Museum Wayang, Jakarta Overview

Museum Wayang or Puppet Museum is a magnificent display of the Javan Wayang form of puppetry, exhibiting a huge collection of the classic flat wooden puppets. Situated opposite the Fatahillah Sqaure, this unique museum displays puppets portraying characters from across Indonesia, China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Europe, housed within its vintage cabinets. During the weekends, they have grand performances on interesting themes.

Built in the early-1900s, the building that houses the Wayang Museum is itself a heritage structure. At first glance, some of the puppets displayed at the museum might seem innocent, colourful and delicate works of art while some might seem slightly frightening. Nonetheless, all the puppets exhibited at the museum represent the characters that come from the culture and traditions of Indonesia. A visit to this attraction is recommended for art lovers.

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Things to Do

Wayang Museum has an impressive collection of wooden puppets coming from Indonesia and some parts of the world too. Here, visitors can get some insights into puppet theatre, its cultural heritage and history in the city.
The major collections one can explore here belong to Javanese Wayang Kulit, which are puppets made for shadow shows and Sudanese Wayang Golek which are 3-dimensional puppets operated with the help of sticks and rods. Some music instruments which are traditionally used to add background music are also a part of the exhibits here.
If one is lucky, they might come across a workshop or an event at Wayang Museum. Visitors can learn the art of wayang-making (puppet-making) in one of these workshops or experience the traditional Javanese storytelling through puppet theatre. These events are usually free of cost.