Wayang golek puppet - Oemar Madi

Title
Wayang golek puppet - Oemar Madi
Year/Period
20th century
Region
Java
Object Type
Dimension
Object size: XXXX-05619 70.5 x 35 x 10 cm,
Object size: XXXX-05619-001 15 x 7.5 x 11.3 cm,
Object size: XXXX-05619-002 59.5 x 35 x 10 cm,
Object size: XXXX-05619-003 46.6 x 3.3 x 1.7 cm
Accession No.
XXXX-05619

This puppet represents the character of Oemar Madi, the military leader from the kingdom of Kokarim, presumably in Africa. This character is featured in the ‘Serat Menak’ or story of Amir Hamzah, the Javanese adaptation of the Persian epic, the Hamzanamah. ‘Wayang golek’ is a puppet theatre using three-dimensional dolls. The dolls are manipulated by the ‘dalang’ (puppet master) by rods connected to the hands and head. ‘Wayang golek’ can be classified into three types depending on the stories they are performing and they are Wayang Golek Purwa, which derives its stories from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Wayang Golek Gedog, which uses the Panji stories and Wayang Golek Menak, using the ‘Serat Menak’ or story of Amir Hamzah, Javanese adaptation of the Persian epic, the Hamzanamah.