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Since the 1980s Asep Sunandar Sunarya has been recognized as the most innovative and influential dalang (puppet master) of Sundanese wayang golek purwa rod puppetry of West Java, Indonesia. The Sunarya clan, Giriharja-which includes his father, Dalang Abeng Sunarya; Asep and his brother Ade; his son Dadan; and Asep's other students-such as Opik, Riswa, and Rachmat have dominated the art for more than two generations.
Sundanese Dalang Asep Sunandar Sunarya (5 September 1955- 31 March 2014) was a performer who could regularly draw audiences of more than three thousand per performance, and his work has been reflected in studies by Foley (1979), Weintraub (2001a, 2001b, 2004), Nalan (2013), and Andrieu (2014). (See Plates 2 and 3.) As a creative artist he expanded the already dynamic style of Giri Harja 1 ("Mountain of Prosperity") developed by his father, Dalang Abeng (Abah) Sunarya (1920-1988) (see Foley 2001). Dalang Asep first was overshadowed his elder sibling Dalang Ade Kosasih Sunarya (1948-2007), but by the mid 1980s surpassed this brother to become the most prominent "superstar" puppeteer in the Sundanese-language region of West Java. He carried wayang golek purwa (rod puppetry telling Ramayana and Mahabharata stories) to new heights. Known at the regional, national, and international levels, Dalang Asep impacted Sundanese performance style, the recording industry, television, and digital media.
His childhood name was Asep Sukana. He was born to Abeng Sunarya and Tjutjun Jubaedah (Amba Cucu) in the village of Jelekong south of Bandung, the capital of West Java. He was the third child of thirteen. His father was the son of Dalang Johari, a prominent puppet master of the pre-World War II era. Dalang Abeng emerged as the top "box office" dalang of the 1960s-1970s, and five of his sons became puppeteers with their own groups: Ade Kosasih (Giri Hardja 2), Asep Sunandar (Giri Hardja 3), Ugan Sunagar (Giri Hardja 4), Iden Subasrana (Giri Harja 5), and Agus Supangkat (Giri Hardja 6). Dalang Agus shifted from puppetry to Islamic preaching and guidance by the 1990s. Today, Dalang Iden Subasrana in the only son of Dalang Abeng still performing, though Abeng's grandsons and great-grandsons are currently emerging as significant dalang.
After graduation from middle school, Asep began in 1968 following the troupe of his father as a...