Shadow puppets
Leather figures behind a lit screen.
Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0 · Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0 · Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0 · Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0
A museum devoted to wayang, Java's traditional puppet theatre, listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity. It stands on the west side of Fatahillah Square in the old town, on the site of an old Dutch church built in 1640; the present building was rebuilt in the twentieth century. The museum shows hundreds of puppets: flat leather shadow puppets moved behind a white screen lit from behind, three-dimensional wooden puppets in colourful costume, masks, and puppets from other countries in Asia and Europe for comparison, along with the gamelan instruments that accompany performances. Live shows are sometimes staged at weekends. Entry is a token few thousand rupiah, and the museum closes on Mondays. It is fairly small; an hour is enough. It shares the square with the Jakarta History Museum, so make it a stop on your old-town walk. It is fun for children and adults and gives a sense of the tales and epics the Javanese have known for centuries.
Leather figures behind a lit screen.
The Javanese wayang art.
The music of the shows.
Fatahillah Square, Kota Tua
Yes, the colourful puppets draw them in and the museum is small enough not to tire them. If you catch a live show, it is the highlight.
