INDONESIA PUPPETS

Wayang is the indonesian puppet theatre believed to have originated from Java. The main kinds of plays are called Wayang Golek and Wayang Kulit.
Wayang Golek are painted wooden puppets dressed in batik sarongs operated through rods from below whose arms and head can be moved. Night performances are common in the north coast of Java and West Java. On the other hand Wayang Kulit or Shadow puppets are made of carved leather and are popular in Central Java and Bali.

With Javanese gamelan music playing in the background Wayang Kulit and Wayang Golek are both manipulated by the dalang or puppet master. He’s in charge of giving the puppets movement and voice according to the different characters.
Before Hinduism came to Indonesia traditional stories were already played. Later the narratives were adapted to suit the Hindu and Muslim religions as they arrived to the islands.

Adventures taken from the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics have been played to great extent, one of the favorites being the episode where Prince Rama rescues his wife Sita from evil Rahwana with the help of Hanoman the monkey King.
Depending on the degree of refinement of each one of the puppets there’s a change in expression, posture and size of different body parts. The skill needed to elaborate the puppets has been handed down through generations where each member of the family is assigned a different piece of the puppet.

Source: http://artfromindonesia.com

http://artfromindonesia.com/wayang/wayang-rama.htm

List of Vocabularies:

1.Puppet( noun)          : boneka (wayang)

2.Carve(verb)              : Memotong

3. Painted(verb)          : di hiasi

4. Wooden(Adjtv)      : Berbahan kayu

5. Manipulate(verb)     : Memakai  

6. Suit (noun)              : stelan

7. Epic(noun)              : Syair kepahlawanan

8. Different(adjtv)      : berbeda

9. Adventure(noun)    : petualangan

10. refinement(noun)  : kehalusan  budi bahasa

Exercise:

Answer by choosing (T) if the answer is true, and choose (F) if the answer is false.

1.      ..........Wayang is the indonesian puppet theatre believed to have originated from Bali.

2.      ..........Wayang Golek are painted wooden puppets dressed in batik sarongs.

3.      .......... Shadow puppets are made of carved wood.

4.      .......... Wayang Kulit and Wayang Golek are both manipulated by the dalang or puppet   

master

5.      ..........the puppets movements were charged by people.

                  

Instruments of a gamelan orchestra

http://asiarecipe.com/images/cartoon.jpg

A complete orchestra could have about 40 or more different instruments. There would be instruments that are struck to produce sound, such as kettledrums, xylophones, and gongs of various sizes. There would be a wind instrument, a bamboo flute called a suling, and string instruments such as a zither or lute. There would be instruments whose sounds are produced by vibration, such as drums, bells, cymbals and gongs.

There are also two sets of instruments that are tonal: the slendro tuned to five tones and the pelog, tuned to seven tones. The slendro is used to suggest festivity or cheerfulness, and is believed to have developed in Java in the eighth century. The pelog is used to express sadness, and is also very ancient in its origins. These two cannot be played together, but are used according to the mood of the piece being played.

Source : http://asiarecipe.com/indomusic.html 

List of Vocabularies:

1.      Orchestra         : Pertunjukan musik

2.      Instrument       : Alat musik

3.      Bamboo           : Bambu

4.      Produced         : Dihasilkan

5.      Develop           : Mengembangkan

Exercise:

1.      What is the main purpose of the second paragraph?

2.      What kind of instrument was made from bamboo flute?

3.       What kind of instrument which cannot be played together, but are used according to the mood of the piece being played.?