Cirebon is a unique geocultural site at northern coast of West Java. It consist various forms of Javanese culture with its own character, among which is the wayang puppet theatre with different interpretations to the Central Javanese versions. The mischevious depiction of Priest Dorna character of Mahabharata cycle for instance, that uniquely visualized compared to other puppets. There are several types of Dorna puppets, each with differentiated visualization. Wayang puppet’s visual aspect possesses symbolic meanings; as well visual differentiation reflects differentiation of those meaning. Generally, arts represent their society that creates them, so does Cirebon wayang puppet. Wayang artifact is the reflection of the creator’s ideology, within the whole frame of Cirebonese culture.
This dissertation focuses on the visual differentiation of several Dorna wayang puppets of Cirebon, the influential factors, and the true role of the character within the Cirebonese puppetry, related to the socio-cultural context. This is important as the Cirebonese puppet’s visual aspect represents the early phase of the puppetry in the Islamic era, and yet still considered as terra incognita within the academic circles. Dorna is a controversial character; a respected guru, and yet the Cirebonese version depicts him as an antagonist instead, so every related changes become significant and are deliberately done for certain purposes.
This qualitative research includes intra-aesthetic and extra-aesthetical aspects. The intraaesthetical aspects which include differentiated visual elements of various Dorna puppets are analysed using a modified Art Critics method. The extra-esthetical aspects include puppetry conventions, Cirebon local socio-cultural and historical, sociology of art, which are correlated to the intra-aesthetical analysis.
Those differentiations are influenced by historical factor which has implications to socio-cultural factors and influenced Cirebonese world of puppetry. This also shows individual expressions of the craftsmen, which emerges within “naturally collective” traditional arts. The analysis founds the meaning of Dorna’s role and its relationship with Cirebonese socio-historical context: symbol of foreign agent. But later the meaning differentiated, Dorna becomes military-priest, corrupt elite officials, and also a lowly nobody, which are inspired by local events and actual phenomenons that took place in the past.