Wayang Museum description and photos - Indonesia: Jakarta (Topic)

Wayang Museum description and photos - Indonesia: Jakarta. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Wayang Museum.

Photo and description

Wayang Museum is located in the western part of Fatahillah Square. The Wayang Museum will tell visitors about the Wayang, an Indonesian shadow theater that uses Wayang puppets.

Such shadow theaters are widespread on the islands of Java and Bali. The puppets are made of buffalo skin, then the figurine is attached to bamboo rods. The figures are moved behind the screen by a dalang, an actor-puppeteer. Most often, the dalang is also a storyteller, in addition, he sings and sometimes even composes a plot.

The museum building was built on the site where the church used to be. The temple was built in 1640 and was called the Old Dutch Church. In 1732, the church building was renovated and the temple was renamed New Dutch Church. In 1808, an earthquake destroyed the church. Later, already in 1912, on the site of the ruins of the church, a new building was erected in the neo-Renaissance style. The building originally housed a warehouse for Geo Wehry & Co ". In 1938, the building was restored, giving the features of the Dutch colonial style. Later, the building was bought by the scientific society of Batavia, which dealt with the culture and science of Indonesia. The scientific community donated this building to the Old Batavia Foundation, and in 1939 the Old Batavia Museum was opened there. In 1957, after Indonesia gained independence, the building was transferred to the Institute of Culture of Indonesia, and then to the Ministry of Education and Culture. After going through all the bureaucratic red tape, in 1968 the administration of the Jakarta metropolitan area decided to establish the Wayang Museum in this building. The grand opening of the museum took place in 1975.

Thanks to the large collection of the museum, visitors can learn more about Wayang dolls and art such as "shadow theater". In the museum you can also see wayang-kulit (shadow theater), wayang-golek (wooden puppet theater). On display are dolls from other countries, such as Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, Suriname. Visiting the museum, guests can learn about the gamelan, a traditional Indonesian orchestra.

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Topic: Wayang Museum description and photos - Indonesia: Jakarta.