Body of Wayang Golek rod puppet, carved and painted wooden head and body with a pink face and a blue, pink and gold headdress and batik skirt. Bought MEM for the Education Centre; Puppet Fair in 1980.
In west Java the traditional puppet theatre, Wayang Golek, uses carved wooden rod puppets. The puppets have three rods: 2 are visible and are used to manipulate the puppet's arms. The third hidden under the batik sarong, passes through a hole in the wooden body and emerges at the neck where it slots into the head. It is used to support the puppet and manipulate the head. The stories come from the Hindu Mahabarata and the Ramayana and also stories of an Islamic hero, Amir Hamzar. Performances last all night and the puppeteer speaks all roles, sings & narrates the story. The puppeteer often adapts the traditional stories to add in references to current political and social conditions.
