If anyone think that traditional shadow puppetry or 'wayang kulit' is already forgotten or quite boring, the perception is wrong as the old entertainment showcased by Kumpulan Seni Warisan Pusaka, here, still has its own aura.
Sitting behind the white canvas and lighten up with dim yellow light, while accompanied by gamelan music, the Tok Dalang (narrator) started to sing while moving the puppets and animating the voices of more than three characters in the story called 'Bunga Cempaka Kenchana Malar Ajaib' in the Kelantanese dialect.
The Tok Dalang, Muhammad Nor Hassan, 59, or better known as Pak Awi, said the performance tells the story of a princess named Sita Dewi, who fell ill and her guardians, namely Serama and Laksamana, went on a journey to find a cure for her but had to face some challenges.
During the show, even though it was conducted fully in Kelantanese dialect, the audience seemed to enjoy every moment of the scenes, especially when the puppets were dancing and 'fighting' with each other, which drew laughter from the audience.
"The show is a mixe of old historical and contemporary stories to make it more modern and suitable for young generation nowadays," he told Bernama, recently.
Pak Awi, who has more than 30 years experience in wayang kulit, said there are eight members in his team that played traditional Malay instruments such as serunai, drum and gong.
"At those times, it could be more than 10 members in a wayang kulit's team but now one person could be able to handle two or three instruments at a time so seven to eight members in a team is already enough," he said.
The performance is showcased in conjunction with 'KataKatha - Southeast Asian Conversations on Culture and the Arts' programme, organised by the cultural non-profit organisation, Pusaka and Maybank Foundation. It is a four-day event, that began last Thursday (Nov 12) until Sunday.
Pusaka's managing director, Pauline Fan said wayang kulit was not something that people could watch very often as the ancient performance could only be seen at certain events, particularly in Kelantan.
"People especially teenagers are eager to know and watch this kind of heritage show. We have the responsibility to introduce it to the society widely," she said.
Pauline said KataKatha is the best platform in Malaysia that gathered arts and culture practitioners from the Southeast Asia region to discuss and exchange ideas that also allowed them to express creativity besides encouraging diversity in thinking.
"This programme is not only focused on art and culture practitioners such as writers, dancers, film makers and artists. The public, especially the young generation also can join in the discussion so that they can learn their own and other cultures as well as valuable heritage," she said.
She added apart from discussions, the programme also included other activities such as public reading, movie screenings, and a public forum.
Themed ‘Shared History, Shared Culture, Shared Traditions’, KataKatha has gathered 10 principal Southeast Asian intellectual cultural figures from Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Bernama
Sun Nov 15 2015
Among the characters of the performance. - BERNAMA pic
Peniaga nasi kukus raih jualan RM14,000 sebulan
Inisiatif Pendapatan Rakyat (IPR) mampu merubah graf pendapatan bulanan peserta apabila meningkatkan hasil jualan.
Piala Uber: Malaysia tewas kepada Taiwan
Malaysia memulakan kempen Kumpulan B Piala Uber 2024 mereka dengan langkah kiri apabila tewas 1-4 kepada Taiwan, di sini hari ini.
Imigresen tahan dalang warga Indonesia, jual produk kosmetik tanpa kelulusan KKM
Jabatan Imigresen menahan seorang wanita warga Indonesia berusia 50 tahun disyaki menjadi dalang penjualan produk kosmetik dan kecantikan yang tidak mendapat kelulusan KKM.
Sheriff: 9 hari tayangan, kaut RM28 juta!
Filem arahan Syafiq Yusof, Sheriff: Narko Intergriti kini meraih kutipan sebanyak RM28 juta dalam 9 hari tayangan.
Jaheaik sudah panggil artis wanita tular buat persembahan - Exco
Jaheaik sudah panggil artis wanita tular buat persembahan - Exco
KidDin bergabung jawab segala isu Konsert Search 'Gemuruh'
KONSERT Search 'Gemuruh' nampaknya semakin diperkatakan disebabkan beberapa isu yang ditimbulkan sehari dua ini.
Penunjuk perasaan Palestin tempelak wartawan AS
Mereka menuduh wartawan A.S sembunyikan dan berikan gambaran salah mengenai perang di Gaza.
Lawatan ke Riyadh: Blinken melawat Arab Saudi esok
Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat, Antony Blinken akan melawat Arab Saudi pada Isnin untuk bertemu dengan rakan serantau dan membincangkan usaha mencapai gencatan senjata di Gaza dan pembebasan tebusan Israel.
Iraq lulus akta penjara maksimum 15 tahun
Parlimen Iraq meluluskan undang-undang yang menjenayahkan hubungan sejenis dengan hukuman penjara maksimum 15 tahun pada Sabtu.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: MB nafi rumah terbuka Selangor langgar akta
Penganjuran Rumah Terbuka Aidilfitri Peringkat Negeri Selangor yang diadakan pada Sabtu malam di pekan Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB) di sini, tidak melanggar Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954 (AKPR).
Oscars 2020: Billie Eilish bakal jadi tumpuan
Bagi edisi ke-92, penganjur The Academy mengumumkan seorang artis muda yang berjaya merangkul lima Anugerah Grammy minggu lalu, bakal membuat persembahan di pentas berprestij itu.