The People and the Wayang by Franz Magnis Suseno: Translation and Introduction

摘要

This article comprises a translation of the Indonesian original of Franz Magnis Suseno's discussion of the philosophical significance of the Javanese wayang theater and an introduction to the author and the Javanese art form itself. Magnis Suseno is a well-known philosopher and public figure in his adopted homeland Indonesia, and this piece is an example of his commitment to making use of Javanese traditions to frame a particular Javanese kind of humanism which affirms the rootedness of Javanese society in the structure of the cosmos while also critiquing the abuse of this structure in some forms of hierarchy.