Handicraft industry is one sector which is quite popular among the people of Java, particularly in the area of tourism. Indonesia has a wealth of cultural and handicraft products are very various manifold. Handicraft products are many kinds of material, one of which is the skin. With a leather base material, can be used as a decorative art that makes a creative craft, can be a fan, wall hangings, calligraphy and the most famous is for Wayang Kulit puppets.
Wayang Kulit Puppet exist only in Indonesia and became one of the crafts of pride for culture Wayang Kulit has been recognized and well-known in the world of origin in Indonesia. Wayang kulit puppet making requires precision and patience are very high. Mastery of the work of making these puppets requires willingness and tenacity higher learning. They should also have a sense of love stories of wayang kulit. Wayang Kulit are Kraton Yogyakarta heritage that must be preserved and maintained in order to become the identity of the city of Yogyakarta and the Indonesian State.
Handicraft industry of leather, both for the manufacture of wayang kulit puppets also for home decoration, calligraphy and so forth, the longer growing. Handicraft industry is already well known to foreign tourists. In the province of Yogyakarta Special Region, precisely in the village of Karangasem, Wukirsari village, Bantul, many handicraft centers of the skin. In this area, almost 80% of its citizens have a profession as a craftsman carving decoration.
The process of manufacture of Wayang Kulit Puppets can be developed into a tourist Attractions because it requires the stages of manufacture unique and exciting to be a travel experience knowledge for everyone. We can find out how a wayang kulit puppets are made from basic materials (cowhide, buffalo or goat) until it becomes an puppets. The process of preparing the base material of the leather, ranging from materials processing to be ready to be formed (carved) into a wayang kulit puppets.
The process of making wayang kulit puppets (leather using raw materials), the stages are as follows:
Purchase Basic Materials Leather
The first one is how to look for as the manufacture of wayang kulit puppets. The leather used for the manufacture of these puppets are of two kinds, namely the Raw Leather and Leather Split.
Raw leather which is used as a raw material without chemical processes such as derived from leather processing plants. Instead, Split Leather is the material basis of leather that has undergone a chemical process in the making. To wayang kulit puppets, usually made of skin of buffalo, cow or goat). Tempat di mana bisa membeli bahan baku dari wayang kulit adalah wilayah Magetan (Jawa Timur), Sukoharjo, Solo dan Magelang (Jawa Tengah).
Basic Materials Processing Leather
Soaked in water for one day until soft. Then expanded using a rope and a solid wood frame. Further dried under the sun until really dry. Leather that is dry, the hairs on the leather easily scraped off and removed by the remnants of meat or fat on easy also to be cleaned. This process uses a knife and hammer to be done slowly and carefully.
Depletion of leather, the inside (which no hair) is scraped off first so that a good leather quality. Only then scraped the outside, but it should not be too much so that later the results are not too thin and not easily broken. Actually, to the outside of it is just cleaning the feathers, it could also use water.
Actually there are ways that are easier to scrape, but the stages are reversed, ie before sun-dried, soaked in boiling water and lime water first. Scrape hairs on raw materials is made easy by using a knife afterwards. Scrape this is done in one direction, from top to bottom and should not be arbitrary, must be careful to be a good quality raw material. Followed by a disposable wipe the water again to clean up the remnants of the former scrapings and polished using sandpaper. The new final stretched and dried.
After drying, the leather base material coated with the base color to close the pores so it looks smooth. Then it begins the process of establishing puppet, by sketching the basic form of puppet that will be generated. In accordance sketches so, do the cutting with a carving tool until a puppet in the rough. Afterwards, ranging from puppet workmanship detail, such as the creation engraving face shape. This process is very important because it deals with the puppet characters to be created. The final form of this puppet called “putihan” because it has not given a color.
Putihan it is colored or painted using synthetic dyes and using glue. After the coloring process, puppet given support, when first using buffalo horn, but now it’s been used bamboo because it is cheap and readily available.
All the manufacturing process the original wayang kulit puppets are handmade and can be found in tourist Attractions in the province of Yogyakarta Special Region. The result can be bought as a souvenir and can also be made wall hangings.
