Puppet Show in Bali

Puppet show or also known as Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. It takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects. Puppetry is used in almost all human societies both as an entertainment performance and ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals. Most puppetry involves storytelling. The impact of puppetry depends on the process of transformation of puppets, which has much in common with magic and with play.

Puppetry is a very ancient art form, thought to have originated about 30,000 years ago. Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies. Some historians claim that they pre-date actors in theatre. There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs also describe “walking statues” being used in Ancient Egyptian religious dramas. The oldest written record of puppetry can be found in the written records of Xenophon dating from around 422 BC.

In Bali itself the puppet show or puppetry is known as Wayang. It is a sacred performing art since the performing art in Bali becomes an arena of transmitting the basic philosophical thought to the audience. The audience is perceived as coming from three realms of world (the realm of gods, the realm of human being, and the realm of underworld). The existence of wayang characterizes much of the Balinese ritual, from ceremonies for pregnancy to the rituals for weddings. These rituals serve the function of harmonizing the three worlds, often utilizing wayang as the main instrument. As a sacred performing art in Bali, there are numbers of purification ceremonies for the wayang, puppeteer, gender –Balinese traditional music instrument-, and the gamelan players. Before the wayang is performed, certain purification ceremonies will be carefully conducted.