Archetypal Characters In Wayang Kulit Kelantan

Abstract

The study specifically looks into the design aspects of the Kelantan shadow play or locally known as Wayang Kulit Kelantan (WKK). WKK is a traditional shadow play which involves a puppeteer, who is also the story teller. WKK is backed by traditional music and is developed in Kelantan with influences from other shadow plays from the South East Asian region. Applying the archetypal theory introduced by Carl Gustav Jung, the designs of the puppets in WKK is refined and is focused on the main characters of the play, namely Seri Rama, Rawana and Siti Dewi. Seri Rama and Siti Dewi are the protagonists, while Rawana is the antagonist. A correlation between the designs and the characters in Hikayat Seri Rama was identified. Research was done with the qualitative method that leads to an ethnographic study with support from primary data obtained through interviews with puppeteers and puppet designers. The researcher was involved in all the WKK group activities, collecting and documenting unstructured primary data. Secondary data were collected from reading materials such as books, magazines and journal articles. The research found that the design carvings on the puppets in WKK were archetype characters. The designs of the puppets were carved in a way to meet the characterisation of the characters as portrayed in the ancient text of Hikayat Seri Rama.