HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
May 8, 2005 One of the most spellbinding media for storytelling in South East Asia is the ‘Wayang Kulit’. It is a form of traditional theatre that brings together the playfulness of a puppet show and the elusive quality and charming simplicity of a shadow play. In Malaysia, ‘Wayang Kulit’ is most popular in the east coast of the peninsula. Of all the varieties of this theatre form, the common principle is that it employs light and shadow to bring to life characters which are depicted by intricately carved puppets. These puppets are carved and hand-painted from cow or buffalo hide. Each puppet, a stylised exaggeration of the human shape, is given a distinctive appearance and not unlike its string puppet cousins, has jointed "arms". There may be as many as 100 puppet characters, all with different traits and mannerisms, in a performance. Only one man is responsible for breathing life into this array of characters: the master puppeteer and storyteller known as the ‘Tok Dalang’. The ‘Tok Dalang’ is a highly respected artist. He is considered to have exceptional powers over the elements and is a performer who excels in many things, from controlling the movements of the puppets to providing each one with a distinguishable voice to singing songs. As the stories told are ancient ones, he is a person whose oratory skills are excellent: he repeats lengthy texts word for word all the while entertaining his audience with jokes. The stories are of scholarly nature and help to imbibe in the audience age-old traditions and values. He knows all of the characters in his story intimately. As such, he is able to use his amazing vocal dexterity to give each character its proper tone and pitch at times creating the illusion of conversation. Performances last hours and are open air ones. A temporary bamboo platform is constructed in the village square. It has a raised stage on which the ‘Tok Dalang’ and his musicians sit. A fine cotton screen (called ‘kelir’) separates the ‘Tok Dalang’ from his audience. The light from the oil lamp throws magical flickering shadows on the cotton screen. The audience sees the silhouette of the puppets the ‘Tok Dalang’ uses projected on the cotton screen. The stories of the ‘Wayang Kulit’ are traditionally based on the Hindu epics of the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. The Mahabharat is a great epic that comprises 100,000 stanzas of verse divided into eighteen books, or parvas. It is the largest single literary work in existence. Originally composed in the ancient language of Sanskrit sometime between 400 BC and 400 AD, it is set in a legendary era thought to correspond to the period of Indian culture and history in approximately the tenth century BC. The story is about the Great War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas - cousins who each claimed to be the rightful rulers of a kingdom. This bloody feud between the two branches of the ruling family of the northern Indian kingdom of Kurujangala culminated in an epic eighteen-day battle and the annihilation of nearly all those involved in the Great War. The eldest among the Pandavas, Yudhisthira, was the embodiment of goodness and commanded the loyalty of his four brothers. The eldest among the Kauravas was Duryodhana. He was crafty and malicious. His brothers shared in these evil qualities. Briefly, the evil Kauravas were envious of their cousins and started scheming to dethrone them. Their first attempt to kill the Pandavas was by burning them inside a palace. The Pandavas managed to escape, but then the evil brothers once again attempted to gain control. They challenged Yudhisthira to a game of dice which led Yudhisthira to lose everything, including his wife, Draupadi. He, along with his brothers and Draupadi, were exiled from the kingdom. The period of exile was 13 years. After the 13th year, Duryodhana decided that he would fight them for the Kingdom. Hence the Great War. The most dramatic figure of the entire Mahabharata, however, was Krishna who was the supreme personality of Godhead himself. Krishna was the cousin of both parties. In addition, he was a friend and advisor to the Pandavas, became the brother-in-law of Arjuna, and served as Arjuna's mentor and charioteer in the Great War. Throughout their lives and the Great War that ensued at battlefield of Kurukshetra there were examples of the ethical gaps amongst men which were never resolved. In the aftermath of the war, Yudhishthira alone was terribly troubled and his sense of the war's wrongfulness persisted to the end of the text. This was in spite of the fact that everyone else, from his wife to Krishna, told him the war was right; even the dying patriarch, Bhishma, lectured him at length on all aspects of the Good Law (the Duties and Responsibilities of Kings). In essence, the epic story represents an extended exploration of the responsibilities set forth by the code of Dharma. In addition to recounting a heroic tale, the Mahabharata contains a collection of writings on a broad spectrum of human learning, including ethics, law, philosophy, history, geography, genealogy, and religion. It also features a number of legends, moral stories, and local tales all woven into an elaborate narrative. The Ramayan, is another of the Hindu epics and relates the story of the life Rama. The story begins with Dasharatha, was the King of Ayodhya who had 3 wives and four sons. Rama was the eldest and his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was the son of Dasharatha's second and favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. In time, the Princes were young men and it was time for them to marry. In the neighboring city the ruler's daughter, Sita was preparing to choose her husband at a ceremony called a swayamvara. There was an archery contest fixed and the winner would win the hand of Sita in marriage. No one could lift the bow. However, as Rama picked it up, he not only strung the bow, he broke it. Seeing this, Sita indicated that she had chosen Rama as her husband and married him. A few years later, King Dasharatha, decided it was time to give his throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest. Everyone seemed pleased, save Queen Keikey. She wanted her son, Bharata, to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she got the King to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown Bharata, even though the King begged her not to demand such a thing. Broken-hearted, the devastated King could not face Rama and it was Queen Keikey who told Rama the King's decree. Rama, always obedient, was content to go into exile. Sita and Lakshmana accompanied him and so, the trio set out for the forest. The early years spent in the forest were happy ones for the trio. One day Rama and Lakshmana wounded a rakshasas (demon) princess who tried to seduce Rama. She returned to her brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka. In retaliation, Ravana devised a plan to abduct Sita. He sent a magical golden deer to entice Sita. To please her, Rama and Lakshmana went to hunt the deer down. Before they did though, they drew a protective circle around Sita and told her that she would be safe for as long as she did not step outside the circle. After Rama and Lakshmana left, Ravana, changed his shape and appeared as a holy man begging alms. The moment Sita stepped outside the circle to give him food, Ravana grabbed her and carried her to his kingdom in Lanka. Rama, broken-hearted seeks the help of a band of monkeys offer to help him find Sita. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind. He flew to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforted her and told her Rama would come to save her soon. Ravana's men captured Hanuman, and Ravana ordered them to wrap Hanuman's tail in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman escaped and hopped from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka on fire. He then flew back to Rama to tell him where Sita was. Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway made of arrows and crossed over to Lanka. A mighty battle ensued. Ravana was vanquished and Sita rescued. Together with Lakshmana, Rama and Sita returned to Ayodhya and Rama became king. These are, in essence, the stories that are told by the ‘Tok Dalang’ in a ‘Wayang Kulit’. The ‘Wayang Kulit’ is staged during religious festivals and important occasions, such as weddings, births and circumcision. A most enjoyable experience, the 'Wayang Kulit' also serves to impart moral values, pass down folklore, historical tales and pure entertainment. ------------ About the author: Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program "How To Tell A Great Story". Already in its 2nd edition, this ebook teaches people the famed “R.P.I. Principle”© which has been used by many people. The ebook, priced at US$9.90 offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally.Aneeta also manages the ‘Great StoryTelling Network!’ newsletter which aims to give a voice to storytellers of the world which creates opportunities in business for everyone. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more. Email: editor@howtotellagreatstory.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
