Wayang China-Jawa's Preservation Through the Recreation in Animation

Wacinwa or Wayang Cina Jawa is one of the artifacts that resemble the traditional Javanese shadow puppet’ show with traditional Chinese elements. Originally created by master Gwan Thwan Seng in 1937, this unique performance disappeared later after Soeharto’s New Order Regime triumphant in Indonesia in 1967. For many years some academics and shadow puppet’s artists have been trying to bring back this artefact and reintroduce it to younger generations nowadays. Unfortunately, because of the extinction of this kind of puppet show, the academics and the artists then also try to recreate and reconstruct it. This research also tries to recreate Wacinwa in animation, based on how the puppet moves after doing some research using qualitative research with reinterpretation and adaptation theory. What the research finds is that animation could bring back Wacinwa in a modern approach. Keywords: Wacinwa, animation, shadow puppet, cultural heritage