Museum of Wayang Indonesia

Last Thursday, I and two of my friends from junior high school (well we still be friends anyway!) went to Museum Wayang in Kota Tua (Old Town), Jakarta. Since I am a newbie on photography, I asked them to go hunting with me so that they could teach me. Then Kota Tua said my friend is one of the facilitated spot for a photographer to get cool pictures. Since there are so many old building that were left under the Dutch colonization. There is a really big piazza in the middle, pretty much looks like somewhere in Europe, with an ex Governor Office as the central of everything.

I love all the photos I took. Since the wayang are so expressive and alive, because they have the same body parts like human - and the genius creators made them look so impressive. I am grateful God has been so good to this country by giving such an incredible heritage like wayang!

"UNESCO designated Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppet theater and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003. In return of the acknowledgment, UNESCO demanded Indonesia to preserve their heritage"

They represent the diversity in Indonesia

Gatot Kaca, a flying hero. He is the most handsome wayang on earth "__"

Wayang Panakawan being renovated

Bagong

Semar, the most ridiculous of all

Wayang theatre is considered to be a highlight of Javanese culture. Over the centuries its religious character has increasingly developed into a distinct art form; foreign influences introduced new stories, characters were added, and new refined styles were developed at the courts. There are various types of wayang, but, in Java, the most important is the wayang purwa, which uses kulit (flat cut-outs of painted leather puppets) whose shadows are projected on a large white screen. Wayang purwa makes use of the purwa repertoire: the oldest stories about cosmic events and divine will are represented; the course of events is seen as being predestined, part of a cosmic law. The Javanese word purwa means ‘beginning’ or ‘first’ and derives, probably, from the Sanskrit parwan, a word used to denote the chapter of the Mahabharata.

Although the origins of wayang purwa have been subject to intense scholarly debate in the last part of the Nineteenth and the beginning of the Twentieth centuries, its precise origins remain elusive. Some scholars view the wayang as an ancestor cult, connected with dual organization initiation rites in which young men learned the secrets of the tribe. Wayang is clearly of Javanese origin with animistic features. Originally it was not individuals who were depicted on stage but legendary beings. These mythical figures, represented by the most important puppets, were used to explain the relationship between heaven and the human society; and the origin and the structure of the world. .
sources semarweb.com