Book depicts Javanese puppet world

Leather Gods and Wooden Heroes: Java's Classical Wayang

By David Irvine

Times Editions, Singapore, 1996,

360 pp

Rp 175,000

JAKARTA (JP): For newcomers to this country who know little, if anything, about traditional cultures, David Irvine's book is a good place to start learning.

The book focuses on Java's classical wayang purwa. For the uninitiated, this is the fascinating world of traditional Javanese theater.

Written in English, this publication explains clearly everything from Java's Pre-Hindu Civilization to a wayang purwa performance.

Wayang purwa means original theater or original stories (or traditional drama and puppet plays) which are inherited from the Hindu-Islamic culture of thousands of years ago. They are performed in various ways, such as wayang wong (dance drama); wayang golek (doll puppet) and wayang kulit (leather puppet).

The wayang stories stem from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, but are adapted to the indigenous culture, serving as media for ethical and aesthetical expression.

As the author states in the introduction, wayang purwa combines religion, mysticism, folklore, history, literature, philosophy, music, dance, and social and political comment. It contains high drama, subtle wordplay and low comedy. Wayang is entertainment, yet it provides guidance for Javanese in the personal search for fulfillment, which involves achieving harmony between the soul and outward behavior.

In Leather Gods and Wooden Heroes the term wayang purwa is used to describe the four oldest cycles of stories, or lakons, drawn from 'the origins', from "Javanese pre-history and folklore; Indian post-Vedic literature and Javanese creativity and inventiveness" over many centuries. Some readers may be familiar with at least two of the epics - the Ramayana and the Mahabharata cycles.

The first cycle of wayang purwa is the 'prehistory' or Jawa Dewa (Gods of Java) stories. Refined over the centuries and absorbing many Hindu influences, the seven surviving lakons continue to be performed on occasions traditionally requiring ritual purifications, propitiation of the gods and prayers for fertility.

Lakons with the Goddess of Rice and the Harvest, Dewi Sri, are still occasionally performed in villages of Central and East Java as invocations for the fertility of the land.

The birth of the ancient Javanese God of Darkness and Destruction, 'hinduised' as Bathara Kala, is told in the lakon entitled Murwakala ('The Birth of Kala'). It is performed as a traditional exorcism ritual - usually to protect children. Some lakons from other cycles are also performed to mark special occasions, such as births, circumcisions and weddings.

The book is written in simplistic style and is designed to keep the audience's interest. It is divided into four sections for ease of reference.

Part one discusses the development, art forms and themes of Wayang Purwa. Part two comprises the principle Wayang characters; part three is a simplified guide to the characters and their alternative names; and part four is a simplified glossary of Javanese and Indonesian terms relevant to a trip into Java's classical Wayang.

Footnotes at the end of each chapter also assist in defining terms and explaining some of the fables in more detail.

From the moment you set eyes on the wonderful photographs (taken by John Midgely and Jakarta photographer Tara Sosrowardoyo) and sketches (by Sugiri), you will be engrossed in the world of Wayang.

Epic stories of Wayang Purwa include those which relate the exploits of the original Javanese gods and legendary heroes. Ogres and giants battle against the gods - evil versus good. You will be amazed at the goriness contained in some of the tales, (there seems to be a lot of murder and suicide in these puppet shows), yet you will still be drawn to stories such as the one about Ngruna and Ngruni, two fairy nymphs who were married to the Sun God, Bathara Surya.

Surya provided them each with an egg to hatch. Ngruna's egg hatched into two Garuda birds (a Garuda is a mythical beast - half man and half bird), the bald headed eagle, Sempati, and the vulture, Jatayu. Ngruni's egg hatched into a serpent. Squabbles developed between the children, souring the relationship between the wives.

Ngruna cursed Ngruni, turning her into an ogress, who then went to Bathara Wisnu for help. Heaven was under attack from a giant king (Sengkan Turunan) at the time, so Wisnu turned Ngruni's misfortune to Heaven's advantage. Ngruni was told the curse could be lifted if she could save Heaven. Guided by Wisnu, Ngruni kidnapped Sengkan's daughter, Jatawati, while the Garuda Jatayu created a diversionary attack on Sengkan's armies. The plan was successful and Heaven was saved. Jatawati was married to Jatayu and Ngruin was restored to her former beauty.

Perhaps you would enjoy the fables about giants, demons and ogres (raksasa). It is revealed the raksasa puppet is usually ugly, red-faced and grotesque in shape, symbolizing the fiery temper and uncontrollable lusts of the creatures.

Not all raksasa characters are inherently evil. Bagawan Bagaspati was a sage who was born in a giant form and who sacrificed his life for his daughters happiness.

Plots of wayang include: the human sacrifice; the maiden in love; the mischief in disguise (which can often be hilarious); revenge; the kidnapped wife or daughter; the quest for missing parents and the quest of the Supernatural, among others. A typical wayang performance may commence at 9 p.m., and continue until 4 a.m.

The author says wayang characters mirror the infinite variety of human personality traits, yet still serve as both positive and negative role models for a majority of Javanese.

Leather Gods and Wooden Heroes is sure to captivate and entertain readers, satisfying their curiosity about the fascinating art form. It may also prove valuable to Javanese people, as it documents an important part of their traditional culture, which hopefully, will not be lost in the future.

-- Jodie Munro