Wayang kulit, pigs and Islam
Zan Azlee, The Malaysian Insider
I remember many years ago, I directed a documentary film about Dollah Baju Merah, the last classically trained wayang kulit dalang in Malaysia from Kelantan.
He has since passed on and I was the last person to officially interview him and to document his last wayang kulit performance on camera.
What I remember most about the interview was how he tried to explain to me his relationship with his art using a pig analogy.
During an election year, he thought he was being religious by voting for a religious party (guess what party?), but it ended with him being ostracised for practicing his art.
“Those whom I voted for declared that wayang kulit is haram because it has non-Islamic roots. And whoever practices it is committing a sin,” he said.
“But let me explain to you about pigs. A pig is an animal created by God. The pig itself isn’t haram. It’s just an animal like any other animal in the world.
“The act of eating the pig is actually haram. Do not accuse the pig as being haram and neither should you accuse the person eating the pig. Do you understand what I mean?”
I didn’t really understand what Pak Dollah actually meant, but he was old and feeble, and I didn’t want to aggravate him so I nodded as if I understood.
It was only after the entire shoot was over and I was back in Kuala Lumpur supervising the post-production and listening back to the interview that I understood.
What Pak Dollah was really trying to say was that whatever action or deed a person does only has meaning based on the person’s intentions.
Wayang kulit may be an art that is steeped in Hindu culture (hence, “un-Islamic”), but it depends on how an individual practices it.
If one is a practicing Muslim and practices wayang kulit as an art to express himself, tell stories to entertain people and to comment on social issue, then what’s so wrong?
Pak Dollah’s wayang kulit shows were very popular because of his brilliant, humorous satire and social commentary that was filled with moral teachings.
