'Lontar' leaf engravings stuck in creative rut

'Lontar' leaf engravings stuck in creative rut

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (JP): Tenganan, five kilometers north of the famed
Candidasa beach, is well-known for its ritual called
perang pandan, in which adult villagers beat each other with
pandanus leaves until they bleed all over their bodies.

It is equally renowned for its locally made cloth, gringsing,
a top tourist draw, and engravings on palmyra palm (lontar)
leaves.

Considered sacred, the cloth is made from natural materials
and is the only one woven with double ikat in Indonesia.

"In fact, our people also inherit their ancestors' painting
skills," said village chief Wayan Wartawan.

"It's a shame that people are more drawn to the gringsing
business because the thousands of tourists streaming to Tenganan
every month are more interested in the cloth."

Swiss anthropologist Urs Ramsayer has written a book about the
cloth, which has become one of Bali's main attractions in various
exhibitions in Japan, America and Europe.

But the Tenganan villagers' painting skills have not developed
as well, apparently because they have not been exposed to contact
with foreign artists.

In contrast, Kamasan village in Klungkung kept its fame for
its once-endangered unique puppetry thanks to the innovations
introduced by artist Rudolf Bonnet during the 1930s. So did
traditional arts in Ubud and surrounding regions, which
progressed because of ideas from Bonnet and his German
contemporary Walter Spies.

Tenganan's savior was not a painter but a scientist who loves
art, Ramsayer.

There is no doubt that many Tenganan villagers are talented
painters.

"We have inherited this (skill) from our ancestors," said Made
Pasek, 65, a retired policeman whose engravings are among the
best in the village.

He does not know for sure why his ancestors began to make
pictures on palm leaves, but he theorizes that it has to do with
the Tenganan villagers' specific way of setting their holidays.

The villagers determine them based on the lunar calendar, or
sasih system, while Hindus in other parts of Bali designate their
holidays based on the pawekon system that falls every 210 days.

As far as Made Pasek can remember, the engravings on palmyra
palm leaves are mostly symbols of the sasih calendar system. Over
the past year, the villagers have chosen the Ramayana and
Mahabarata epics as themes of their paintings. Tourists are their
target.

Wearing a sarong and bare chested, Pasek is mostly available
at his home in front of his house. Passersby can observe the old
man with thick glasses hard at work.

He has inspired other villagers to revive their talent.

"I have studied a little with Pak Pasek, but my grandfather
was a palm leaf engraver, too," said Komang Joni, 20, a high
school graduate who paints on palm leaves to earn his living.

"I have no other sources of income. It is impossible for me to
become a civil servant because I don't have connections with
government officials. Neither do I have the grease money."

Scores of Tenganan inhabitants engrave on palm leaves to
survive. In front of more than 60 percent of the houses, there is
a man sitting in front of a table where artworks are displayed.
It is an inviting sight.

A set of lontar usually has between six and 12 leaves. They
are connected with thread. To show them at their best, the leaves
are attached to two bamboo poles decorated with pictures before
they are painted brown to give them a timeworn look.

"I finish one palm leaf in three to seven days," Joni said.

How much can he make?

"It depends. If the client is highly interested, I will ask Rp
250,000 (US$23). If I see that the client is doubtful, I charge
as low as Rp 50,000. I sell most of them for Rp 75,000."

In a month, Joni sells not more than five pieces.

The production process relies on tradition. Mature palm leaves
are soaked in warm water mixed with traditional herbs for 24
hours. The next day, leaves are dried under the sun. It is on the
dried leaves cut into pieces measuring 15 centimeters that they
start engraving with a very small knife.

"In the long run, our sight will be impaired like Pak
Pasek's," Joni said with a laugh.

When the engraving is finished, a solution made from candlenut
and charcoal is applied. The black substance will stick to the
curves of the lines, providing a contrast between black and the
light yellow of palm leaves.

Very few engravers dare to go their own way in choice of
subjects. Each offers a representation of puppets, the same
calendar symbols, the Nine deities (dewata nawa sanga) and a
scene from Ramayana and Mahabarata epics.

When asked why artists did not draw I Tundung, a mythical
figure in local folklore who protects the Tenganan forest from
poachers, Joni said: "It would take a long time and great effort
to create something new. These ones are easy. The samples are
there. All we need to do is copy them."