Batuan children create beautiful puppets<\/p>\n
By I Wayan Juniarta<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): A tiny room in the Puaya hamlet, Batuan
\nvillage, 15 kilometers east of Denpasar, where children learn to
\nmake beautiful wayang kulit (leather puppets), was virtually
\nempty.<\/p>\n
Where are the children? There were only six wooden blocks, a
\nnumber of small carving tools, numerous half-finished puppets
\nhanging upside-down from the ceiling and some puppets laying on
\nthe cement floor.<\/p>\n
\"They went home for lunch and have not yet returned. Well, we
\nare still in the festive mood of Galungan and Kuningan (two
\nimportant celebrations for Balinese Hindu),\" explained the bare-
\nchested and smiling Ketut Daweg at his workshop.<\/p>\n
It was 2 p.m., and the scorching sun was almost unbearable.
\nYet, the workshop was quite cool. Daweg sat cross-legged on an
\nold green rug, focused on an unfinished wayang.<\/p>\n
\"Working with children is full of surprises. You have to be
\nable to arouse their curiosity, otherwise they lose interest in
\ntheir work,\" Ketut lamented.<\/p>\n
For the past three years, Daweg has been meticulously teaching
\nthe village children how to creating elaborate leather puppets, a
\nskill he inherited from his late father, a noted puppet master.<\/p>\n
It all started when a boy knocked on his door and asked him to
\nteach him to make puppets.<\/p>\n
When Daweg agreed, to his surprise, the boy came to his
\nworkshop with some of his pals.<\/p>\n
\"At that time, I realized that I had found a way to transfer
\nmy skill and knowledge to these children. I didn't want to expect
\ntoo much, but I believed that this was also a way to preserve one
\nof our precious cultural heritages,\" Daweg said.<\/p>\n
Daweg set up his training as an apprenticeship program. He
\nteaches the needy children and at the same time he encourages
\nthem to work with him.<\/p>\n
He pays the children based on their skills and capability.<\/p>\n
Daweg emphasized that money was just a way to enhance the
\nchildren's enthusiasm, to encourage them to work hard and to
\nmaster the art of making puppets.<\/p>\n
\"A skilled child can earn between Rp 15,000 and Rp 20,000 for
\neach wayang. It usually takes three days for a child to finish
\none wayang,\" Daweg said.<\/p>\n
He said it usually takes about six months to a year for a boy
\nto master the art of carving wayang. But, each child is
\ndifferent. He said there was one boy who has been learning and
\nworking with him for more than a year but still could not fully
\nmaster the art.<\/p>\n
\"I have never become angry or reprimanded him. Harsh words
\nwill only discourage children from the puppet-making art,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Up to now, dozens of children in the village have joined the
\nprogram. Most of them are boys, but some girls have also joined,
\nincluding Daweg's two oldest daughters.<\/p>\n
When the crisis hit Indonesia and the demand for leather
\npuppet was quite low, with just four to five orders a month,
\nDaweg was creative enough to teach the children to make
\ntraditional dance costumes, just to keep them busy.<\/p>\n
Daweg, 52, was born into a talented family. He recalled that
\nhis father, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather were
\nrespected dalang (traditional shadow puppet masters), and famous
\npuppetmakers.<\/p>\n
\"I learned the art of carving wayang when I was 7 or 8 years
\nold. And I did it because I loved it, not because I was a son of
\na famous puppet master,\" he reminisced.<\/p>\n
Yet, he was never interested in becoming a puppet master until
\na strange phenomenon happened a few years after the death of his
\nfather. Daweg suddenly found that he could not concentrate on
\nanything. He lost his motivation and ultimate goals in life.<\/p>\n
Not until he studied under the famous dalang, Wayan Narta of
\nSukawati, and Bapa Sidja of Bona, and then performed for the
\nfirst time at his village's temple that the strange feeling
\nfinally disappeared.<\/p>\n
\"Sometimes you just cannot fight your own destiny,\" he
\nconcluded.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/batuan-children-create-beautiful-puppets-1447893297",
"image": ""
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