λ AN INDONESIAN WAYANG KULIT SHADOW PUPPET OF THE KAYON BLUMBANGAN
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EASTERN EUROPEAN ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Java, Indonesia, 20th century

In the shape of a large arrowhead or flame, with a sharp pointy top and rounded lower edges, made of leather painted with opaque and acrylic pigments, white wash and gold, one side decorated with wild animals, fishes in a sea or pond, monsters, and a tall golden tree, possibly an interpretation of the Tree of Life, the back with a large monstrous face with sharp fangs, bulging red eyes, and flames coming out of the nose and around the head, depicting either a kirtimukha or a local folklore demon, possibly an autochthonous variant of the Hindu god Maha Kala, the layout of the animals and monsters' bodies in the front pierced, the banner mounted on a long and tapering buffalo horn handle running through its centre, 112cm long.

The Kayon Blumbangan is a typical banner used in all-night shadow puppet performance to represent a garden space in the kedhatonan (inner palace) scene, or other kinds of natural settings such as mountains, trees, stone caves, forests, winds, or oceans. Indeed, the main decoration in the middle
of this kayon is a blumbang (pond), as opposed to the image of a gate that can be seen on another similar banner, the Kayon Gapuran. In contemporary shadow puppet performances, more than four kayon blumbangan are used to enhance the storytelling experience by shifting from one background scene to another (Joko Susilo, "Eisler Shadow-Puppet Collection Catalogue", 2004, Scholarship and Research. 1., http://scarab.bates.edu/music_research/1, p. 145, last accessed 16/03/2022).

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