[ 馬 來 西 亞 ]
- Malaysia -

Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with multiple Southeast Asian countries; therefore, Malay, Chinese and Indian cultural influences are often seen in everyday life. Its arts also incorporate diverse cultural traditions, so does puppet theatre. The most commonly seen traditional puppetry is wayang kulit, shadow theatre influenced by eighteenth-century Javanese and Siamese cultures. Wayang kulit can further be divided into four categories: wayang kelantan (also known as wayang siam), wayang gedek, wayang purwa and wayang melayu. Among the four, wayang kelantan is the most renowned which has its center in Kelantan in northern Malaysia and neighboring Thailand. Wayang kelantan originated in southern Thailand, and was later brought to Cambodia and Malaysia. The plays are mostly adapted from Indian epics to local languages. For instance, the Indian epic, Ramayana, is known as Hikayat Sri Rama in Malaysia, and is performed in Malay and the dialect of Kelantan.

Similar to Javanese tradition in Indonesia, master puppeteers are also called dalang in Malaysia. Hamzah bin Awang Amat (1940-2001) was the most famous dalang in Malaysia, and had immense contributions to the development of local shadow theatre. He inherited the puppeteering techniques, narrations, musical techniques and other traditional skills, while reforming and innovating traditional shadow theatres for contemporary audiences. Hamzah bin Awang Amat was also dedicated to passing on this cultural tradition, and had been cultivating talents, as well as cultural scholars and educators.

Besides wayang kelantan, the performance form, movements and languages of wayang gedek are deeply influenced by Thai cultures. Wayang gedek has its center in Kedah of northeastern Malaysia. Wayang purwa and wayang melayu are continuations of Javanese culture. The former is commonly seen in Johor of southeastern Malaysia, and the latter in Kelantan and Terengganu. Both have plays adapted from Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, or Javanese folk stories.