The Head Iconography of the Chinese - Javanese Shadow Puppet (Wacinwa) Collection of the Sonobudoyo State Museum of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of my research is to explore and describe the iconography of the Chinese – Javanese shadow puppet (Wacinwa) collection of the Sonobudoyo State Museum of Yogyakarta (SSMY). To explore the iconography of the collection means at the same time to identify the shadow puppet characters. The shadow puppet set of the museum was made in 1925 and have been popular between 1925 and 1967 mainly among the Peranakan Chinese communities in Indonesia. Later on, for more than forty years, until 2014 this puppet was not performed largely because of political reasons. Since 2014, this puppet, a unique tradition of art, has been performed again several times. Although the quality and the condition of this puppet collection are considerably good, a detailed iconographical study and especially, a complete catalogue of it, is still missing. According to the research I can differentiate the following eight groups in the Wacinwa Collection of SSMY: 1. priests and monks; 2. emperors or kings; 3. aristocrats and noblemen; 4. generals and commanders; 5. soldiers; 6. vendors and sellers; 7. children; 8. weapons (accessories). However in my present research my aim is to describe and identify the characters of the Wacinwa collectionof the SMY, Indonesia one by one. In the early stage, I attempted to identify the wacinwa by comparing it with the image on Sie Jin Kui’s comic. In fact, this way turned to be unsuccessful. An image existing in the comics is excessively unclear. Then I compared it with the Chinese shadow puppet (pi ying xi) and the Javanese shadow puppet. By looking at its iconography, wacinwa is closer to Pi ying xi.