Wayang Kulit Kelantan: The Challenges Between Traditional and Digital Media

Abstract

Traditional Malay theatre arts such as Wayang Kulit Kelantan or Shadow Play puppet Kelantan in Malaysia has been a form of entertainment. Unfortunately, this shadow play puppet has lost it touch and is slowly fading among the society in Malaysia. This paper will focus both on the traditional method and the animation method to create Kelantan shadow play 3D visualization digital puppetry. The paper will begin with some research on previous work related to traditional shadow play puppet and will name some efforts made to digitizing this type of performance. The paper will also look into the results of comparing the two techniques. The final section of the paper will attempt to highlight the challenges and future aspects of animation and traditional shadow play that would be significant in helping bring back the popularity of this Malaysian performing arts masterpiece.

A Visual Analysis Between the Sheng Character of Shadow Puppets from the Central Plains of China and Sri Rama of Wayang Kulit Kelantan, Malaysia

“…Puppets of traditional Wayang Kulit Kelantan are different in size; the shorter ones are about six to nine inches, while the taller ones can be over 24 inches (Yousof, 2004a). A basic Wayang Kulit Kelantan set consists of between 65 and 120 puppets comprising principal characters (Ghani, 2012c). The main repertoire of traditional Wayang Kulit Kelantan is Hikayat Maharaja Wana (Yousof, 2006).…”

Wayang Edu: digital application for Wayang Kulit Kelantan

“…Wayang Kulit is also explained by practitioners as a movement of pictures (puppets) in a performance manipulated by a puppeteer with the help of a musical group based on specific characteristics that have been set [2]. The present-day Wayang Kulit Kelantan (WKK) serves as a unique representation of traditional Malaysian culture, evident in its linguistic aspects and the elements depicted during performances [3].…”