Wayang Kulit and the Gamelan in Java

Gamelan music is now quite familiar to Western ears, Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets) less so. Both are traditional in Java and the two are inextricably mixed, the music accompanying the puppet shows. Near Madiun in East Java is a village where most people are involved in making the various items by hand and performing with them in the traditional manner. This is NOT a tourist operation, they do a thriving business for local weddings and other celebrations but, of course, they are happy to put on a performance for our visiting group. I am grateful to John Raby for the use of one of these pictures:

Every gong is initially cast as a piece of bronze which is then heated over a charcoal fire and then beaten out to an approximate shape for the required note.

It is then filed down to produce a shiny surface and fine tuned using a standard gong for comparison:

The traditional shadow puppets are made from buffalo hide. Holes are cut in the skin so that the light will shine through.

Reverse (normal) view.