To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Date: Mon, 29 May 2006 18:40:33 -0500
Subject: [Puptcrit] Fwd: The Dying Art of 'Wayang Beber:' Storytelling with


The  southern area below Yogya  is one of the two places left in Java 
where wayang beber is still  performed - and it is in the epicenter of 
this earthquake. Any news  on practitioners of this art - rather like 
cantastoria, would be appreciated...

DMCG

Begin forwarded message:

> From: JoyoNews-AT-aol.com
> Date: October 14, 2005 12:28:35 AM CDT
> To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
> Subject: The Dying Art of 'Wayang Beber:' Storytelling with Picture 
> Scrolls
>
> The Jakarta Post
> Friday, October 14, 2005
>
> 'Wayang Beber' Another Dying Art
>
> Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
>
> photo: Gelaran villagers in Karangmojo, Gunungkidul, stage rarely
> performed wayang beber -- storytelling with a scroll of pictures.
> Other than in Gelaran, the tradition can also be found in the East
> Java town, Pacitan. (JP/Slamet Susanto)
>
> 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.
>
> ------------------------------------------
>
> Joyo Indonesia News Service
> Tenth Anniversary 1996-2005
>
> If you haven't contributed
> this year -- please do so
> without delay. Thanks!
>
> ------------------------------------------
>
>
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