Awareness raising
The most effective way of introducing wayang kulit to
students is to bring real wayang kulit puppets into the classroom and
allow students to handle them and play with them in front of a shadow
puppet screen.
Shadow puppets can be borrowed from many library or
media collections, or purchased through Indonesian suppliers (see
Resource section). Contact your state
or territory
language teachers association or languages department for help.
Background information about wayang kulit is available
in many books and websites. Some background
information has been collated here to support teachers in better
understanding and discussing wayang kulit with their students. See 'Tentang
wayang kulit' (in
Word or
PDF).
Another learning object in this series, Pameran,
contains a section on wayang kulit that includes a task where students
sequence the steps for making a wayang kulit puppet. The Teacher
Resources for Pameran have more detailed information on making
shadow puppets.
Introductory activity:
Ask students
whether they have ever seen a puppet play of any kind, either in real
life or on television. Briefly discuss the purpose/s of puppet plays,
who watches them, how they fit our cultural traditions, how the puppets
are moved etcetera.
Explain to students that in Java and Bali, there is a
famous and very important form of puppetry called wayang kulit, or
shadow puppetry. Show students some real puppet characters and
demonstrate
how they work. Hold up two different puppets and ask students to tell
you what things are different about them (eg colour, shape, size,
features, clothes).
Explain to students that there are many different 'good'
and 'bad' puppet characters, each with their own role (maybe a
prince or a hunter or a servant or a monster) and with its own
personality. Have students work in small groups to look closely at one
or two puppets and see what they can deduce about them, giving reasons
for their decisions. Have students share and compare their conclusions.
Using 'think, pair, share' ask students to list the
characteristics of a hero or good guy, and a villain or bad guy. This
could include what they look like, how they act and their personal
characteristics. Explain to students that wayang kulit plays often tell
stories about the battle between good and evil.
Share with the students the characteristics of 'good' and
'bad' wayang characters and the symbolism of different colours. (See
'About wayang kulit' above). Discuss the concepts of being 'halus'
(refined) or 'kasar' (coarse).
Do these
symbols (eg colours, eye shape) mean the same things for Australian
people as well? Or do different cultures have different symbols? Would
an Indonesian hero or villain have the same characteristics as an
Australian hero or villain?
Explain to students that they are going to use a learning
object to learn more about story telling using shadow puppets, and that
they will be able to create their own puppet plays on computer - and
then in the classroom if appropriate.
See the
Extension Activity section for information around creating and
performing a shadow puppet play offline.
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