JAKARTA, INDONESIA, January 2, 2002: The ancient world of the Indonesian wayang kulit, Indonesia’s renowned shadow puppets, is fast disappearing. Sugiri, 47, a well-known dalang, or puppeteer, is carrying on a family tradition that goes back more than 300 years. “All my family and relatives can play dalang or play the instruments,” said Sugiri. But although the wayang kulit retains a hard-core following on Java, the traditional puppet shows are struggling to maintain their popularity in an increasingly urbanized country awash in foreign soap operas and other cultural imports. Some Indonesians are fearful that they are fighting a losing battle to save their signature art form. There are only a few schools left where students can learn how to make and perform with the traditional puppets. Indonesia’s economic crisis of the past four years has quickened wayang’s retreat, making performances too expensive for many people. Puppetry was introduced to Indonesia about 900 years ago by traders and immigrants from India, Arabia, and China. In wayang kulit, the dalang sits on a mat behind an illuminated screen, manipulating the puppets to cast their shadows. The stories are sometimes based on local Javanese tales but more often on Javanese adaptations of the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
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