Delightful puppetry

More than 1000 years ago, old Indonesian inscriptions already spoke of wayang, which means "theatre".

Wayang kulit, "shadow puppet theatre", is the oldest form of still existing puppet theatre in the world. The puppets are mounted on bamboo sticks and, held up between a cloth and a light source, cast their shadows on the white canvas. Kulit means "skin" and refers to the buffalo hide they are made from.

 

double-click to enlarge image

 

This rare specimen certificate, depicting Wayang puppets in the underprint, is a 4% bond for 1000 Dutch guilder, and made part of the Dutch East Indies Conversion Loan 1934 A. 

 

F.L.

 

N.B. : Here is a great video, from UNESCO, on the Wayang puppet theatre.