Gunungan

To signal the beginning and the end of the performance – but also strong emotions, scene changes, the elements of fire, earth, air and water – the dalang uses the gunungan, the most important requisite in the wayang theatre. The gunungan (gunung, mountain) or kayon (forest) is a representation of the ancient Tree motif originating from India. This consist of two parts: a mountain and a tree. The Tree motif is rendered as a combination of two different trees: the fig tree rooted in heaven; and the earthbound lotus tree rising from the waters. The former, placed above, has implanted its root in the top of the stem of the tree-shaped lotus. The lotus is the very symbol of life springing from the water. The celestial fig tree represents ‘creative breath’ or fire, which is as essential in creating life as the water’s essence. In the Javanese gunungan the lotus part can assume an hourglass form, with a small building with a pair of closed doors, or that of a lake or pot filled with water. Guardians stands on both sides of the stronghold. Their task is to guard treasures, particularly the mount Meru (heavenly mountain), and the liquid elixir of life. A pair of huge wings flank the upper half. The shape of these wings may actually be derived from lotus leaves or other vegetation. The gate building with closed doors can be understood as female, whereas the tree represents the male. Together and united they form life.  The gunungan is placed in the centre of the screen before the drama begins, separating the opposed groups of characters that lie to the right and left of the dalang. The meditation undertaken by the dalang before the performance seeks a train of associations leading from the gods of the Hindu pantheon to the kayon. During the performance, the gunungan is the backdrop with which time and space are delineated, and it determines the atmosphere. Its association with the Tree of Paradise makes it an apt image to suggest the idyllic world of the kingdoms of the wayang lakons (plays) before the activities of men and supernatural beings upset the ideal balance. 

About Wayang Kulit

Wayang kulit or shadow puppet theatre is a traditional art form from Indonesia and Malaysia. A solo puppeteer, known as a dhalang in Javanese, manipulates and provides voices for puppets cut from animal hide and painted on both sides. The shadows of these puppets fall on a white cotton screen. In Java, wayang performances are watched from both sides of the screen, as either a shadow show or a puppet show.
Performances in Java are accompanied by a full gamelan, which might have 15, 25 or more musicians. A typical performance begins at 7.30 or 8pm with a musical overture and runs until 3 am or later.  Most plays are based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics, which were imported from India to Java perhaps 1500 years ago. Dialogue is not written down, but largely extemporized based on oral formulae. Plays blend action, comedy, philosophy, romance and displays of statesmanship. Wayang kulit is so comprehensive in scope that it is described by many commentators as an encyclopaedia of Javanese culture.
Some performances have ritual significance. In these ritual dramas, the dhalang recites magical incantations and presents offerings to invisible spirts. One such performance, designed to drive away malevolent spirits, is translated in Matthew Cohen’s book Demon abduction: A wayang ritual drama from West Java (Lontar, 1999).
Wayang kulit is a living art form, and there are also many contemporary productions and cross-art collaborations.
Wayang was inscribed by UNESCO in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The art form has attracted much attention since the nineteenth century from artists in Europe, the United States and around the world. (See Matthew Cohen’s article Contemporary Wayang in Global Contexts.) In 1999, the first major gathering of international wayang practitioners (dubbed dalang mancanegara) occurred as part of the Pekan Wayang national festival at Taman Mini in Jakarta. Matthew Cohen was among those who performed at this festival, and he also spoke at the festival’s international seminar.

sumber : http://kandabuwana.wordpress.com/about-wayang-kulit/