The Journey of the Wayang is an introduction to the traditional context of the wayang shadow puppets in Indonesia and an interview with Dr. Ferdinand Chen about the wayang and the donation of the puppets to Simon Fraser University. The 2006 performance is shown as part of SFU’s Open House celebration. Sutrisno Hartana and Chris Dagg discuss the balance of good and evil in wayang plays.
This animated video introduces the characters of the Ramayana and discusses the idea of Dharma, with commentary by Sharadchandra Pandit, a Hindu priest. Dr. Barbara Winter, the curator of the museum, explains how the puppets were made and their essence as living beings.
The Drama of the Shadow World interviews Dr. Richard Toews, an anthropologist, Sharadchandra Pandit, a Hindu priest and Sutrisno Hartana, an Indonesian puppet master to explore the meanings of myth, dramatic retelling of well known stories, and the meaning of good and evil.
Opening with a shadow clown sequence, this video is an exploration of the meaning of evil as personified in Ravana, the ultimate villain in the Ramayana. A stage performance of the banishment of Rama introduces animated puppets that tell the story of the kidnapping of Sita, Hanuman’s journey to rescue her and Rama’s fight with Ravana.
The kidnapping of Sita portion of the Ramayana is reported in a Hitchcock-style docu-news format.
The reporter asks, “Was Sita right in trying to help who she thought was just a poor man in need of assistance. She only wanted to give him a bowl of food. I am sure without knowing the outcome like we do now, we’d never be able to decide if it was the right decision. It happens to the best of us, an impossible situation, where no matter what you choose, a right and a wrong is being done. Maybe you can think of a time when this happened to you. What was the consequence of your choice?”
Using a news broadcast format this video brings us reports of the battle at the end of the Ramayana, when Rama’s army defeats Ravana’s troops and allows Sita and Rama return to Kosala. Hanuman, the monkey general is interviewed on strategies he followed in trying to end the conflict and how he was forced to fight. SFU Political Science professor Dr. James Busumtwi-Sam discusses why we fight and the concept of a just war.
This video is a retelling of creation of the Ramayana through Valmiki’s vision of Brahma. The traditional epic is brought into modern Canada through a discussion of re-mixes, mash-ups, copyright and intellectual property rights.
Credits:
This project was made possible with the support of the
Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online
Strategy.
Site copyright © 2009 Simon Fraser University, Museum
of Archaeology & Ethnology in collaboration with the SFU
Library.
Educators may download and distribute materials from this site
for classroom use. Commercial or for-profit use is expressly
prohibited. Contact bwinter@sfu.ca for reproduction
rights.
Project DirectoDr. Barbara J.
Winter
Project ManagerBrianne Salmon
Collection Documentation
Caitlin Donaldson, Tsai Yun Chuang, Brianne Salmon
PhotographyTsai Yun Chuang,
Brianne Salmon, Caitlin Donaldson
Teacher’s Resources Carolynn
Marcotte, Barbara Winter, Wilf Lim
VideoDavid Murphy, Chris
Jeschelnik, Heiko Decosas, Kial Natale, Kelly Dale, Scott Tolan, Kamil
Karamali, Tanys Norcott, Youmi Kim