'Wayang Kancil' amuse Jakartans<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Most children who visited the Puppet Museum in Kota, West
\nJakarta, on Saturday were already familiar with the clever mouse-
\ndeer, or kancil as it is locally known.<\/p>\n
Sitting on the floor and munching snacks, students of two
\nelementary schools in Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, watched the
\ncunning mouse-deer come to life in the hands of shadow puppeteer
\nSri Sulansih Warsito.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by the Javanese gamelan, Sulansih opened the story
\nwith the kancil stealing a cucumber from a farmer's field. Since
\nthe kancil was too quick to be captured, the farmer made a
\nscarecrow and covered it with sticky sap, as a trap.<\/p>\n
The kancil was snared and kept in a barn to be slaughtered at
\na party. As it unwittingly awaited its doom, a dog passed by and
\nasked what it was doing. The kancil said that it was about to be
\nwed at the party by the farmer. Jealous of its good fortune, the
\ndog asked to change places and set the kancil free.<\/p>\n
\"Kancil can teach children to use their wits to solve
\nproblems. Though small, it can outsmart bigger animals,\" said
\nSulansih.<\/p>\n
The performance is part of the Second Puppet Museum Week,
\nwhich runs through Aug. 26. The special week is held to
\ncommemorate the museum's 29th anniversary.<\/p>\n
Wayang Kancil is a shadow puppet show that uses animals as its
\nmain characters. \"It is mainly for children, and so the
\nperformance is kept short -- three hours at the most,\" said
\nSulansih.<\/p>\n
The puppeteer used Bahasa Indonesian to tell the fable,
\nalternating her voice from a deep to high pitch, according to the
\nanimal. \"If I use Javanese, the children won't be able to follow
\nthe story,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Most of the children preferred to sit behind the screen among
\nthe puppeteer and the band.<\/p>\n
\"They can see the colorful puppets and the gamelan players,\"
\nsaid Katimo, an employee of the museum. \"Some are afraid of the
\ndark on the other side of the screen.\"<\/p>\n
Several children, however, enjoyed the shadow play from the
\nproper position -- in front of the screen. The shadows grew
\nbigger as Sulansih moved further away from the screen, and with
\neach turn of her wrists they appeared alive.<\/p>\n
Several domestic tourists and foreigners were also present at
\nthe show. Halfway through the show, the audience was invited to
\nsing along to children's songs like Cucakrowo and Gelang Sipatu
\nGelang.<\/p>\n
\"This kind of break is important to keep the play interactive
\nand interesting,\" said Katimo.<\/p>\n
I-box:
\nArt performances at the Puppet Museum and adjacent Fatahillah
\nSquare<\/p>\n
* Wednesday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. - 12 a.m.<\/p>\n
Discussion on \"The existence of wayang in the era of reform
\nand globalization\" with speakers Arswendo Atmowiloto and Singgih
\nWibisono and a Balinese dance performance.
\n* Friday, Aug. 20, 6:30 p.m. - 6 a.m. (the next day)<\/p>\n
Karawitan Sunda (West Java traditional orchestra) performance
\nand an all-night long wayang golek (wooden puppet) show with
\npuppeteer Eka Supriyadi playing Tumult in the Motherland
\n* Saturday, Aug. 21, 6.30 p.m. - midnight<\/p>\n
A Karawitan performance by students and wayang orang playing
\nRamayana.<\/p>\n
Source: Puppet Museum<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wayang-kancil-amuse-jakartans-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }