Experts propose novel way to preserve 'wayang'

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

A multimedia expert has proposed that traditional puppeteers use advanced technology to attract the attention of younger generations for Javanese puppet performances.

Such innovation was essential to confront the declining popularity of Javanese puppet performances among younger generations, especially teenagers and children, said Roy Suryo.

"It's impossible to see children watch a whole shadow play performance nowadays, which usually last all night long. However, if the wayang (puppet) characters are shown in cartoon or animated form, I'm sure they'll like it," said Roy who is related to the Sultan of Yogyakarta. The sultanate is the center of culture for Javanese.

Roy, who attended a national puppet congress held in Yogyakarta last week, recalled that the opportunity for new innovation was there.

He said that it was not difficult to create shadow plays in animated form due to the abundance of skilled human resources in Indonesia. Indonesia has plenty of good animators and video game creators, but most of them work for foreign animation and cartoon companies now.

"I'm sure with goodwill from the government, many parties would want to work together to realize this effort. If we're serious, shadow puppet plays and wayang video games would be available on the Internet soon," added Roy.

A puppeteer from Surabaya, East Java, Abdul Rauf, was of the view that wayang presentations visualized through multimedia would be an effective way to revive the wayang.

Wayang characters or stories could be presented in video games. If realized, Indonesian children would be reintroduced to characters such as Gatotkaca or Bima, along with the philosophical messages they bring.

"We cannot deny that children spend a lot of time playing video games now. So, why don't we create video games based on wayang stories," said Rauf, who was immediately applauded by hundreds of participants during the congress on Sept. 17.

Head of research and development of the Indonesian Wayang Secretariat (Sena Wangi), M Sulebar Soekarman, added that it was possible that children would accept wayang in video game format. He said that a video game which comprised the tales of Bima Babat Alas Wonomerto was being developed now, but unfortunately, it would only be distributed in Japan, Sweden and Australia, but not Indonesia.

They had yet to decide on the start of the collaboration, but agreed that technological approaches should not alter the substance of the wayang story, and that the dalang (puppeeter) would have full commission on the storyline and gamelan music composition.

The multimedia expert will be entrusted to visualize the wayang into cartoon, video game or TV series format.

Efforts to visualize wayang was important given that the art had to be preserved. In 2003, wayang was been recognized by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as part of the world's cultural heritage.