Puppet craftsmen turn to farming<\/p>\n
By Bambang Trisno<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Tracking down handicrafts around and about
\nthis ancient city, you will arrive in Gendeng village in the
\nBantul area, which has been well-known for its wayang or leather
\npuppet production for years.<\/p>\n
Located some 15 kilometers south of the city and three
\nkilometers further on from the ceramic center of Kasongan, the
\nvillage accommodates some 35 wayang puppet craftsmen. Many of
\nthem, however, can no longer maintain their present business due
\nto the sharp drop in demand they have experienced since 1997,
\nwhen the country was hit by economic crisis.<\/p>\n
Those that own land have returned to their previous profession
\nas farmers. While others have become manual laborers or are
\nworking for potters in Kasongan.<\/p>\n
\"I'm a lucky that my wife runs a business selling staple
\nfoodstuffs. However, it's not so big but we can rely on it,\" said
\nSuprih, one of the few surviving wayang craftsmen who is still
\nmanages to employ nine workers at his home.<\/p>\n
Other surviving craftsmen include Sagio, one of the most
\nsuccessful craftsmen in Gendeng, who started the village's puppet
\nmaking tradition in 1963. Before the economic crisis, he used to
\nemploy around 20 workers. That number is now down to between five
\nand seven.<\/p>\n
In fact, wayang puppet production in the village is at its
\nlowest level ever. The prolonged economic and political crisis
\nhas caused a dramatic drop in the numbers of foreign tourists
\nvisiting the country.<\/p>\n
Foreign tourists were once the main market for the puppets.
\nNow, however, orders from art galleries and workshops in Jakarta,
\nYogyakarta, Surakarta, Surabaya and Bali have reduced
\ndrastically.<\/p>\n
The prices of raw materials makes the business even harder to
\nmaintain. Buffalo leather, the best material for wayang puppets,
\nused to cost Rp 125,000 a sheet. It now sells for Rp 300,000.
\nGlue that was once only Rp 12,000 a pot is now Rp 60,000.<\/p>\n
\"I chose to switch to wooden crafts as I could no longer
\nafford to buy the raw materials for making wayang puppets,\"
\nformer wayang maker Wito Hadiprayitno said.<\/p>\n
Wito said that one-and-a-half years ago, and with a starting
\ncapital of Rp 5 million -- about one-third of the capital he
\nneeded to produce wayang puppets -- he began to make wooden
\nmasks, wooden puppets and children's toys known locally as dacon.
\nNow he employs six people and is managing to pay his bank loan
\nback smoothly.<\/p>\n
\"Marketing wooden handicrafts is much easier than marketing
\nwayang puppets,\" Wito said, adding to the reasons why he chose
\nhis current line of business. Moreover, the skills needed to do
\nthis job are not very different from the ones needed in the
\nprevious one.<\/p>\n
Wito is not the only one. According to him, about one-third of
\nthose who previously produced puppets now make the same
\nhandicrafts as he does.<\/p>\n
The history of puppetmaking in Gendeng began in the 1950s,
\nwhen a servant from the Yogyakarta Palace named Budhu married a
\ngirl from Gendeng and initiated the art to the village. He chose
\nto live in the village and began teaching his skills to other
\nresidents, especially younger ones.<\/p>\n
One of Budhu's students, Pudjowinoto, was acknowledged as a
\nprominent wayang puppet maker in Yogyakarta in the 1950s. Pudjo
\nwas at first forbidden by his parents to produce leather puppets,
\nsince they thought that doing so would not bring in enough money
\nto live. Yet Pudjo's determination proved his parents wrong.
\nSagio, the most successful craftsmen in Gendeng today, was one of
\nPudjo's students.<\/p>\n
The superiority of the puppets made in Gendeng lies in the
\nfinesse of their carving and coloring. The touch of a fine carver
\ncan be seen in the thin section between the puppet's body and the
\npart that a craftsman leaves. The more skillful the artist, the
\nthinner that section will be.<\/p>\n
Gendeng puppets also undergo an intricate carving process.
\nGendeng puppet makers never mass produce their products. By
\nworking a puppet individually the quality of the carving is
\nguaranteed.<\/p>\n
This explains why different craftsmen carve and paint -- both
\nrequire specialization. \"We rarely find anyone who can do both
\nthe carving and painting,\" Suratman, a painter at Sagio's
\nworkshop said.<\/p>\n
Suratman, who has been working for Sagio since 1994, receives
\nRp 100,000 to paint a puppet. He usually earns a monthly wage of
\nbetween Rp 150,000 and Rp 250,000 depending on how many orders
\nthere are.<\/p>\n
The prices of Gendeng wayang puppets vary, mostly with the
\nsize. A 20-centimeter tall puppet, for example, is sold for about
\nRp 75,000. A 60-centimeter tall gunungan (mountain-like figure
\nsymbolizing the universe) is sold for Rp 1.5 million.<\/p>",
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