1. Indonesian Shadow Puppets

2. Shadow puppetry began thousands of years ago and is still used to convey folk tales and legends of the past. Many shadow puppetry performances have been developed around themes from Chinese operas and often take the form of religious epics in which good and evil do battle.

3. The Dalang The dalang manipulates the puppets, sings and taps out signals to the orchestra. He also speaks the parts for all characters; he must be able to render the shy sweetness in the voice of a princess, the spiteful whine of a lackey and the righteous but controlled anger of a noble hero.

4. Dalang are also social commentators. Traditionally when a traveling Dalang arrives at a place where he is to perform, he will make a study of what is on people minds. That may, for example, be government measures which people find hard to accept. During the performance, the Dalang will use the pànàkawan, the servants who make humorous comments, to voice criticism which the audience will relate to. According to tradition, a Dalang cannot be held responsible for what is said in his performance. In feudal society one of the Dalang's main roles was to be a mouthpiece for the people. His ritual immunity protected him.However most of the time the Dalangs were diplomatic in the way they said things, which is how most ofJavanese people behave.

5. Not everyone can be a dalang. A Dalang is a most extraordinary man. First of all, he is a public entertainer. To amuse a great number of people is not an easy matter. He must be physically strong and healthy, otherwise he would not be able to stand the strain. Just imagine, he is seated cross-legged for nine successive hours. He cannot even have a wink of sleep. He cannot get up from his seat until six o'clock the next morning. He also has to strike thekechrek (rattle) with his right foot almost incessantly. He handles the puppets with both hands, imitates their different voices, tell jokes at the right times, and even sings every now and then. In addition, he controls the musicians without anyone among the audience ever noticing it.

7. In Indonesian shadow puppetry, the puppet master controls the puppets from behind a cotton screen that is illuminated by an oil or halogen lamp to create an effect that can be likened to animation. The puppets are animated through the movement of hands and the most skilled puppeteers can effectively show their puppets to be walking, dancing, fighting, nodding and laughing.

8. Leather was used to make flat, traditional shadow puppets and particular areas within the puppet were punched out with a sharp knife to signify facial features and clothing. These puppets were created from individual pieces and connected using wire or string. Long rods were used to maneuver the puppets from behind a translucent white screen made from cloth or paper. The audience would have seen the moving shadows of the puppets, the cut out areas of which allowed the light to shine through.

9. Shadow puppets today A wide range of materials, including wood, paper, plastic, cloth, plants, silk, utensils and feathers are used to create the shadow puppets used today. Typically, these contemporary puppets are made with three dimensional wire heads and bodies made of cloth. Special lighting effects are often used, including different pieces of lighting technology used in theatres, projectors, reflected light and hand held lights.

13. Making Your Shadow Puppet Decide on a Character for your puppet. Design what it will look like with cutouts and moving parts. Create a pattern to use for cutting. Cut and color puppet. Add rods to moving parts. With your group create a short play with your characters that you will present to the class.