{"id":1176,"date":"2025-11-24T07:05:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T00:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cempala.com\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2025-12-02T13:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T06:47:25","slug":"wayang-world-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cempala.com\/en\/blog\/2025\/11\/24\/wayang-world-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Wayang World 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When tradition is embraced with love, it evolves\u2014not to erase the past, but to enrich it. Wayang World<\/em> tells how wayang\u2014Javanese shadow puppetry\u2014crosses the boundaries of geography, religion, and time to create new atmosphere and genres. From royal romances and classical Chinese legends to Judeo-Christian stories, these contemporary interpretations are not deviations, but heartfelt continuations through the lens of acculturation and creative spirit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wayang World<\/em> is an event presented by Daniel Haryono and Matthew Cohen, featuring various wayang experts as speakers to discuss Wayang Esther<\/em>, Gedhog<\/em>, and Thithi<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Wayang World<\/em> showcasing how Javanese shadow puppetry transcends cultural and temporal boundaries, from the revival Wayang Esther<\/em> to innovative adaptations Wayang Gedhog<\/em> and Thiti Puppets<\/em>demonstrating that wayang remains a living form of creative expression across generations and continents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tradition Reimagined<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Barbara Benary, a Jewish-American ethnomusicologist, was among the first to introduce a Javanese-style gamelan ensemble in the United States. Her group, Son of Lion, often blended gamelan with Jewish liturgical melodies. Although Barbara was not particularly religious, her musical and cultural sensibilities were deeply shaped by her heritage\u2014turning belief into culture, and culture into collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this fertile ground emerged Wayang Esther<\/em>a shadow puppet performance based on the biblical story of Queen Esther. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The performance was first staged in 1999 and revived several years later when composer Matthew Cohen reached out to Javanese puppeteer Joko Susilo and composer Jody Diamond to bring it back. The plan was to restage it for Purim, a Jewish holiday, in West Hartford, Connecticut. However, reconstructing the performance was no easy task\u2014music scores had to be located, puppets redesigned, and everything reassembled from memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Joko, who initially used traditional wayang Purwa, had to design new characters tailored to the Esther narrative. \u201cAt first, they looked too Javanese,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThe noses weren\u2019t quite right.\u201d This process became a long, transcontinental journey of revisions and refinements. Meanwhile, Matthew introduced historical visuals: an illustrated Book of Esther from 18th-century Italy. Although not originally made for puppetry, the proportions of the characters resembled wayang figures. With Joko\u2019s designs and Matthew\u2019s visual sources, the team created a two-layered performance\u2014one using puppets, the other with projections\u2014allowing the audience to experience both tradition and reinterpretation simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviving the Panji Romance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Indonesia, another form of revival was also underway. For the anniversary of the Radya Pustaka Museum in Surakarta, puppeteer and researcher Rudy Wiratama proposed staging Wayang Gedhog<\/em>, a lesser-known form of wayang based on the romantic tales of Prince Panji. He selected the story Ngrenaswara<\/em>a rarely performed sequel to Panji Anggraeni<\/em> the better-known one. \u201cIt completes the story with a happy ending,\u201d Rudi explained. By compressing several acts into a single evening, the team created a three-hour version that remained faithful to the emotional arc, even if not to every word of the original text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rudy, Wayang Gedhog<\/em> holds enormous creative potential\u2014not only in courtly versions, but also from poetic sources such as kidung<\/em> from 16th- and 17th-century Java. \u201cThis is a door that remains wide open,\u201d he said. The same spirit of innovation can be heard in the work of Bambang Suwarno, who in the 1970s created his own Panji puppets independently of the Kraton tradition. Combining puppetry with topeng<\/em>, he used a distinctive green palette\u2014pare anom<\/em>\u2014and created kayon<\/em> a custom kayon (tree of life) called Sekar Jagad<\/em>, which combined images of fire, flora, and fauna, making the visual design itself a performance of symbolism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese-Javanese Echoes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Wayang also thrives in the cultural dialogue between Java and China. In Yogyakarta, Chinese-Indonesian artist Gan Thwan Sing introduced Thiti Puppets<\/em>, later known as Wacinwa<\/em> (Wayang Kulit Cina Jawa). He adapted Chinese legends such as the story of Sie Jin Kui, but narrated them in Javanese. The result was a performance that felt both local and transnational\u2014easy to follow, rich in visual detail, and deeply loved by its audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gan\u2019s legacy was later continued by Woro, an artist and researcher who rediscovered 19 Chinese-Javanese manuscripts that had remained untouched for decades. \u201cWhen I found them, it felt like a treasure hunt,\u201d she said. These texts used Chinese names transliterated into Javanese script with vocal markers\u2014puzzling even for students of Chinese studies. The language, like the puppets themselves, had been hybridized. \u201cThese are Hok Kian names, Javanized,\u201d Woro explained. \u201cNo one knew how to read them, not even my lecturers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2014, puppeteer Aneng staged Wacinwa<\/em> based on a comic-style narrative of Sie Jin Kui\u2019s first encounter with his wife. However, practical challenges arose\u2014no puppets were available for the performance, and borrowing from the museum proved impossible. So Aneng built his own, taller and more functional for stage use, yet still true to the spirit of Gan Thwan Sing\u2019s originals. \u201cYou can\u2019t always wait for institutions to approve,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes, you have to create your own tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayang Lives On<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Across continents and centuries, these evolving forms of wayang prove one thing: wayang is not a relic of the past, but a living, breathing language of expression. From synagogues in New York to museum halls in Surakarta, from palace archives to forgotten manuscripts, wayang continues to find new stories and new audiences. As Woro puts it, \u201cIf we give life to wayang, it will give life to us. Wayang never dies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wayang makes the world go round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GALLERY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Wayang Gedhog<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Kartala Yudapati<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Panji Sepuh <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gunungsari Layar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Andaga<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Anggitseca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Brajanata Mangkunegaran <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Klana Sewandana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rangga Thono wanda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wangsengsari <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Thiti Puppets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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ANG MO TO JIN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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BI GOT ENG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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BO KAK TAI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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COU COU<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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BIKSU TOM SAM SONG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DEWA LICENG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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WAN LE HWA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TOU SIAN TONG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TIAU GOAT GO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Wayang Esther<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Achashverosh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bagatan (Eunuch)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Esther<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Haman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Karkas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sha Agaz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Zeresh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Video<\/h2>\n\n\n\n