Description of the attraction
Wayang Museum is located in the western part of Fatahillah Square. The Wayang Museum will tell visitors about 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 building of the church was renovated, and the temple became known as the New Dutch Church. In 1808, an earthquake destroyed the church. Later, already in 1912, a new building was erected on the site of the ruins of the church, 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 cultural and scientific issues in 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 (theater of shadows), wayang-golek (theater of wooden puppets). 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.
Periodically, the museum shows performances with the participation of Wayang dolls, and also conducts master classes on their manufacture.
