2026年6月15日、ガムランを買えない人形劇団は、口で鳴らすことにした。June 15, 2026 — Unable to afford a gamelan, the puppet troupe plays it by mouth.

In the village of Sukowidi, in the Kartoharjo district of Magetan Regency, East Java, Indonesia, there is a shadow-puppet troupe that owns no gamelan: Wayang Cangkem. Cangkem means "mouth" in Javanese. The troupe numbers eight, with one puppeteer, or dalang, two female singers, or sinden, and five men who reproduce the sounds of the gamelan with their mouths. There has never been money to buy the instruments, and some of the puppets are made from cardboard and carpet fabric. The leader is the puppeteer Suparlan. The troupe was formed in 2017, before the pandemic. Bookings increase during the Javanese month of Suro and in August, the month of Independence Day. The members otherwise earn their living selling bakso or tapioca drinks, and describe the performance fees as a supplement to the household budget. The regional outlet detikJatim reported it on June 15.