Giving a voice to those who pull the strings<\/p>\n
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Voices of the Puppet Masters: The Wayang Golek Theater of
\nIndonesia;
\nBy Mimi Herbert;
\nThe Lontar Foundation Indonesia and University of Hawaii Press,
\nHonolulu, 2002;
\n251 pp<\/p>\n
For some people, the word wayang alone conjures up the
\nintriguing atmosphere of a tropical night, with the tones of the
\ngamelan leading into the mystique of old-time myths and legends.
\nLit by an oil lamp, shadows of leather puppets come to life by
\nthe ingenuity of the puppet master.<\/p>\n
Witnessing a wayang performance, one may wonder what is real
\nand what is myth or legend, for are not the gods, the goddesses,
\nthe ogres and the fools that take position in the stories
\nrepresenting the human character in its manifold manifestations?<\/p>\n
Do we ever realize the key position of the dalang (puppet
\nmaster) in a wayang play? He is like a god who oversees the
\nuniverse of puppets, and cunningly operates them into the figures
\nthey represent. From beginning to end, for more than 10 hours,
\nthe dalang handles the puppets with both hands, imitating the
\nvoices of the different figures they represent. He is the
\nnarrator who is in control of everyone performing, including the
\nmusicians.<\/p>\n
Dalang then are people of many virtues, and Herbert selected
\nthem to have their say in a book on just one art form in this
\ntraditional story telling. Wayang golek, which is specific to the
\nWest Java region and dates back to the beginning of the great
\nmosque in Cirebon (1349), uses three-dimensional wooden puppets.<\/p>\n
The puppet masters come from environments where the tradition
\nof wayang is a living experience. Asep Sunandar Sunarya, whose
\nvirtuoso performances has made him the hero of the art form in
\nWest Java, looks back at his father and grandfather who were
\nwell-known puppet masters.<\/p>\n
Otong Rasa, who lives in Cimindi, a town on the western edge
\nof Bandung, followed in the footsteps of his father; Kamarudin
\nfrom Babakn Losari, some 30 kilometers east of Cirebon, comes
\nfrom a family where 22 generations were masters. Similarly, Aki
\nEyet is from a distinguished family of puppet masters from
\nCibiru, a village about 25 miles north of Bandung.<\/p>\n
But Endang Subrata was inspired by his great grandmother and
\ngrandmother who were ronggeng and tajuban dancers, while for
\nTizar Purbaya, who had been intrigued by wayang golek for a long
\ntime, it was his Swiss wife's suggestion that put him on the path
\nto \"dalangship\". Ahim from Ciampea on the outskirts of the city
\nof Bogor is actually a carver of wayang figures, but had been a
\npuppeteer in his younger days.<\/p>\n
For American Kathy Foley, who had a master's degree in
\ntheater, it was her doctoral thesis on wayang golek that led her
\ninto fascination of the art, so much so that she became a dalang,
\nand one who innovatively endeavors to move the complex
\nperformance structure of wayang golek into a western context.
\nFoley tells how she worked with the composer Dan Kelly to create
\na wayang based on a Native American story.<\/p>\n
She also asked the composer Lou Harrison to create pieces
\nsimilar to mood songs or traveling music in the wayang which do
\nnot have to be played in the set order. She said she treated
\npassages such as in Hamlet's soliloquy \"To be or not to be\" as a
\nmood in the way that a set text in old Javanese is treated.<\/p>\n
Based on five years intensive research in Indonesia by
\nHerbert, a sculptor-printmaker, theater activist and a scholar of
\nAsian art history, the book provides an enthralling entry into
\nthe ways of wayang golek, its place in the world of the wayang in
\nits manifold manifestations and the cultural rubbings that are
\ngiving rise to new innovative forms without losing any of its
\nbasic, universal content.<\/p>\n
In fact, Herbert is like the puppeteer of the book who allows
\nthe authentic voices of the puppet masters to come through in a
\ntext that blends the form of descriptive reporting with their
\nactual sayings.<\/p>\n
Letting each puppeteer tell a specific story of the wayang in
\na reader-friendly layout adds to attraction of the book, in which
\nthe 160 full-color photographs heighten the fascination that
\nmakes one wish for more.<\/p>",
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