Mask dance relies on sole survivor<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
A mask dancer was moving the entire body with valor and grace,
\nperforming Tari Gandrung, a traditional dance from Indramayu
\n(West Java) that portrays an infatuated bachelor.<\/p>\n
As the sonder (stole) around the dancer's shoulders rose and
\nfell under the deft command of the artist's nimble fingers and
\nkicking feet, the dance drifted into Sepak Sonder, a creation
\nrepresenting a warrior's elegance, courage and chivalry.<\/p>\n
The typical rhythms and quick movements were not the primary
\ncharms of the Indramayu mask dance that night. It was the dancer
\nbehind the mask of King Klana who was fascinating. At first
\nglance the audience must have mistaken the energetic dancer for
\nan athletic male, only to be surprised to see a granny with a
\nwrinkled face appear when she finally took off the mask.<\/p>\n
Despite the exhausting tempo of the dance steps, the dancer
\nmanaged to control her breathing with no sign of weariness, apart
\nfrom a little perspiration on the forehead, and regained her
\nvigor after fanning herself with her stole. Her name is Mimi
\nRasinah, 72, the only surviving Indramayu mask dancing
\nspecialist.<\/p>\n
Resembling the mask dance of Cirebon in movement, history and
\ngamelan accompaniment, the art she inherits was once forgotten by
\nthe public. Rasinah was then inspired to revive it, though
\ntoothless and with one of her eyes sightless -- forcing her to
\nuse false teeth to bite the mask from the inside.<\/p>\n
\"I had stopped dancing for over 20 years due to the lack of
\npublic interest in this art, until some fellow artists persuaded
\nme to resume dancing in 1994,\" she told The Jakarta Post in
\nYogyakarta recently.<\/p>\n
Rasinah, born in Indramayu on Feb. 20, 1930, thereafter set up
\na training workshop, Mulia Bhakti, along with several friends
\nfrom Indramayu and performers from Bandung's Indonesian Arts
\nCollege. After teaching dancing and gamelan accompaniment for
\nsome time, she earned local and central government awards, and
\nwas invited to perform in Japan and Europe.<\/p>\n
Learning dancing and gamelan from her father, Lastra, at
\nseven, Rasinah began her career as a mask dancer at 10. At this
\ntender age, she was already skilled in playing gamelan and
\nperforming Indramayu's eight mask dances.<\/p>\n
The process of learning these skills was tough, with several
\nonerous requirements to be fulfilled such as fasting in various
\nunusual ways, eating\/drinking and sleeping much less, and
\nvisiting sacred places for divine inspiration.<\/p>\n
\"To transfer his talents by supernatural means, my daddy used
\nto tread on my body harshly. It's indeed bizarre but I had to
\nundergo this ritual. A mask dancer must command not only dancing
\ntechniques but also spiritual knowledge,\" she said.<\/p>\n
As true mask dancers, Rasinah and her group performed from one
\ntown to another around Indramayu regency, making her a star. At
\n14, she got married to the troupe's drummer. But her fame and
\nfortune aroused the envy of her rivals.<\/p>\n
At the peak of her career, her eyes began to swell with pain,
\nbulging out like billiard balls. \"I was miserable and lost my
\neyesight for three months. No drugs could effect a cure. Then I
\nhad a dream that lead to my recovery,\" claimed Rasinah, who
\nbelieves she was the victim of black magic invoked by her rivals.<\/p>\n
By following the advice of what she describes as a very old
\nman in her dream, she applied crushed Baladewa leaves to her eyes
\nand one of them got better. Even today, she frequently wears dark
\nsunglasses to cover up the blind eye.<\/p>\n
\"I was accustomed to a poor life and had no difficulty in
\nquitting my job in the seventies. I then sold cake for a living
\nthrough the nineties. It's only recently that I got a house with
\nadequate furnishings through government assistance and overseas
\nshows,\" added Rasinah, who married twice and has one child and
\nfour grandchildren.<\/p>\n
The mask dance of Indramayu is said to have been created by
\nSunan Kalijaga, one of the propagators of Islam in Java. Familiar
\nto the local community in the past, this dance was seen as having
\nreligious value and even magical power capable of bringing luck
\nand other benefits.<\/p>\n
Dancers like Rasinah, though ordinary people in daily life,
\nwere also considered capable of harnessing benevolent forces
\nwhile staging shows, including healing the sick, blessing
\ntraders, babies and farmers, and speeding up marriages.<\/p>\n
As a mask dancing maestro, Rasinah, now back on stage and
\nteaching her art, still retains the esthetic qualities of her
\nheyday. Her appearance after a long absence is warmly to be
\nwelcomed, especially given that she is Indramayu's only surviving
\npractitioner of the art.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mask-dance-relies-on-sole-survivor-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}