CARVING OUT A NEW FUTURE: WAYANG KULIT CRAFTSMANSHIP IN CENTRAL JAVA, INDONESIA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ASIAN THEATRE MAY 2018 By Kristina L. Tannenbaum Dissertation Committee: Kirstin Pauka, chairperson Julie Iezzi Markus Wessendorf Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak Barbara Andaya Keywords: wayang kulit, theatre, puppetry, craftsmanship, Indonesia, tourism Copyright 2018 Kristina L. Tannenbaum ii Dedicated to: my parents Joni and Kenneth Tannenbaum who are wonderful parents and have always supported my dreams my sister Laura Tannenbaum who is the best person I know and always inspires me to be better my best gal pals Nadine Whaley, Cayley Watson, and Kimi Lung for the endless hours of support and laughter that helped me get through this and Catriona Martin and Devika Wasson whose lives were cut short but whose memories continue to inspire us all. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are several people I must thank for their support throughout my career in theatre and especially over the past few years. First and foremost, I need to thank my amazing family. My wonderful parents and sister have given me endless support from my first play as a child and through my doctorate degree program. Even if given a thousand years I’m not sure I could fully express my gratitude to Ken, Joni, and Laura Tannenbaum for the love and encouragement they’ve given me. To Kristen Rice-Biba and Michelle Rice, thank you for being adorable sheep in that production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat and inspiring me to join the theatre when I was nine. You both started this journey for me. I am also indebted to many of my friends and colleagues at both Wittenberg University and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. To Dr. Corwin Georges, thank you for being such an inspiring and thoughtful advisor throughout my undergraduate education. Your passion for theatre and teaching inspired me to become a professor and I will forever be grateful to you for that. To my committee members, thank you for pushing me to be my best and inspiring me with your own works and publications. To Yining Lin, thank you for being my constant conference buddy and for listening to my papers and presentations over and over again. I am honored we got to go through this journey together. To Meg Thiel, Nick Ishimaru, and Rachel Weckhorst-Espejo, thank you for the many late-night study sessions, jingju dance parties, and endless laughs. I also need to thank my amazing Hawai‘i support system who have always been there for me. To Kimi Lung, Juva Valdez, the Watsons, the Whaleys, and my D&D folks, thank you for being my Oahu ohana. For my abilities in the Indonesian language, I must thank the amazing faculty and staff of The Language Training Center at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) in Salatiga, Indonesia and the Consortium of Teaching Indonesian (COTI) for their amazing dedication and patience. Thank you to my friends and colleagues, Kitsie Emmerson and Ashley Robertson, for sharing their friendship and knowledge of wayang kulit with me during this journey. I also need to give a special thank you to my assistants Agnes Pranugrahaning and Gita Cahyandari whose hard work and support made this project even more enjoyable. Last, but definitely not least, I must thank the artisans and scholars mentioned in this work. Without their skills, generosity, and support, this work would not have been possible. Terima kasih banyak. iv ABSTRACT Wayang kulit puppets hold an intriguing position as not only a principle element or ‘actor’ in a major theatrical form but also as a marketable handicraft in Indonesia. This dissertation focuses on creating a cohesive history of wayang kulit craftsmanship in Central Java and analyzing how growing tourism in Central Java is shifting the creation process, aesthetics, and use of wayang kulit puppets in the region. Using an interdisciplinary methodology that combines influences from theatre, material culture, and oral history the project is broken down into four main sections: the history of wayang kulit craftsmanship and modern adaptations in the process; an analysis of how tourism and policy have influenced these changes; the development of business and puppet typologies; and finally, a larger analysis of how changes in craftsmanship might affect wayang kulit as a whole. This dissertation not only provides a history of traditional puppetry craftsmanship but examines and documents the current processes of wayang kulit production in Central Java, Indonesia. This includes innovations in training, materials, design, tools, carving, and painting. Additionally, this work examines how growing tourism has affected the methods, creativity, and business models of wayang kulit craftsmen in the area. Outside of creating a cohesive craftsmanship history, the ultimate goal of this research is that the new typologies developed in this work might be used more broadly in discerning how craftsmen’s views of tourism and tourism-induced changes to their art play into the view of ‘authenticity’ in handicraft markets, how tourism might drastically affect the future of puppetry, and how tourism might play a part in preventing some art forms from diminishing across Southeast Asia. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………. iii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………... iv Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………. v List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………………. ix Lists of Images, Illustrations, Maps, and Charts …………………………………………………. x Abbreviations, Alternate Spellings, and Spelling Note ………………………………………… xii Chapter 1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………. 1 1.1 Justification and Purpose ………………………………………………………………. 2 1.2 Research Scope and Methodology ……………………………………………………. 4 Research Locations ………………………………………………………………………. 4 Selection of Participants …………………………………………………………………. 7 Introduction to Methodology ……………………………………………………………. 8 Interviews and Observation ……………………………………………………… 9 Development of Typologies ……………………………………………………... 11 1.3 Limitations of Research ………………………………………………………………. 11 1.4 Literature Review ……………………………………………………………………. 12 Wayang Kulit Carving …………………………………………………………………. 13 General Wayang Kulit History …………………………………………………………. 14 1.5 Dissertation Overview ………………………………………………………………… 15 Chapter 2 Historical Background …………………………………………………… 18 2.1 Setting the Stage ………………………………………………………………………. 18 2.2 Wayang Kulit Carving History ………………………………………………………. 20 2.3 Central Javanese Regional Wayang Kulit Styles ……………………………………. 32 Kedu Regional Style ……………………………………………………………………. 33 Yogyakarta Regional Style ……………………………………………………………. 36 Surakarta Regional Style ………………………………………………………………... 38 Similarities Across Regional Styles ……………………………………………………. 38 2.4 Chapter Overview ……………………………………………………………………... 39 Chapter 3 Wayang Kulit Carving Methods ………………………………………. 41 3.1 Traditional Wayang Kulit Carving Methods …………………………………………. 41 Traditional Leather Working …………………………………………………………… 41 History of Leather Processing ………………………………………………… 41 Initial Processing of Leather Hides …………………………………………… 42 The Traditional Carving Process ………………………………………………………. 47 Character Outlines …………………………………………………………… 47 Internal Carving Process and Patterns …………………………………………. 50 Smoothing Process …………………………………………………………… 62 Traditional Painting ……………………………………………………………………. 63 Painting Process ………………………………………………………………. 63 vi Gold Adornment ………………………………………………………………... 69 Sealant …………………………………………………………………………. 71 Handle Creation ………………………………………………………………………… 71 Material Origins and Preferences ……………………………………………… 71 Crafting and Attaching Handles ……………………………………………… 72 Joints and Movement …………………………………………………………………… 77 Material Origins and Preferences ……………………………………………… 77 3.2 Modern Techniques and Adaptations ………………………………………………. 79 Modern Leather Working ………………………………………………………………. 79 Leather Processing ……………………………………………………………. 79 Modern Carving Process ………………………………………………………………. 81 Character Outlines …………………………………………………………… 81 Initial Carving …………………………………………………………………. 83 Smoothing ………………………………………………………………………. 83 Modern Painting ……………………………………………………………………… 84 The Process of Painting ………………………………………………………… 84 Gold Adornment ……………………………………………………………… 86 Sealant …………………………………………………………………………. 89 Handle Creation ………………………………………………………………………… 89 Material Origins and Preferences ……………………………………………… 89 Joints and Movement …………………………………………………………………… 91 3.3 Chapter Overview ……………………………………………………………………... 94 Chapter 4 Craftsmanship and Tourism ……………………………………………. 95 4.1 Introduction to Tourism in Indonesia ……………………………………………… 95 4.2 Tourism and Policy in Indonesia …………………………………………………… 97 Colonialism and the Beginnings of Balinese Tourism …………………………………. 97 Indonesian Tourism Policy Post-Independence ………………………………………. 100 Indonesian Tourism Policy in the New Millennium …………………………………… 106 4.3 The Rise of Central Javanese Tourism ……………………………………………… 107 4.4 Craftsmanship, Tourism, and Business Opportunities in Central Java ………… 113 4.5 Chapter Overview ……………………………………………………………………. 118 Chapter 5 Wayang Kulit Commercialization and Typologies ………………. 119 5.1 Introduction to the Division Between Dalang and Penatah ……………………… 119 5.2 Earning Potential for Craftsmen …………………………………………………… 126 5.3 Typologies …………………………………………………………………………… 132 Complementary Commercialization ………………………………………………… 134 Substitutive Commercialization ……………………………………………………… 135 Encroaching Commercialization