Description
Javanese shadow puppet of a tiger. Performed in traditional Javanese shadow plays. Made in water buffalo leather with bamboo stick.
Wayang in Javanese refers both to puppets and to the theatrical performance. Kulit refers to skin, which means the puppet that made with water buffalo leather.
The tiger, or macan, is a supporting player in one of the epic stories frequently performed the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, about the struggle of Prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Rahwana.
These Hindu stories took on local attributes as they spread across Southeast Asia. Including to multi-faith Java, where they have become more culturally significant than religious. Tigers are sentient beings in wayang, and in Java. They are the guardians of the forest.
Dimensions: 0.1″ x 24.5″ x 16″ (26″ with stick)
