'Wayang Beber' another dying art

'Wayang Beber' another dying art

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Wayang beber, or storytelling with a scroll of pictures, is a dying art in the country. Not only it is rarely performed but the scrolls themselves have also become a rarity.

It is believed that, today, the scrolls can only be found in two places: in Gelaran village, Karangmojo sub-district, Gunungkidul regency, Yogyakarta and in the East Java town of Pacitan. However, the scrolls are not in mint condition as some parts have been torn off.

As its name reveals -- beber in Javanese means to tell -- a wayang beber performance is unlike other wayang performances in that pure storytelling rather than puppetry is employed.

The dalang (puppeteer, or in this case storyteller) tells the story as depicted by the pictures on the scroll that measures some 3.8 meters by 75 centimeters.

Using a one-meter-long wooden rod, he tells the stories of the pictures he points to.

Rubinem, the owner of the scroll in Gunungkidul said the scroll had been in her family for generations.

"I'm the 15th heir of the wayang beber. It's a royal heritage that is hundreds of years old. I have to take care of it carefully," Rubinem, a widow with a child, said.

Rubinem said she had six picture scrolls. However, only four of them are performed. All are about the love story between Panji Asmorobangun and Galuh Condrokirono from the chronicle of the Kediri kingdom.

The other two scrolls are not performed, mostly due to dispute over the heirs of the Kediri kingdom, which makes telling the story tricky.

Rubinem said the story of wayang beber was written in a book she inherited along with the scrolls. Unfortunately, she lost the book in 1932 when she was invited to perform at Surakarta Palace.

In wayang beber, the owner of the scrolls has the authority to schedule a performance as well as the accompanying rituals. The dalang is required to perform according to instructions.

This is different from other wayang performance, like shadow puppet plays, in which the position of the dalang is more central.

Offerings must be prepared ahead of the performance, including two tumpeng mumule (cone-shaped rice topped with tempeh), two regular tumpeng, 14 tumpeng ariyoyo (rice balls), ingkung (roasted rooster), jajan pasar (traditional snacks) and fruits.

After the performance, a kenduri (thanksgiving ritual) is held near the stage culminating in the audience being invited to eat the offerings.

For the performance a fee of between Rp 1.5 million and Rp 2 million is requested from the host. Rubiyem said most of the fee was for the offerings, the kenduri ritual, and for paying the performers (dalang, musicians and singers).

"I am not after profit. If any money is left over it goes toward other thanksgiving rituals, such as during the month of Suro (first month of the Javanese calendar) and Lebaran (end of the fasting month)," Rubinem said.

Wayang beber is said to have developed during the Hindu era of the Kediri and Majapahit kingdoms.

According to wayang beber researcher Rohmat Sujoko of Surakarta, this is evident in the paintings on the cloth scrolls themselves.

Sujoko said the use of gold leaf and fine detail of the paintings indicated the painters had been royal artists.

The tradition was taken up by other Hindu kingdoms and was popular during the Islamic kingdom era of Pajang in Kartosuro until the era of Amangkurat, also of Kartosuro. However, as Islam spread wayang beber was cast aside. Islam forbids the depiction of the human form in artwork.

Rescue, preservation efforts

For documentation purposes, wayang beber was recently performed in Gelaran. A number of wayang lovers from Yogyakarta, Wonosobo in Central Java and Jakarta were invited to attend.

Promoted by Prayitno, who also manages the art village of Grha Usada Bali, those who attended the performance agreed to cooperate to preserve wayang beber. With the permission of the owners, they agreed to duplicate the scrolls so that the original ones could be stored and protected from further damage.

They also agreed to display the duplicates at the wayang and mask museum Kubu Bingin in Ubud, Bali, which is presently under construction.

"The problem is we have not yet found the right paper or the right artist. We want it to be exactly the same and long lasting," Prayitno said.

Other preservation efforts include building a better room to store the scrolls at Rubinem's house. The room where the scrolls are stored at present only has plaited bamboo walls. It is feared that, without better care, the condition of the scrolls would deteriorate, making wayang beber a thing of the past.