How to make and Play Wayang Kulit (leather puppet)

Wayang Kulit is an Indonesian traditional art, and it grows well in Java Island. We must be proud to be Indonesian because we have lots of precious arts and cultures, and Wayang Kulit is one of them. The most important thing is Wayang Kulit can be only found in Indonesia. Do you know how to make Wayang Kulit? Wayang Kulit is made from buffalo’s hide that is processed into leather sheets. Why should be buffalo and not cow? Because buffalo hide doesn’t contain lots of oil. It is much better than cow hide that contains too much oil and needs weeks for the drying process. Meanwhile, the buffalo hide only needs 4 – 5 days. The process of making Wayang Kulit is rather complicated because it needs special skills and tenacity. In making the designs, we have to know the philosophy of each puppet figure. If you have an art talent, there are some tips how to make Wayang Kulit:

1.     Prepare the buffalo hides.

2.    Cut the buffalo hides into several sheets in accordance to the desired puppet shapes.

3.    Having been dried and dredged, the hides are cut in accordance to puppet figures.

4.    They are separated one by one and enter manufacturing process. The “jidar” process usually takes a week and depends on the leather quality.

5.    After one week, the leathers are designed and rough patterns are made. It is usually done by a pencil or pen, and the quality depends on the designer’ skills.

6.    The “tatah” or whitening process on puppet is conducted. It can be done after some patterns on the leathers are made. High skills of the crafters are highly required on this process.

7.    Giving some colors on puppet. This process is done soon after the whitening process is over.

8.    After coloring, the puppet will pass through a pressing process. If the leather has bad quality, it usually takes 3 days to flatten the surface.

9.    The last process is installing Gapitan or Tuding, and then the puppet is ready to be performed.

Soon after the manufacturing process is over, the puppets are mostly sold or collected by art collectors. We can see puppets during a puppet performance. For those of you who want to know how to play Wayang Kulit, you may read some information below:

A Dalang (puppeteer) plays an important role on a puppet performance, and not everyone can be a puppeteer. A Dalang should have a good comprehension about the story presented. Before a show, the puppets are prepared and placed neatly in a row. Each puppet has a different character. The puppeteer begins playing the puppets in accordance to the story line. The puppeteer puts his right and left hand up while holding a puppet, and then he utters different voices according to the puppet figures and story presented to audiences. The puppeteer usually speaks Javanese accompanied by musical players and a Javanese song singer. Amongst the sound of musical instruments, Javanese songs are sung by a woman called Pesinden. As a magical art tradition, Wayang Kulit performance must be equipped with offerings and incenses. (Athalia)