Shadow puppets can be performed during the day and at night. The daytime play usually accompanies a ritual in a direct way, while the nighttime show is performed as part of a ritual as well as public entertainment. A puppet master or puppeteer plays shadow puppets from behind a screen. A 'blencong', or light of a flame ignited from coconut oil, is used to cast the shadow of the puppets. The quivering flame makes the shadow of the puppet jump alive. In Java, the coconut oil light has now sadly been replaced by electric lamps, a phenomenon that is now also occurring on Bali. During the show, two assistants aid the puppeteer by providing him (as the puppeteer is rarely a 'her') with his required puppets. Fragments of the Indian epics 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata' are popularly played out as themes for the shadow puppets.
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