Wayang

Common card · No. 233298

Wayang (from Javanese ꦮꦪꦁ, wayang (in the ngoko register), ꦫꦶꦁꦒꦶꦠ꧀ (in the krama register), Balinese: ᬯᬬᬂ, Sundanese: ᮝᮚᮀ, ultimately from Old Javanese wayaṅ) is a traditional Java-origin dramatic performance in which a story is represented (by puppets, by dancers) invented by the indigenous Javans (the Javanese and Sundanese) — the Native Indonesian ethnic groups. The term wayang refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali. The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as well as local adaptations of cultural legends. Traditionally, a wayang is played out in a ritualized midnight-to-dawn show by a dalang, an artist and spiritual leader; people watch the show from both sides of the screen. Wayang performances are popular among Indonesians, especially in the islands of Java and Bali. They...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Nurmalinda Maharfar, CC BY-SA 4.0