I am a little unsure about how all the details work, but there is a ranking system to horn color in Indonesia. In wayang kulit, dark horn is fit only for crude creations and is usually seen on tourist pieces. Sometimes older ones with nicer work will be fitted with dark horn before being sold to tourists, and this is a sign that the puppet is a composite piece. The light horn is appropriate for well made wayang kulit, but there still seems to be a hierarchy. Important characters get pure blond, important characters with small roles may have mixed horn sticks of blond with a bit of dark, and minor characters such as the mother of an obscure king might have the dark horn handles.
Josh
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