Last summer, I asked my readers if they could identify two Javanese Wayang Kulit puppets I had acquired at a yard sale.
So far we have had a number of opinions, but still no definitive identification of our two figures, other than a consensus that they are Javanese and not Balinese in origin (which is what the seller informed me)-- one anonymous poster identifies them as being specific to Central Java.
The first figure, who has a red face, an elaborate headdress and a gold body certainly seems to be of noble or royal office, but we are still no closer to putting a name to him. One friend of mine suggested that he was Rāvana from the Rāmāyaṇa but that contradicts the seller's statement that both figures were from the Mahãbhãrata. Indeed the previously cited anonymous poster suggested:
the first charachter might be Baladewa [...] definitely not Ravana.
Of Baladewa, I know nothing, and of whom I have yet to find an English language reference-- I do not even know if he goes by another name.
The second, smaller, blue figure was clearly of a lower status than the more elaborately dressed figure, and I was eager to assume that he was one of the comical figures of the Wayang known as punokawan but my anonymous poster seems vehemently opposed to that hypothesis.
The second (the blue guy) is definitely NOT a punakawan.
Once again, can any reader identify these puppets? How can one know that they are one figure and not another of similar status? I would so like to know their names so that I can learn their stories.
5 comments:
Hi Baladewa is Hindu "Balarama" the brother of Krishna. I have a book on Wayang Golek, which probably uses similar colors to your shadow puppets, and Krishna is red-faced. So, presumably his brother is red-faced too.
The other figure is hard for me to identify. I thumbed through my Wayang Golek book looking for similarities. Maybe he's just a stock ogre or stock rakshasha. He roughly resembles the Wayang Golek puppets for Sugriwa and Subali but I doubt the guy is a monkey.
-Tim H. in St Charles, MO
Hey Ian,
Not sure if this helps, but I had a good friend from the Army look at your post.
This is from his e-mail to me:
Indonesians use slightly different names and add 'dewa' (god or lord) to the names.
Baladewa is probably Hindu Balarama, Krishna's brother, a minor character in the Mahabharata.
There is also a rakshasha named Balarama, but I doubt he'd earn a "dewa" from the indonesians."
Actually Ian,
I see that my friend posted already
Art-
Thank you for re-posting my request for help to your blog.
Tim-
Thanks for clarifying a few things-- like the way names change as the Hindu epics travel from India to Indonesia (Balarama becoming Baladewa,) and reminding me of the fact that just because one of the puppets is from the Mahabharata does not mean that the other puppet would be as well-- since Sugriva's story is told in greatest detail in the Ramayana.
If you are based in Boston, I believe that the Peabody Museum at Harvard, the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, and the MFA all have Javanese or Balinese shadow puppets in the collections which could be used for comparison. Of these, my guess would be the Peabody-Essex would be your best bet since they specialize in Asian folk arts. Harvard's theatre collection would be another possibility.
Post a Comment