. W. Angst

WHAT IS WAYANG, ORIGIN, SPREAD

How old is wayang? What do we know about terminology, outward appearance, material,
style and way of performing?

Examples Indian leather puppets

Examples depictions of puppets on temple reliefs of East Java, Central Java and Bali
Examples Javanese puppets from leather, wood (flat and round), and other materials
Leather puppets from Bali and Lombok

References to wayang and wayang terminology in inscriptions and texts, in original and
translattion

FILM: ANIMATION RAMAYANA RELIEFS IN WAYANG STYLE ON CANDI

PANATARAN (END 13TH-14TH CY) IN EAST JAVA.

WHICH STORIES WERE AND STILL ARE PERFORMED?

Stories from India, Ancient Java, Bali, Middle East, and stories about modern history
Examples Sanskrit texts India, Old Javanese and Balinese texts, stories form the Middle East
and Muslim India, modern history

Cerita Kawi Padalangan, wayang stories made by performers in Java and Bali

Examples wayang literature and literature on wayang from Java and Bali
Oldest sources for Europeans on wayang Java by Hazeu, Serrurier, Kats; Wayang journals,
beginning 20th century; Padalangan stories written by Balinese dalangs;
Mahabharata kawedar by R.M. Soetarta hardjawahana, 1935-1939, Serat Padalangan from
Java

AIM AND FUNCTION OF WAYANG

Philosophy; examples how to live; examples how to solve problems in daily life
Purification/absolve stains and wrongs of humans
On Bali: the production of various types of holy waters for various purposes, and the
sprinkling of it over humans and objects

WHO ORDERS A PERFORMANCE AND WHY? HOW TO BECOME A DALANG?

SPONSORS AND PERFORMERS AND RITUAL SPECIALISTS.
Patronage; education by ritual specialist or other dalang; new: teaching courses at a
conservatorium; consecration as puppet player by a ritual specialist (Bali); how to be
recognized as a dalang in Java

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THE MAKING OF THE PUPPETS
Materials (leather, wood, animal horn), tools, carving (tatah), how to recognize the ‘’hand’’ of
a carver; colouring: traditional paints, modern paints; colour symbolism

ICONOGRAPHY
The wayang figure (representing a god, man, woman, demon) as example of regional
preferences, fashions, creativity, and contacts with surrounding cultures

Relationship with India, and ancient Indian concepts; innovations; influences from within and
outer Java and Bali.
Relationship with material culture of Javanese and Balinese society; innovations
Types of puppets, classification systems based in Indian, Javanese and Balinese caste
systems: gods, spiritual teachers, kings/queens, princes/princesses, minisers, army: officers,
soldiers, servants male and female, demons, modern people, animals, birds, fish, plants, trees
and flowers

Outward appearance and clothes of the figures

Symbolism of features of face, of clothes, of tools held or carried by the wayang figure
Wayangfigures and their weapons: arrow, bow, kris, dagger, sabre, pistol, gun
Differences between Java and Bali

Associations of certain weapons with certain wayangfigures, why?

Examples from story literature

Batik patterns, particularly in Java; fashion: coats with buttons, shirts, trousers, shawls, sashes
Batik patterns linked to caste represented by the figure
Favourite batik patterns and colours in wayang Cirebon, Yogyakarta and Surakarta
Photographs from late 19th and early 20th cy with people wearing such batiks
Symbolism patterns in Bali and relationship with the users; examples

Ikat patterns: who is wearing such woven textiles and why?

Photographs from late 19th and early 20th cy with people wearing such ikat textiles

Hindu sages and gods wearing Middle Eastern clothes and gear in Java

Footwear: shoes, slippers, why so many forms in Central Java? Since when? Which types of
figures are wearing them and why? Examples
Show me your shoes, and I’ll tell you who you are
Photographs from late 19th and early 20th cy with people wearing such footwear
Why are shoes so rare in Bali?

Headdresses, from Indian crowns to modern hats, examples India, Hindu Javanese, Muslim,
modern army headgear and present day headgear in Java. Differences Java and Bali
Favourite colours and patterns in wayang Cirebon, Yogyakarta and Surakarta and North- and
South Bali

Hairstyles of men and women, and their meaning

2
New: Experimental figures in Java and Bali

HOW TO DEPICT MOOD, EMOTION AND AGE OF A FIGURE PARTICULARLY IN

JAVA?

Wanda (in Central Java pronounced wondo), moods and emotions; coloured faces and hands;
who is depicted as baby, young person, grown up, elderly and spiritual leader?

Differences in opinions between Yogyakarta, Surakarta and other parts of Java.

Examples of figures
Wayang ABC: 50 faces of Arjuna, Bima, Cakil

WAYANG STYLE AND STYLE CHARACTERISTICS JAVA: YOGYAKARTA,

MATARAM, SOLO/SURAKARTA, KARTASURA, CIREBON, PASISIR,
BANYUWANGI, SURABAYA

Examples

WAYANG STYLE AND STYLE CHARACTERISTICS BALI: TABANAN/BADUNG,

GIANYAR, KLUNGKUNG, KARANGASEM, BANGLI – NORTH BALI: EAST,
CENTRAL, WEST

Examples

WAYANGFIGURES AS MASCOTTES
Many figures, particularly Javanese, are provided with an inscription. This can either be a text
in Javanese or Roman letters, or numbers, or a combination of dots and stripes. Inscriptions
are to be found on the leather strip between the feet of the figure, on the feet, or somewhere
else, hidden, on the body of the puppet. It is often difficult to decipher these texts, because
parts of the letters are damaged, or because the script is unclear. It is an interesting and
rewarding puzzle to decipher these texts. Quite often a date is given, either according to the
Javanese era or the western one. This means that the figure was completed on that particular
day, or consecrated for using during an important performance.

Kyahi and jimat in Java

What is the meaning of ‘’kyahi’’ carved in or written on a Javanese wayangfigure?

Puppets with diamonds in gold setting on teeth, diamonds in joints, what is the meaning of it?

SERVANT FIGURES, PANAKAWAN/PANASAR

Origin, role, outward appearance
Most of these figures show disabilities either already existing when they were born, or caused
by diseases. An overview is given of them
Specific servants in the various regions of Java and Bali
New types, relationship with present day ideas

3
Examples classical figures: Semar, Petruk, Gareng, Togog, Sarawita, Bagong, and their style
characteristics in Central, East and West java
Twalen, Mredah, Delem and Sangut in South Bali and extra figures in North Bali
New figures in South Bali

THE TREE FIGURES: GUNUNGAN OR KAYONAN

Form, development of form and meaning in Java and Bali

Number of gunungans used in a performance in Bali and Java; differences

Male and female gunungans; day and night gunungans in Java
Role in the performance in Java and Bali; differences; new developments
Examples of the figure, position in the play and way of manipulation

Examples of vast literature about the gunungan and its origin

MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE

From simple instruments to vast ensemble on Java; information from Old Javanese texts

Gender wayang and batel ensembles on Bali

New developments with grand orchestra

Types of melodies, function of the melodies Java, Bali

Examples, films and audio

STRUCTURE AND LANGUAGE OF A PLAY – LAKON, LELAMPAHAN IN BALI AND

JAVA

Bali: Kawi Padalangan language: the heroes of high caste speak Old Javanese and the servant
figures, panakawan, translate their words in Balinese.

Java: characteristics of language used in the various parts of Java (Yogyakarta, Surakarta,
East Java, West Java / Cirebon, Coastal areas/Pasisiran)

Create your own performance

Examples: recordings of performances form various regions of Bali and Java

QUOTATIONS FROM CLASSICAL TEXTS SUNG IN JAVA AND BALI

Suluks from Java

Kakawin, Kidung, Geguritan quotations from Bali

Why are particular fragments chosen form texts?

Examples: quotations from texts and audio/visual fragments of these texts sung by performers

HOW TO MANIPULATE A FIGURE

Examples
Try it yourself

4
MAKE YOUR OWN WAYANG FIGURE
Workbook, practice, workshops
Creativity with various types of materials

WAYANG IN ADVERTISEMENTS
Role of wayang in advertisements in Java, Bali, Netherlands
Wrong examples are often used, as a result of misunderstanding of the designer, which results
in hilarious and funny images.

Examples: tea boxes; tea brands; match boxes; stamps, gambar umbul; margarines; CD, DVD
covers

WAYANG AND CARTOONS

Examples: Dagelan Putruk Gareng fom Java

PICTURES, DRAWINGS, WOOD CARVINGS, WOOD AND STONE STATUES

REPRESENTING WAYANG FIGURES
Since when, why in Java and Bali; purpose

Examples East Javanese temple reliefs, since end 13th century, Central Java: Sukuh, Ceto
Examples from Bali

Wayang animation Ramayana story on Panataran temple in East Java

Wayang in modern painting, drawing and sculpture in Java and in particular Bali

NEW: MODERNIZATION OF WAYANG FIGURES

Sukasman with wayang ukur; Ki Enthus with wayang Tele Tubbies in Java
Dalang Wija, with wayang Dino; Dalang Sija with wayang Listrik in Bali

NEW: WAYANG ANIMATIONS AS EDUCATIVE MATERIAL

Ananto Wicaksono, Yogyakarta:
Wayang Kancil for children with useful stories about right and wrong behaviour based on
Kancil stories
Wayang Revolusion: revolts against the Dutch between 1945-1959, Dutch-Indies History
Wayang William of Orange: history of fight for freedom of religion in The Netherlands, for
Dutch school kids
Wayang Diponegoro: manipulation and revolt by a Javanese prince, Dutch Indies History

NEW: WAYANG ON TELEVISION IN JAVA AND BALI

Why, why and when?

NEW: WAYANG NOVELS FROM JAVA

Examples:
Ardian Krisna: Drupadi; Punakawan menggugat; Panah Srikandi
Sarjono: Amuk Wisanggeni

QUIZ
Test your knowledge on wayang
Style change or consolidation per region, per period

5
Reflection: wayang culture is a mixture of conventions, and innovations from inside and
outside; wayang and religion and changes; wayang and politics; wayang and focus of a
particular group or groups in the past and present

Questions, and puzzles for kids and grown ups

The collection of wayang figures of Walter Angst are excellent teaching material. More than
18,000 figures, consisting of complete chests with all the figures of a particular puppet player,
from a particular region, and from palace setting as well as ordinary village setting, all well
documented, help us – better than the museum collections or collections of other private
collectors – analyzing and determining the styles and style characteristics and the
development of the styles in the course of time and among the various levels of society: from
the second half of the 19th century to the last part of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century.
Based on the results of the study of wayangfigures, their clothes, attributes, outward
appearance and the stories in which they play a role, one can see how preferences, fashions
and ideas about right and wrong behaviour changed in the course of time, or, in some cases
remained the same.