Guruh mourns the death of his guru Laksminto Rukmi

Guruh mourns the death of his guru Laksminto Rukmi

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Amidst confusion surrounding the rumors of his
defection from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) to Kosgoro,
an organization under Golkar, on Tuesday Guruh Soekarnoputra
mourned the death of his mentor and the guru of Javanese court
culture, R.A. Laksminto Rukmi.

Eyang (Grandma) Laks, as she was affectionately called by her
students, was born around the turn of the century. She entered
the Surakarta court at the tender age of 10. There, she became a
court dancer, performing the sacred Bedaya Ketawang. Around the
1920s, she became the youngest Garwa Dalem (Court Consort) of
Sultan Pakubowono X, at the age of 17.

As a court dancer, she once performed in front of the Thai
King, who visited the court of Surakarta. At that time, she
remembered that she danced the Bedoyo Pistol, where the dancers
shot their handguns at the sound of the gong. Apparently the King
was impressed by the Dance and awarded the dancers a medal of the
Thai Kingdom.

R.A. Laksminto Rukmi became the main propagator of not only
the Bedaya, but of Javanese dance in general. The most famous
Javanese dancers, Sulistyo Tirtokusumo and Retno Maruti, are
among her students.

In 1979, while preparing for the second major performance of
his dances, Guruh Soekarnoputra, brother of Megawati
Soekarnoputri, the ousted chief of PDI, invited Eyang Laks to
teach traditional Javanese dances to his Swara Maharddhika dance
troupe. Eyang Laks passed her skill in Bedaya on to Guruh's main
dancers, and helped refine Swara Maharddhika's Bedaya Sriwijaya,
performed in Guruh's grand show in 1980.

In addition to teaching Javanese dance to the group, Eyang
Laks brought to the group's headquarters at Jl. Sriwijaya No. 26,
Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, Guruh's residence, the court
traditions of the Kraton. The Swara Maharddhika members learned
the art of batik tulis (hand-painted batik), taking care of batik
textiles, the importance of providing offerings, and many other
Javanese customs and traditions.

"Eyang Laks taught us that Javanese dance is not merely about
physical movement. She made us understand the Javanese customs,
traditions and culture around it. She made us aware of the
spiritual aspect of Javanese dance," said Restu Imansari, a
dancer and former member of the group.

R.A. Laksminto Rukmi passed away on Monday night, Oct. 28, at
the age of around 95. Apparently, a decade before her death, she
had prepared a will which meticulously listed the entire
committee overseeing the funeral ceremony, and specified details.

"She asked to be dressed in a particular set of clothes, which
were all already prepared in one suitcase," said Triana Leimena,
an affiliate of Guruh's current Gencar Semarak Perkasa (GSP)
Production company.

After the deceased had been changed into the clothes she had
personally selected, Guruh fastened a pin with a childhood
photograph from her days in the Surakarta court onto them. Her
body was then placed in a wooden coffin. After the afternoon
prayers, Guruh handed over her remains to her relatives.

"Today we release of Eyang Laks, we hope that she be given a
vast space in her afterlife," Guruh said, representing the
Sriwijaya 26 family, the Sukarno family, the Swara Maharddhika
and GSP Productions.

Then, the coffin was taken down to the driveway of the house,
where Guruh led a nerobos jenazah (walking under the coffin)
ceremony. This rite is meant to lighten the weight of the
deceased's body and to smooth the "journey". He was followed by
family members and nine of the former members of the Swara
Maharddhika Bedaya dance troupe.

The coffin was placed in a hearse, which was to transport the
body of the deceased to the family graveyard in Pengging,
Boyolali, Central Java.

Apparently this was all elaborated in Eyang Laks's will.

"Upon reading the will last night, we concluded that this is
her show and she is the director," said Triana Leimena at the
funeral.

Guruh and his former Swara Maharddhika performed the final
dance their Javanese dance guru had choreographed.

Truly we have lost yet another monument of Javanese culture.
We can only hope that her students will help preserve the
cultural heritage that Eyang Laks so loved.