Wayang for Children: Bali

Whenever I am in Bali I often watch the Bali TV channel and particularly enjoy the cultural programs and those programs geared towards travellers to the island.

I was delighted to read in the JP yesterday about a fabulous new program especially designed for teaching children about Wayang Kulit and performances. The filming of the new show, entitled Learning Wayang, was in the village of Bona in central Bali.

Bona is well known to tourists as the place where they can go to view a tourist version of the Barong Dance and other Balinese dances such as Kecak and the trance dance Sanghyang Dedari. Bona is a weaving and plaiting village located three kilometres northeast of Blahbatuh and it is here where you can purchase crafted baskets, hats, fans, handbags and other delightful tourist fare.

Here is the article about the new program prepared for Bali TV:

TV program introduces 'wayang' to children
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Bona

Everybody was supposed to be silent when the cameraman started taping the scene. Unfortunately silence was precisely the one thing he could not get on that lazy Sunday afternoon.

On the stage four little girls were standing before a medium size kelir (white screen for Wayang Kulit shadow puppet performance) ready to demonstrate their puppetry skills. They could not start because some of their friends were noisily chasing each other around on and off on stage.

"How can you get a calm moment when there are more than 20 energetic children running around you" the cameraman said.

It took crowd control from the director, Mas Ruscitadewi, before all the boys and the girls reluctantly agreed to sit next to the stage. With a soft voice and calming gestures, Mas, the chief editor of the island's sole children's tabloid Lintang convinced them that each of them would have their chance to perform before the camera.

"They are such lovely kids. They are just too enthusiastic about this shooting" she said.

Even then, three year old Kadek Sugi still found a chance to innocently step onto the stage. With a huge wayang of a boar in his hands he lingered before the Kelir oblivious to his surroundings.

"He is fascinated by the wayang and kelir. I think he will be a dalang (puppeteer) in the future" his father, I Made Sidia said as he took Sugi off the stage.

Both Sugi's father and grandfather are accomplished dalang. When he finally managed to escape his father's embrace the little boy ran into the lap of his grandfather, the legendary Bapa Sidja, who was sitting in the shaded corner of the stage.

By that time the filming had began. The girls took turns in animating wayang characters, which ranged from a proud deer, a noisy bird to a weird looking ant. They mimicked their characters' movements, sung their story and made a series of animal-like sounds.

It was not an exceptional performance but their friends gave them a thunderous applause. Soon the boys took the stage performing menacing characters such as an elephant or a tiger.

The filming was part of an educational television program designed by Mas Ruscitadewi and Sidia. The weekly program Learning Wayang aims at popularizing Wayang Kulit among the new generation of Balinese children.

"These children are nurtured and educated by television. Instead of viewing the television as a hostile force we will use television as a medium to educate our children on our cultural heritage, spiritual values and social norms" Mas Ruscitadewi said.

Through the program the children would be introduced to various characters from the Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

"For instance, they will learn who Bhima is as well as his character, moral standing and heroic exploits" Sidia said.

Moreover, the program would also teach the viewers how to craft a wayang.

"It will be a fun as well as a meaningful television program" Mas Ruscitadewi said.

Learning Wayang will be aired in September on Bali TV, the island's most influential private station.