Wayang Kulit Kelantan in 1956

Some aspects of my Pokok Pauh Janggi performance were gleaned from this early cinematic record of Kelantanese Wayang Kulit from 1956.

  1. The puppets are painted only on one side – the side viewed by the Tok Dalang, so that he might be inspired during the performance.
  2. There is a blessing of the panggung (puja) with kemenyan (benzoin resin), food offerings and incantations (mantra).
  3. The puja involves a food offering consisting of telur rebus, nasi pulut kuning, daun sireh and a lighted candle on a ceramic plate.
  4. Bomoh and Dalang sit together during the upacara membuka panggung.
  5. The bomoh covers his head by draping his head cloth (destar) over himself at the climax of the ritual.

The Koboi Returns 2023 – 12

The Pohon Beringin puppet of Kelantan Wayang Kulit is closely related to the Gunungan puppet from the Javanese Wayang, which as Fiona Wong E Chiong and Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof explain, is used by the Dalang to bring a whole cosmos of gods, demons, humans and other creatures to life for the time of the performance. While this magical function is understated in the Kelantan tradition, the Pohon Beringin puppet is used to mark the opening and closing of the performance. The Pohon Beringin is a microcosm of the universe, with a central tree motif surrounded by flora and fauna, sky, water, flame, and mountain motifs. There are three levels to this cosmos, with fishes, serpents, or crocodiles at the bottom level representing the lower Waterworld; land animals like monkeys or elephants in the middle level representing the earth; birds at the top level representing the Skyworld. The Pohon Beringian is associated with the universal Tree of Life motif, which, in Islam, is called the Tree of Immortality or šajaratu l-ḫuld . If in Christianity, there are 2 trees in the garden of Eden – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the fruit of which God forbade to Adam and Eve , in Islam, there is only one tree, the šajaratu l-ḫuldat located at the centre of the Garden of Eden.

.Image: Pohon Beringin puppet/Persian Sarouk Farahan Tree of Life Rug, Late 19th Century 

https://ejournal.um.edu.my/index.php/MJPVA/article/view/13970/9368

http://catholic.cafe/2020/02/04/what-is-the-tree-of-life-and-why-was-it-guarded-by-the-cherubim/

https://nazmiyalantiquerugs.com/antique-persian-fine-sarouk-farahan-tree-of-life-rug-48624/