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Balinese Shadow Puppets and Lamp

Balinese Shadow Puppets and Lamp - New Acquisition
Large, flat, leather cut-out of a human-shaped figure turned to one side.
Demon king of Alangka puppet 2005.08.0002

I Nyoman Sumandhi, from Bali, comes from a family of famous dalang, or puppet masters. Mr. Sumandhi, an expert in shadow puppetry and other forms of Balinese music and dance, came to Urbana in conjunction with the Balinese exhibit, Visions of the Unseen: Picturing Balinese Ceremony and Myth.  While here, he performed shadow puppet shows in schools and at the Museum. Mr. Sumandhi has generously donated two shadow puppets and an oil lamp used in his performances to the Museum.

 	 Black oil lamp attached to a red and gold ornately decorated wooden mask facing.
Coconut oil lamp 2005.08.0001

Kayonan, or the cosmic Tree of Life, is a puppet used to create the setting of the performance by marking the beginning and ending of the play, as well as individual scenes.  The Kayonan may also be used as a prop to represent abstract ideas such as rain, wind, the sea, a palace, or a mountain.

Coconut oil lamps are used to create the shadows from the puppets on the screen during a performance. This lamp is made of jackwood, a hard wood, called Kayu Nangka.  The carving gives the impression of fire or flames.  During a performance, the dalang uses the carving portion of the lamp as a resonator, by putting his face and mouth close to it and moving closer and farther away from the wood to vary his voice. There are holes in the carving so that the dalang can see if the flame is getting low and will know when it is time to add more coconut oil fuel.  The positioning of the dalang, lamp, and screen also enables the lower half of the puppets to be seen on the shadow side.   The lamp was made by Mr. Sumandhi’s family, and a friend of the family carved the wood.

This ogre-like puppet is Rahwana, the demon king of Alangka (Langka).  In the Hindu epic poem the Ramayana, Rahwana kidnaps beautiful Sita, wife of Rama, king of Ayodya.

The puppets are made of painted cowhide.  The main sticks or handles are painted wood.  The second stick on Rahwana's arm is made from buffalo horn.  Hide, wood and buffalo horn are also standard materials. This recent donation complements the Museum's collection of Balinese artifacts.

Learn more: Balinese Shadow Puppets and Lamp (2006.08)

Large, flat, leather cut-out attached to a smooth, narrow, wooden stick. Cut-out is oval-shaped, with one flattened end.
Close up of Tree of Life
Large, flat, leather cut-out attached to a smooth, narrow, wooden stick. Cut-out is oval-shaped, with one flattened end.
Tree of Life 2005.08.0003

Most of the artifacts in New Acquisitions articles are chosen to allow website visitors to explore artifacts that are not on display in the Museum's galleries. Try searching the database or exploring the Virtual Tour to find artifacts on display.