WAYANG KULIT MANUSIA ANTARA MITOS DAN KENYATAAN

Abstract

A religious traditional art in society is related to myth which can be categorized into
folktale. This tradition has been often become one in the Javanese mind and influential in
giving direction to their lives. Concerning with myth is inseparable from people’s believed. The
people believe which is appearing is usually established on the basis of a tale or story, which is
descendant from the local people and unwritten but believed by the society so that it becomes
tradition and culture encouragement. One of Indonesian ancestors’ heritages is leather puppet
which can be enjoyed by us until now, although the form and the development conform to the
development of the present modern world.
Myth of the leather puppet in Javanese people themselves has been an icon, because
the leather puppet it selves becomes myth which unified with tradition as well as Javanese
people culture. So, other myth follows the leather puppet myth. One of the existing myths in
society are the myth’s appearances of human’s skin puppet, mainly a traditional art of leather
puppet the material of which is believed to be created from human’s skin.
Kedakan village located in the slope of Merbabu valley which is remote and far from
the city. Because of its remote location, this place leave culture heritage of the preserved
ancestor’s tradition, such as human’s skin puppet. The appearing myth in the human skin
puppet is that of believed that the puppet is created from human’s skin, therefore, the puppet
is considered holy and highly respected. The sacredness of the puppet appears, since many
misterious and illogical things happened related to the sacred puppet frequently. The myth
which are still being preserved enables this leather puppet art in the remote village ever lasting
and the existence is still being nurtured.
Key words: Leather Puppet, Human Skin, and Myth