Home > Collection > Asia > Indonesia > Tribal Art > Puppets

PUPPETS

---

WAYANG KULIT PUPPET
BALI, INDONESIA
 
Wayang Kulit is one of the many types of puppet play performed in Indonesia. The word wayang refers to both the puppets and the theatre. Wayang Kulit is probably the oldest form of shadow theatre in.Wayang means puppet and kulit means leather. The puppets made from animal skin are flat, and are seen in profile. You can see that the head, legs and feet all face the same direction but the upper torso is turned so that both shoulders can be seen, the arms are very long.

The puppets are decorated with details of facial features, head-dresses, jewellery and clothes. They are painted with bright colors, as they may be used in daytime shows as well as shadow performances. A stick supports the body. This is wider at the bottom where it has to stick in the banana log to keep the puppet upright.
 

---