'Mahabarata', 'Ramayana' cement two countries' cultural ties
'Mahabarata', 'Ramayana' cement two countries' cultural ties
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Yogyakarta-born businessman Gunawan nodded his head in
appreciation while watching a puppet show at the Taman Mini
Indonesia in Miniature Park in East Jakarta on Saturday night.
During the show, Manteb Sudarsono, one of Indonesia's foremost
puppet masters, put on the Wahyu Makutoromo -- which contains
teachings on good and clean governance and is a sequel to the
Mahabrata epic.
Forty-year-old Gunawan, who runs a human resources firm, is
probably one of the few Indonesians who knows the details of the
Mahabrata, including its Indian and Javanese versions.
The Mahabrata, which was arranged by Vyasa about 2,000 years
ago, tells of a conflict between the Pandawa and Kurawa families,
which both claim to be the descendants of the mighty Bharata.
Composed between 500 BC and 400 AD and extending to 107,000
octameter couplets, the Mahabrata also contains the famous
Bhagawat Gita, which consists of philosophical teachings.
Another famous Indian epic is the Ramayana -- which literally
means the journey of King Rama.
This epic, which was composed between 300 BC and 200 AD and
was arranged by Walmiki, tells of the kidnaping of Rama's wife,
Sita, by Rahwana. With the help of Hanuman, the monkey king, Rama
defeats Rahwana and recovers Sita.
Both epics contain Hindu teachings: life is painful if we
become attached to material things and life is governed by the
principle of reciprocity.
The epics were brought to Nusantara (the old name for
Indonesia), along with Hinduism, hundreds of years ago.
Islam then entered the archipelago. Interestingly, its
missionaries on Java island, who were known as Wali Songo (Nine
Leaders), used the epics to spread the teachings of Islam.
That is probably when the Mahabarata and Ramayana started to
develop differently on Java island.
The epics were then spawned many sequels, including the Wahyu
Makutoromo, which is not part of the original Indian version.
The characters of the Mahabrata and Ramayana were extremely
popular in the past. Besides puppet shows, comics -- such as the
one written in Bahasa Indonesia by R.A. Kosasih -- and children's
playing cards depicting the characters of the Mahabarata and
Ramayana contributed to the popularity of the historical epics.
As such, Arjuna, Srikandi, Khrisna, Gatut Kaca, Baladewa,
Bima, Nakula and Sadewa from the Mahabrata, and Rama, Sita,
Hanuman, Wibisana, and Rahwana from the Ramayana were popular
characters among children in the past.
Not many children are familiar nowadays with these characters
or the lessons contained in the epics. In the current age of
multimedia, super heroes and heroines, such as Superman, Batman,
Catwoman and Lara Croft, the Tomb Rider, are probably more
popular.
"It's the duty of the government to develop our culture and
preserve the epics," puppetry expert Budya Pradipta of the
University of Indonesia said in an interview with The Jakarta
Post recently.
Budya, who received his PhD from the University of Delhi's
Sanskrit Department in India, said that puppetry, along with the
epics, had important functions such as education, entertainment
and communication.
He said a puppet master could send educative and social
messages, such as on HIV/AIDS, women's rights, child protection
and drug abuse.
Budya admitted that most of the admirers of puppetry and the
epics were Javanese or Sundanese people.
"We need to continuously develop the puppetry and the epics
and present them in the Indonesian language, instead of
Javanese," he said.
Separately, Arup Kumar Dutta from the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian
Cultural Center agreed that the Ramayana and Mahabrata epics were
two of the many connections that could be used to deepen
relations between Indonesia and India.
"These two epics are very popular both in India and Indonesia.
They could be used as a bridge to make our relations, especially
in the cultural field, closer," Dutta said.
He said the epics as they had developed in Indonesia carried
universal values, such as humanity and spirituality, instead of
just the Hindu messages contained in the Indian versions.
He said the epics were only a small part of India's rich and
diverse culture, including the arts, dance and music.
"Many Indonesians probably think that India has a single
culture. Actually, we are the same as Indonesia, with a great
cultural diversity," he said.
"Through culture and art, including the epics, dance and
music, Indonesia and India can develop a better understanding of
each other," he concluded.