TIM stages operatic Javanese dance drama 'Dewabrata'

TIM stages operatic Javanese dance drama 'Dewabrata'

By Sal Murgiyanto

TAIPEI (JP): Jakarta dance-goers are in for a real treat.
Highly respected Javanese choreographer Retno Maruti will present
her latest composition Dewabrata, an operatic Javanese dance
drama, at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM), on
June 28 and 29.

Maruti is famous for her thoughtful, finely detailed and
elegant works. A faculty member of the Jakarta Institute for the
Arts, she is not only skilled in dance but also in Javanese
singing. This is the reason for her molding the dance drama in
the Javanese operatic form langendriyan of the lesser court of
Mangkunagaran, Surakarta.

Daughter of a shadow puppeteer, Maruti learned from her father
not only various episodes of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, but
also to creatively reinterpret and recreate literary works into a
dance form. She believes a choreographer should create a work to
entertain and send a message. Maruti is aware that her Jakarta
audience is composed of traditional and modern Javanese, as well
as non-Javanese.

"I must not just repeat traditional Javanese values and norms,
which are often criticized as feudalistic, colonial, elitist and
limited to Javanese, but send a message relevant to the
multicultural Indonesian and to myself," she says.

In 1994 for the Indonesian Dance Festival in Jakarta, Maruti
choreographed The Death of Abimanyu, an episode of the
Bharatayudha using two groups of Bedoyo dancers (a total of 18
women) and classical Javanese singing and musical compositions.
Maruti molded the tragic story into a non-narrative, lyrical
choreography. In the 45-minute work Maruti maintained the
contemplative calmness of the Bedoyo.

In her earlier work, Ciptoning, Maruti reinterpreted the
popular wayang lakon Arjuna Wiwaha to speak up on women's
emancipation. Traditionally, the focus of this play is Arjuna,
the handsome hero of the Pandhava. The God Guru, Shiva, disturbed
Arjuna's deep meditation to ask for his assistance to kill the
ogre king Niwatakawaca, who threatened to destroy the abode of
gods if his wish to marry the nymph Supraba was rejected. With
Supraba's help, Arjuna heroically completed the task. As the
prize, Arjuna was then wedded to the nymph and crowned as the
king of males, if only briefly.

In Ciptoning, Maruti added a scene in which Subadra, Arjuna's
wife, comes during Arjuna's meditation. In a very delicate voice,
she reprimands Arjuna for irresponsibility for leaving her with
their newborn son Abimanyu, and not informing her when he would
return. There was another intriguing scene. Arjuna killed
Niwatakawaca with a magic arrow given by the God Indra.

In her choreography, Maruti did not use the customary arrow,
instead employing Supraba as a human arrow. This symbol argues
that not men alone, but women too could accomplish an important
task.

Unlike Ciptoning's use of prosaic dialog, Dewabrata employs
sung lyrics, which Maruti wrote herself for the four acts.

Story

Dewabrata is another name of the sage Bisma -- son of Santanu
from the Goddess of Ganges -- while he was crown prince of
Astina.

The complicated story begins when young Dewabrata is sent by
his father to ask Princess Durgandini's hand as his father's
bride. The princess is willing only if Dewabrata makes a promise
that in the future her son, not Dewabrata, will be king of
Astina. Paying deep respects to his beloved father, Dewabrata
agrees to the princess' wish. But the princess pushes him
further. "Son, you have given your agreement. But what about your
future wife?" Deeply perplexed and humiliated, Dewabrata
determines to leave the palace, live as a sage and practice
celibacy.

In acts two and three, there are other daunting tests for the
more mature, handsome, skillful and enlightened Dewabrata. He is
sent by his father to search for brides for his two adult half-
brothers. He goes to the kingdom of Kasi to participate in a
dueling contest for three beautiful princesses of Kasi named
Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Dewabrata accomplishes the task.

He then tells the three princesses that they will marry his
two half-brothers, future rulers of Astina, instead of himself.
Amba and Ambalika gladly obey. But the more mature and dignified
Amba is upset.

In Amba's reasoning, Dewabrata has broken his promise to marry
the three princesses if he won the competition. After all, if he
is celibate, why did he enter the highly competitive contest? She
scolds the handsome prince for being selfish, and tells him about
her own vow to marry and serve the man who won the competition,
irrespective whether he was a prince, priest or farmer.

"I am member of a high respected clan, and like you Lord, I
too have to keep my promise," she tells him. "I am deeply
humiliated that after putting your life in that competition, you
trash my words and my body to somebody I don't love nor even
know."

Dewabrata trembles and speaks to himself. "It is easier to
fight the two ogres in the competition than arguing with this
beautiful, brilliant, and faithful young princess." But no words
come out from his mouth. Instinctively, his hands grabs his bow
and arrow. When he manages to overcome half of his reasoning, he
frightens the princess with his arrow, and says "Woman, you
follow my order or you will die". To his surprise, Amba isn't
deterred and calmly answers, "My Lord, to a member of the Kasi
clan, death is the other side of life. If I fail to keep my
promise in the present life, then I would rather die and
compensate in my next life!"

Dewabrata freezes as he loses his dignity, pride and control
of his arrow, which darts and kills the woman. "My Lord, we are
victims of our own words," she says. "Still, I'll keep my
promise. When the time comes, in the grand battle between your
split clan, I will come to meet you as your wedded one!"

The final act depicts the grand battle between Kaurava and
Pandhava, the two feuding brothers of the Bharata clan. Dewabrata
is now old and better known as the sage Bisma. Thousands from
both sides have been killed, not only soldiers but also civilians
who do not understand why so many lives have been sacrificed.
Hoping to reunite the fighting minor clans, Dewabrata comes to
the battlefield on Kaurava's side.

His blood boils as he sees thousands of wounded soldiers, and
memories of his youth as a highly skilled warrior return. He
raises his club and wields it like a fan, killing those who dare
to get close. Prince Seta and his two brothers, Pandhava's chief
warriors, are killed. In great distress, the troops withdraw from
the battle field to search for advice from Krishna.

To everybody's surprise, Krishna orders Srikandhi, Arjuna's
warrior wife, to lead Pandhava's armies. Meeting her uncle Bisma
in the battlefield, Srikandhi pays her respects. "Dear uncle, I
am not your match in this battle," she says humbly. But if I have
to die for my land and my people this is my dharma as a warrior.
This also a way to express my deep love and respect to my husband
Arjuna."

Bisma is stunned. "This is the voice I have been waiting to
hear for years." In a flashback, he sees Amba in Srikandhi and he
realizes that his time has come.

Acts two and four are prepared by Sentot Sudiharto, Maruti's
husband, and dancers S. Trisapto and Djoko S.S. The show also
involves two guest artists from Surakarta, Wahyu Sentosa, a
dancer whose voice is more than convincing, and B. Subono, the
composer of some of the music for the work.

Dr. Sal Murgiyanto is Dean of the Department of Performing
Arts, Jakarta Institute for the Arts. He is currently a visiting
lecturer in the graduate program of the Dance Department,
National Institute of the Arts, Taipei.