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

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