DepartmentAsia

Jagal Abilawa

NameWayang kulit, shadow puppet

Maker Supena (leather carver)

CultureJavanese

Date1993

Place madeSolo, Java, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

MediumWater buffalo hide, paint, ancur, water buffalo horn, bronze leaf, wood

DimensionsOverall: 44 1/2 x 19 7/8 in. (113 x 50.5 cm)

Credit LineIFAF Collection

Object numberFA.2007.40.7

Collections

Wayang Kuilt: Indonesian Shadow Puppets

DescriptionShadow puppet. Large male figure with black skin and long, curved thumbnails. Intricately punched designs indicating long, flowing hair and body hair. Batik skirt and leggings, headdress.

"Performer: Ki Purbo Asmoro; also: Ki Puntana
Artist: Supena; Designer: Ki Mulyanta
Place and Date Made: Solo, 1993

The character Jagal Abilawa is Bima in disguise. Puntadéwa, the eldest of the Pandhawa brothers, loses the brothers' kingdom in a game of dice with their cousins, the Kurawas. After this loss, the five Pandhawa brothers go into exile and conceal their identities for thirteen years. In his assumed identity as Jagal Abilawa, Bima grows his hair long and works as a butcher in the country of Wirata. This wayang appears in the Mahabharata episode, Adon-Adon Rajamala" [Rajamala Enters the Ring] and "Wiratha Parwa [The Story of the Kingdom Wiratha]" (Katz-Harris 2010)