8::Yogyakarta
1.27.97 Monday
Wayang Kulit. Last night, we went to the show at the Sonobudoyo Archeological Museum, which featured Episode 4 of the Ramayana. I didn’t expect it to be so "multimedia" - that is, I thought the action would be centered on the movement of the puppets, but often the puppets are still through a long narrative chant. The gamelan at first was extremely jarring - the gonging and clanging gave me nausea.
Jim was falling asleep when we decided to get up and look around. Sulistyo the puppet master had given us a brief intro to the puppets and a backstage tour when we arrived and invited us to sit backstage if we wanted. I was holding out: they say only the earth-bound would want to see the machinery behind the puppets, while the purists get all the meaning they need from watching the shadows against the screen, because the shadows are the souls.
So I am earth-bound.
The gamelan players were a wide mixture - old and young, some with exotic tribal faces. They smoked and talked.
I should have read the Ramayana before or during this trip. Why does it take me so long to get with the program? I should have read the Ramayana before our trip to Thailand in 1990! Sometimes I just spend too much time in my own world.
I like the notion that the Wayang of the Left (puppets on the left side) are in an evil state of mind -- the dark side. So much of the story -- as I pick it up -- is about good vs. evil. I worry about the sources of evil in the world. I want it to be Other but I'm afraid the source of it is in ourselves.
After the performance, Sulistyo gave us a quick look at his items for sale ("but not for resale" and "only one per customer"). I felt disappointed that there was a sale objective to his kindness.
Becak home. We were surprised and disconcerted that the driver (or human pony, more precisely) who waited outside the theater knew exactly where we were staying.
Today - Prambanan, the famous 9th-century Hindu temple complex near Borobudur. It is gorgeous, of course, but did not at all convey the sense of pilgrimage -- the story power -- of its Buddhist sister.
On the way back to Yogya, we stopped at Sapto-Hudayo, a massive antiques/crafts store. I bought an old Iryan Jaya necklace made of animal teeth. Very striking; very expensive.
Links
Wayang kulit. A good explanation of the shows.
Wayang kulit. A nice explanation of how the puppets are made.
Gamelan. Overview of this interesting music.
Gamelan. This site has photos of the instruments.
Becak. The technology of human-powered vehicles.
Prambanan. An overview of the ancient Hindu temple complex.