The Pandawas Saga from the Mahabharata Using Wayang Kulit Puppetry - Research Paper Example

? How would a dalang create, produce, and perform The Pandawa’s Saga from the Mahabharata using wayang kulit puppetry? Introduction From the question posed for this investigation, the possible restatement is: What are the characteristic properties of Pandawa’s Saga that are found in the Mahabharata? From the historical background of Wayang Kulit, it was a rousing kind of art. As Brown (1997) illustrates in the theatre study, this study seeks to illustrate the mechanisms of how dalang could be able to use wayang kulit puppetry in the performance of Pandawa’s Saga. It uses Yudistira, Arjuna, Krishna and Bima as the key characters. They play with other characters in opposition. These include Karna and Duryodana. It depicts two families fighting, each desiring to inherit the throne. The Pandora family believes that they have the right as direct descendants. The Korwaa family opposes this idea since they believe they too have. This play uses the puppets to illustrate the fight to the viewers. The play further uses more characters than those counted (Oscar and Hildy, 2003). The Dalang therefore tries out the play to represent the variety of personalities. The study aims at providing ideas to the Dalang, to make the puppets alive and succeed as the new Dalang. Synopsis The story has its background from the ‘Wayang’ and ‘Kulit’. Wayang in the Indonesian Language means ghost or shadow. On the other hand, kulit refers to skin, hide or leather. The play uses puppets designed from the buffalo hide. It is played in darkness or shadow to signify the mythical culture of the play. The same can be used in the today’s theatre among the dalang to perform traditional plays. The viewers prefer to identify with the theatre because it is familiar to their traditions. The dalang use the Mahabharata episodes to maintain their traditional lives technical skills to engage the viewers to avoid dozing off. The play is about rivalry between two groups (Hodge, 2000). The puppet player must understand the meaning and epitome of wayang kulit before he or she can play it. The player must distinguish it from the usual puppet play. One fundamental reason for this is that the puppets are hidden from the viewers Instead of showing them the puppets, the Dalang (puppet player) plays as a multiple character as an actor designer and a spirit. He uses the spiritual aspect not only to entertain the viewers but also to educate them about good deeds and wickedness. Statement of the Chosen piece The study selects tradition as the aspect of investigation. As Harrison (1998) suggests, this aspect is appropriate because it focuses on “the good” and “the evil” of the society in the performance. This is based on the presence of the light, darkness (shadow) and the spirit. The puppet player must fully understand the behaviors of the puppets present their traits to the viewers. The puppet is brought in from the back of the light to present magical appearance. The distance from the puppet to the screen is regulated to control how crisper the puppets appear to the viewers (Meyerhold, 1991). The puppets that enter through the light are the “good” while those that enter through the dark side are the “evil”. The good characters are Arjuna and Bima. Their rivals are the evil characters. Chosen Aspect of the Play The selected aspect of the play is the traditional criteria in the practice of selecting the new Dalang in the traditions. This is shown in the rules of the play where a woman is prohibited from inheriting the seat of the Dalang. Principally, the Dalang has to select the appropriate music that links properly to the show. The Dalang must be strong and skilled to play, conduct the orchestra and control the distance of the puppets to the screen. The tradition dictates that the music must be an original Indonesian Music for it to qualify for the play. The sounds and the rhythm are very different from the Western styles. The Dalang uses his own feet to knock the rattle to signify the start of the play. The traditional music exhibits a number of emotions. The music becomes tense and violent when a Pandawa brother begins to gamble. The gambling activity causes chaos and unrest in their household. It also becomes aggressive when the popular wayang fighter (Arjuna) goes to fight. The dalang must maintain all the tones as well as the moods of the play. Traditionally, the greater segment of the control over the traditional music and relevant conversation is unrecognized messages (Hartnoll, 1983). The Dalang uses three different stylistic approaches at the same time. These include comedy, drama and spiritual connotation. Additionally, the audience expects the Dalang to use more many languages in the entire play. For the sake of the complications in the play, the Dalang undergoes a special training and rehearsal In order to become intuitively active. This training traditionally takes many years. It is extremely difficult to become a Dalang owing to the spiritual perspective, whereby the Dalang must be able to operate as a spirit and a physical being concurrently (Marvin. 1993). This requires the Dalang to practice a series of meditation. Secondly, the Dalang must be capable of linking the theme of the theatre play to the desire of the viewers and the ethical values of the society. This is essential for the development of the play because the characters are portrayed as spiritual beings, either evil or good. The Dalang has to prepare the appropriate interpretation of the actions of the puppets. The fight for inheritance of leadership position in this play is seen as seen as an unusual incident (Brandon, 1997). Nevertheless, it seems to be a logical and realistic idea to the believers in the spiritual world since the use it to punish and to teach. They teach the good in the society and apply it in the punishment of the evil. Investigation Results This study reveals the implications of this play that in the wayang, the spiritual powers make everything possible. It shows the massive roles of the Dalang in connecting the spiritual world and the physical being for the viewers. Owing to this, the Dalang is highly regarded in the Wayang community. His strength enables him to multi task and control two separate realms. He is the center of attraction for the public audience; hence, he must make sure that he is presentable at all times as Gordon (2006) suggests. His has to be actively involved in many activities such as acting, kicking the kettle (rattling), singing and instructing the orchestra. This study reveals that to be a Dalang is not a simple work. Ironically, the Dalang is not awarded the respect that is commensurate to his strength. The Dalang’s remuneration depends on the hospitality and the philanthropy of the hosts. It may include just a few chickens. The driving force for the Dalang is the fact that he is recognized in the society as an entertainer. As the Dalang completes his creation of the puppets, he has the time to do the rehearsal and turn into multiple characters for the play to begin. Once the dalang has finished creating the puppets, it is time to rehearse and become all of the characters of the play. This means that the Dalang must assume the personalities and the traits of every character for him to act like all of them. Conclusion From the study investigations, the puppeteer enjoins the puppets in a very intriguing manner for the performance. It differs from the wayang kulit traditional play since it usually has more characters like Arjuna. It begins with the tree of life from which the puppets are made. The story rightly makes up the important actors, which includes the five brothers from the Padawa. Their rivals are ordinarily their cousins. The puppeteer must make an inscription of a hole in the hide. The next stage is to cut out the rest of the body, such as the arms of the puppet. After a specific period, the new Dalang takes up a mallet to inscribe more objects and information into the puppet. It goes in line with Gordon (1983), where the play shows the wayang to be very traditional; characters usually look alike from one Dalang to the next one. The colors of the puppets are so significant and are associated with every one of the puppets; they have to be sculpted in a specific design (Richmond, 1993). The body of the puppet must look lean but strong to signify its ability to dominate the opposition. References Brandon, J. R. (1997). The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Brown, J. R. (1997). What is Theatre? An Introduction and Exploration. Boston and Oxford: Focal P. Gordon, M. (1983). Lazzi: The Comic Routines of the Commedia dell'Arte. New York: Performing Arts Journal. Gordon, R. (2006). The Purpose of Playing: Modern Acting Theories in Perspective. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P. Harrison, M. (1998). The Language of Theatre. London: Routledge. Hartnoll, P. (1983). The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford: Oxford UP. Hodge, A. (2000). Twentieth-Century Actor Training. London and New York: Routledge. Marvin, C. (1993). Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. London: Cornell University Press. Meyerhold, V. (1991). Meyerhold on Theatre. London: Methuen. Oscar, B. G., and Hildy, F. J. (2003). History of the Theatre. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Richmond, F. P., Swann, D. L., and Zarrilli, P. B. (1993). Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance. Hawaii: U of P. Read More