Andy-EL Blog

Puppet is a popular traditional drama performances once in Indonesia. Puppet plays are usually based on stories taken from the epic Ramayana and Mahabharata. Both epic was originally from India, but the story has changed the first Java. There is another story that is based on the story Indonesia Kala Rau long as the story and the story of Panji.

On the island of Java and Bali there are several kinds of puppets. The most famous is the leather puppets played with puppets made of leather. Puppets made of wood used in the puppet show and puppet klitik. Only the shadow puppets are usually played at night, when it's dark. Behind a curtain, lights installed. People who watch a puppet show to sit in front of the screen. They can only see the shadow puppets. A puppet show could take a long time, up to nine hours.

A puppet show played by Ki Dalang, meaning storyteller. He always sat in the back of the screen is playing puppet. Ki Dalang important because he plays all the puppets and voiced their text. He also led the singing and the gamelan puppet.

In one set of puppets there are several hundred character; no good, no evil. Good always played on the right mastermind, and the evil mastermind played on the left. Puppets are not used mounted on a banana tree trunk in front of Ki mastermind. Among the famous puppet character is five Pandava brothers; their names Yudisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa. They figure that tells the story of Mahabharata civil war.

The most important musical instrument in the gamelan puppet is a tool at the name of gender. The music played changed to follow the story. Ki Dalang disposable wooden bat (cempala) and a large wooden box, which is usually used to store all the character puppets, to tell the gamelan players, what kind of music should be played....