Do-it-Yourself : Shadow Puppetry

 

 

Wayang Kulit might be an elaborate art, but the underlying concept of it is one we’ve encountered countless times in our own childhoods.

 

After all, how many of us have not whiled away our boredom making hand-puppets against torch-light? Not only is the activity fun, but there is also an element of awe and excitement in watching just a sleight of hand produce a dog or a rabbit or a crab flittering against the wall.

 

At the end of the day, Wayang Kulit revolves around this same concept – a game of light and shadows. And while long periods of dedication, determination and practice is needed for one to truly become a master of the art, there’s no harm in trying out a more basic rendition of it at home.

 

Cardboard shadow-puppets are easy and enjoyable to make, and can be incorporated into the classroom or at home for some time constructively spent. In fact, the following activity would be a wonderful example to use in science class when demonstrating the topic of ‘Light’ to students, or even as a party trick to ‘wow’ your guests.

 

To make your very own shadow-puppet show, you will need:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

 

 

1) Cut out a cardboard frame for the screen. An approximate thickness of 5 cm for the borders will be appropriate

 

 

2) Glue the cardboard frame around the screen’s edges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) On another piece of cardboard, draw in the shapes you want. It’s a good idea to also sketch in any holes or other elements that you want to stand out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Using the scissors, cut out the cardboard shapes. The holes can be cut out using the pen-knife. Take care to supervise the use of both tools around children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Using a bit of tape, attach a stick to each of your cardboard puppets. These will serve as your handles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Place the light source about half a foot behind your screen, and make sure the light is shining through it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Hold up your puppets in between the screen and the light-source, and enjoy the ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s of the crowd on the other side!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would be the perfect platform to familiarise young children with the art of shadow-puppetry, and pique their curiosity for learning more about Wayang Kulit from an early age. A tip for encouraging their interest would be to teach them the terminology used for Wayang Kulit during the activity, such as dhalaang for the puppeteer and kulit for the hide with which the puppets are originally made, as well as telling them the stories typically used for Wayang Kulit performances.

 

 

 

[For more about Wayang Kulit,                               ]