Dalang (puppeteer)

In a performance of wayang kulit, the dalang sits behind a screen (ꦏꦼꦭꦶꦂ, kelir)[2] made of white cotton stretched on a wooden frame.

In front of the dhalang is a stage (ꦒꦼꦢꦼꦧꦺꦴꦒ꧀, gedebog),[4] traditionally made from the trunk of a banana tree, into which the sharpened control rods of the puppets can be pushed to keep them in position during the performance.

The art of puppetry (ꦥꦝꦭꦔꦤ꧀, padhalangan) was traditionally handed down within families, and dalangs formed a type of informal caste within Javanese society.

The women of these families traditionally were expert players of the gendèr, an instrument that has a particularly important role in accompanying wayang performances.

The musical aspects include the direction and cueing of the gamelan and the singing of mood-setting songs (sulukan), the vocal includes the recitation of set texts at scene-openings (ꦏꦤ꧀ꦝ, kandha)[7] and the extemporisation of dialogue showing mastery of Javanese linguistic etiquette, while the puppetry itself (ꦱꦧꦼꦠꦤ꧀, sabetan)[8] involves a complex system of movements and positions.