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A. G. Maisey · 27th June 2011, 09:36 AM

Wayang performances are something that requires a very special education to follow, understand and appreciate. It is an education that most of the last two generations living in Jawa lack, and it an education that I have never sought out nor do I have any desire at all to acquire it.

Even those who can understand a wayang performance, will in most cases not understand the language of the dalang, but they will know the story and can follow it. The dalang will intersperse his recitation of the wayang story with comedy and topical remarks, and for this he will use the local ngoko dialect, which in most cases is unintelligible to people from outside the local community, but it is perfectly understood by the locals. The same applies with the jokes and topical comment:- it is rare for an outsider to see anything funny at all in a dalang's jokes.

Personally, I find wayang performances enormously boring, even though I can usually understand the jokes and comments in ngoko. A typical performance will start in the early evening, and go through to daylight. Very few people stay all through the performance , they come and go, meet friends, have something to eat and drink, go home again. Its a social occasion more than a theatrical performance.

There is no doubt at all that the dalangs are extremely skilled artists, but I feel that wayang in Jawa has almost become art for the sake of art.

Probably in some out of the way rural communities it is still appreciated, especially by older people, but just about anybody under 50 in most urban environments would much rather watch a soapy on TV.

Gamelan is a bird of different feather, and depending on style and composition can be quite entertaining, however the scale used does take a bit of getting used to for somebody from a western culture.

Call me a peasant if you will, but after 50 odd years of fairly close contact with both gamelan and wayang, I'd rather watch Clint Eastwood, and I'd rather listen to Bob Dylan, or Pavarotti, and just about everything in between, than gamelan. But I do like kroncong.

27th June 2011, 09:36 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	Wayang performances are something that requires a very special education to follow, understand and appreciate. It is an education that most of the last two generations living in Jawa lack, and it an education that I have never sought out nor do I have any desire at all to acquire it. Even those who can understand a wayang performance, will in most cases not understand the language of the dalang, but they will know the story and can follow it. The dalang will intersperse his recitation of the wayang story with comedy and topical remarks, and for this he will use the local ngoko dialect, which in most cases is unintelligible to people from outside the local community, but it is perfectly understood by the locals. The same applies with the jokes and topical comment:- it is rare for an outsider to see anything funny at all in a dalang's jokes. Personally, I find wayang performances enormously boring, even though I can usually understand the jokes and comments in ngoko. A typical performance will start in the early evening, and go through to daylight. Very few people stay all through the performance , they come and go, meet friends, have something to eat and drink, go home again. Its a social occasion more than a theatrical performance. There is no doubt at all that the dalangs are extremely skilled artists, but I feel that wayang in Jawa has almost become art for the sake of art. Probably in some out of the way rural communities it is still appreciated, especially by older people, but just about anybody under 50 in most urban environments would much rather watch a soapy on TV. Gamelan is a bird of different feather, and depending on style and composition can be quite entertaining, however the scale used does take a bit of getting used to for somebody from a western culture. Call me a peasant if you will, but after 50 odd years of fairly close contact with both gamelan and wayang, I'd rather watch Clint Eastwood, and I'd rather listen to Bob Dylan, or Pavarotti, and just about everything in between, than gamelan. But I do like kroncong.