Educating public about trauma with `wayang'

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

When young puppeteer Made Sidia was commissioned to create a special shadow puppet show of Wayang Kulit by the International Medical Corps (IMC) in an effort to spread educational messages on trauma in late October last year, he realized he finally had the financial support and creative freedom to develop the kind of performance he always wanted to present.

Despite it's complex and powerful story-line, drawn largely from Hinduism's most important epics, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Wayang Kulit which are all ancient Balinese art forms. It's 2.5 meter x 1 meter screen, which was illuminated by an oil lamp, could only project black and white images, thus, was visually inferior compared to the dynamic colors of modern visual entertainment.

Moreover, it's ancient Kawi and Balinese language narration played a role in further alienating the majority of Balinese youth, who have not been encouraged to speak their native tongue due to the pervasiveness of the Indonesian national language of Bahasa. In short, Wayang Kulit was decaying.

"Visual attractiveness is a critical issue that must be addressed if we want to revive the public's interest," the 35- year-old Sidia said.

Ever since he studied at the Denpasar Arts College (STSI), Sidia has been experimenting with various methods of enhancing Wayang Kulit's visual presentation. One of his pieces involved the utilization of three separate screens to narrate the story of Bima Ruci. Lack of funding and suitable stages prevented his experiment from gaining greater popularity.

"I was also fascinated by the PowerPoint-based presentation of my lecturers, and wondered how similar technology could be employed in Wayang Kulit performances," he said.

"The commission from IMC provided me with the necessary funding and excuse to once again pursue the dream of creating a contemporary Wayang Kulit performance," he added.

At that time, (October 2002) Bali was still deeply engulfed by a range of intense post-bomb emotions from overwhelming rage to depressing grief.

IMC, which has been working intensively with the victims of the terror attack, realized the public's needed to be educated on how to identify and cope with their trauma and stress. Eventually, they decided on including educational messages on trauma into a Wayang Kulit performance.

One month later, in November 2002, Sidia completed the production process of the Wayang Dasa Nama Kertha (Ten Elements of Peace). The contemporary wayang has been performed six times since in various places including the villages where many of the victims came from, Kepaon and Kuta.

The latest performance, funded by UNICEF through the Yayasan Kemanusiaan Ibu Pertiwi (YKIP), was staged last Thursday, showcasing a Wayang Kulit that was both visually engaging and beautifully narrated. A powerful computer beamed pre-recorded still images and moving images via a projector onto a large 5.5 meter X 3 meter screen. The traditional musical was accompanied by a variety of sounds provided by a Korg synthesizer. The result was captivating, both for the eyes and ears.

To cope with the large screen, Sidia was assisted by five other puppeteers, or Dalang. With the help of a rolling platform the puppeteers glided to and fro throughout the show. The rolling platform inspired the nickname, "Wayang Skateboard" as coined by the expatriate community in Bali.

"It's very difficult to animate the Wayang while simultaneously trying to avoid collisions with the other Dalang. Of course, we have already set the fixed courses and movements for each scene, but things get very chaotic sometimes," Sidia said.

To attract the younger audience, Sidia deliberately introduced into the performance numerous animal characters and several "modern" people characters, including a girl with that famous gyrating hip movement.

Dasa Nama Kertha basically was the story of Lord Siwa the Destroyer, who in the form of the demon Kala Ludra, wreaked havoc upon earth. Lord Brahma, Wisnu, Bayu and Iswara took the forms of dancers and puppeteers and engulfed the cosmos with the beauty of their performance and, thus, helped Siwa regain his true form.

"I asked my father for input on a suitable story line for a trauma and stress-related wayang performance and he gave me the idea for the Dasa Nama Kertha. In the story, the God explains about ten elements, for instance, man, animals, trees, water, fire and gods, that should exist in harmony and balance in order to guarantee the continuation of peace," Sidia told.

Sidia's father was none other than Bapa Sidja, the eccentric master Dalang famed for his ability to transform and animate even a single leaf or a cigarette butt into a wayang character.

For the messages on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Sidia went to the island's leading psychiatrist Dr. Robert Reverger for help.

"One important message is that trauma can be healed and that traumatic experiences should not give people a reason to commit violence toward other people," Reverger said.

"The performance is a good medium to reach people and educate them, particularly to reach children, who are difficult to reach through conventional media, such as face to face interviews," he added.

Efforts are currently underway to show it at various elementary schools on Bali.