Ki Manteb, a true puppeteer

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."