The Art of Storytelling

In Indonesia, dramatic stories are told through the shadow puppet theater or wayang. Articulated puppets are backlit against a cotton screen, appearing to the audience in shadow form. There are three forms of puppets: flat pierced leather puppets, flat wooden puppets, and three-dimensional wooden rod puppets. The characters and stories that are told are derived from Hindu epics, especially the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Performances are accompanied by music from a gamelan orchestra, which features drums, flutes and stringed instruments. Puppet theatre performances sometimes last from dusk to dawn and were traditionally held to mark important occasions, such as marriages, birthdays, or community celebrations.