Arya Wisata Yogyakata

SHADOW PUPPET (WAYANG)Originally, wayang, appeared to be the Javanese tradition holding many aspects of Javanese culture and values. In fact, the existence of Wayang has been in Java long before the arrival of Hindu’s culture. In Neolithic period, Wayang was performed at night as a religious ceremony to worship “Hyang”. The shadow-play revealed heroism of the ancestors taken from mythology. Wayang resembled the face of the ancestors at the time.
Now days, the shadow play is quite different with the olden time. Traditional musical instruments, gamelan, usually accompanies the performance and makes the play more exciting. The repertoire of Wayang todays is usually taken from the Indian epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The puppet is now made of a piece of polished and gilled hide of cow. The design of each puppet is different each other representing to the characteristics of the character in the Mahabharata and Ramayana story.