Women in the Shadows. Jennifer Goodlander

and there is also balance in how the kayonan moves between the top and the bottom of the screen. Pak Tunjung often adjusted my hand in order to facilitate this balance; I did not automatically create the same movement on the right and left but had to practice it again and again. When I first learned this section, often on the right side, the tip of the kayonan tended to slip too far down while on the left it stood up too straight. The next important motion of the kayonan dance I learned was to spin the puppet in the palm of my hand. Pak Tunjung demonstrated how I needed to set the point of the stick in the center of my palm while wrapping my fingers around the upper part of the stick. I needed to balance the kayonan in my right hand while using my fingers to make it twirl off toward the sides of the stage. During this twirling, I again used the cepala in my left hand to knock against the puppet box. All these elements needed to work together.

      Most of my lessons were during the day, without an oil lamp. Finally, when we rehearsed with the lamp, I had to again learn how to adjust my body to complete the motions with something hanging directly in front of my face (fig. 2.5). I found that I needed to watch both the puppet in motion and the shadow being created on the screen. Twirling the kayonan near the lamp forced me to be aware of my body in relation to the puppet in a new way. The puppet’s motions were no longer just about the motions; I now needed to watch the result of those motions, and the shadow was the visible result of the invisible intention that resided in my body.

      Figure 2.5. The oil lamp hangs in front of the dalang’s face. Photo by author.

      As the dance of the kayonan is completed, the dalang and his assistants take out the rest of the puppets from the box and put them into their places around the stage. There is another section of the kayonan dancing before the puppet characters enter the scene and begin the story. The entrance of the puppets is called Alas Arum and is accompanied by music and a song. The length of the song can be adjusted depending on the number of characters entering. The version that Pak Tunjung taught me for Arjuna Tapa is:

      Alas Arum

       rahina tatas kemantian humuni

      Every morning the gamelan music begins to play.

       mredanga kala sangka gurnitan tara

      The voices of the instruments are beautiful to hear.

       gumuruh ikang gubar bala samuha

      The sound of the crashing cymbals brings everyone together.

      (Arjuna enters.)

       Mangkata pada nguwuh seruh rumuhun

      And the one with the thunderous voice progresses to the front of the line.

      (Arjuna ties his sash and fixes his crown.)

       Para ratu sampun ahyas asalin

      The kings change into their grand clothes.

      (Twalen enters.)

       Lumanpaha pada hawan rata parimita

      He that drives the chariot is without compare.

      (Merdah enters.)

      Arjuna is the first character to enter from the dalang’s right. Pak Tunjung demonstrated how I must combine singing, the motion of the puppet, and the percussion of the cepala in this short sequence. He taught me this section by taking my hand and allowing me to feel the movements in my body; he wanted me to sense the tension of the puppet on the screen. When Arjuna stopped moving, Pak Tunjung pressed down on my hand, pushing the Arjuna puppet into the screen, and then quickly he relaxed the pressure. Next he tilted my hand in order to make Arjuna look down. “Arjuna is looking at the place around him,” explained Pak Tunjung, “he is acknowledging the world that he has entered into.” Arjuna then slowly moved counterclockwise, to the right side of the screen. The characters who are the heroes of the story often enter and are placed on the side of the screen to the dalang’s right, while the left side is preferred for the villains of the story. When Arjuna reached the correct place, I stuck the sharp stick of the puppet into the banana log.