'Wayang Kancil' amuse Jakartans
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Most children who visited the Puppet Museum in Kota, West Jakarta, on Saturday were already familiar with the clever mouse- deer, or kancil as it is locally known.
Sitting on the floor and munching snacks, students of two elementary schools in Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta, watched the cunning mouse-deer come to life in the hands of shadow puppeteer Sri Sulansih Warsito.
Accompanied by the Javanese gamelan, Sulansih opened the story with the kancil stealing a cucumber from a farmer's field. Since the kancil was too quick to be captured, the farmer made a scarecrow and covered it with sticky sap, as a trap.
The kancil was snared and kept in a barn to be slaughtered at a party. As it unwittingly awaited its doom, a dog passed by and asked what it was doing. The kancil said that it was about to be wed at the party by the farmer. Jealous of its good fortune, the dog asked to change places and set the kancil free.
"Kancil can teach children to use their wits to solve problems. Though small, it can outsmart bigger animals," said Sulansih.
The performance is part of the Second Puppet Museum Week, which runs through Aug. 26. The special week is held to commemorate the museum's 29th anniversary.
Wayang Kancil is a shadow puppet show that uses animals as its main characters. "It is mainly for children, and so the performance is kept short -- three hours at the most," said Sulansih.
The puppeteer used Bahasa Indonesian to tell the fable, alternating her voice from a deep to high pitch, according to the animal. "If I use Javanese, the children won't be able to follow the story," she added.
Most of the children preferred to sit behind the screen among the puppeteer and the band.
"They can see the colorful puppets and the gamelan players," said Katimo, an employee of the museum. "Some are afraid of the dark on the other side of the screen."
Several children, however, enjoyed the shadow play from the proper position -- in front of the screen. The shadows grew bigger as Sulansih moved further away from the screen, and with each turn of her wrists they appeared alive.
Several domestic tourists and foreigners were also present at the show. Halfway through the show, the audience was invited to sing along to children's songs like Cucakrowo and Gelang Sipatu Gelang.
"This kind of break is important to keep the play interactive and interesting," said Katimo.
I-box: Art performances at the Puppet Museum and adjacent Fatahillah Square
* Wednesday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. - 12 a.m.
Discussion on "The existence of wayang in the era of reform and globalization" with speakers Arswendo Atmowiloto and Singgih Wibisono and a Balinese dance performance. * Friday, Aug. 20, 6:30 p.m. - 6 a.m. (the next day)
Karawitan Sunda (West Java traditional orchestra) performance and an all-night long wayang golek (wooden puppet) show with puppeteer Eka Supriyadi playing Tumult in the Motherland * Saturday, Aug. 21, 6.30 p.m. - midnight
A Karawitan performance by students and wayang orang playing Ramayana.
Source: Puppet Museum