Ardian Purwoseputro, Wayang Potehi of Java 布袋戏

Wayang Potehi, is a popular form of puppet theatre which comes from Southern Fujian province. The term potehi (in Mandarin : budai xi) literally means “glove puppet theatre”. No information is available about its historical development in Fujian. Xie Zhaozhi 谢肇淛 (1567-1624) in his Wu zazu 五杂俎 (“Five assorted offerings”, first ed. 1616, ed. Minguo 24, I. p. 213) alludes to the taste of Southern Chinese for “puppetry” (here called kuilei 傀儡, presumably a loanword, which can be traced back at le..