'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.