'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.