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Wayang kulit Batara Guru, Brahma and Vishnu Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia 1856 h. 70 cm, 59 cm, 50 cm leather, horn, paint, gold leaf RMV 37- 726, RMV 37- 729, RMV 37- 730 (1856)
Divine puppets The shapes of these three wayang puppets show that they represent important divinities. Their features are refined – with narrow lips, eyes and nose – and they wear richly decorated garments and a wealth of gold jewellery. Another characteristic accessory of a god’s clothing is a crown with a protective bird’s head motif (garuda mungkur) at the back. In addition, divine figures usually wear a long coat, a shoulder cloth, and long trousers. Their jewellery consists of ankle bracelets, rings on arms and fingers, necklaces and ear jewels. Internal Administration In 1856, the controleur (senior civil servant) W.L.A.H. Harloff in Surakarta, Central Java, ordered a large number of wayang puppets for use as educational material for prospective colonial officials, students at the Internal Administration course at the Royal Academy in Delft. After this institution was closed in 1864, the ethnography collection was moved to the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde
Shadow puppets Wayang is a kind of theatre that can be performed by human actors or puppets. Wayang kulit is played using leather puppets; accompanied by gamelan instruments, the puppeteer or dalang sits behind a screen and creates a shadow show on the spectators’ side of the screen. Wayang kulit is most common on Java, but also occurs in other regions. A full wayang kulit set consists of hundreds of puppets, representing gods and demons, princes and servants, humans and animals. All wayang plays are about the struggle between good and evil. There is always a disruption of the cosmic equilibrium, but by the end of the performance, which may last for many hours, the balance has been restored.
Wayang purwa Old myths and legends and the great Indian epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana are acted out in wayang purwa. But wayang shows also depict local traditions and tales relating to Islam or to recent political developments. Hindu gods only play a role in the wayang purwa repertoire, for instance in Abiasa. In this story or lakon, the gods help the protagonist Raden Abiasa to press his claim to the throne of the realm of Astina.
Life cycle The three puppets depict prominent Hindu gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Batara Guru. As Creator, Sustainer of Life, and Destroyer (making way for new life), respectively, the three gods (Trimurti) are collectively responsible for the life cycles on earth. Batara Guru, the Divine Teacher, is a manifestation of the supreme deity Shiva. Unlike the other two, his upper body is nude and he has four arms that cannot move. He stands on his mount, the bull Nandi. As supreme deity, the colour of his body is gold, and he wears a snake necklace. To his left stands a trident, while in his right hand he holds a lance tapering into a fly whisk at the top. Brahma’s face and coat are red, since he is associated with fire. He is impatient by temperament, and therefore has rounder eyes than the other gods. The black colour that is associated with Vishnu recurs in his face and coat. Like Brahma, he wears a dagger or kris in his belt.