Wayang. Apparently this is a medieval art form of south India that then spread. In Indonesia, the theater performances are accompanied by gamelan music, which I love. And how exciting is this: "UNESCO designated wayang kulit, a shadow puppet theatre and the best known of the Indonesian wayang, as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003." So I went to Wayang Kulit next.
Wayang Kulit. These puppets are made from skin or leather (that's what kulit means)... and how cool is this: wayang means both shadow AND imagination! I did not realize Sanskrit had been a court language in Indonesian, but with the spread of Islam, the display of gods like this was suppressed, which was bad news for wayang theater. The article shows contrasts between predominantly Muslim Indonesia and predominantly Hindu Bali in terms of how wayang is performed. It also mentions wayang as practiced in Lombok, so I clicked on that next:
Lombok. Lombok is an island in Indonesia, to the east of Bali. Population over 3 million! Here is the list of ethnic groups: Sasak (85%), Balinese, Mbojo, Tionghoa-peranakan, Sumbawa people, Flores people, Arab Indonesian. Here are Sasak chiefs in Lombok circa 1880:
Since the Sasak form such a majority, that is where I went next.
Sasak people. They are related to Balinese people by language (both languages are West Indonesian), but the Sasak people are predominantly Muslim, while the Balinese are predominantly Hindu. There is also a Bodha religion which sounds like a blend of Hinduism and Buddhism. Here is a Sasak woman with traditional woven work:
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