Penang-based master puppeteer has 133 shadow puppets in his collection

Mohd Jufry with some of the wayang kulit characters in his collection. Photos: The Star/Zhafaran Nasib

Throughout the month of Ramadan, Tok Dalang Mohd Jufry Yusoff, 61, has been shuttling between his home in Penang and Kuala Lumpur for a series of wayang kulit (shadow puppet play) performances.

Making the four-hour drive from his home in Sungai Dua to KL during the fasting month was undoubtedly exhausting. Still, the sexagenarian isn’t complaining as he enjoys putting on the shadow puppet performances, especially after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s good to be out on the road again, performing wayang kulit Kelantan to a larger audience. In the last few months, my troupe and I have performed at several events organised by the state government and also other establishments. It’s always nice to introduce this traditional art form to people from different walks of life,” says Mohd Jufry.

For his shows in KL, he travels with his troupe, comprising six musicians. He also travels with his many wayang kulit puppets that depict the various characters – protagonists, antagonists and supporting cast – in stories from the epics, Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

As one of the few remaining tok dalangs in Malaysia, Mohd Jufry is on a mission to conserve wayang kulit, as part of Malaysia’s heritage.

The puppets are made from cured leather that are shaped and perforated to create intricate designs. They are beautifully crafted, each one unique and stained in different colours. The arms of the puppets are hinged with metal studs and attached to sticks that are used to manipulate their movements.

“Some of these puppets are about a hundred years old,” Mohd Jufry shares proudly. “That belonged to my late grandfather,” he says, pointing at a faded green puppet with almond-shaped eyes and a pointed nose.

“In total, I have 133 puppets, some old and some new. I inherited many puppets after my father passed away,” says the former assistant lecturer and cultural artist from Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Drama dan Theatre department.

Mohd Jufry hopes to pass on his knowledge to the younger generation.

Man on a mission

Mohd Jufry, who was born in Bachok, Kelantan, comes from a family of puppeteers. The third-generation puppeteer was trained in wayang kulit by his grandfather Mamat Semai and also his father Yusof Mamat when he was just six years old.

“Back then, I used to accompany my Atuk (grandfather) to his performances, mainly to eat the nasi kunyit (turmeric rice) and ayam golek (grilled chicken), which was served after each show,” he says.

“But as I grew older, I began to appreciate the art of wayang kulit, especially Atuk’s ability to capture the audience’s attention with his story telling prowess, and how he could depict the tragedy, pathos and comedic elements of the stories so expertly,” he says.

Wayang kulit Kelantan and Wayang Gedek (performed by the Thai communities of Kedah and Perlis) are the two main forms of wayang kulit that are widely performed in Malaysia.

Old is gold: Mohd Jufry inherited this 100-year-old wayang kulit puppet from his grandfather. Photo: Sheela Chandran

Traditionally, shadow puppet performances are staged during events like weddings, births and circumcisions, he says.

Although he has six siblings, Mohd Jufry is the only one who has learnt the performance art form from his elders.

And, as one of the few remaining Tok Dalangs in the country, he is on a mission to preserve and pass on the art as it is part of Malaysia’s cultural heritage.

Mohd Jufry wants to get youngsters interested in wayang kulit and is aware that he has to compete for their attention with more modern forms of entertainment. He knows that to some youngsters, cultural performances like wayang kulit may seem archaic.

And that’s why he feels it is his job to change that perception.

“It is my responsibility to continue this performance art form and the craft (of making the puppets) as it is part of our culture and heritage,” the retiree says.

Mohd Jufry at Kraftangan Malaysia's Hari Kraftangan Kebangsaan in Kuala Lumpur in March. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

Besides staging wayang kulit shows, he also participates in Kraftangan Malaysia exhibitions across the country to promote this unique art form to a larger audience.

Mohd Jufry and his wife also run the Wak Long Music & Art Centre in Sungai Dua where they produce and sell traditional wayang kulit puppets as part of their efforts to educate the public in the traditional art form. There are others like Mohd Jufry who are introducing wayang kulit to younger audiences.

Locally, the award-winning Fusion Wayang Kulit, comprising Tintoy Chuo, and Teh Take Huat, have created wayang kulit puppets of pop culture characters from Star Wars, Batman and Japanese mecha (a genre of manga and anime that focuses on sci-fi mechanical innovation).

And there’s also eight-year-old Aqfierudzar Rizq Mohd Sulhie from Kota Baru, who was first introduced to wayang kulit when he was just three years old! In 2018, a video of his wayang kulit performance went viral, and he received offers to perform in Singapore.

Fusion Wayang Kulit co-founder Tintoy Chou has given a new twist to wayang kulit. Photo: The Star/Muhamad Shahril Rosli

Skilled puppeteer

A wayang kulit performance employs the principle of light and shadow to tell a story, often of good and evil. The Tok Dalang moves the puppets between a light and a white screen to bring the shadows to life.

He is the most essential person in a wayang kulit performance as it is he who not only manipulates the characters behind the screen but also narrates the story and voices all the different characters, male and female.

Sometimes, there could be up to 12 or 15 characters in a story, including Sri Rama (Prince Rama), Siti Dewi (Sita), Mahraja Rawana, and court jesters, Pak Dogol and Wang Long.

The musicians in the wayang kulit troupe are also essential as their music sets the mood for the different scenes.

It is important to educate the younger generation on wayang kulit, as part of Malaysia’s heritage. Photo: Sheela Chandran

Mohd Jufry says that he has adapted some of the stories for his wayang kulit performances to cater to the younger generation.

“The basis of the stories are the same, they follow the adventures of Sri Rama as he tries to rescue his consort, Sita, from his archrival Mahraja Rawana.

But if there are more children in the audience, for example, we’d add in more fun elements to cater to their age group.

We also try to modernise the stories to engage the audience, with the hope that they will learn to appreciate wayang kulit. It is my dream to popularise this traditional art form to a younger audience,” he says.

Mohd Jufry has also started duplicating his 133 wayang kulit Kelantan puppets. It is a painstaking process, no doubt. First, each puppet is traced; the templates are then photostated and assembled to its original size, measuring approximately 72cm height and 30cm in width.

He then traces the shapes onto a piece of goat hide and carefully cuts them. Next comes the detailing of the new puppet.

It takes about a week to create one wayang kulit character from scratch.

Mohd Jufry colours the puppets using acrylic paint. Once the paint has dried, he punches tiny holes using a chisel and mallet to create the outlines and textures of the character’s clothes.

Of course the process is much more complex as he also has to hinge the arms and legs of the puppets and attach sticks to the base and articulated limbs of the puppets.

All in all, it takes him about a week to create one wayang kulit puppet.

At the Wak Long Music and Arts Centre, which he started in 2002, Mohd Jufry holds classes to teach traditional music instruments and wayang kulit puppet making courses. Currently, he has 25 students under him.

“It’s nice to know that there is a handful of youth who are interested to learn wayang kulit and traditional instruments like gamelan, serunai and gong. I’ve even taught wayang kulit to students from New York and Britain. I wish to share my knowledge in wayang kulit with more people,” says Mohd Jufry who has trained all his five children in wayang kulit.