'Saijah and Adinda', more of the romance

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

When choreographer and director S. Kardjono first staged Gitawrta Saijah dan Adinda (Saijah and Adinda Dance and Song) at the Yogyakarta palace last year, it was expected to become a venue for political reconciliation. This year, the polished version of the "Javanese opera" will entertain Jakartans as part of the ongoing Gedung Kesenian Jakarta International Festival (GKJIF).

Last year, the play -- adapted from the Multatuli's classic novel Max Havelaar, or, The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company -- was thick with political innuendoes. This time around Kardjono promised the political satire would be kept at a minimum.

"In Yogyakarta we presented the play through the eyes of Max Havelaar, this time the focus would be on the romance of Saijah and Adinda," he said in a media conference recently.

Multatuli, meaning "I have suffered much" in Latin, was the pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887), who wrote the autobiographical novel in part as a testament of the suffering of the indigenous people, but also for his own rehabilitation.

Set in the Lebak district in Banten, West Java, the novel looks at several events that took place during Dekker's appointment as assistant-resident of Lebak in 1856.

One of the most prominent events was the tragic romance of Saijah and Adinda, two native youngsters of Lebak who were betrothed at birth.

Saijah's family suffered many misfortunes in the hands of the local authorities. The family's water buffalo -- an animal vital for working the land -- had been seized by the district head. The family was also being threatened with hunger as punishment for not paying land taxes.

Beset with woe and poverty, and lured by promises of wealth in Batavia, Saijah decided to leave his village to go to the city, promising to come back in three years for Adinda. They both promised to meet under the ketapang (almond) tree in the Jati (teakwood) forest.

But when Saijah came back, he did not find Adinda. In fact, not long after Saijah left for the city, Adinda's family suffered the same fate as Saijah's -- their water buffaloes were taken and the family was forced to flee to Lampung, in southern Sumatra.

Heartbroken, Saijah went to look for Adinda in Lampung but was met with devastation. Rebels in Lampung had taken arms against the conquering Dutch, and in a still smoldering village Saijah found the dead bodies of Adinda and her family.

In rage and without thought to himself, Saijah took arms and met the approaching Dutch army headlong. He died unsung, to a struggle he had no part of.

Max Havelaar has been translated into many languages including to Indonesian by H.B. Jassin in 1972. It has also been made into a movie in 1976 by Fons Rademakers, called Max Havelaar and starring Peter Faber (Max Havelaar), Sacha Bulthuis (Max's wife), as well as noted Indonesian actress Rima Melati (as Mrs. Slotering).

Kardjono admitted he had not watched the movie, saying that he did not want his work to resemble or to be compared to the big screen version.

"I have never seen the movie so I'm not influenced by it. This creation is my own adaptation of the book without the interpretation of others," he said.

The production will be a sort of a Javanese opera, Kardjono said, explaining that most of the dialogues will be belted out in traditional Javanese chant (tembang), including the parts of the Dutch Max Havelaar (Jhon Kha) and his wife, Tine, who will be played by Indonesian actress Cornelia Agatha.

The parts of Saijah and Adinda will be played by Heri Suprayitno and Dewi Sulastri, respectively.

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Saijah dan Adinda will open on Sept. 24, 2002 until Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Jl. Gedung Kesenian 1, Jakarta 10710. For more information please call Gedung Kesenian Jakarta 021-3808283, or on the Internet: gkjif.gkj-online.com