Cultures come together in Cirebon ceramics

Cirebon ceramics, examples of which are currently on display at Bentara Budaya Jakarta in Central Jakarta, are most often associated with Sitiwinangun village in Klangenan subdistrict. The pottery, like other folk art forms from the area, attests to the unique cultural syncretism of the region. Bentara Budaya curator Ipong Purnama Sidhi examines the tradition, and the thoroughly modern boost the art has received in recent years.

JAKARTA (JP): Cirebon straddles two dominant major cultural streams -- those of Sunda and Central Java -- creating a syncretic blend found nowhere else on the island of Java. The two major influences have led to a process of acculturation responsible for the emergence of an art which can rightfully be called peculiarly Cirebonese.

As Cirebon proper is located in the borderlands of the Jawi- Pasundan traditional spheres, it has absorbed cultural elements pertaining to the two major communities. Only Cirebon is considered as manifesting the power of the syncretism between the Central Javanese and Sundanese cultures in its development.

This cultural syncretism is also evident in gamelan music, the performing arts, particularly topeng (mask dances), batik with motifs distinct from those of Central Java and shadow puppetry.

Although the pottery-making tradition here dates back hundreds of years, it is undergoing a resurgence thanks to the assistance of Madiun-born Bonzan R. Setyo, a 49-year-old graduate of the School of Fine Arts of the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Since moving to the area, he has proved an inexhaustible source of energy and inspiration for the development of pottery in the village. He has made himself part of village life, and constructed a kiln, introduced a glazing technique and brought fresh ideas for designs.

Bonzan said different terms were used for ceramics around the country. They are generally known as gerabah or tembikar, to be precise earthenware vessels or pottery, but in Sitiwinangun they are called getak. Gerabah, however, are also known by another term, keramik (ceramics), a word derived from the Greek keramos, which means clay which is shaped, fired and hardened.

Sitiwinangun pottery displays particular ornamental motifs: jasmine, lompongan (a type of leaf), as well as tumpal, ruwen and cecekan. These motifs are used in traditional ceramics and the earthenware vessels designed for household use.

The most distinctive form to the area is the Singabarong, taking the form of a lion with a gaping mouth, menacingly wide- open eyes and a hole in its back. The hole is used to store padasan, the water for cleaning before Muslim prayers.

"Singabarong is the hallmark of Sitiwinangun ceramics because this form is not found elsewhere. It was first created by Miskatna, a local ceramicist. The tradition was continued by his children, Minen, Taniba and Nama, and is still extant today," said ceramics maker Utama.

Upon close observation, Sitiwinangun reveals influences such as Hinduism (the tumpal and ruwen motifs), Buddhism (the lotus motif), Islam (the leaf motif) and Chinese culture (rain clouds, from the megamendung motif also found in batik).

Most of the ceramics are used for household purposes, such as the gentong (a large earthenware water vessel), paso karon (traditional rice cooker), pendaringan (traditional rice receptacle), pengempalan (large earthenware bowl for keeping spiced beef), petapean (for holding tape uli, a traditional snack of cooked glutinous rice, sugar and coconut and eaten with an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice.

There is also the kuali jangan (a container where vegetable soup is kept), klowo(an earthenware bowl for washing the hands), pendil and Klowo (earthenware vessels used by the Javanese for buring the placenta), and many others.

"In Cirebon the clay is superior in terms of plasticity to the types found elsewhere. The clay is known as monmorolinite," said Bonzan.

It is usually mixed with other kinds of clay to improve its malleability; a better kind of clay with greater elasticity is bentonite, which is mostly found in Pacitan, East Java.

The open-air firing technique is also unique to the area, even though many ceramics experts find it difficult to believe the firing is conducted in an open space and that only simple implements are used. The technique has been practiced in Sitiwinangun for years.

Bricks are arranged as a furnace to supply the heat for the firing. On top of the bricks, the ceramics are fired, tens or even hundreds at a time. They are covered with dried rice stalks and then the burning or baking process commences. No kerosene or gas is used as the fuel, only discarded items like old tires.

The firing is quick at only 45 minutes. Bonzan said the open- air firing was fast because the water content in the earthenware vessels rapidly evaporated. In a closed baking process inside a kiln, evaporation takes place slowly. This cheap, fast and efficient technique has been acclaimed by ceramics experts like Japan's Prof. Chitaru Kawasaki, who has conducted research on the development of ceramics in all the ceramic-producing centers around the country.

The exhibition is at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jl. Palmerah Sel. 17 until Feb. 24. Viewing hours are from 10 a.m to 6 p.m.