JAVANESE WAYANG KULIT
THE PERFORMANCE, THE ACCOMPANYING INSTRUMENT AND THE DALANG

There are a lot of Traditional Arts in every country. In Indonesia especially in Java island , there is a kind of traditional perform art which has a unique performance. This traditional art called “Pagelaran Wayang Kulit” or “Shadow Play Performance”.

Shadow play or Wayang Kulit is one of popular performance arts which is loved by common people, especially Javanese people. On this phenomenon, it was considered as the “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” which was approved by UNESCO on November 7th, 2003.

Most stories of shadow play performance are based on Mahabarata and Ramayana epics (came from India) which are then turned, renewed and adapted with the customs and ways of thinking of Javanese people. Pagelaran Wayang kulit or Shadow play performance is a philosopical traditional Javanese culture art which presents gentleness, modesty, honesty, heroism and patriotism. Besides, Wayang kulit stories also contain advice that encourages and improves someone to have a better personality, as well as develop their nationalism values.
Philosophical values of life are usually expressed in the form of symbols, such as puppets figures, language and stories used in the shadow play performance. All these symbols are used by the Dalang (the puppeteer) as a learning media from one generation to the next generation.

Shadow play is very closed to Javanese people's live, therefore it is a common thing for them to hold shadow play perfomance for celebrating or commemorating special occasions in their phases of live, such as child-bearing occasion, wedding ceremony and death ceremony. Shadow play performance is also oftenly held by Javanese people to express their gratitude to God.
Shadow play performance plays important roles in some rituals of Javanese people. Almost all of villages in Central Java and East Java hold shadow play performance to honour and pray for their ancestor spirits. One of rituals which uses shadow play performance media can be found in Ruwatan ceremony. Ruwatan is a magical ceremony which has purposes to throw away people's bad luck and erase their past sins.

According to a historical source, Wayang kulit performance was exist in Java since the 11th century. Firstly, Shadow Puppet performance was one part of Javanese rituals. However, for the development of era, Wayang Kulit performance turned into a kind of performance art which played as educational and entertainment media. (Source: Soetarno in his book Wayang Kulit Jawa, 1995 : 1)