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."