Puppets in the Sultan’s Palace
Dr. Supardjian (center) and his teacher displaying the Sultan's puppets
I visited the Kraton (Sultan’s Palace), which is one of the principal monuments in downtown Yogyakarta. Every day, there are demonstrations of different aspects of Javanese puppetry, dance and music in one of many pavilions on the grounds. On my first visit to the Kraton, the featured art was wayang golek. The following day, I returned to the Kraton for what I thought would be the wayang kulit performance recommended by Dr. Supardjian. I almost did not enter the palace grounds, since the person in the admissions booth assured me that there was no puppet performance that day. Fortunately, I changed my mind and went in. On my arrival at the performance pavilion, I found Dr. Supardjian, dressed in the traditional costume of a palace courtier, complete with ceremonial dagger, anxiously waiting for me. He led me to a pavilion off the beaten tourist path within the palace where we found about a dozen more courtiers.
On the floor were dozens of antique shadow puppets from the Sultan’s private collection, which the courtiers proceeded to pick up and manipulate for me and my camera, one by one. The artistry of these puppets was extraordinary. It was also interesting to see that there were a whole series of Western characters, mainly colonial Dutch naval officers and their ships, depicted as puppets, complete with removable tri-corn hats and swords. There was also another series of animals: horses, tigers, serpents, and other fantastical creatures. The courtiers who demonstrated the puppets included Dr. Supardjian’s teacher and the mask carver with whom I would later study.
