In my Pokok Pauh Janggi performance at Kapallorek Artspace, I presented a Pak Dogol puppet and a Wak long puppet, both of which I collected in Kota Baru, Kelantan over 20 years ago. In Kelantanese Wayang Kulit, or Wayang SIam as it was referred to locally, Pak Dogol is a minder or caregiver of Sri Rama. He presents as black, bald (botak), old, pot bellied man with a protruding belly button (pusat perut), an pronounced nipple (tetek), large buttocks and a large nose. He holds a machete (golok). In fact he is Dewa Sang Yang Tunggal, a supreme demigod (dewa) who descended to earth (dunia) from the heavenly realm (kayangan) with this unsightly appearance (wajah) as a disguise, in order to find his son. Pak Dogol is the principal peran (humourous figure) in Wayang Siam. He is ritually speaking, the most important of all Wayang Siam characters. This puppet is considered to be magical and possessing of a sometimes sinister spirit (keramat) that resides in tree stumps (tunggul Kayu mati). The puppet is stored wrapped a yellow cloth, signifying the a regal status of its character. Pak Dogol is always the first to receive praise and offerings (puja) in the course of the upacara buka panggung (blessing of the stage) ritual.
Wak Long, who is Pak Dogol’s companion, was created out of the former’s spirit and dirt from his body. He, like Pak Dogol, is a peran, only, he is funnier than his friend. Wak Long presents as a Red figure with a distinctive topknot. He does not hold a weapon. Both characters do not appear in the Ramayana which forms the narrative basis of Wayang Siam. Pak Dogol and Wak long are indigenous to Nusantara, analogous to Semar in Wayang Kulit Jawa. At the heart of my own performance was the presentation and initiation of two other long forgotten puppets. – Pokok Pauh Janggi and Ketam Gergasi puppet. I exorcized the bad spirits from the deer hide (membuang badi rusa) and invoked the spirit of each puppet (memanggil jambalang patung). Both of these puppets were made following designs from late 19th Century examples collected and photographed by Walter William Skeat. They too are rooted in Malay folklore and metaphysics and are not found in the Ramayana or the Mahabharata, the great epics that form the core of the culture of what some have called Greater India. As these puppets made their return to the panggung, I felt that it was important to have Pak Dogol and Wak long, present to bear witness to the proceedings.
https://muzium.kelantan.gov.my/index.php/en/warisan/wayang-kulit/watak-watak-utama/pak-dogol
The Koboi Project 
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