Surakarta Chinese perform Javanese opera

JAKARTA (JP): Chinese-Indonesians have been unfairly stereotyped as thinking of nothing but business and making money.

But Chinese-Indonesians from the ancient city of Surakarta, Central Java, who have a long history of embracing Javanese culture, mean to shed this stereotype.

Sixty Chinese-Indonesians from the Surakarta Community Association, or PMS, are in Jakarta to give two performances of the wayang orang (Javanese wayang opera).

On Friday night (last night), the group performed at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta for a select audience of government officials and noted figures. On the organizing committee's list of invited guests was President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The performance tonight (Saturday night), co-organized by the Dharmabakti Sejahtera Foundation and the Warna Warni Foundation, is open to the general public.

The performance is based on the story Abimanyu Becomes a Puppeteer. In the story, Abimanyu (Irene), a handsome knight, poses as a dalang, or Javanese shadow puppet master, to rescue his fiancee, Siti Sundari (Mbimbi), who has been abducted by Dewa Srani (Nora Koo).

The show, the majority of which will be presented in Javanese, also features well-known dancer Retno Maruti and comedian Timbul.

"We mean to open people's eyes to the fact that Chinese- Indonesians cherish the local culture," said organizing committee chairwoman Nina Akbar Tandjung.

Surakarta Community Association spokeswoman W. Santosa said Chinese-Indonesians made up of some 90 percent of the troupe. "In fact it is not exclusively Chinese and neither do we want to accentuate our ethnic identity."

The dancers come from various backgrounds, from students, businesspeople, private employees to clerics.

The association has its historical roots in the 1920s, when the Chinese-Indonesian community in Surakarta founded a number of sociocultural organizations. In 1932, six organizations merged to form Chuan Min Hui, which was renamed Perkumpulan Masyarakat Surakarta (PMS).

Three years ago, PMS was named the country's best wayang orang troupe.

Lauw Tik Siong, Sie Tjiang Giok and Hana Njoo are among the company's most well-known artists among lovers of the Javanese opera.

Tickets for the performance are priced at Rp 100,000, Rp 50,000 and Rp 30,000 and are available at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. (pan)