Remembering glorious 'Dongeng Dari Dirah'
Remembering glorious 'Dongeng Dari Dirah'
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): Exactly 26 years ago choreographer Sardono W.
Kusumo's dance drama Dongeng Dari Dirah (A Tale from Dirah) was
performed for the first time. The debut was so successful that it
was later performed in many places in Europe.
This year, between Nov. 16 and Nov. 26, those who took part in
this successful performance gather at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts
center in Central Jakarta for a series of activities, ranging
from a fine art exhibition, dance and musical performances as
well as film screening.
Some dancers from the debut performance of Dongeng Dari Dirah,
such as Nyoman Pugra, I Pasek Tempo, I Made Grindem and Ida Ayu
who were dance gurus from Bali, have died.
Children who took part in the premiere of this drama 26 years
ago are now adults. Two of them, Ketut Rina and Badung, are
famous dancers who often perform abroad. Two others have made a
name for themselves on a domestic or international level: Netra,
who is a member of the Peter Brook theatrical group in Europe,
and Soegeng, who is also a painter. Others, such as I Wayan
Sadra, Al Suwardi, Pande Made Sukerta, Sentot Sudiarto, Danarto
and Hajar Satoto are quite prominent in music, dancing and fine
arts circles.
The reunion of the first cast of Dongeng Dari Dirah will also
be highlighted by the screening of a film adaption of the drama
by Robert Chappel.
In Chappel's hands, the original performance of over two hours
has been put on celluloid and has a duration of 45 minutes. The
film, set in Bali and in areas around Sukuh Temple and Ceto
Temple in Central Java, is as suggestive as the live dance
performance itself.
The film begins with Dirah villagers working in the rice
fields. Then a dance instructor says: "Two forces, good and evil,
will always coexist. Sometimes they collaborate and at other
times they fight each other. Eternity, however, supersedes good
and evil just like the eternal water that comes into being when
these two forces are in balance." This prologue marks the
beginning of the Cak dance with its mantras and seemingly magical
chants.
When night comes, the evil Dirah widow appears accompanied by
devils who killed village guards attempting to drive them away.
The whole village becomes quiet as everybody, young and old,
rushes home. And then the Dirah widow threatens to destroy the
whole village.
When a new day arrives, the evil power is gone. Those left
behind are the devil dancers and the witch dancer, groaning and
crying in spasms. Some are fast asleep. However, the whole
village is still quiet. Doors and windows are shut fast.
Meanwhile, in the house of the Dirah widow, her daughter is
restless. Despite her extraordinary beauty, she cannot get a
boyfriend. No young man dares to befriend her because her mother
is a witch. When the girl cries and tells her mother she can no
longer stand being lonely, the Dirah widow promises to bring her
a young man.
She brings a dead young man back to life and asks him to dance
to her house. The live corpse dances and starts to seduce the
girl, but when the corpse is at the point of consummating his
desire, the girl becomes disgusted and runs away from the
village.
The girl meets the dance instructor and asks him why she has
to make love with a live corpse. He tells her that in real life
too many husbands and wives make love mechanically, as though
they were the living dead. Then the dance instructor asks the
girl to dance and bite him on the chest and shoulders. The two
are soon engaged in lovemaking.
When the evening comes, the Dirah widow sees them and becomes
angry. In her rage she gives birth to a baby, which she eats.
Then she turns into Rangda, a giant monster, with one intention:
to kill all the villagers.