Women in the shadows : gender, puppets, and the power of tradition in Bali / Jennifer Goodlander.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goodlander, Jennifer, 1975- author.

Series:

Research in international studies. Southeast Asia series ; no. 129.

Ohio University research in international studies. Southeast Asia series ; no. 129

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shadow shows--Indonesia--Bali Island.

Shadow shows.

Women puppeteers--Indonesia--Bali Island.

Women puppeteers.

Wayang.

Sex role--Indonesia--Bali Island.

Sex role.

Ethnology--Indonesia--Bali Island.

Ethnology.

Bali Island (Indonesia)--Civilization.

Bali Island (Indonesia).

Civilization.

Indonesia--Bali Island.

Physical Description:

xiii, 199 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, [2016]

Summary:

"Wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry, connects a mythic past to the present through public ritual performance and is one of most important performance traditions in Bali. The dalang, or puppeteer, is revered in Balinese society as a teacher and spiritual leader. Recently, women have begun to study and perform in this traditionally male role, an innovation that has triggered resistance and controversy. In Women in the Shadows, Jennifer Goodlander draws on her own experience training as a dalang as well as interviews with early women dalang and leading artists to upend the usual assessments of such gender role shifts. She argues that rather than assuming that women performers are necessarily mounting a challenge to tradition, "tradition" in Bali must be understood as a system of power that is inextricably linked to gender hierarchy. She examines the very idea of "tradition" and how it forms both an ideological and social foundation in Balinese culture. Ultimately, Goodlander offers a richer, more complicated understanding of both tradition and gender in Balinese society"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Gender, Puppets, and Tradition 1

Part 1 Sekala: The Visible Realm

2 Practices of Tradition 17

3 Objects of Tradition 66

Part 2 Niskala: The Invisible Realm

4 Ritual Traditions Becoming a Dalang 103

5 Women Dalang Negotiating the Invisible and the Visible Realms 134

6 Thoughts from the Shadows 168.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780896803039

0896803031

9780896803046

089680304X

OCLC:

950445740