'Ketoprak' community strives to regain past glories
'Ketoprak' community strives to regain past glories
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta
The sounds of the kenthongan (a traditional drum made of bamboo or wood) being played in specific, rhythmic patterns were heard almost every evening across Bantul regency quite recently.
Yet, it was not because people were performing their neighborhood patrol duty, or ronda as it is locally known, during which they normally strike such instruments.
The sounds, instead, came from ketoprak (traditional drama) performances held across the regency's 17 subdistricts as part of the first ketoprak festival held in the regency, which is also known as the home of ketoprak groups.
The kenthongan sound is very dominant in a ketoprak performance. The sound is used either to accompany a dialog in a particular scene or mark a change between scenes.
The rhythmic patterns depend greatly on the atmosphere of the respective scene. Sometimes it is considerably soft and at a slow pace. Other times it is very loud and quick.
Organized by Bantul Ketoprak Community Forum (FKKB) from May 14 through June 5, the festival was held to restore the traditional performance's position in the community.
"For the last 10 years, ketoprak has been dying out because of globalization, which offers more instant entertainment through television and the Internet. As a result, ketoprak, which was previously the main form of entertainment for most villagers is now being left behind," Chairman of the festival's organizing committee Bondan Nusantara told The Jakarta Post.
Ketoprak, according to Bondan, once was very popular among Bantul people. Its peak glory was between 1970s and 1990s.
"Ketoprak at that time was one of the most awaited performances. We perform almost every night, especially during August around the commemoration of Independence Day, usually to a full house," said Bondan who is also a ketoprak player and scriptwriter.
During its glory days, even rich families would feel its absence if they did not hire a ketoprak group to play for them during wedding parties or other celebrations.
The condition, according to Bondan, drastically changed in 1990s as more and more instant entertainment flooded the community through television programs or other electronic media with an orientation toward Western culture.
"Western types of entertainment like disco soon replaced ketoprak. Many young people currently feel a sense of inferiority about their own culture, including ketoprak performances," Bondan explained.
In a further development, ketoprak performers, too, find it more and more difficult to make a living by performing for a decent salary. As a result, they are forced to leave the profession and find another job to make a living.
"I could earn a great deal from performing ketoprak in the past. Now I can no longer completely depend on the profession to help support my family," Rini Widyastuti, 34, a ketoprak player who is now also a campursari singer, revealed.
Rini, who has been in the business as a ketoprak player since the 1990s, was elected the best female performer during the festival.
Lack of creativity has also been blamed as another factor that contributes a great deal to the decrease in ketoprak's popularity. Innovation, therefore, is a must if it is to restore its past glory.
"The (televised) comic-style ketoprak and the people's good response towards such programs have been a good sign and reflection that innovation is urgent in ketoprak performances," Gatot said.
The festival, Gatot added, would hopefully also mark the resurgence of the traditional drama performance in the region. A workshop on ketoprak as well as a ketoprak scriptwriting competition was also held during the three-week festival.
"Next year we plan to include high school students in the festival. Doing so will hopeful make ketoprak more popular among younger generations," he said.
The same awareness apparently does not just belong to Bantul people. Having the same objectives in mind, a local military district commander in the neighboring town of Klaten, Central Java, held a ketoprak parade last month involving 32 ketoprak groups.
The people's enthusiasm for such events has been quite promising. The champion of the Bantul Ketoprak Festival, the group representing Pandak subdistrict, for example, did not express any regrets, although the money they got from the local government to take part was far below what they were hoping for.
The regental administration allocated Rp 3.5 million for each of the participating groups representing their respective subdistricts. The groups claimed that it cost twice that much just to pay the expenses for rehearsals.
"But, it's alright for us because our main concern is preserving the traditional performance," group leader Slamet Marzuki sighed.
He added that half of his 33 players participating in the festival were high school students, although it was initially not an easy task to introduce the performance to this particular group, because they were not interested at first.
"We do hope that through a festival like this we will inspire new ketoprak groups that will further preserve and develop the traditional performance," Bondan Nusantara explained.