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nation must live with law, ethics and moral values. Without them, life will be in chaos. Most traditional cultures possess these values. For the Javanese and other groups in Indonesia, traditional shadow puppet plays, called wayang, are rich in moral teachings, refined music, dancing and poetry. Besides the puppet plays based on Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, contemporary issues have influenced wayang development.

Gelar, a company promoting Indonesian art and culture, and the National Secretariat of Indonesian Puppetry (Sena Wangi) presented the World of Wayang 2011 Festival “Wayang and Us”. Events took place at Grand Indonesia West Mall in Central Jakarta and at Gedung Pewayangan Kautaman in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah simultaneously, from October 15 to 22.

The event included exhibitions and competitions in traditional creative expression. The dalang is the master puppeteer who narrates, sings and brings the shadow puppets to life. The festival helds a teenage dalang competition, a wayang photo contest, fashion design, short stories, T-shirt and poster designs, comic strips and batik painting. Participants came from universities in Jakarta, Surabaya, Bali and Yogyakarta as well as from the general public. Wayang contemporary to classical shows with senior dalang were a key attraction.

“To boost wayang awareness among urban citizens and young people, wayang needs to come closer to the city. We want to attract young people because without their love, the continuation of wayang will be at stake.

“We don’t feel it is taboo to present wayang in a flexible, modern way. We want everyone to know about this art and get involved so that wayang will live forever,” Gelar managing director Kumoratih Kushardjanto said. Gelar intends to conduct this festival every two years.

One example of contemporary wayang is wayang suket, grass wayang, with its famous dalang, Slamet Gundono. Grass stands for grass-roots society. On Oct. 22, Slamet performed “Suluk Ozon”, which addressed the environmental threat of Ozone.

Have you heard about wayang Betawi, wayang Banyumasan, or wayang Palembang? One young Betawi dalang Sukar Pulung performed “Bambang Jaya Sakti” reminding us that this wayang tradition still survives on the periphery of Jakarta, in the Bekasi and Tambun areas. Senior dalang including Ki Anom Suroto and Ki Manteb Soedharsono also participated.

The World of Wayang Festival broadened everyone’s understanding of how varied and modern wayang can be in Indonesia. We look forward to the next festival!

— Ani Susmantoro/contributor