Siew Lian LimDepartment of Visual Art - Sculpture, School of Art, Northern Illinois University

Transmitting the Ramayana Epic to Southeast Asia and the West through Shadow Puppetry and Visual Art

Conclusions

Introduction

“ The Ramayana can free us from our own

stupidity ” Larry Reed

Shadow Light Productions

San Francisco

• The Ramayana: One of two major epics of Hindu

mythology that have been performed by traditional

Southeast Asian (SEA) puppet plays.

• The other is The Mahabharata.

• Best known of many versions: Written by the Sanskrit

poet Valmiki 300-500 BC.

The basic Ramayana story

• Prince Rama’s wife, Sita, is kidnapped by evil King

Ravana.

• Rama journeys to rescue her with Hanuman, a monkey

and his monkey army.

• Rama rescues Sita after a series of battles, and Rama

kills Ravana.

Four research questions

1. How has traditional shadow puppetry been used

to transmit The Ramayana in Southeast Asia?

2. What is the contemporary status of shadow

puppetry in Southeast Asia?

3. How has shadow puppetry been used to present

The Ramayana to Western audiences?

4. How have shadow puppet forms from The

Ramayana been used in visual art?

Method

• Examine traditional SEA shadow puppetry, particularly

relating to The Ramayana.

• Examine shadow puppetry in contemporary SEA.

• Examine & interview Western shadow performers.

• Apply shadow theatre and Ramayana in researcher’s

visual artwork.

Shadow Puppetry in Southeast AsiaTheories and legends about

origins of Shadow Puppetry

• Indigenous animist rituals in Java 3000 years ago

(Indonesia).

• Leather to craft the sandstone Ramayana reliefs at

Angkor Wat in 12th Century AD (Cambodia).

• Indian chitra katha scroll paintings in Sukhothai in 13th

Century AD (Thailand).

• Chinese invented it in 2nd Century BC, and imported it to

SEA (China).

Common features of SEA Shadow Puppetry

• Carved leather puppets cast shadows on a screen.

• Stories - Mahabharata/Ramayana myths.

• Clown puppets - not myths - for entertainment.

• The puppet master- center of performance.

• A form of popular entertainment.

The Ramakien

•The Thai version of The Ramayana

•Highly honored in Thailand

•Rama is an earlier incarnation of the Buddha

•The basis of most Nang Talung and Nang Yai

performances

Malaysia

Between Java and Thailand

•Several imported forms of Shadow Puppetry from Java

and Thailand.

•.Wayang Siam: indigenous Malay form

Raja Seri Rama

The Malaysian version of The Ramayana

•Significant part of Malaysian culture and Wayang Siam

stories.

Shadow Theater in

Contemporary Southeast Asia

Changes in Politics & Culture

Indonesia: Wayang Kulit used for propaganda

=

Cambodia: Being revived by Sovanna Phum Arts Association

after being banned by the Khmer Rouge

Malaysia: Wayang Kulit Seri Asun survives after Wayang

Siam is banned in Kelantan.

SEA Shadow Puppetry in the West

Three major producers

• Larry Reed, Shadow Lights Production, San Francisco.

• Maria Bodman, Bali and Beyond, Los Angeles.

• Tamara Fielding, Tamara and the Shadow Theatre of Java,

Northport, NY - The ONLY one who performs The Ramayana.

Shadow Puppetry and The Ramayana in Visual Art

Work by Siew Lian Lim Repurposed plastic and refuse

Conclusions1. Shadow Puppetry has transmitted The Ramayana throughout

SEA.

2. Contemporary Shadow Puppetry adapts to contemporary

politics and popular culture – Ramayana secondary.

3. Shadow Puppetry performed by Western artists. Only Tamara

Fielding presents The Ramayana.

4. Shadow Puppetry as visual art: shadow puppetry and The

Ramayana as inspiration for contemporary visual art, including

work by the researcher.

Works CitedBroman, Sven. Shadows of Life: Nang Talung. Bangkok, Thailand: White Orchid Press, 1996.

Fielding, Tamara. “Ancient Arts in Modern Times.” Tamara and The Shadow Theatre of Java, 2000. 31

May 2010 < http://www.indonesianshadowplay.com/artist.html >.

Irvine, David. Leather Gods & Wooden Heroes: Java’s Classical Wayang. Singapore: Times Editions,

1996.

zek, Jan. Phenomenology of a Puppet Theatre : Contemplations on the Art of Javanese Wayang

Kulit. Leiden, Neth: KITLV Press, 2005.

Mulyano, Ir. Sri. Human Character in the Wayang. Trans. M. M. Madeiros. Jakarta: Pustaka Wayang,

1977.

Reed, Larry. Personal Interview. 29 May 2010.

Sweeney, Amin. Malay Shadow Puppets. London: British Museum Publications, 1972.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, particularly Java and Bali,

Shadow Puppetry developed and flourished

under the name Wayang Kulit.

A multimedia art formDrama, Painting, Carving, Literature, Voice,

Instrumental music, Mimicry

The Dhalang – the puppet-masterThe mastermind behind the performance

•Sets the tone of the drama

•Speaks the lines of all the characters

•Tells the story

•Directs the gamelon (orchestra) and singers

•Manipulates the puppets

•Makes comments on the story and its meaning

•Can improvise

•A one-person multimedia performer.

Wayang Purwa: Four cycles of stories

•Three from The Mahabharata

•One from The Ramayana.

•The Mahabharata - more popular and common in

Indonesia.

Thailand/Cambodia

Two styles of Shadow Puppetry

1. Nang Yai (Sbaek Thom - Cambodia)

Big puppets held by dancers for royal courts and ceremonies

2. Nang Talung (Sbaek Touch - Cambodia)

Popular small puppet controlled by a single puppeteer

•Like Wayang Kulit but more naturalistic style•

ShadowSita, Rama, and Hanuman - Indonesian style

Rama and Sita, Indonesian style

Rama and Sita, Malaysian style

Puppets by Contemporary Indonesian Dhalang

Enthus Susmono

Malaysian Wayang Siam Puppets

Seri Rama (Rama) Mahraja Wana (Ravana) Hanuman and Hanuman IkanSiti Dewi (Sita)

Sita and Rama Ravana

Hanuman

Hanhsuma Tree of Life

Javanese Wayang Kulit Puppets

Nang Sida (Sita)Phra Ram (Rama) Thosakan (Ravana)

Thai Nang Talung Puppets

George W. Bush BatmanSelf - portrait

10-Faced Ravana (collection) Sita

Southeast Asian Studies Student Conference, 2011

Thailand Cambodia