TMII keeps up the preservation of national arts
By Dwi Atmanta
JAKARTA (JP): Traditional performances are an unlikely cultural survivor in the melting pot society of metropolitan Jakarta.
While downtown throbs with jazz, rock and pop, hundreds of unknown artists wander the city's outskirts to obtain modest earnings which keep both themselves and their art going.
When it comes to nightlife, urbanites pack pubs or discotheques to unwind from stress. They appear in step with the world's modern society whose lifestyle relies much on trends.
Elsewhere, against a backdrop of sparkling street lamps outside town, men of all ages sit around a stage on which women dance seductively and entice them to join in. Sundanese music instruments plays so loudly that the singer is all but drowned out in the din.
Home to some nine million people, Jakarta offers a vast range of entertainment, but many wonder how long the seemingly outdated performances can endure amid the unstoppable invasion of foreign arts.
Mas'ud Thoyib of the Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII) expressed guarded optimism that there will always be room for traditional arts.
"Indigenous arts, at least their spirit, will never die because people are always in need of rites and other forms of traditions," said Mas'ud, an expert on the indigenous Jakarta, or Betawi, culture.
His are not just empty words.
TMII, situated some 15 kilometers east of the capital city, is where Mas'ud and his colleagues have been working for the past two decades to promote and preserve local cultures.
Inaugurated in 1975 by the late Mrs. Tien Soeharto, TMII is a showcase for the cultural wonders of the archipelago's 27 provinces.
Traditional performances are arranged regularly, regardless of turnout, since the establishment of TMII as one of the country's cultural sanctuaries.
Buoyant Mas'ud said Betawi traditional performance was a good example of a surviving indigenous art.
Most Betawi traditional performances are staged at the TMII, but Mas'ud said this was not enough to ensure survival of the tradition.
"To keep a culture alive needs creativity of its artists, not just asking TMII management for job opportunities," he said.
He hailed lenong Betawi comedy stalwart Bokir and his prodigy Mandra for introducing innovative ideas to keep audiences in their grip. Both comedians, whose popularity received a boost from TMII, now occasionally appear in TMII as guest stars.
Mas'ud said the hit TV series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan (Doel, the Graduate), now in its third season on RCTI, was a spectacular effort to preserve lenong. Mandra plays his namesake in the serial.
"The serial is a new look of lenong. Despite its modern idioms, it represents characteristics of Betawi people," he said.
He said TMII played a major role in promoting other Betawi traditional performances such as the ondel-ondel giant effigies procession, blantek drama and mask dances.
Misery
Mas'ud optimism may serve as consolation to other traditional theaters living outside TMII's protective auspices.
Bharata, a group of Javanese wayang orang performers, has long complained about poor turnout whenever it stages a show at its regular venue in Senen, Central Jakarta.
"We earn considerable income every Saturday night and holidays, but a sold-out show is unlikely," said Kastono, the group director.
An average of 50 seats of the theater's capacity of 300 are filled at daily performances, according to Kastono.
"Audience numbers will drop to only 10 in the last week of the month or if it rains," said Kastono.
With tickets sold at between Rp 2,000 and Rp 5,000 (between $83 US cents and $2), it is difficult for the group to pay monthly electricity and telephone bills. The Jakarta Cultural Office has taken over the responsibility of the bill payments.
Once a major playhouse in Jakarta in the 1930s, Miss Tjitjih playhouse stands in ruins after a fire in April.
The fire ended years of misery which saw the theater, located near a slum area in Cempaka Baru, Central Jakarta, host a tiny crowd in its six appearances a week.
Yet paltry audiences for wayang orang change when it is brought to the air-conditioned Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in Pasar Baru, also in Central Jakarta, or the TMII's Sasono Langen Budoyo.
Mas'ud said TMII had never suffered losses when the wayang performance was played at the 1,000-seat Sasono Langen Budoyo once every two months. He added TMII enjoyed more profits from other traditional performances, tickets of which sell for up to Rp 15,000.
"Traditional shows here survive through a wealthy city," said Mas'ud.
TMII had also embarked on a long-term program to promote traditional performances by opening dancing courses, he added.
"We start from children who are in their early school years."
Since its establishment in 1982, the class has admitted some 5,000 participants. They are pitted in the tough competition for places on TMII's special cultural mission called Pelangi Nusantara (Rainbow of the Archipelago), which regularly makes overseas trips to promote Indonesian culture.
"Children are now proud of their dancing skills, as are their parents and hopefully their neighbors," Mas'ud said of the effect of TMII's strategy.
To qualify for the special mission, the maximum 30 dancers must master at least 15 dances and be able to make-up and dress themselves in the elaborate costumes.