Glossary

The Javanese terms used on this site, briefly explained. The terms stay in Javanese, and every term on other pages links here.

B

blencong: The oil lamp (now often electric) hung above the dalang, throwing the puppets’ shadows onto the screen.

dalang: The puppeteer, who moves every figure, voices the dialogue, leads the gamelan and tells the story through the night.
dodot: The long cloth worn by nobles, shown on puppets as the patterned lower garment.

gagrag: A regional style of making and performing wayang, such as the Surakarta and Yogyakarta styles.
gapit: The horn or bamboo rods of a puppet: the central rod holds the body, and a small rod on each hand moves the arm.
gedebog: The banana trunk at the foot of the screen, into which the dalang pushes a puppet’s rod to stand it up.
gegel: The joint pins at the shoulder and elbow of a shadow puppet, where the arm pieces are joined so they can move.

kelir: The white cloth screen stretched in front of the dalang; the shadows of the puppets fall on it.

makutha: The crown or headdress of a puppet. Its shape marks the figure’s rank and kind.

palemahan: The lower part of a puppet between the feet, showing the ground the figure stands on.
prada: Gold leaf (or gold paint) on a puppet’s painting.
purwa: The wayang kulit that tells the Mahabharata and Ramayana; the best-known form of shadow puppetry in Java.

sabrangan: A figure from overseas lands (sabrang): a king or knight from a kingdom beyond Java in a wayang story, usually strong and set against the knights.
sanggar: A studio where an art is practised and taught; many sanggar keep and care for puppet collections.
sungging: Painting the puppet after carving, in graded colours from light to dark, with gold leaf (prada).

tatah: Perforating the hide with small chisels; the patterns of holes keep the shadow patterned.

wanda: The face and bearing that show a character’s mood; one character can be made in several wanda.
wayang: A performance puppet, and the performance itself. Wayang kulit is played behind a screen (kelir) so the audience can watch its shadow.