In the 70’s, when Televisyen Malaysia had cultural programmes encompassing stuff from Mak Yong to Menora, I have always had a fascination for the art of the wayang kulit (shadow play). I got to see a live wayang kulit performance in Kota Bharu in the early 90’s but the overture-cum-monologue was so longwinded with a stationary pohon beringin in the middle of the screen, we decided to call it a night! Our host had also warned us that the loghat was so thick (likely infused with Thai) that even as a Kelantanese native he could not understand a word, let alone attempt to tell us what the story was about.
It was from the old B&W telly programmes that I learnt of Sri Rama, Laksmana and Sita Dewi, as well as Sri Rama’s nemesis, Rawana. Little did I know at that time the stories are based on the Hindu epic of Ramayana, but it was difficult enough to understand what the characters were saying. I nevertheless found the actual movements of the puppets’ shadows fascinating. As for ‘special effects’, I could clearly remember Sri Rama firing an arrow, the arrow being a separate puppet moved by the tok dalang!
The basic premise of the tale was that Sri Rama was a prince of Sertapura, who succeeded in an archery competition, the prize of which was the hand of Sita Dewi in marriage. Sita was kidnapped by Rawana when she was travelling with Sri Rama and Rama’s half-brother, Laksmana. Sita was brought back to Langkapuri. With the help of an army of warriors led by Hanuman, Sri Rama reached Langkapuri, succeeded in killing Rawana and rescuing Sita. And they lived happily ever after.
It was not until my early visits to Muzium Negara that I got to see that the puppets had colour. Sri Rama was green with an an ornate gold and red crown whilst the beastly Rawana was red. It was also at the museum, I got to learn of Javanese wayang kulit (I was dead scared of the Javanese puppets representing the pandawas) and those from Thailand, Burma and Khmer.
My late mom was an art teacher and there was one time that she brought back artwork made by her lower secondary students which comprised wayang kulit puppets! It was like Christmas. Never mind that they were made of manilla card as opposed to buffalo hide, some of the puppets were well-made, and mom let us keep them (they must have been from her students of previous years). I remembered hanging an old bed sheet in the dining room, put dad’s large torch on a chair for illumination and played the dalang, only to realise that, one, I’ve no idea what story to tell; two, I can’t speak Kelantanese Malay and most importantly, three – I want to see the puppets from the other side of the screen!
Wayang kulit in Malaysia is not limited to the east coast, as it is also performed in the north. As a kid, ayah watched the Kedah version of wayang kulit and a remembered part of the dialogue between two characters named Leh and Chut which went “Nak pi lawan gasi no” (I’m going to fight an ogre) with the musicians going tak-tun tak-tun in the background. I came across this group in Kedah on YouTube called Kumpulan Wayang Kulit Seri Asun which still performs to this day. Alas, this group’s wayang kulit stories (and songs) had to adapt with the changing times. The audience (mostly kids) seemed to enjoy it.
If it’s for the sake of preserving this ancient art form, I guess, why not?
