Classic 'Ramayana' play a morale booster in crisis

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."