Tempest over tradition in take on shadow plays<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Ahmad Solikhan<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Halogen spotlights bathe the stage of the
\nshadow play in dark violet light. Four dancers cavort seductively
\nas gamelan music plays in the background.<\/p>\n
More befitting a disco, the scene breaks the staid rules of
\nclassic wayang performances.<\/p>\n
The creator of this performance, 71-year-old Sukasman, insists
\nthat this is traditional wayang -- performed by actors and
\npuppets -- merely brought up to date.<\/p>\n
Many would disagree with him.<\/p>\n
Most Javanese artists consider the wayang to be an
\naccomplished art, meaning it cannot be improved upon.<\/p>\n
Sukasman is out to destroy this belief.<\/p>\n
He is changing virtually every aspect of a performance: the
\nform, story line, even the duration.<\/p>\n
Sukasman calls his art wayang ukur, meaning a puppet measured
\nto adapt to real human anatomy.<\/p>\n
The shape of the puppets, formerly flat and disproportionate,
\nis modified to reflect reality. For example, men and gods now
\nbear muscle curves.<\/p>\n
Werkudoro, a character traditionally depicted with calves,
\nfoot soles, bowed head and a pug nose, has received a make-over
\nto look more human.<\/p>\n
Even the props have not escaped Sukasman's attention. Plain
\nmounds are now adorned with trees and plenty of twigs.<\/p>\n
The story line has undergone revisions. Classical tales are
\nbased on Mahabarata and Ramayana epics from India.<\/p>\n
Sukasman provides a more contemporary context and does not
\nhesitate to drop characters whose presence is superfluous.<\/p>\n
He limits himself to figures in accordance with the stories.<\/p>\n
\"I do not want lofty stories that go into the air. They should
\nbe close to reality,\" said the graduate of the Indonesian Fine
\nArts Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The story of Betari Durga (Giant Princess) is a prime
\nillustration of how far he will go to bring a contemporary sheen
\nto the works.<\/p>\n
In the classical play, the princess is described as a person
\nwith an ugly face and despicable behavior, who befriends genies
\nand ghosts, and was cursed by the gods.<\/p>\n
Sukasman literally turns the role on its head.<\/p>\n
In his version, the princess is depicted as an angel named
\nDewi Uma whom Betara Guru wanted to violate. Dewi Uma rejected
\nBetara Guru, scorning him as a dog. Betara Guru responded by
\ncursing Dewi Uma and turning her into a giant princess.<\/p>\n
\"The one with a bad disposition is not Betari Durga but Betari
\nGuru,\" Sukasman says. \"I adapted the story to describe the
\ncurrent situation in which more women become victims of men's
\nlust.\"<\/p>\n
Sukasman has also shortened the performance length. Instead of
\nan all-night show of up to 10 hours, his show is an hour long.<\/p>\n
\"Time has become increasingly precious. People don't have much
\ntime. A night-long performance can be torturing to spectators. It
\nis the contents that count, not the duration.\"<\/p>\n
A lifelong bachelor, Sukasman has been perfecting his art for
\n39 years. He does not see it as a work to be conserved, but as a
\nproduct that can respond to present needs.<\/p>\n
He feels people come to see the plays for entertainment value.
\nHe makes the shapes of the puppets more beautiful, changes the
\nstage and renders each performance more lively and colorful.<\/p>\n
To support this ambience, he does not hesitate to place two
\ndalang (narrator-cum-puppeteer) in front of and behind the kelir
\n(screen).<\/p>\n
Lighting, consisting of 70 halogen lamps of different colors,
\nis handled by three or four professionals. The lights create
\nsharper outlines of the characters.<\/p>\n
Many senior artists have criticized Sukasman's revolutionary
\nchanges.<\/p>\n
\"Sukasman has destroyed a noble art,\" said Ki Timbul Hadi
\nPrayitno, 78, a prominent dalang of Bantul, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
For Ki Timbul, classical wayang is a cultural work that must
\nbe close to its source. Its originality should be maintained.<\/p>\n
The works, Ki Timbul said, were made at great pains by
\nforebears as they adopted Islam. \"Therefore, I'm afraid that the
\nchanges made by Sukasman will destroy the originality of the
\nwayang,\" said Ki Timbul, who commands a fee of Rp 12.5 million
\nfor a performance.<\/p>\n
He charges Sukasman has overstepped boundaries by changing
\nshapes of characters.<\/p>\n
\"The shapes were created in accordance with the characters and
\nfigures. They were not made arbitrarily.\"<\/p>\n
Despite the criticism, Sukasman continues with his work.<\/p>\n
For him, the form and story of the plays changes gradually.<\/p>\n
He says that Sunan Kalijaga used the art form as a medium to
\npropagate Islam.<\/p>\n
\"Sunan Kalijaga's leather puppets were different from the ones
\nof the classical wayang. Their anatomy was closer to that of the
\nhuman anatomy. But because their forms were awkward, I have
\ncontinued to modify them to bring them closer to the human
\nanatomy.\"<\/p>\n
Sukasman says he will continue to modify wayang figures to
\nmake them as close as possible to ideal shapes. \"I will never
\nstop.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tempest-over-tradition-in-take-on-shadow-plays-1447893297",
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