JP\/17\/PITLOK<\/p>\n
The highs and lows of a Sundanese wooden puppet maker<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Bandung<\/p>\n
The Sri Lankan couple and their son were impressed by the
\nskillful way in which Hedi carved a piece of albasis wood into
\nthe shape of a crown, and then a face with a sharp-pointed nose
\nbeneath it.
\n Hedi's workshop is located in a house in an alley called Japan
\nPengarang, right behind the Savoy Homann Hotel in Bandung. The
\nsecond story is a rough extension of the original building, as
\nthough the occupants suddenly ran out of room. Certainly, the
\nliving room is taken up with hundreds of wooden puppets: lined up
\non shelves, on the long dining table and in the glass cabinet.<\/p>\n
Although the family did not buy any of the puppets displayed,
\n52-year-old Tatang Haryana, the owner of the place, known as
\nPitaloka Gallery, was not in the least offended. Tatang has
\nfollowed in the footsteps of his father, one of the early makers
\nof wooden puppets in Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"I'm just happy someone has come here to have a look at the
\nwooden puppets -- which are the pride of the Sundanese -- and ask
\nso many questions about them,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
In the past, he said, visitors had been frequent but today
\nonly a few tourists made it to the workshop.<\/p>\n
Before the financial crisis hit the country in 1998, Tatang
\nhad 14 employees. Now, there is only Hedi.<\/p>\n
In that mixed-up year, Tatang -- who was at that time working
\nas a designer in a textile mill somewhere in the suburbs of
\nBandung -- made the decision to take up the work of his father,
\nAlun Ruchiyat Asmawijaya.<\/p>\n
\"I couldn't help but fall in love with the puppets. It would
\nbe a terrible shame if this tradition was forgotten,\" said
\nTatang, the fifth of Alun's 11 children.<\/p>\n
Pitaloka, established in 1956, enjoyed its heyday in the
\n1960s. Today, Tatang said, very few Sundanese people buy his
\nwooden puppets. Meanwhile, the export of these puppets to the
\nUnited States stopped following the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n
Alun Ruchiyat, formerly a comic strip illustrator at the
\nRegional Military Command of Siliwangi III, West Java, began to
\nshow an interest in making wooden puppets and then learned how to
\nmake them from Pak Soma, a local wooden puppet maker. When he had
\nmastered wooden puppet making, Alun set up Pitaloka Gallery.<\/p>\n
The fact that Pitaloka's puppets are two dimensional does not
\nhelp business. Today, three-dimensional puppets are more popular
\nas they are more human-like. They can \"smile\" and wear modern
\nclothes, for example. Several modern wooden puppets --
\nspecifically those modified by noted wooden puppet master in West
\nJava, Sunandar Sunarya of Kampung Jelekong, Ciparay -- can even
\nspit out instant noodles from their mouths.<\/p>\n
At Pitaloka, the wooden puppets are made in a conventional
\nway:<\/p>\n
The albasia wood, which is already very dry, is first cut into
\noval pieces. A small knife is used to carve out the features,
\nwhich takes two days. Another day is needed to carve the body.<\/p>\n
\"The face is the most difficult part to carve as we must carve
\nits features accurately while keeping in mind the character of
\nthe puppet. The slightest mistake results in the face expressing
\nthe traits of another character,\" said Hedi, who has worked with
\nTatang for seven years.<\/p>\n
After the puppet has been carved, it is sanded and then
\npainted with an anti-termite solution.<\/p>\n
Caulking and gold paint are later applied to cover any small
\nholes left on the surface of the wooden puppet. This process is
\nrepeated four times.<\/p>\n
\"As the surface of our wooden puppets is very smooth, many
\nforeign tourists think we use molded fiberglass. They are really
\namazed when they learn that the puppet is made entirely of wood,\"
\nTatang said.<\/p>\n
When the surface is perfect, the wooden puppet is painted in
\naccordance with its character. Then, the dress is prepared. The
\ncolor of the face, Tatang said, represents the main trait of the
\ncharacter, as depicted in either the Mahabharata or the Ramayana
\nepics.<\/p>\n
A wooden puppet depicting a knight and a truth defender like
\nBima and Arjuna, for example, are given blue faces. While
\ncharacters with quick tempers, such as Cepot, Rahwana or
\nDasamuka, have red faces. White is reserved for wise characters
\nlike Kresna and Dawala.<\/p>\n
Semar, the father of the servants of royalty in shadow and
\nwooden puppet shows, is unique in that he has a white face and a
\npitch black body. These colors, Tatang said, show that Semar is a
\nwise character with strong magical powers -- though he remains a
\nmodest person.<\/p>\n
Hard-to-sell items<\/p>\n
Alun's wooden puppets are noted for their fine craftsmanship
\nand their durability as they are made of perfectly dry albasia
\nwood. In the past, wooden puppet masters from Bandung and other
\nplaces in West Java bought Alun's puppets.<\/p>\n
In fact president Sukarno was a regular buyer of these puppets
\nbetween 1960 and 1965<\/p>\n
\"Pak Karno usually ordered one set of 76 characters to give as
\nsouvenirs to outgoing ambassadors,\" Tatang said.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the president, Pitaloka became known far and wide.
\nMost foreign tourists to Bandung would stop by the gallery to see
\nhow the puppets were made. In 1970, local travel agencies
\norganized gallery tours marketed at foreign tourists, Tatang
\nadded.<\/p>\n
In 1976, an Australian journalist working on an Indonesian
\nguidebook visited Pitaloka and later included it in his
\ndirectory. Two years later, Pitaloka was also included in a
\ntourist guide book for Germans.<\/p>\n
Foreign tourists are most interested in buying wooden puppets
\ndepicting the characters of Shinta, Hanoman and Rahwana. The
\nprice of a wooden puppet is dependent on its size. There are
\nseven sizes, ranging from 20 centimeters to 85 centimeters tall
\nand priced from Rp 25,000 to Rp 250,000 apiece.<\/p>\n
Besides selling wooden puppets, Pitaloka also sells wooden
\nmasks depicting the characters in shadow or wooden puppet shows.<\/p>\n
Each mask costs Rp 90,00. A complete set of wooden masks costs
\nbetween Rp 35 million and Rp 40 million.<\/p>\n
As many puppet masters make their own wooden puppets, the
\ntraditional wooden puppet business is struggling. Actually,
\nTatang said, up until 1998, the workshop could produce 60 sets of
\nwooden puppets a month.<\/p>\n
The slump in tourism here in recent years has also affected
\nthe puppet business.<\/p>\n
In an average month, only two small groups of tourists visit
\nthe gallery, Tatang said.<\/p>\n
Exporting the puppets is arranged by a broker in Bali. They
\nare sent to Australia and the U.S., but Tatang said he would only
\nsend a load once in six months at the most.<\/p>\n
To keep his business afloat, Tatang sells his puppets on
\nconsignment at star-rated hotels in Bandung.<\/p>\n
\"To survive, we also make traditional Sundanese houses in
\nminiature from bamboo. They are popular among Malaysian
\ntourists,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The local administration seems reluctant to lend a hand. The
\nsign directing visitors to Pitaloka Gallery is barely readable
\nand needs replacing.<\/p>\n
Pitaloka Gallery
\nJl. Pangarang Bawah IV No. 78\/17B
\nBandung.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp17pitlok-1447899208",
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