Ban knots up Malaysian puppeteers' strings

Ban knots up Malaysian puppeteers' strings

By Marty Logan

KETEREH, Malaysia (Reuters): The shadows projected on a screen to bring alive old myths for generations of Malaysian villagers are fading after the Islamic rulers of Kelantan state banned the ancient art of wayang kulit (shadow puppetry)

It is an Indian import and one of a handful of art forms to have taken root in the largely rural state whose population is overwhelmingly Muslim. It is also found in Java.

For centuries cultural waves from most of Asia have lapped Kelantan, nestled in the northeast corner of peninsular Malaysia next to Thailand and near the South China Sea.

But the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) sounded the death knell for wayang and traditional dance theater such as makyong and menora when it labeled them "un-Islamic" a decade ago, aging exponents of these arts say.

Abdullah Ibrahim, 62, the dalang or troupe leader of a wayang team, says the only education he got growing up in Kelantan was reading the Koran.

Wayang stories are derived from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

"The teacher would teach the religious class, then go watch me do wayang," says Ibrahim, better known as Pak (father) Dollah, as he sits in his home, a 45-minute drive from the state capital Kota Baru.

Today, PAS says Kelantan is no place for wayang, with its Hindu roots and the religion's worship of many deities, which is at odds with Islam's core principle of monotheism.

"We think -- not to say it has no value -- but that we are not losing a valuable thing," said PAS executive councillor Takiyuddin Hassan. "From our religious point of view it is inconsistent with Islam."

The dalang sits cross-legged, a bare lightbulb suspended between him and a large white screen.

Scattered on the floor are the puppets, cut from buffalo or goat hide and painted in bright colors to represent patience, goodness, courage, and other virtues.

Seated in the dark, the audience watch the figure of virtuous Sri Rama suddenly appear. Then the black shadow of the evil demon Ravana swoops to confront him.

The figures feint and threaten. The dalang works their jaws, speaking a mix of Kelantanese and Thai while the sound of drums, gongs and horn rises to a crescendo.

Until the 1980s Pak Dollah and his troupe performed almost nightly for up to 800 people.

Shows marked birthdays and harvests or when an individual who needed to cleanse himself of "bad air", which could be mental or physical, hired a group to perform.

Pak Dollah does not deny wayang's mystical side. He says his apprenticeship began with "outer knowledge" -- the stories. Then came inner knowledge, including how you "give life" to puppets.

"It has nothing to do with worship of good or evil spirits," he says. "We start by invoking the name of God."

Kelantan permits one wayang show weekly for tourists, where Dollah occasionally works. He also puts on illegal performances in nearby villages, organized with the help of writer Eddin Khoo.

The former journalist saw Dollah perform 10 years ago.

"Afterwards I went and talked to him and told him I'd like to visit him in Kelantan," Khoo said.

Supporters decry the decline of wayang but fans who once gathered for shows several hours long may be less concerned.

When a video cassette craze began in the 1980s one dalang hung up his puppets because he could attract bigger crowds by showing movies on a television set.

Soon after the wayang ban was announced in 1994, a rickshaw driver said, PAS provided even better entertainment. "We all go for the political talks these days, it is better than the wayang kulit," said 70-year-old Mustafa Mat.

Pak Hussin is one of many dalang who left Kelantan after the ban. "There's no more performances, no way to make a living. If it stays like this it will die."

"I came into this (culture) late and I'm not going to let anyone take it away from me because it's mine," he says.

Pak Dollah gets by with an occasional well-paid show in Kuala Lumpur and taps rubber trees to earn extra money.

Pessimistic about wayang's future, Dollah is nevertheless confident he will perform again. "I can still perform," he says looking at the still figures on the wooden floor.

"The proof is in my puppets -- they're not dusty yet."