The Wayang Kulit, shadow puppet theatre of Malaysia is a mesmerizing combination of intricately designed rawhide puppets casting shadows on a screen, the hypnotic music of the live orchestra and the puppet master dramatizing a tale from one of the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana or the Mahabharata. The medium of shadow play within this traditional form works as a nearly perfect metaphor for how the Malaysian village people view their relationship with the spiritual forces.;There are many elements that work in cooperation with the element of shadow play in the traditional shadow puppet theatre of Malaysia. The construction and design of the puppets communicates much necessary information regarding the character's identity, status and disposition. The conventions for this tradition performance, including the physical setting, structure of the performance and musical, all communicate vast amounts of information that progress the story in an efficient and richly varied manner. The puppet master is the sole director of the event, leading the orchestra, telling the story through song, dialogue and narration and manipulating all the puppets.;The shadow images of the great Hindu epic characters are free to swoop into action, disappear in a flash and grow to huge looming shadows filling the screen. The medium of shadow play is a dynamic tool for bringing the living images of the gods down to earth.
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