Performance Art as an Instrument of Spiritual Contemplation: The Case of the Malay Wayang Kulit (Shadow Play)

Abstract

This article offers an interpretation of the wayang kulit (Malay shadow play) as a type of traditional art, in which the art forms are conceived within the broader cosmology derived from religious tradition. To this end, it focuses on three aspects of the play, namely, the rituals, mythology and symbolism in the setting to uncover their meanings and how these relate to the tradition in which it was conceived. As the play predates Islam and was immersed in animistic and Hindu-Buddhist milieu, it underwent reinterpretation to accommodate the coming of Islam and in fact was utilised to convey Islamic message by building on the people’s pre-Islamic beliefs, thereby offering an instance of intercultural dialogue through art.