Malaysia's Evolving Shadow Puppet Theatre

Abstract

While traveling in Malaysia in the summer of 1990 in search of performances of the wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre, I was impressed by the vast range of differences within this one traditional form. Wayang kulit has survived in Malaysia because the rural people have continued to support it. Thus, it must be providing some needed service-and serving these needs in creative ways has become the challenge of the art's practitioners. Some have responded by developing their art, introducing modern aspects of life that appeal to a popular audience. Others struggle tenaciously to maintain the traditional structure and the ritualistic elements that preserve the roots of their culture in the supernatural world of spirits, deified ancestors, or gods. I attended a performance in the village of Changlun, near the Thai border in northwestern Malaysia, that went in a direction 180 degrees contrary to what I expected. At about nine in the evening, the show began with a prayer from the Koran being recited by the dalang (puppet master). In place of the traditional raised performance structure, they were using a covered truck that had a white cloth screen replacing one of the side walls. Instead of sitting directly on the matted jungle floor till the wee hours of the morning, as I was expecting, the audience gathered on the parking lot of the elementary school until midnight, when the show abruptly ended. The puppet of Sita sported a modern hairdo with relatively modern apparel as well. The clown characters Pak Dogol and Wak Long dominated the performance, breaking up the audience with bawdy physical humor, traditional songs that broke into popular rock tunes, and English-language expressions like no problem.