RSSSURAKARTA, Indonesia (UCAN) — Catholics in Surakarta, Central Java, recently marked the 50th anniversary of a local puppetry show which depicts biblical stories.
On Feb. 2, Father Fransiscus Xaverius Wiyono from Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Pugeran, put on the wayang wahyu show, depicting the story of Jacob in the Book of Genesis.
Joining him for the performance, in which shadows of leather puppets are cast on a white screen, were four other puppeteers – one diocesan priest, a laywoman, and two laymen.
The performance was accompanied by Javanese songs and gamelan (traditional Javanese orchestra) music.
About 250 Catholics gathered in the compound of Pangudi Luhur Elementary School in Surakarta to watch the show.
“The Word of God is like seeds. If the seeds can adapt to the soil where they are sown, they will grow. If they cannot, they will die,” Father Wiyono told UCA News after the show.
Wayang wahyu is a variant of the traditional wayang kulit performance, which also uses leather puppets, and is usually staged at night.
Wayang wahyu was created in 1960 by Immaculate Conception Brother Timotius L. Wignyosoebroto, who wanted to present Church teachings in an entertaining way. It quickly became a popular way of telling biblical stories.
Wayang wahyu makes it easier for Javanese people to understand biblical stories, said Father Wiyono. “Wayang wahyu is still relevant today,” he asserted.
He said many Javanese people including children still enjoy traditional art forms.
Another Immaculate Conception Brother Fransiscus Xaverius Sugi said the late Brother Wignyosoebroto, who was headmaster of Pangudi Luhur Elementary School, created the art form to boost evangelization.
The idea was to depict stories “from both the Old and New Testaments,” the 57-year-old brother told UCA News.
He said the first few wayang wahyu performances in 1960 were on David and Goliath.
Robertus Bellarmino Riza Budi Utomo, 19, a member of the audience at the recent performance, said, “My father used to take me to wayang kulit performances when I was a kid.”
He, however, said it would have been better for the religious puppetry show to be conducted in the Indonesian language rather than in Javanese to allow more people to understand the message.
A seminar on the importance of wayang wahyu as a medium of evangelization was also held to mark the show’s 50th anniversary.
IJ08723.1587 February 4, 2010 41 EM-lines (384 words)
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