“Traditional Puppets Enter the Modern Mall”The Jakarta Post, 08/14/2009 The singers filed in first, their glittering blue and purple tops, narrow batik sarongs and elaborately sculpted hair standing out in a sea of jeans and designer T-shirts. Then came dalang Ki Joko Edan, a shadow-puppet master from Semarang, and a troupe of batik-shirted musicians. Before long, the deep ringing of the gongs, the clang of the saron and the high wavering voices of the chorus filled the halls of Cilandak Town Square (Citos) in South Jakarta. Wayang kulit, the mainstay of traditional Javanese culture, had come to the shopping mall, bastion of modern life in Jakarta. |
“Making The Wayang Speak - in English!”Jakarta Globe, 06/06/2009 It may still enjoy popularity throughout Java and Bali, and it was added to Unesco’s representative list of intangible cultural heritage in November 2003, but traditional wayang kulit is often a difficult art form for foreign audiences to appreciate. After all, the plots of many shadow puppet plays are based on ancient Hindu epics, they use local dialects, are often performed in people’s living rooms and, depending on the story being related, performances can last from dusk to dawn. But shadow puppet plays don’t have to be inaccessible. American expatriate Kathryn “Kitsie” Emerson and master puppeteer Purbo Asmoro have formed a partnership to bring wayang to English speakers, offering shadow puppet shows in people’s homes with a direct translation by Emerson. Emerson has lived in Indonesia for 18 years and has been married to well-respected Javanese wayang drummer Wakidi Dwidjomarto for six years, so has a firm grasp on both Indonesian and Western culture. |
“Kitsie Emerson: Finding Her Place”The Jakarta Post, 05/23/2008 A classical musician by training, American Kitsie Emerson took a musical detour to immerse herself in the world of Javanese music and folklore. She tells Bruce Emond about bringing these Javanese traditions to a wider, modern audience. |
"UNESCO Rewards Wayang Kulit"Unesco.org In 2003 the UNESCO proclaimed the Wayang puppets Theater of Indonesia as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". The related action plan recommends that specialized schools play a greater role in the transmission of traditional skills linked to wayang and that support be provided to enable puppeteers to earn a living as professional performers. The plan also calls for the creation of inventories, publications, audio-visual recordings and seminars designed to encourage research. |
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