Malaysian Shadow Play and Music: Continuity of an Oral Tradition

by Matusky and Patricia Matusky

The ancient, time-honored art form known as wayang kulit (literally, "leather puppet theatre" or "shadow puppet play") is found in many arts of South-East Asia, including the Malay Peninsula. The present book, an ethnomusicological study focusing on the musical sound and its role in the drama, explores an aspect of wayang kulit hitherto neglected by scholars. Based on interviews and recordings conducted by the author in the villages of Kelantan, as well as on her experience as a student performer in one of the finest and most skilled wayang kulit troupes in Malaysia, the book begins with a useful overview of the various types of wayang kulit in Malaysia. It then goes on to discuss the main theatrical conventions, puppet design, performance structure, musical repertoire, orchestral instruments, and characteristic features of the music of wayang kulit Siam, the most popular type of Malaysian shadow puppet theatre.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9676530484
• ISBN13: 9789676530486
• Release Date: February 1994
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 10.1"