Jogjakarta - Central Java - Indonesia

Wayang kulit, or shadow puppets, are without a doubt the best known of the Indonesian wayang. Wayang is a Javanese word for particular kinds of theatre. When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang. Performances of shadow puppet theatre are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra in Java, and by gender wayang in Bali. Kulit means skin, and refers to the leather construction of the puppets that are carefully chiselled with very fine tools and supported with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.
Puppets images are projected on a taught linen screen with a coconut oil lamp or electric light. The Dalang -  shadow artist -  manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. The stories are usually drawn from the Hindu epics the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or from the Serat Menak.

UNESCO designated wayang kulit as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003. In return for the acknowledgment, UNESCO required Indonesians to preserve their heritage.