Many facets of wayang kulit By Anwardi Jamil

Duryudana

While Indonesia has taken steps to preserve its wayang kulit tradition, little has been done here, writes Anwardi Jamil

ONE of the newer galleries in the National Museum is the Malay Gallery, located outside the main gates near the car park, and above the old Orang Asli Gallery.

The small gallery contains a basic introduction to various aspects of the Malay world including traditions and culture. Some of the exhibits include a glimpse of weapons used by the Malays, the various kinds of carvings and motifs used in traditional designs and architecture, jewellery and textiles and some aspects of the performing arts.

In one corner, one can find the diorama of a traditional Malay wayang. This is the only official reference in the city to Malay wayang kulit tradition that I know of. It’s sad, especially when Malay wayang kulit  (which is directly related to the Indonesian wayang kulit) has been declared a Unesco World Heritage which should be preserved. If you are a tourist and eager to see an example or exhibit of the Malay wayang, this is it. Unless you know of any private or individual galleries, this is all we have to show of how much we revere one of our most traditional Malay arts.

 

In Indonesia, the opposite is true. There are many references to wayang kulit art and performances. This is not only evident in Jakarta but also in other major cities like Yogyakarta and Solo. Even Indonesian television screens wayang kulit performances regularly and therefore, keeps it alive. Here, there are bodies and organisations trying their best to preserve and promote wayang kulit. These include Eddin Khoo’s Pusaka, which has been promoting Kelantan wayang for more than a decade. Unfortunately, the presence of wayang events and activities here cannot compete with what the Indonesians have.

TRIBUTE TO WAYANG

I couldn’t help feeling envious of what Indonesia had to offer on a recent trip to a 40-year-old Wayang Museum in Fatahillah Square, Jakarta. This museum, located in the premises of a 200-year-old Dutch building, isn’t well maintained but it is a splendid museum that offers visitors a detailed glimpse of the history and the art of  mostly Indonesian wayang kulit. Here, you can savour the history of the 1,500-year-old art form and see its various versions from all over Indonesia, such as wayang golek, wayang kardus, wayang rumput, wayang janur, topeng, boneka and wayang beber as well as wayang music (gamelan).

Enter the building and you will be greeted by three-metre tall wayang golek replicas. The museum is home to more than 4,000 artifacts, some of which are over 400 years old. Walking through the dimly-lit corridors, I had only one complaint —the lack of information on the exhibits and artifacts. The impressive exhibits encased in glass displays could have been appreciated better had the captions been more detailed. Nevertheless, one cannot help but be impressed by the collection. I am a huge fan of wayang golek. It is like watching wayang kulit in 3D. Wayang golek uses intricately-carved and designed puppets elegantly clothed in decorative costumes.

Through  the exhibits, one begins to understand other aspects of Indonesian culture and arts that thrive alongside wayang kulit. For example, Indonesian batik is inspired by these wayang kulit characters along with the history of Indonesian gamelan music. Through the Wayang Museum, one is treated to various other aspects of Indonesian traditional arts.

HISTORICAL LOCATION

I also love the old building in which the museum is housed. It has a colourful history too. Though the building is about 200 years old, the actual site was formerly that of the Old Dutch Church, built in 1640 and stood for about 100 years. Its grounds were the burial site for many Indonesian Dutch masters including one of the first governors, J.P. Coen. The graves have since been relocated but a few of the  old tombstones can still be seen in the main air-well area of the present museum.

A massive earthquake in 1808 nearly destroyed the building but it was reconstructed and used as a storage building until 1936 when the local Dutch government decided to turn it into a museum. The  Batavia Museum was officially opened in 1939. Closed during the Japanese Occupation, it was reinstated as a museum in 1957 by the new Indonesian government.

However, it would take a few more decades before the museum, then called the Jakarta Museum, became the Wayang Museum, thanks to  former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, an avid lover of traditional wayang kulit. It was due to his love for the art that the museum was dedicated to the origins, preservation and promotion of the wayang kulit tradition. With his support, artifacts and exhibits were collected from all over Indonesia and the world and the Wayang Museum was officially opened  in August 1975.

THRIVING CENTRE

The museum is undergoing some renovation to include the latest display technologies and design. Already, some parts of the galleries  look more modern than the rest. One room is dedicated to gamelan while another displays the various influences of wayang and puppet traditions from all over the world including India, Vietnam, China, the Middle East and Europe. Even our Malaysian wayang kulit exhibits have found their way here. What is great about the museum is that it is a living museum. Not only does it have static exhibits but it is also a centre for reviving the various forms of Indonesian wayang and a venue for  performances. Just a glance at last month’s calendar of activities shows how active it has been in promoting Indonesian wayang kulit heritage, with weekly performances held on its premises. If you happen to drop in on a weekend, you will be able to enjoy the performances of Betawi wayang kulit (shadow play), Sunda wayang golek (wooden puppet show), wayang kulit Purwa and the wayang kulit Bali.

The Indonesians guard their wayang heritage jealously and have turned it into a massive commercial commodity with sales of souvenirs, performances, multimedia and literature. A decorative souvenir wayang kulit piece can be sold for thousands of ringgit and a professional dalang can earn a comfortable living through performing for tourists. Unfortunately, ours is a dying art, despite the  efforts of organisations like Pusaka.

Hopefully the authorities will realise there is a need to preserve and promote wayang kulit before it becomes an art form that only Indonesia can claim ownership of. For now, if you want to know more about the beauty of wayang kulit, visit the Wayang Museum in Fatahillah Square on weekends.

Wayang golek puppet from Java

Read more: Many facets of wayang kulit - Sunday Life & Times - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/life-times/sunday-life-times/many-facets-of-wayang-kulit-1.484942#ixzz2ufv2ooBX