Abstract:

Mayadanawa documents the first ShadowLight's hallmark giant screen shadow production to be created in Bali. The idea of using shadow masks and multiple light sources was new to the island, and a radical departure from traditional Wayang Kulit. Thirty musicians and twenty dancers and shadowcasters from the village of Pengosekan, Ubud, brought the show to life for the 1996 Walter Spies Festival.

Mayadanawa tells a tale of a powerful demon, Mayadanawa, who demands that the Balinese people worship him only. He creates havoc among the people, who finally appeal to Indra, king of all gods, to chase him away. Each place Mayadanawa tries to hide from Indra becomes a famous spring or river or rock or village.