dalang
Wayang puppet master
A dalang is the puppeteer and narrator in traditional Indonesian shadow puppet theater (wayang).
The dalang manipulates the puppets, voices all characters, directs the gamelan orchestra, and serves as storyteller—often performing epic tales from the Ramayana or Mahabharata through the night.
The role carries spiritual significance; the dalang mediates between the human and divine realms.
Figuratively, a dalang is a mastermind or puppet master orchestrating events from behind the scenes: The general was the dalang of the coup.
One who tells events
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
folklore · legend · parable · allegory · tale · chronicle · recitation · chanting
Performer controlling jointed figures
- screenDisplay or barrier
- IndonesiaSoutheast Asian archipelago nation
- JavaProgramming language from Sun
- BaliIndonesian resort province
leather · performance · manipulation · rod · narration · ritual · ceremony · all-night
Formal event marking occasions
- offeringSomething presented or given
- incenseAnger greatly, or aromatic resin
- prayerAddress to deity
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
purification · ancestral · sacred · mystical · trance · spirit · cosmology · Hindu
Authority or controller
- craftsmanSkilled manual worker
- apprenticeLearner bound to employer
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- hereditaryPassed through generations
training · dexterity · virtuoso · multitasking · meditation · spiritual · respected · elder
narrator
One who tells events
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- epicImpressively grand in scope
mythology · folklore · legend · parable · allegory · tale · chronicle · recitation · chanting · dialogue
puppeteer
Performer controlling jointed figures
- screenDisplay or barrier
- IndonesiaSoutheast Asian archipelago nation
- JavaProgramming language from Sun
Bali · leather · performance · manipulation · rod · narration · ritual · ceremony · all-night · repertoire
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
blessing · purification · ancestral · sacred · mystical · trance · spirit · cosmology · Hindu · animism
master
Authority or controller
- craftsmanSkilled manual worker
- apprenticeLearner bound to employer
- lineageDescent from progenitors
hereditary · training · dexterity · virtuoso · multitasking · meditation · spiritual · respected · elder · repertoire
- shadow puppetryshadow puppets, shadow play, shadow theater, shadow puppetry, wayang kulit
- Javanese cultureRamayana, Mahabharata, shadow puppet, puppet master, shadow puppetry
- Javanese Mysticismtapa, spirit offerings, guardian spirits, flower water, purification rites
- Southeast Asian Musiccourt music, folk melodies, traditional dance music, gongs, metallophones
dalangpuppet
Controlled performing figure
marionette · pawn · audience · spectator · instrument