Culture on a string

Indonesia is home to an ancient and renowned form of puppetry known as wayang, which was recognised as an oral heritage masterpiece by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2003.

Traditionally practised in Java as a tool for disseminating cultural values, puppetry later spread to many parts of the archipelago.

For around eight hours, the puppeteer, called a dalang, presents a story by narrating and moving the puppets by using his hands and fingers behind a white cotton screen with an oil lamp for lighting.

Indonesia has many acclaimed dalangs, most of whom are passionate about their work. This sort of passion apparently can be found in many other puppeteers across the globe too.

“There’s no age limit to become a puppeteer. The important thing is to learn and do research by reading a lot,” says Jerry, a full-time puppeteer and an judge at Wayang World Puppet Carnival 2013.

Held in Jakarta earlier this month, the week-long festival featured puppet shows and puppeteers from many parts of the world.

The line-up of performing Indonesian puppeteers included the Papermoon Puppet Theatre from Yogyakarta, the Madangkara Cultural Centre from Surakarta – featuring Ki Cahyo Kuntadi as puppet master – and Ki Sihono from Samarinda with the Lampahan Rama Tundung show.

Overseas guests included 64 marionette artist groups from 46 countries and the Georgian State Hand Shadow Theatre from Tbilisi, Georgia, which performed a 60-minute long play using nothing but the artists’ hands.

Participants showed off a wide variety of techniques and styles, from traditional to edgy and modern.

A puppeteer from Singapore, for example, presented a story based on the face of multi-racial Singapore today, combining traditional and modern elements.

A puppeteer from Peru was armed with scissors as well as a puppet in a performance based on ancient Peru during which the puppeteer danced agilely to the sound of snipping scissors.

Rianti, a college student who attended the event, was one of many admirers of the performances.

“I enjoyed the mini theatre puppet show from Spain. It was done on a mobile stage and had a unique concept. There were just two puppets inside a restaurant and the audience was supposed to be like giants peeking inside a box with a soundtrack played through headphones," Rianti said, adding that she was very interested in becoming a puppeteer one day.