Classic 'Ramayana' play a morale booster in crisis
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): Puppet masters are hoping performances of an episode from the classic Ramayana play will inspire the nation's leaders to seek the right answers to the social, political and economic turmoil besetting the nation.
A leather puppet wayang performance of Rama Tambak will be held at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta tonight.
Top puppet master Ki Manteb Sudharsono will command the lavish night-long show, open to the public at the Army Museum in the complex. He will be supported by 50 gamelan musicians and sinden (singers), an extravagant lineup for a leather puppet show.
Performances, jointly organized by the Indonesian Puppet- masters' Association (Pepadi) and the National Puppet Organization (Senawangi), will continue in Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya and Bandung.
Senior puppet master Ki Anom Suroto will hold a show in Surabaya tomorrow night and younger puppeteers -- Ki Purbo Asmoro, Ki Warseno Slenk, Ki Djoko Hadiwidjoyo, Ki Enthus Susmono, Ki Suryanto and Ki Wisno Warsito -- will perform in Surakarta on Feb. 20 and Feb. 21.
On Feb. 21, Ki Timbul Hadiprayitno will lead a performance in Yogyakarta and Asep Sunandar Sunarya will oversee a show in Bandung.
Senawangi's spokesman Solichin said in a meeting early this week that the shows were intended to enlighten leaders and all the nation. The two organizations also urged all parties to remain cool-headed in facing the difficulties.
"Rama Tambak is one of the most interesting and important episodes of the Ramayana epic," Solichin said. "It symbolizes a bold and wise leader Prabu (King) Rama as he faces a very critical condition."
A Rama Tambak puppet performance reportedly inspired President Soeharto to set up his political and economic strategies to save the country from chaos in the early New Order period of the 1960s.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave suggested all puppet masters in the nation should perform the Rama Tambak in the hope it would once again inspire the President and his subordinates to overcome the dilemmas.
During the puppet masters' national meeting last month, Joop promised that his ministry would provide financial and technical assistance for the performances. He planned to allocate funding of Rp 50 million to Rp 100 million.
Story
Rama Tambak is a war episode and is believed to have been written by Valmiki.
It tells of Rama, his beloved wife Shinta and his brother Laksamana, who live in exile. Rama, the crown prince of Ayodya kingdom, was forced to relinquish his birth right to his step- brother Bharata upon the request of Queen Kekayi, Rama's step- mother.
Rama, Shinta and Laksamana accepted their fates and lived in the forest of Dandaka. Hardship brought Rama and Shinta closer together, and cemented Laksamana's affection for his brother and sister-in-law.
Trouble appeared with the devilish king of Alengka, Rahwana, who is bent on marrying the beautiful Shinta. Rahwana engineered various dirty tricks, including sending his cunning friend Marica as a golden deer.
The deer mesmerizes Shinta, who later asks Rama and Laksamana to hunt the animal after it scampers deep into the forest. Rahwana uses this opportunity to kidnap the princess and fly her to Alengka.
Impassioned by his love for Shinta and a vow to defend his dignity, Rama immediately pledges to declare war against the giant Rahwana. The war symbolizes the battle between good and the evil.
According to Edi Sediywati, director general of culture at the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ramayana epic may have entered the country as oral and written literature from India between the 9th century and 10th century.
It has since been widely interpreted and mixed with the Javanese and Balinese literary and philosophical ideas. Diverse interpretations of Ramayana are also found in Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
Based on the modern Indonesian version of the Ramayana written by Herman Praktikto, Rama Tambak portrays Rama's effort to invade Alengka, which is separated by an ocean.
Several passages in Pratikto's book display Rama's courage and wisdom.
"A king must be honest, brave and firm, especially when he is in battle. He must show his ability to make a quick but rightful decision to win the combat and to save his countrymen," Rama tells his commanders.
"The emotional condition of the soldiers and the people would entirely depend on their leaders' manners."
Another statement attests to his courage.
"Don't be afraid to fail as long as we do all works sincerely. Later, we will draw valuable lessons from our own failure," said Rama.
Solichin said Rama Tambak detailed a situation similar to what the nation confronted today.
Puppet master Ki Manteb acknowledged he was anxious to perform Rama Tambak.
"I have never felt like this before in my 30 years in this profession. For this show, I have had to concentrate more and rehearse more than five times to be ready."