Bokir, always up for a laugh

Bokir, always up for a laugh

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Bokir is a trademark of laughter. Mention his name and most
people here would laugh, or smile at the least.

Interestingly, Bokir himself has no idea how is able to make
others laugh.

"I don't understand why people think I am funny. Guah kagak
bikin-bikin. Ada-ada ajah luh (I don't make it. You must be
joking)" said the 77-year-old Bokir in his Betawi (native
Jakartan) accent.

Most people know him as a lenong (Betawi humorous traditional
theater) artist. But, Bokir strongly rejected the label.

"I am not a lenong artist, I am a topeng artist," he asserted,
referring to another Betawi folk theater.

He said that lenong is supported by artists in central
Jakarta, while artists from the outskirts of the city play topeng
theater.

The artists from both places have different dialects although
they speak the same Betawi language. The genre in lenong is
action while that of topeng is drama.

Topeng means mask, but none of the players wear a mask. It is
called that because the play is accompanied by a gamelan
orchestra just like the one that accompanies the topeng
traditional dance from Cirebon, West Java.

Lenong is accompanied by gambang kromong orchestra, which,
unlike the gamelan orchestra, also uses string music instruments.

Bokir was born in Cisalak, Cimanggis, Bogor, West Java, on
July 12, 1925.

"My ID card says so, but frankly speaking, I don't know what
my real age is. People in the past didn't care about things like
that. I feel like I am 40, but my wrinkles don't lie," he
commented.

He lives in a plain old house within the Betawi community area
in Kampung Setu area, East Jakarta. The paint is dull while the
floor is covered by low-quality gray tiles.

Several chickens peck around in the spacious front yard, where
Bokir parks his three vehicles: an old green Toyota Kijang, an
old Willys jeep -- he still keeps it although it does not work --
and a truck, which is used to transport his topeng equipments.

There is no phone line in his home.

"I used to have one, but one of my sons used it too much and
the monthly bill reached over Rp 2 million, which I couldn't
afford," said Bokir.

Bokir learned about the Betawi traditional theater from his
father, Jiun, a respected Betawi artist who owned a popular
topeng theater group, Topeng Jiun.

"The group performed in almost every part of the city. They
did more than 20 performances each month," Bokir recalled.

Bokir has been around the theater since he was a baby. Which
goes along to explain why his dancing and acting ability seem so
natural. His first stage performance was a small role in a play
when he was only 10.

By the time he was 17, he became a topeng star with many fans,
mostly girls, who loved his jokes during the show.

In 1946, he married one of those fans, Ipon. He later married
his second wife, Ipis, in 1980. A few years with after Ipon
passed away in the early 1990s, he married Namah, who is half his
age. He has five children from his three wives.

He lives with his third wife and three of his five children.
Once in a while he visits Ipon who lives in Pondok Gede, East
Jakarta.

Jakartans started to become familiar with Bokir in the 1970s
when he played at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Art Center. The
TIM management appointed him -- not with his group -- and other
popular artists from various lenong and topeng groups here to
make a performance, which later became popular as lenong TIM.

People, therefore, mistakenly know him as a lenong artist.

Since then, he traveled around the country as well as to
Singapore and Malaysia to entertain the public. He has played in
several movies and television programs.

He also continues to develop his topeng group, Setia Warga,
which was formed by himself and his cousin, Nasir, in 1966.
The artists in the group are mostly their family members and
relatives.

Mandra, a comic actor-turned-producer, is one of his relatives
and was a member of the group before Mandra became popular for
his role in Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel, the Graduate) TV
serials. Popular comedians Omas and Mastur are also his
relatives.

Setia Warga still survives despite the slow demand to perform,
mostly at wedding parties or circumcision celebrations.

Up until the early 1980s, Setia Warga could perform 15 to 20
times in a month. Now, they would be lucky if they play four
times a month.

Bokir admitted that the competition is getting tougher as
there are many other Betawi traditional theater groups as well as
the modern entertainment such as layar tancep (a movie performed
on a large screen in an open space) or dangdut music group.

He said that a common Betawi theater group may charge about Rp
500,000 for one performance, while he asks for Rp 6 million.

"My group is the best and the most expensive topeng group
nowadays because it also offers various entertainment," he said.

To attract spectators during their eight-hour-performance,
Setia Warga hires a dangdut group and a dancing group to perform
in the middle of their show.

"We have to adapt with the times. Modern people loves music,
so we cater to them," said Bokir, who leads some 60 artists in
his group.

Bokir is concerned with the preservation of topeng theater, as
its popularity continues to decrease among Jakartans.

However, Bokir is optimistic that topeng theater would still
exist, at least for the next 20 years.

"All of my children are able to dance and to act. So do the
children of the other topeng players. What we need is the
opportunity to be on stage," said Bokir, who still performs in
his group and tells jokes on stage.

"Being known as the one who tells jokes in the topeng theater
is not always good, because people would think I am joking even
if I said something serious. However, I feel that it has become
my destiny. I will continue to make jokes until I die."