Global Impact on the Survival of Wayang Kulit ... - Siew Lian Lim

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working with the tools to carve leather puppets, and then practiced performing. Crafting tools Pak Soh instructing Lim in carving Puppets in progress Pak Soh teaching Lim, wearing traditional dalang clothing, in performance workshop Following the workshop, before I left, Pak Soh signed his oldest puppet that I had requested when I first entered his workshop and saw his puppets and presented it to me as acknowledgement of my commitment to learning Wayang Kulit. Pak Soh preparing and signing his oldest puppet to be presented to Lim Pak Soh, his wife and son and two young students standing the rear 20
Discussion This journey to meet and interview these four dalang provided an in depth view of how Wayang Kulit Shadow Theater is being preserved and performed in present day Malaysia, particularly Kelantan, which historically has been the country’s center for Wayang Kulit to the extent that Amin Sweeney referred to Kelantan as “the heart of Wayang Siam country.” From these interviews a distinction emerges between the traditionalist and the modern approach to Wayang Kulit, and to some extent this has determined the levels of optimism and pessimism. Eyo Hock Seng represents the most modern and flexible position, which tends to attract a wide audience, and was the most optimistic. Pak Dain, whose mission is to preserve traditional Kelantanese Wayang Kulit, particularly the lineage tradition, is the most pessimistic because of limitations placed by his mission. Along the same lines, the views of the dalang of the impact of globalization and the intrusion of modern popular culture also divided along the traditionalist and the revisionist line. The most traditional, Pak Dain, sees this influence as distracting from and contributing to the destruction of traditional Wayang Kulit. On the other hand, Eyo Hock Seng and Pak Majid, both heavily influenced by Nang Talung, incorporate modern popular culture and media in their craft and performances with Pak Majid wanting to have access to `television broadcasts. They tailor their performances to their audiences, giving traditional performances from The Ramayana to older audiences, and modern stories featuring clown puppets to younger audiences. As a result their performances are popular and draw large audiences. But attracting audiences in the face of globalized modernity does not assure Wayang Kulit's survival. If there is no one to perform Malaysian Wayang Kulit after these dalang pass away, it will only survive in Pak Majid's and Eyo Hock Seng's videos, and as Pak Dain insisted, live performance at some level is essential. This was illustrated in a story that appeared in The Star, one of Malaysia's two leading English newspapers, in 2011 (In the Shadows). A group from The Star’s young journalist program, BRAT (Bright Roving Annoying Teens) visited Traditional Malay Wayang Kulit Kelantan in Kampung Morak and observed a performance for the first time. While they already expected to be “dazzled,” observing a live performance exceeded their expectations, particularly the beauty of the art. “It was a brilliant show of light and colours….” They also noted that neighbors and passersby had stopped to watch the show, as well as teenagers on motorcycles. “It was almost like an outdoor drive through movie theatre.” This 21
Page 1: Global Imp
Page 4 and 5: is visible by the audience. Stories
Page 6 and 7: over Malaysia and in Australia, Mun
Page 8 and 9: more aware of Wayang Kulit. We sell
Page 10 and 11: number of musicians to nine since s
Page 12 and 13: are regular donors to the gallery,
Page 14 and 15: However, the stories Eyo Hock Seng
Page 16 and 17: Sri Campuran Dikir Barat performanc
Page 18 and 19: Like Pak Dain, he states that he pe
Page 22 and 23: experience cannot be replicated by
Page 24 and 25: aspects of it in other arts, primar
Page 26 and 27: suspended from the ceiling upside d
Page 28 and 29: as landfill. They speak of restorin
Page 30: Pang, Sze Lin, "Heri Dono: Profile

Global Impact on the Survival of Wayang Kulit ... - Siew Lian Lim

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