WAYANG KULITWayang Kulit, a form of shadow puppetry, was a method of entertainment for the people in Southeast Asia. It is believed to have been first brought to SEA by traders and priests who used them to tell stories about Hinduism, thus spreading the culture of Hinduism. However, many characters seem to have local, like Javanese, rather than Indian origins and are connected to the more animistic beliefs in Southeast Asia. For example, when there is a bad harvest, the Indonesian rice goddess is performed to bring a better harvest and ward off crop-destroying pests. This is yet again another example of the cultural ‘borrowing’ and adaptation in Southeast Asia, where a fusion of both indigenous beliefs and the original Indian practice makes the wayang kulit in Southeast Asia truly unique.
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