Form, Materiality, and Symbolism in Non-Arabic Muslim Arts: A Case Study from Indonesian Wayang Performance
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The puppet theater becomes a popular form of cultural expression in the Muslim world, even though wayang performances are not considered a central part of Islamic theology. Wayang performances are seen as having a spiritual significance among Indonesian Muslims for centuries. Such puppet theater incorporates forms, styles, and elements of Islamic spirituality and traditional Javanese cultural practices into its narratives. The article pays attention to the idiosyncratic forms, elements, and meanings of contemporary wayang through the craftsman’s framework. The analysis takes into account the formulation and presentation of the wayang in contemporary Indonesian art, focusing on the creation of “Wayang Kekayon Khalīfah Paraga Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.” This wayang is associated with the figure of 'Umar b. Khaṭṭab (d. 644). Umar is a historical figure who played a significant role in the early history of Islam and is revered for his wisdom and leadership by most Muslims. The discussion argues that the materiality of puppets in the non-Arab Muslim world not only functions as a traditional form of entertainment stimulating the sense of “fun” but also as complex semiotic experiences between a dhalang (wayang puppeteer) and his audiences using signs of two-dimensional buffalo leather and its silhouettes.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Amin, Nazifatul Ummy Al, Egi Tanadi Taufik, Siti Mufidatunrofiah, and Idris Ahmad Rifai. “Kejawen, Multiculturalism, and Principles of Qur’an: Transformation and Resupposition of QS. al-Kafirun (109) 6 in Urip Sejati Community of Yogyakarta.” ESENSIA: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Ushuluddin 21, no. 1 (2020): 71–90. https://doi.org/10.14421/esensia.v21i1.2195.
Arifin, Rohayati binti. “Elements of Bid’ah and Khurafat in Wayang Kulit: A Case Study in Kota Bharu Kelantan.” Thesis, Kolej Universiti Islam Malaysia, 2004. http://ddms.usim.edu.my:80/jspui/handle/123456789/7183.
Ayoub, Mahmoud M. The Crisis of Muslim History: Religion and Politics in Early Islam. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003.
Bayat, Asef. “6. The Politics of Fun.” In 6. The Politics of Fun, 129–50. Stanford University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804786331-008.
———. “Piety, Privilege and Egyptian Youth.” ISIM Newsletter 10, no. 1 (2002): 23–23.
Bazheir, Nargis Abdel Ghafar. “Arab Theatre and Plays: Developmental Stages and Challenges.” ARTSEDUCA, no. 34 (2023): 167–76. https://doi.org/10.6035/artseduca.6642.
———. “The Stages of the Play’s Development from Ancient Arab Times.” Journal of Positive School Psychology 6, no. 10 (November 6, 2022): 2804–12.
Djelantik, A. A. M. Estetika: Sebuah Pengantar. Yogyakarta: Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia, 1999.
Dwitayasa, I. Made. “Mantra in the Text of Dharma Pewayangan.” Vidyottama Sanatana: International Journal of Hindu Science and Religious Studies 4, no. 2 (November 2, 2020): 269–82. https://doi.org/10.25078/ijhsrs.v4i2.1858.
Fawaid, Achmad, Wening Udasmoro, and Sri Margana. “Islam Behind the Court Wall: Politics and Aesthetics of Javanese Islam in Babad Tanah Jawi,” 76–84. Atlantis Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220206.010.
Feldman, Edmund Burke. Art as Image and Idea. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1967.
Goldstein, Thalia R., Megan Stutesman, and Brittany Thompson. “Moving with Puppets: Preschool Children’s Gesture with Puppets during Pretense.” Cognitive Development 63 (July 1, 2022): 101198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2022.101198.
Hannula, Mika, Juha Suoranta, and Tere Vadén. Artistic Research: Theories, Methods and Practices. Helsinki: Academy of Fine Arts University of Gothenburg, 2005.
Haris, Ahmad. “Innovation and Tradition in Islam: A Study on Bid’ah as an Interpretation of the Religion in the Indonesian Experience.” Doctoral Thesis, Temple University, 1998.
Hidayatullah, Ahmad, and Syamsul Bakhri. “Dekonstruksi Karakter Drupadi Dalam Pewayangan: Studi Gender Dan Living Qur’an Mengenai Poliandri.” Jurnal Sosiologi Reflektif 15, no. 2 (April 23, 2021): 424–45. https://doi.org/10.14421/jsr.v15i2.2147.
Johnson, Irving Chan, and Darryl Lim. “Curating Shadows: Malayan Shadow Puppets in Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum.” Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 95, no. 1 (2022): 51–88. https://doi.org/10.1353/ras.2022.0008.
Kieven, Lydia. “‘The Wandering Poet’; Depictions on Ancient Javanese Relief Panels.” Wacana, Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia 23, no. 2 (December 14, 2022). https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v23i2.1106.
Lutfianto. “Religious Values in the Performance of Wayang Kekayon Khalifah Yogyakarta.” In Prosiding Internasional: 4th International Fikrah Annual Conference “Contemporary Islam: Religion in the Humanity Context,” 129–40. Kudus: IAIN Kudus Press, 2020. http://repository.iainkudus.ac.id/4872/.
Lutfianto, and Fahmy Lukman. “Religious Message Abdullah Bin Umar Paraga In The Wayang Kekayon Khalifah.” Al-Mada: Jurnal Agama, Sosial, Dan Budaya 6, no. 1 (2023): 13–24. https://doi.org/10.31538/almada.v6i1.2665.
Lutfianto, and Abdul Munip. “Descriptive Analysis on the Plays of Wayang Kekayon Khalifah: A Collaboration Among Calligraphy, Wayang Arts, Islamic Dialogue, and Java Culture,” 506–10. Atlantis Press, 2021. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210525.137.
Muzammil, Shofiyullah, Egi Tanadi Taufik, Siti Mufidatunrofiah, and Nazifatul Ummy Al Amin. “The Adaptability of Pesantren in Indonesia During the New Normal Era.” Journal of Indonesian Islam 16, no. 2 (December 1, 2022): 426–54. https://doi.org/10.15642/JIIS.2022.16.2.426-454.
Nurgiyantoro, Burhan. “Wayang Dan Pengembangan Karakter Bangsa.” Jurnal Pendidikan Karakter 1, no. 1 (October 4, 2011). https://doi.org/10.21831/jpk.v1i1.1314.
O’Connor, Peter. Insights in Applied Theatre: The Early Days and Onwards. Intellect Books, 2022.
Payzant, Geoffrey. “Philosophy of Art, by Virgil C. Aldrich. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall Foundations of Philosophy Series, 1963. Pp. 116.” Dialogue 4, no. 1 (1965): 130–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0012217300033461.
Prahmana, Rully Charitas Indra, and Afit Istiandaru. “Learning Sets Theory Using Shadow Puppet: A Study of Javanese Ethnomathematics.” Mathematics 9, no. 22 (January 2021): 2938. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9222938.
Puri, Litya Ainunning, and Dharsono Sony Kartika. “Reinterpretation of Wayang on Indonesian Contemporary Art: Case Studies ‘Heri Dono Dan Indieguerillas.’” International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Arts Creation and Studies 4, no. 1 (December 5, 2022): 29–45.
Putri, Vira Ananda, and Ashif Az Zafi. “Membongkar Hukum Akulturasi Budaya Sunan Kalijaga.” Tsaqofah Dan Tarikh: Jurnal Kebudayaan Dan Sejarah Islam 6, no. 2 (February 6, 2022): 9–23. https://doi.org/10.29300/ttjksi.v6i2.3050.
Ras, J J. “The Social Function and Cultural Significance of the Javanese Wayang Purwa Theatre.” Indonesia Circle. School of Oriental & African Studies. Newsletter 10, no. 29 (November 1, 1982): 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03062848208729530.
Setiawan, Aris. “Polemic and Reasons for Reusing Wayang and Gamelan as A Medium for Contemporary Preaching Islam Religion in Central Java, Indonesia.” Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 22, no. 2 (December 31, 2022): 254–67. https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v22i2.37525.
Supriaswoto, Supriaswoto. “Penciptaan Kriya Logam Wall Decor Berbahan Limbah Aluminium.” Monograph, Institut Seni Indonesia, 2021. http://lib.isi.ac.id.
Suyoto. The Procession of Cow and Buffalo Leather. Direct interview, July 2022.
Suyūṭī, Jalāl ad-Dīn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān as-. Tārīkh al-Khulafā’. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Ibn Hazm, 2003.
Syafril, Elsa Putri E. Syafril, and Nafila A. Agel. “Wayang Sada (Sodo): A Media of Indonesian Language Learning and Cultural Introduction for Foreign Learners.” London Journal of Social Sciences 2, no. 4 (October 28, 2022): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.31039/ljss.2022.4.84.
Thai Theatre and the Interplay of Perfection and Imperfection. Imperfectionist Aesthetics in Art and Everyday Life. Routledge, 2022. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003251361-12.
Zuhri, Z. “Beyond Syncretism: Evidence of the Vernacularization of Islamic Theological Terms in Javanese Literature in the 19th Century.” Al-Jami’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 60, no. 2 (November 14, 2022): 373–98. https://doi.org/10.14421/ajis.2022.602.373-398.