Ac a Nee landica, 14 (2017)
© Deb eceni Egye emi Kiadó
Ve a B i ig
Memo ies om Ja a:
E nő Zbo ay’s Collec ion a he Fe enc
Hopp Museum o Asia ic A s
Abs ac
E nő Zbo ay b ough a se o wayang golek puppe s along wi h o he objec s o Hunga y
om Wes Ja a in 1931. The collec ion was exhibi ed in he Fe enc Hopp Museum o
Asia ic A s in he same yea and ecei ed wide co e age in he con empo a y p ess.
Al hough he e a e some unanswe ed ques ions conce ning he exac o igin o hese
objec s, he collec ion is ela i ely well-documen ed. The eco ds o he 1931 exhibi ion
su i ed in he A chi es o he Fe enc Hopp Museum o Asia ic A s, p o ide a con ex
which enables o iew hese pieces o a no as me e i ems om a s ange wo ld bu as a
se o objec s ha ga e an insigh in o he adi ional hinking o he people o Ja a.
Keywo ds: museum collec ion, Ja a, wayang golek, E nő Zbo ay, Fe enc Hopp Museum
o Asia ic A s
Wayang hea e, he popula and spec acula a is ic adi ion om he la e
Du ch colony, he isle o Ja a, is ep esen ed in Hunga ian public
collec ions by he almos hund ed-piece puppe collec ion o E nő Zbo ay.
These puppe s ha e a his o y o mo e han eigh y yea s and highligh he
cul u e o his a away island in he Fe enc Hopp Museum in Budapes
om ime o ime.
E nő Zbo ay was bo n in Budapes in 1901. He le o Ja a in 1921
due o he di icul economic si ua ion in Hunga y whe e he had no
pe spec i es. The ci cums ances o his a el and a i al can be ead in
224 Ve a B i ig
Zbo ay’s own wo ds: his i s book published in 1924 desc ibes his “ad-
en u es”. His book does no only e oke his expe iences while a elling
and his i s imp essions on Ja a, bu also gi es an insigh in o some
ypical adi ions o Ja anese cul u e.
Zbo ay li ed on Ja a om he age o wen y and spen almos all o
his li e he e, he paid bu ew isi s o Hunga y and mo ed o he
Ne he lands only some yea s be o e he died. In he beginning, he wo ked
as a supe iso on a ubbe plan a ion bu la e he mo ed up he ca ee
ladde in he Ja anese colonies. He me his wi e wi h Ge man ances y on
he ship ha ook him o his i s isi a home in 1931. Thei h ee
child en we e all bo n in Wes Ja a. Today, descendan s o he amily li e
in he Ne he lands.
1
I is mos likely ha E nő Zbo ay acqui ed his Wes Ja anese
collec ion in he 1920s, while he puppe se a he end o his pe iod. His
collec ion was i s exhibi ed in Budapes in 1931, bu i was only la e , in
he middle o he 1960s ha Hunga y pu chased i om his widow. Due
o he museum egula ions o he e a, Zbo ay’s collec ion was di ided –
o so o say spli – in wo pa s: one “hal ” was deposed in he Indonesia
Collec ion o he Museum o E hnog aphy, Budapes , while he o he
“hal ” was assigned o a uni o he Fe enc Hopp Museum o Asia ic A s,
Budapes , called he India and Sou heas Asia Collec ion a ha ime. I is
now pa o he sepa a e Sou heas Asia Collec ion o he Hopp Museum.
The li e and he i age o E nő Zbo ay a e wo hy o conside a ion ou
o he ield o museology, oo: apa om he collec ion o objec s
su i ing in ou museums, his wo k as a w i e is signi ican . He w o e
h ee books, all o hem inspi ed by his Ja anese expe iences. He also
w o e nume ous a icles ha we e published egula ly in daily newspape s
and magazines om 1922 onwa ds. His w i ings a e mos ly o ligh s yle
and a e almos always based on pe sonal expe ience; al hough eade s can
pe cei e he images and e en s o a mos exo ic wo ld, ha o opical
Ja a, Zbo ay consciously sough o a oid emphasizing he “exo ic”, he
de ails biza e o he Eu opean eye. On he con a y, he s o e o
unde line he speci ic elemen s o local a s and cul u e e en i hey
some imes seemed as onishing o he Eu opean eade s; and in he ligh
o he gi en en i onmen and ci cums ances, o explain hem he o en
s ange and incomp ehensible phenomena belonging o he eal, e e yday
li e o a a away wo ld.
While he Hunga ian jou nals o he age many imes o e ed igh ul
s o ies and a el epo s abou hese e i o ies as en e ainmen (see o
Memo ies om Ja a 225
example he a icles o Is án Fa kas published in Nemze i Újság),
Zbo ay’s w i ings show his e o o desc ibe Ja anese li e as i is. I is no
su p ise ha his accoun s also compa e he di e en cul u es o he e
(Hunga y) and he e (Ja a), including he po ayal o some biza e
phenomena, bu his goal is no o as onish eade s bu o d aw a en ion o
he humo ous side o li e and he comic si ua ions de i ing om he lack
o local knowledge o a s ange a i ing in a a away land. Fo example,
in he chap e called T adi ions o he na i es, li e o he illage o his
second book published in 1936 he w i es he ollowing abou he
peculia i ies o e e yday li e in Ja a:
I is well-known ha all s a s unde he me idian ise and se a igh
angles o he ho izon and ha he cons ella ions Sou h and No h o he
me idian can be seen he o he way ound. […] This e e sed uni e se
seems as hough i has been aken o e by he na i es, since we can see i
all he ime ha he b own sons o Ja a do he opposi e in many cases o
wha he whi e child en o he Wes do. Fo example, he na i es si down
ou o espec and do no speak o Eu opeans wi h hei ha s o o he
sake o espec , oo. Men co e hei head all he ime, while women
a ely wea a shawl when going ou . […] Many hings happen ha a e
ound idiculous and wei d only a a supe icial glance. Behind many
s ange cus oms he e appea he adi ions o cen u ies which, in my
opinion, dese e ou espec as much as o he ci ilized peoples’ habi s.
2
Zbo ay’s collec ion kep in ou museums also e lec his in en ion o
ge ing he public acquain ed wi h ano he , a away land. The mos
impo an g oup o objec s o his collec ion is a se o wayang golek
puppe s accompanied by he musical ins umen s o a gamelan ensemble;
i is, mo eo e , complemen ed wi h some ex iles, a ms, and se e al
objec s made o coppe . Wi h espec o museum collec ions, i is no he
ou s anding quali y o a i y ha makes Zbo ay’s se o puppe s wo hy o
conside a ion, as he e a e se e al collec ions wi h equal o be e quali y
o example in Du ch museums. As Tibo Bod ogi pu i a he beginning
o he 1980s: i is i s de ailed documen a ion ha makes i unique, he
in en o y o he name o each puppe o he collec ion
3
. The basic
in o ma ion abou an objec (name, collec ion, pu chase, da e and place o
o igin, collec o , e c) is p e e ably known a he momen when he objec
en e s a museum collec ion. Howe e , in he p ac ice o museology he e
a e se e al objec s o smalle collec ions whe e his knowledge is only
sca cely o pa ially es ablished; ha is, hese objec s a e no iden i ied,
226 Ve a B i ig
hei age, o igin, and many imes unc ion a e no clea . Zbo ay’s se o
(wayang) puppe s a e aluable om his e y pe spec i e, as i is
ela i ely well-documen ed.
4
E en hough he e a e some unanswe ed
ques ions conce ning he o igin o hese objec s, he place o hei
ab ica ion, and he ci cums ances o hei collec ion, i is undoub ed ha
by he ime he se eached Hunga y, he names o each puppe and
cha ac e we e gi en. I was his p e iously collec ed in o ma ion oge he
wi h Zbo ay’s w i ings abou he opic ha p o ided he con ex o he
puppe s’ i s exhibi ion; he con ex which enabled o iew hem no as
me e i ems om a s ange wo ld bu as a se o objec s ha ga e an
insigh o isi o s in he adi ional hinking o Ja anese people.
The Ja anese wayang adi ion
The concep o wayang is known om he Indonesian islands, mainly
om Ja a and Bali. In Wes e n languages i is usually ansla ed as
shadow play, puppe show, shadow hea e, puppe y. These e ms a e
clea and de ini e o us; in gene al, puppe y e e s o he plays o
child en in ou minds. The exp ession wayang, howe e , is used in a a
b oade sense.
5
Wayang can e e o he play i sel , o he s o y on s age,
o e en o he puppe s.
Al hough he e is no doub ha he shadow play (wayang kuli ) is he
mos popula and – we can say – he mos spec acula e sion, he e exis
se e al o he ypes, oo. Fo example, e sions pe o med by dance s
(wayang o ang o wayang wong), p esen ed on olls (wayang bebe ) o
by la wooden puppe s (wayang kli ik, wayang k ucil). In he p esen
case, wha is called wayang golek e e s o plays pe o med by h ee-
dimensional wooden od puppe s. Al hough he di e en e sions can
appea anywhe e in Ja a, hey a e ypically connec ed o a ce ain
geog aphical a ea. Shadow play (wayang kuli ) o example is popula
mainly in Cen al and Eas e n Ja a, along he No he n sho es o Ja a,
and in Bali and Lombok, while wayang golek is well liked in Wes e n
Ja a; again, u he di e en ia ion o sub ypes is made in hese a eas.
Di e en ypes a e classed no only by he ma e ial o he puppe s bu by
he s o ies played, oo. The ea lies s o ies a e conside ed hose adap ing
he wo g ea Indian epics, Mahabha a a and Ramayana on s age;
6
hese
a e called pu wa o wayang pu wa s o ies. Thus, he shadow plays based
on he Indian epics a e called wayang kuli pu wa, while he same s o ies
Memo ies om Ja a 227
played wi h h ee-dimensional wooden od puppe s a e called wayang
golek pu wa. Zbo ay’s se o puppe s alls in o his la e ca ego y.
The e exis s o ies o igina ing om Eas e n Ja a ha we e c ea ed
du ing a ce ain pe iod, s o ies ha we e aken o e by he sp ead o
Islam, o ecen ly, Ch is ian wayang wi h se e al sub ypes, as well as
di e en e sions c ea ed by poli ical pu pose. The popula plays o Bali
and Lombok also de eloped along local adi ions o gain hei p esen
o ms. In ligh o he ea lies sou ces, i is clea ha wayang goes back o
an ancien adi ion. I s di e si y becomes isible by he me e lis ing o
he mos common e sions, no o men ion he di e en occasions and
celeb a ions when wayang is pe o med, he s ic o de o pe o mances,
and he i es and s ill li ing adi ions ela ed o hem. T adi ionally,
wayang hea e played an impo an ole in Ja anese cul u e: apa om
p o iding public en e ainmen on main e en s and hus, e lec ing cu en
p oblems, he s o ies pe o med helped main ain he my hs o he
popula ion.
Wayang hea e is basically he mu ual p oduc o se e al b anches o
a : one man, he puppe mas e , ha is, he dalang con ols hem o c ea e
a whole. Dalangs a e much espec ed among he Ja anese up o hese
days. Music is an in eg al pa o he pe o mance and is p o ided by he
gamelan o ches a. Musicians and occasionally he singe s a e also
conduc ed by he puppe ee who manipula es he puppe s, c ea es hei
oice, and na a es he s o y in one pe son. In conclusion, wayang is a
composi e gen e ha inco po a es di e en eligious adi ions and is
based on an elabo a e symbolism. Like E nő Zbo ay pu i in his w i ing
abou he symbolism o he accesso ies o he pe o mances in 1924:
“The e mus be some deepe sense in all his, o i i was simple pup-
pe y, i would no ha e su i ed he empes s o cen u ies unchanged.”
7
In 1931, E nő Zbo ay a i ed in Hunga y wi h a wayang golek se ha
ollowed Wes e n Ja anese adi ion and highligh ed local cul u e wi h i s
ich symbolism.
8
Zbo ay o e ed o exhibi his se o puppe s along wi h
o he objec s o his collec ion a he Fe enc Hopp Museum o Eas e n
Asia ic A s. Acco ding o he documen s o he ime,
9
he cu en di ec o
o he museum, Zol án Fel inczi Takács suppo ed he idea as he ound
he collec ion highly sui able o he pu pose o ep esen ing Indonesian
cul u e.
Young Zbo ay, who was only 30 yea s old a his ime, had al eady
published se e al a icles abou wayang in gene al. I is impo an o no e,
howe e , ha his w i ings basically discussed he shadow plays and no

228 Ve a B i ig
he h ee-dimensional golek ype. Wha is mo e, some a icles abou his
collec ion we e published be o e he exhibi ion. The exp ession wayang
was no new o he Hunga ian public back hen: i was no only hea e
jou nals ha desc ibed i in b ie e iews, bu Hunga ian a elogues also
men ioned i in daily newspape s o magazines.
In an issue o Vasá napi Újság in No embe 1897, Fe enc Reményi
epo ed abou his hea ical expe iences while a elling in Wes Ja a,
which desc ibed a wayang wong pe o mance. In addi ion o his, he
b ie ly p esen ed he di e en gen es o wayang as well.
10
In 1926, he
weekly newspape Színházi Éle published Kálmán Ung á y’s a icle
abou he wayang o ang dance pe o mance a he sul an’s cou in
Yogyaka a (Ja a) whe e he au ho li ed.
11
I is puppe hea e ha is highligh ed in he hea ical special issue o
Magya Ipa mű észe (Hunga ian Applied A s) in 1914, which p esen s
wayang as he Ja anese shadow hea e:
i is ha li le hea e in which la igu es cu ou o a single piece o
lea he play some s o ies o he Mahabha a a and he Ramayana accom-
panied by he sounds o a music so pain ully mono one, while hei
shadows a e cas on he whi e sc een.
12
In he six h issue o he same yea , Lo ánd O bók w i es he ollowing
abou he Ja anese gen e in his a icle abou puppe y:
The igu es mo e behind a s e ched clo h ha is li om behind, while
he pe o mance is accompanied by music and singing. This is he solu-
ion o cinema om h ee housand yea s ago!
13
In he Színésze i Lexikon (Lexicon o Ac ing) (1930), he exp ession
Ja anese wayang is men ioned a he en y o Shadow plays,
14
howe e ,
his gen e is discussed a leng h a Shadow hea e.
15
The wayang golek
e sion is men ioned as well a he en y o Puppe y.
16
A he ini ia ion o he Hunga ian a is s, Géza Bla ne and Dénes
Rónai, he e m wayang also appea ed in connec ion wi h he puppe
shows en i led Wayang Plays pe o med a Bel á osi Színház in 1919.
Ne e heless, only he i le was bo owed om Ja anese adi ion, while
he plays and puppe s hemsel es we e Eu opean.
17
The exp ession
wayang did no become widesp ead in Hunga y. The ques ion o wha i
migh mean was asked he mos cle e ly by F igyes Ka in hy, he
Memo ies om Ja a 229
enowned Hunga ian au ho and poe , who commen ed he Budapes
puppe shows o 1919 his way:
Wo ds will be ollowed by deeds. Who said i would do i . Who says
wayang, will say bayang. And he e will be someone who execu es i –
and he e will be, oh, will be someone who inally ells, explains,
elabo a es, disco e s, unco e s, whispe s, mani es s, announces, admi s,
un eils, p o es, and es ablishes wha on ea h his wayang is, publicised
on pos e s, and jus o wha and how?
18
The Wayang Plays o Bel á osi Színház did no go down e y well bu
mus ha e le a ma k in he public, as wo yea s la e in 1921, An al
Néme h w o e in Magya Helikon ha “we would like o see hem […]
es o ed.” In connec ion wi h he a o puppe y, he also ouched upon he
o iginal, Ja anese wayang and i s in luence on mode n Eu opean puppe
a .
19
Zbo ay’s collec ion and he eac ions o i s exhibi ion in con em-
po a y p ess
Due o hese e en s, a he ime when he i s exhibi ion o E nő Zbo ay’s
collec ion opened a he Fe enc Hopp Museum in Decembe 1931, he
isi o s could ha e been amilia wi h he exp ession wayang o some
ex en . Mo eo e , hey could ha e also known abou Zbo ay’s collec ion,
as he news abou i s a ed o sp ead in he middle o he yea .
The Pes e Lloyd exp essed i s app ecia ion o E nő Zbo ay’s collec-
ion a he end o June 1931.
20
The w i e o he a icle mos ly p aised his
consis en and sys ema ic wo k as a collec o who s i ed o comple ion,
which was e y a e in he wo ld o plan e s. Acco ding o he au ho , he
scien i ic alue o Zbo ay’s collec ion lied in his. Wha is mo e, he
objec s e lec ed he way o hinking o he Sundanese o Wes Ja a.
One o he Sunday issues o Nemze i Újság in July published an a icle
abou he collec ion en i led Ja anese museum in Logody S ee : Wayang
puppe s, Naga d agons, a comple e Gamelan o ches a, and o he exo ic
ma el in a house in Buda.
21
The w i e exp essed his g ea en husiasm
abou he Indonesian objec s o a and he collec o himsel , E nő
Zbo ay, who “had b ough wi h him an en i e museum” in which he mos
impo an piece was he wayang se , since “E e y objec is a ine piece o
a which e lec s he immeasu able cha m o a whole ancien cul u e.”
230 Ve a B i ig
Acco ding o he a icle, he collec ion ea u ed se e al sub ly ashioned,
cha ac e is ically Indonesian objec s and e en a h ee-me e long, s u ed
c ocodile.
By he ime o Augus , hese pape s (Pes e Lloyd, Nemze i Újság)
epo ed
22
ha on he basis o hei a icles, Du ch pape s go in e es ed in
Zbo ay’s excep ional collec ion: hei a icles no only p aised i s cul u al
his o ical and e hnog aphic alue, bu also discussed he possibili y o i s
exhibi ion in he Ne he lands. In he issue o 24 July o a newspape in
Ams e dam, Algemeen Handelsblad, an a icle
23
was published wi h he
i le “Eene Wajang-Ten oons elling e Boedapes ” abou he exhibi ion
planned o open a he Fe enc Hopp Museum in Oc obe . The e y same
a icle was published in he “A ” sec ion o he Su abaya-based (Eas
Ja a) newspape De Indische Cou an on 19 Augus .
24
In he hea ical weekly Délibáb, wo a icles by Ando Tiszay
discussed Zbo ay’s collec ion. His in e iew wi h Zbo ay who spen
many yea s in “one o he wo ld’s mos beau i ul and special islands, in
he home o e e nal summe ” was published in Oc obe wi h he i le
“Malay hea e”
25
, which p esen ed con empo a y Malay and Ba a ian
hea e. His o he a icle published in Decembe and en i led “Puppe
p ima donnas”
26
ocused en i ely on wayang. The au ho could no hide
his ascina ion abou wayang plays and Eas e n a as well.
In Magya Hí lap, an exhibi ion ease a icle was published on 16
Decembe en i led “P emie e o he Indian ma ione e hea e in
Budapes : The 2500 yea s old Mahabha a a epic is played by puppe -
ac o s”.
27
The jou nalis in oduced he cha ac e s o he wayang play as a
eal hea ical company be o e he e ealed ha he w o e abou puppe
igu es ca ed o wood. Mo e in o ma ion abou he exhibi ion i sel was
p o ided in he e iew o Edgá Pálóczi published in Műgyűj ő and
en i led Wayang.
28
He e we can ead ha “On he wall, he e hang in
soldie ly o de he gene als, wa io s, gods, mu ual women, he wise, and
he mino cha ac e s o wo puppe a mies eady o igh he g ea ba le
on s age.”
29
Apa om Pálóczi’s a icle, he e exis no o he desc ip ions
on how he exhibi ion looked like in i s inal o m. One o he issues o
Nemze i Magazin published in Janua y,
30
howe e , o e s some mo e
insigh , as i con ained a one-page pho o epo abou he exhibi ion. In
he A chi es o he Fe enc Hopp Museum, oo, he e emained a pho o in
he exhibi ion documen a ion
31
ha cap u ed he ins alla ion o he
exhibi ion. Basically, his pho o p o ides he mos de ailed in o ma ion on
Memo ies om Ja a 231
he inal ealiza ion, especially when compa ed wi h he lis s c ea ed o
he exhibi ion ha a e also kep in he documen a ion.
Zbo ay’s lis s and he exhibi ion in 1931
On he basis o he a icles, pho os, and he documen s kep in he
A chi es o he Fe enc Hopp Museum, he e eme ges an image o he
concep o he exhibi ion ha shows an e o o p esen no only pieces o
a aken ou o hei en i onmen , bu also he o iginal se ing and
unc ion o he wayang se .
Tha is o say, wi h p ope in e p e a ion, an 80-90-piece se o puppe s
does no “only” p o ide iewe s wi h an aes he ic and isual expe ience;
a se o such a wide ange o cha ac e s is no only capable o p esen ing
he ole o each o hem, bu also hei a i ude o, and ela ionship wi h
he o he s, especially i hey a e ins alled in he same way as hey would
look like in hei o iginal s age se ing. I he puppe s appea oge he as a
se , hey no only exp ess symbolic meaning ca ied by hei ea u es like
bulgy eyes and ed cheeks ha usually exp ess w a h and ange , bu
appea ing oge he hey also ep esen local s o ies, due o which iewe s
a e b ough close o an unknown wo ld. Mo eo e , i is impo an o no e
ha acqui ing a ull se o puppe s p esupposes a well hough -ou
in en ion o he collec o , as – conside ing i s size, o example – he
anspo a ion o such a la ge se o objec s is qui e di icul om Ja a o
Budapes .
E nő Zbo ay did no pa icipa e in he o ganisa ion o he exhibi ion, as
he e u ned o Ja a in au umn 1931. Thus, he exposi ion was cu a ed and
opened by Zol án Fel inczi Takács, di ec o o he museum on 20
Decembe 1931. The p esen a ion o he objec s, howe e , makes i clea
ha du ing he c ea ion o he exhibi ion, Zol án Fel inczi Takács
ollowed Zbo ay’s ins uc ions.
A he ime o i s i s exhibi ion in 1931, Zbo ay’s wayang golek se
consis ed o 85 h ee-dimensional wooden od puppe s and 33 la puppe s
made o lea he ha unc ioned as pa s o he scene y and s age
accesso ies; on he basis o he numbe s, i can be conside ed as a ull se .
32
As o hei s yle and ype, he puppe s unques ionably o igina e om
Wes Ja a, om Sundanese e i o y and he cha ac e s o he se a e
c ea ed o play he s o ies o he g ea Indian epics, Mahabha a a and
Ramayana. Thus, he se belongs o he wayang golek pu wa ype.
238 Ve a B i ig
P. Gy. 1931. ‘Indiai ma ione -színház bemu a ója – Budapes en: A 2500
é es Mahabha a a-éposz já sza ják le a báb-szín á sula al.’ Magya
Hí lap. 16.12.1931: 4.
Pálóczi, Edgá 1931. ‘Wayang.’ Műgyűj ő. 5.11-12: 251-252.
Pusz ai, Gábo & Te mo shuizen, Ge a d 2001. ‘E nő Zbo ay: Een Hon-
gaa op Ja a.’ Ac a Nee landica. 2001.1: 195-215.
Reményi, Fe encz 1897. ‘Nehány nap Já a szige én: Naplójegyze ek.’
Vasá napi Újság. 14.11.1897: 766-770.
Team Senawangi (ed.). 1990. ‚Gunungan’ Ensiklopedi Wayang Indone-
sia. Jaka a: Sek e a ia Nasional Pewayangan Indonesia (Senawangi),
II, 611-615.
Tiszay, Ando 1931. ‘Maláji színház.’ Délibáb. 5.41: 28-32.
Tiszay,Ando 1931. ‘Baba p imadonnák.’ Délibáb. 5.51-52: 14-17.
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