'Gedhog' puppet tradition has a tale to tell

'Gedhog' puppet tradition has a tale to tell

By Kartika Bagus

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): It's a tale to match anything
that Shakespeare produced, telling of heroic battles, a test of
fidelity and love that ultimately conquers all.

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Kediri lived a happy
newlywed couple, Panji Inukertapati and his beautiful wife, Dewi
Sekarlangit, the daughter of Prabu Lembu Hamijaya, Kediri's
ruler.

Inukertapati wanted to put his wife's love and fidelity to the
test. He went to a village called Dadapan and disguised himself
as an ugly young man called Jaka Bluwo.

This tale was used by shadow puppet master Bambang Suwarno
recently for a rare gedhog performance at Puro Mangkunegaran
palace. Once a fixture of wedding ceremonies, the perfomance has
become a victim of paired down ceremonies in modern times.

A gedhog performance usually lasts from the evening until the
following morning. This show, put on mainly to satisfy the
community's longing to see the art form performed again, only
lasted two hours. Nevertheless, it drew a large audience eager to
see the master puppet at work.

Jaka Bluwo is a love epic peculiar to the gedhog tradition. As
Jaka Bluwo, Inukertapati tries to win Dewi's hand after she has
been seemingly deserted by her husband. She in turn sets
difficult requirements, such as he must bring a decoration from
the abode of the Hindu gods, and a set of special gamelan
instruments which make sounds in the sky.

Inukertapati resorts to meditation, seeking divine inspiration
from gods and goddesses. One of them, Bathara Narada, fulfills
Jaka's request, providing him with a magic wand.

However, on his return to Kediri, Inukertapati is waylaid by
troops of Prabu Klanajaya from Bantarangin kingdom, who seek to
steal the magic wand because he also seeks Dewi's hand.

With all his magic power, Inukertapati is able to defeat the
troops, proceeds to Kediri and marries the reluctant Dewi. At the
wedding party, Prabu Klanajaya emerges again and Inukertapati is
engaged in another battle. Only after he wins does he reveal to
his wife his real identity, now convinced that she is faithful to
him.

Special

The performance of the gedhog puppet show was unusual because
the public today is more familiar with wayang purwo (classical
shadow plays), wayang golek (wooden puppets) and wayang orang
(the Javanese stage show).

The gedhog puppet show was once performed as part of a series
of events at a traditional Javanese wedding ceremony (at Pura
Mangkunegaran, it is performed for the Selapanan and Midodareni
rites). During the show, the puppet master will usually give
pieces of advice to the newlyweds on how to have a long and happy
marriage.

Its popularity in the community has dimmed, acknowledged
Bambang Suwarno, as more modern forms of media have taken over.

Today, he said, it survives only within the palaces of
Kasunanan Surakarta, Pura Mangkunegaran and Pura Pakualaman in
Yogyakarta.

"Even at these places, gedhog is only ever performed on
certain occasions," he said. Suwarno has inherited from his own
father, Ki Patmacarita, the skill of acting as the puppet master
for a gedhog puppet show.

Many find the gedhog puppet show as attractive as traditional
wayang. There is a special captivating charm in the beauty of the
movement of the puppets, which are made of goat hide, in
expressing the traits of characters of the figures in the Hindu
epic story Mahabharata. The puppet master moves his hands in tune
with the sound of the accompanying music in such a way that the
performance becomes lively and dynamic.

The accompanying music is from a gamelan music group called
Langen Projo Pura Mangkunegaran. All the members are courtiers
from Pura Mangkunegaran. RMT Romosuripto, 65, the coordinator of
the gamelan music group, said that the group was set up at the
time of Mangkunegoro II during the Dutch colonial period.

At that time the gamelan music group was usually assigned to
welcome the arrival of the Dutch governor general at Pura
Mangkunegaran and to accompany all cultural performances at
Mangkunegaran. Membership in the group is passed down from one
generation to the next.

In its recent performance the group appeared with 17 musicians
and four singers (usually called sinden). The musicians donned
the palace costume of grandeur known as beskap (Javanese coat)
and carried kris in the back of their garments.

In recognition of the rarity of the occasion, the air was
heavy with reverence, both from local audience members and
foreign tourists who came to see the show. The evening was
evidence that Java is still rich, not only in customary
traditions, but also in the traditional arts which live on in
Surakarta.