Shadow Puppet Show From India And Indonesia on Show In France

Source: www.thejakartapost.com
Thusday,April 15,2010

JAKARTA, INDONESIA, April 3, 2010: The Center of Documentation of World Theater in Vitre, France is featuring shadow puppets as part of the Festival de l’Imaginaire this year. The first exhibition displays shadow puppets from India and Java, Indonesia. The second features the work of Indonesian contemporary wayang beber painter Dani Iswardani from Solo, Java.

The first, Shadows of Ramayana, displays some 50 Indonesian leather shadow puppets known as wayang kulit until May 12. Together with photos, videos and maps as well as two lectures on shadow puppet theater in the two countries, visitors can gain insight into the importance and relevance of this theater form in modern times.

Shadow puppet theater was born in Asia where for centuries, especially in India and Indonesia, excerpts originating from the Ramayana or Mahabharata epics were popular. In India, shadow theater called Chlaya Natak spread from Gujarat on the western coast to Maharashtra. Shadow puppets are now widely prevalent in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and coastal areas as well as in Maharashtra and Orissa.

In Java, the puppeteer is said to be endowed with mystical power while he enjoys more prestige than other performing artists in Java. These performances also form part of Balinese culture. There is evidence that shadow plays have been performed for over 1,000 years in Indonesia, perhaps coming over from India where it is said shadow puppets did have their origin.