SchoolArts - May/June 2008

El ementary Studio Lesson

Left: Chris, grade five. Right: Traditional Indonesian puppet.

STORY

TELLING

with Shadow Puppets

Shannon Stephens

Puppetry is an ancient art Background form that exists in cultures Chiseled by hand, the Wayang Kulit throughout the world. The puppet exhibits an exaggeration of Indonesian island of Java is the human shape that is typically known for its ancient folk theater rendered in portrait view. Flat and which blends religion, storytell- two-sided, the puppet is constructed ing, music, art, and theater through from pressed and dried buffalo hide. puppetry. This traditional form Although audiences only see the of storytelling, known as Wayang puppet’s shadow, traditional Wayang Kulit, dates back Kulit puppets are 1,000 years and Fifth graders were challenged hand painted in continues to be _to _create _a _shadow _puppet great detail with a popular form gold leaf and an of entertainment ^based ^on ^a ^character ^from ^a array of colorful throughout Indo- story familiar to them. pigments. nesia. A long, pol-

Roughly translated as “shadow ished section of buffalo horn is
skin,” Wayang Kulit involves the delicately shaped by the artist and
performance of musicians, a pup- fitted to the puppet. While this cen-
peteer (known as a dhalang), and a tral horn is aesthetically pleasing,
series of two-dimensional puppets it also functions as a handle for the
that project shadow images on a dhalang. Arms that swivel at the
backlit screen. shoulder and elbow are controlled by
two sticks (usually bamboo or buf-

falo horn) that are tied to each of the puppet’s delicate hands.

Understanding the Wayang Kulit Storytelling offers a wonderful lens through which to explore Western and non-Western art. In a lesson designed for fifth grade, students investigated the history and significance of Wayang Kulit. To see the performance in context, students watched a portion of the video Wayang Kulit: The Shadow Puppet Theatre of Java. Students were then lead to critically examine a genuine Wayang Kulit puppet. Through guided analysis, fifth graders learned about the construction of the artifact and the context in which it was created.