Wayang Puppet Show:Spiritual Norm and Ritual Form of Worship

through Aesthetic Devotions Bali Module for East 15th Acting School Essex University

August 1st - 21st 2011

Prof. I Nyoman Sedana, Ph.D.

Ritual Form of worship: wayang holy water to purify a man

Aesthetic devotion: Wayang puppet showSpiritual norm/practice:

Kala chases Kumara

Tantra=spiritual norm, practice &ritual forms (believe-based culture):

1. Yantra=holy forms

2. Mudra=hand gestures

3. Mantra=incantations

Through

Tantra: spiritual norms & practice – ritual forms

MudraHAND GESTURE and

ACTIVITIES

YantraRITUAL FORMS

MantraINCANTATION

His coitus with Durga results in a myriad of demons that carry pestilence and terror

Longing for Parwati, God Siwa (Shiva) transforms into the Demon Kala Rudra. SOMYA RUPA

PEACE Hol

y m

en

Sanghyang Trisemaya

Spiritual norm why puppeteer is a priest: Mythology Siwagama

BRAHMA WISNU=

AssistantsCaturlokapala= musician

Performing artistsISWARA= Puppeteer

SHIVAISM

Kasinuhun Kidul grants Kala a privilege of devouring mankind: all those born within the week of wayang, walking during the sun reaches its zenith, quarrelling at sunset, and roaming about during dusk.

Two sons of God Shiva: Sanghyang Adi Kala and Rare Kumara

Kala comes and devours puppet offering. Dalang sue Kala unable to return the prescribed offering

Since Kumara is born on wayang week, Kala will devour him. Kumara

escapes to seek refuge to the Middle world

Another Tantra the spiritual practice: Mythology of Kala Purana

Kala authorizes dalang to purify people with Tirta Penyapuhleger (destroying defilement, sin, and impurity) or Tirta Panyudamalan (cleaning bodily blemish and deformities).

Evils shall be exorcized by the Tirta Panglukatan of Dalang priest.

Dalang takes

Kumara and put him

into the hollow of

bamboo tube

resonator

Detya Darika

creates terror

God Brahma

God Siva

Gods & Rsi

Indian Tantra Mythology Tolpavakoothu puppet from Kerala

DEVI BHADRAKALI/ BHAGAWATI

Using weapons of Nawasanga

To deafeat

God Siva perform shadow

puppet TOLPAWAKOOTH

U

Asurastri

Triangle altar

Meru 3-stories

Offerings on the Dalang’s side

Similar altar used for wayang

Ritual

forms

Wayang puppet holy water in contemporary Bali

1. A patron commission puppet show to obtain

holy water (by sprinkling, cleaning mouth and face, drink, and wash him/herself from the head) typically become more mentally stable, civilized, and facing less and less accident or problems.

2. Collective ruwatan purification in order to share the cost as on March 27th 2011by Badung Regent.

3. Unable to commission the show one may come to the dalang’s house during the week of wayang or approach dalang at the end of puppet show with a minimum offering.

The fresh water being transformed into holy is inside a rodiac silver beaker on a wanci raised tray.

Mudra &

Mantra

Mantra and Mudra—along the 30 steps in creation of wayang holy water—may be briefly quoted step number 6:

Take and hold another petal over the censer while reciting Mantra:

Ong gunung mas apucak manik akrikil nawa ratna, inapungan ing naga patra, ingaranan Sanghyang Merti Tita Kamandalu, maka uriping watek Nawa Sanga, maka patirtan ira Sang Pandita Ratu, anglukata anglebura sakwehing lara wigna, jadma manusa ing madya pada wenang anglebur gering kabeh lupa lelep arip, purna sewu satusing papa klesa lara roga lara wigna, kalukatakna upataning bapa ibu kaki nini buyut. Om lukat, lukat, lukat. Om awignamastu swaha.

Meaning:

OM the golden mountain with a jewel as its summit, and, the nine pearls serve as the gravel, encircled by an ornament (finger ring) consisting of naga snakes, called the Divine Ambrosia Kamandalu, the Life Force of the Nine Gods, the Holy Water of the Kings of Priests. May it exorcize all suffering and hindrances afflicting mankind in the Middle World. May it remove all illnesses, failures of memory, tiredness of the eyes and of the mind. May they are freed from 1100 evils and illnesses. May it undo the effects of the curses of parents, of grand parents, and of great grand parents. OM Exorcize, Exorcize, Exorcize!). I then drop the petal into the water in the beaker.

Strep of benang tukelan white yarn has been tied around the beaker

The final stage: puppet stick stirs up holy water

Natural energy creates holy water:

Fire incense

Mineral

11 tarupremana flowers

Coconut oil of the lamp

Rice

Each delivered via mantra incantations

Dalang is a bridge of beauty connecting two realmsD

alan

g’s

devo

itio

n in

rit

ual w

orsh

ip

empl

oys

Yan

tra,

Mud

ra, a

nd M

antr

a

Dalang a bridge between sekala dand niskala

In the ritual show of puppet Sapuhleger

Pure water

Nawa Ratna

Tirta holy

water

By performing the wayang ritualistic theatre, dalang communicates with the gods in the spiritual realm to transform the ordinary water of material realm into the holy water of the sacred space for the human purification in the profane space

Yantra the Ritual Forms

Mudra (gesture) and Mantra (incantation)Sprinkling holy water to the beneficiary

Go on to the second part ?

Thematic links underlying Asian ancestral deliverance

Obon/Ochūgen Festival

Ngaben-Nyilawati cremation

Hungry Ghost Festival/ Qingming

Ancestral Ceremony

Mokurenki rescues his mother from Hades

Bima rescues his parent from the hell

Mulian rescues his mother from the underworld

Myth/

Story

Bonraku Mokurenki

Wayang Kulit Bima

Marionette Mulian

Puppet show

JapanIndonesiaChinaTantr

a

Five Components ofAsian Ancestral Deliverance in Performative Format

(1)Qualified living descendant to rescue the parent by transferring merits,

(2)Causes and effects of karmic law as the driving force,(3)Puppet show with the story of ritual liberation, (4)Commemorating ancestor (Tangsan/Leluhur/Ibu) or

parent soul/spirit (jiwatma) as the object, (5)Ceremony creating public awareness about spirit

liberation.

Qualified man to rescue by transferring merits

China Indonesia/India

Japan

Puppet character

Mulian Bima Mokurenki

Suprame guru

Goddess

Guanyim

Dewa Ruci,

Vayu/God of wind

Sakyamuni Buddha

power Shoe and chansan tool

Angkus prana:

power to

purify

Super natural power

Causes and effects of karmic law as the driving forceGood karma is more helpful than knowledge or even

super natural power.Absolute law of karma makes no one is immune from

the causes and effects of one own karma:

In virtual reality puppet show formulates sins:1. Mulian’s mother, Madame Liu, served dog meat2. Bima’s father, Pandu, killed sage Kindama3. Mokurenki’s mother: greed and self important.4. Mokuren’s former life to kill his father that caused

him to be killed badly by bandits

Puppet show presenting virtual reality of human liberation

Chinese puppet show presenting the story of Mulian Jiu mu ji rescuing his mother from the under world;

Indonesian puppet show enacting Bima goes to heaven (Bima Swarga) to rescue his parent from the Hades.

Japanese puppet show presenting story of sekkyobushi play in which Mokurenki rescues his mother from hell

Commemorating ancestor Spirit (jiwatma) of Tangsan/Leluhur/Ibu

1. Hungry Ghost and Qingming festival in China2. Ngaben and Nyilawati cremation for the dead in Bali.3. O-bon and Ochūgen ancestor celebration in Japan.

Contemporary extension of Asian traditional ethic of "universal love"

Both in China and Bali: "Worldly fortunes belong to the 'five families' of flood, fire, the unfilial, the corrupt and thieves – it will not remain. Only merits will remain because nothing but karma remains after a person passes away." 

CONCLUSIONDomains of Asian ancestral deliverance in performative format

PHILOSOPHY

Hinduism Confucianism

BuddhismTaoismBelief

ACTUAL REALITY

RELEGY

HUMANISM

THATRE

RITUAL

Om Santi Santi Santi Om

Wishing you all big Success and Happiness

in Bali