Ki Manteb, a true puppeteer

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Karanganyar, Central Java

His very firm and energetic sabetan, a puppet master's way of moving puppets in fighting scenes, has earned Ki Manteb Soedharsono the name Dalang Setan, a devilish puppet master, among Javanese wayang (shadow puppet show) lovers.

His popularity is unquestionable. Anytime the puppet master performs, wayang fans would crowd the arena the whole night long.

His loyal fans are not only locals, but also foreigners who often invite him to perform in their countries, like Japan, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.

Now, at least 12 invitations, mostly from cities in Java and Madura islands, are received every year by Ki Manteb, as he is popularly known.

Back then, in the 1980s, he had to perform almost every night. Sometimes, the show was not only held in different towns, but often in different provinces as well.

"Sometimes, I had to sleep in the car during the day while we would drive to the next town to get ready for the next performance in the evening," said Ki Manteb at his residence in Doplang village, Karangpandan district in Karanganyar regency, some 30 kilometers northeast of Surakarta, Central Java.

Some people may find him as a dalang (puppet master) who does not follow wayang's pakem, guidelines of puppet show performances, because he has initiated the use of guest stars in his traditional performances. Others, however, consider his initiative as added value which makes his show even more interested and entertaining. Now, the style of including guest stars has become one of his show trademarks.

"Frankly speaking, I did it (inviting guest stars) spontaneously. It happened in 1986 while I was performing at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts center in Jakarta. At that time, comedian Yati Pesek (of Yogyakarta) happened to watch my show so I invited her on to the stage to have a dialog with the characters in my play and so made her a guest star," Manteb recalled.

"But I refuse to call it not following pakem. I still follow the pakem, ethically. For example, I won't allow any of my guest stars to stand up on the stage. They have to sit, just like the rest of the crew and I do."

His popularity does not stop at the stage, but it extends further, into television as well. He even became a star of a TV commercial. Some now call him Dalang O Ye after his famous line in the commercial.

"The fact that the words (from the commercial) have become very popular among people satisfies me very much. It makes me realize that people do accept me," said the father of three sons, three daughters and the grandfather of nine grandchildren.

Ki Manteb was so pleased with the commercial, he changed all plate numbers of his 10 antique motorcycles into AD 0 YE.

However, he realized that being a TV commercial star was not for him and decided it would be the one and only commercial he ever starred in, despite the fact that the money was good.

"My true identity is as a dalang and I don't want to lose it," said Manteb, adding that the decision forced him to turn down requests to star in other commercials.

Born in the Central Java town of Sukoharjo on Aug. 13, 1948, Manteb comes from a family of dalang. His great grandfather, his grandfather and his father were all dalang in their own time, making him the fourth generation dalang in his family.

"My brothers, too, there are four of them, are all dalang," said Manteb, the first son of seven siblings. Now, his three sons are also dalang.

Manteb himself started to learn how to perform the wayang while he was still a very young boy. At the age of eight, he started to perform in public. But he became a real dalang and earned his own money from the job when he was 12 years old. Back then, his first invitation came from the East Java town of Ngawi.

When he was young, Manteb said he liked to improve his performing skills as a dalang by studying under prominent puppet masters. Among his teachers were Ki Narto Sabdo of Semarang, Ki Ngabei Wignyo Sutarno of Mangkunegaran, Surakarta, Ki Warseno of Wonogiri, Ki Gondodharmo of Sragen -- all in Central Java, and Ki Gondobono of Madiun, East Java.

"They all have helped to shape my style as a dalang," said Manteb, adding that the late Ki Narto Sabdo was the one that he admired the most, especially because of his ability to play seven different wayang characters in a single scene.

"I can only play five characters (with five different sounds and intonations) in a scene," said the dalang whose show at Yogyakarta Palace's Pagelaran stage on July 7 will close the ongoing Yogyakarta Arts Festival.

As a dalang, Ki Manteb does his best to keep up with the latest issues, something that might he included later on in his shows. At the moment, he subscribes to seven different newspapers and a weekly magazine. And he tries to read all of them, especially his favorite section, the editorials.

"I like editorials because they help me think analytically, even though sometimes I disagree with their analysis."