Forgotten tradition of shadow puppetry returns to Cocos Islands

Shadows dance across a brightly lit white screen and traditional gamelan music fills the air, as a puppeteer brings an art form to life, unseen on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands for almost 80 years.

Situated in the Indian Ocean 2,768 kilometres north-west of Perth, Cocos is a group of 27 islands over two atolls. 

Two islands are permanently inhabited, with the Cocos Malay population brought to Home Island as workers in the early 19th century. 

In the 1860s, Javanese labourers brought the tradition of shadow puppetry or "wayang kulit" to Home Island, a creative discipline that tells the epic stories of two ancient Indian texts.

Master puppeteer, also called dalang, Nek Ichang lived on Cocos from the 1920s until his death in 1949, but with his passing, the practice of wayang kulit was forgotten.

The tradition was reawakened when Javanese master puppeteer Sumardi performed on the islands this month, in a visit that sparked joy and memories of the past.

Memories sparked by visit

Only a few people on the island remember the performances of Nek Ichang.

Western Australian Museum's Tim Eastwood said he heard a firsthand account from a Home Island man who would have only been seven years old at the time.

"This was in about 1948, 49, and he tells me that it was very exciting, particularly as children, because they were allowed to stay up all night," he said.

A group of seniors spent time with Sumardi during his visit, and Mr Eastwood said their joy was undeniable.

"These were mostly women," he said.

"They would have been well into their 80s … and what I can say is that they lit up, they absolutely lit up."

A discovery for a new generation

Cocos resident Hafsah Juljali was born in 2005, more than half a century after the end of wayang kulit on the Cocos Islands.

Ms Juljali said she did not know much about the practice before Sumardi's visit, but it sparked conversations with her family about the art form.

"I asked my mum and grandma, and asked what it was and she was like, 'It's a puppet show where they control it themselves,'" she said.

"The thing was, I didn't know they used goat skin and buffalo skin. I just thought it was card or paper."

Ms Juljali also discovered that earlier generations had some otherworldly beliefs around the puppets, with warnings of possession if you left a performance early.

"They were told the puppeteers, they have spirits in the puppets they use, so that's just what they were told growing up," she said.

Mr Eastwood said there were still about 70 of the original puppets housed in the museum on Home Island, which were lost for years after Nek Ichang died.

"Those puppets were put into the box that he used to keep them in and then virtually forgotten about until recent times," he said.

UNESCO inscribed tradition

There are believed to be fewer than 50 dalangs still performing today. 

In his first visit to the Cocos Islands, Sumardi said it was special to be able to bring wayang kulit back to the community.

The practice is more than 1,000 years old and has been inscribed on a UNESCO list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.   

Beginning at age 11, Sumardi studied for nine years, with hours of daily practice, to gain the skills to perform the intricate works and qualify as a master puppeteer.

The Cocos tour was planned by the local shire and Cultural Infusion, an organisation that delivers cultural programs around Australia.

Cultural Infusion founder Peter Mousaferiadis has worked with Sumardi for 20 years and said shadow puppetry required patience from the audience.

"It takes you on that journey where you have to sit still and participate in this ancient art form that's conveying so many ideas," he said.

Keeping history alive

Ms Juljali said Sumardi's performance on Home Island brought Cocos Islanders of all ages together.

"The little kids, lots of them were there. They were loving it," she said.

"They went behind to see how he was doing it, because we could either sit in front of the screen or at the back where we could see what Sumardi was doing." 

Getting older generations to share their memories of Home Island life is important to Ms Juljali, to help keep the community's vibrant and unique history alive.

"We do have to push them, but some do love saying it because it's just like how they grew up, and of course, they would want their grandchildren to know stuff like that," she said.

"If we don't really show or tell the younger generations, it will just die."