Document Type : Primary Research paper
Linguistics Department, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
State of Administration Science, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara, Indonesia
Anthropology Education, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
Music Education, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
This research is aimed at analyzed the meaning and symbols in the equipments used in wayang kulit performance by using the theory from Peirce. The data of this research are taken from the Javanese wayang kulit performance presented by Satrio Piningit Pujakesuma Sumatera Utara. This study is focused in the equipments used in wayang kulit performance and then analyzing the signs in semiotics with the meaning of each equipment. The writer concluded if there are (55%) equipments of icon, (25%) equipments of index, and (20%) equipments of symbol. In puppets, the dominant data is as much as icon (83%), because puppets are representations of human character, as for symbols (10%) and icons & symbols (7%). The music tools is dominant of index (75%), symbol (25%), and there are no icon found. While the display tools is dominant by symbol (100%), and there are no icon and index. The dhalang (puppeteer) realized the using of equipments in wayang kulit performance by doing some rituals and used the puppets as the symbols to express about human characters. This research is related to the academic study of how signs and symbols create meaning. Many symbols employed in the wayangkulit performance is not mentioned directly to the audiences.