Wayang Kulit Indonesia

Wayang kulit is a traditional puppet-shadow play found in the culture of Java, Bali, and Lombok, Indonesia. In a wayang kulit performance, the puppet figures are rear-projected on a taut linen screen with a coconut-oil (or electric) light. The Dalang (shadow artist) manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life.

Wayang kulit is one of the many different forms of wayang theatre found in Indonesia, the other being wayang beber, wayang klitik, wayang golek, wayang topeng, and wayang wong). Wayang kulit is among the best known, offering a unique combination of ritual, lesson and entertainment. On November 7, 2003, UNESCO designated wayang kulit from Indonesia as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

"Wayang" derives from a word meaning "shadow" or "ghost", in turn originating from two ancient words: "Waya" meaning "ancestor or descending", and "Ang" meaning "symbol". Another source is the phrase "Ma Hyang", meaning spirit, God or God Almighty.

Wayang, in modern Indonesian language, is loosely translated to mean puppet. Kulit means skin or leather, the material from which the figures are carved.

Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India before the Christian era. Sanskrit became the literary and court language of Java and later of Bali.

The Hindus changed the Wayang (as did the Muslims, later) to spread their religion, mostly telling stories from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana. This mixture of religion and wayang play was later praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture.

...
Wikipedia