WAYANG
BEBER
Indonesia has a rich variety of wayang, such as wayang kulit (shadow), wayang golek (puppet), and wayang beber (picture). Wayang beber is a pictorial wayang show painted on cloth or daluang of 4m x 70cm divided into four scenes (jagong), narrated by a dalang or puppeteer by unfolding each jagong in order.
WAYANG
BEBER
Indonesia has a rich variety of wayang, such as wayang kulit (shadow), wayang golek (puppet), and wayang beber (picture).
Wayang beber is a pictorial wayang show painted on cloth or daluang of 4m x 70cm divided into four scenes (jagong), narrated by a dalang or puppeteer by unfolding each jagong in order.
Victoria M. Clara, a scholar from Leiden listed down wayang beber’s unique quality, and Primardi Tabrani, an arts expert, found its existence in Indonesia since the pre-historic era. Wayang beber reached its heyday during the Majapahit until Mataram era in Kartosuro, and since then has been experiencing major setbacks that threatens its existence.
Nowadays we are left with only three oldest wayang beber, Wayang Beber Joko Kembang Kuning at Gedompol Village, Pacitan, Wayang Beber Remeng Mangunjaya at Gelaran Village, Wonosari, and an unidentified one at Leiden, The Netherlands.
Indonesia’s own tangible and intangible cultural heritage are scattered around the world. Some are kept in museums, galleries, and universities. Others are in private collections and other institutions. Some are well kept and documented, others are still a mystery in an unkempt condition with possible irreversible damage. Today’s Unboxing Heritage will discuss collections of the well-documented masterpieces that previously conserved but now can be documented, observed and developed.
Wayang according to JLA Brandes is one of the Ten Elements of Nusantara’s indigenous culture. The story of Ramayana and Mahabharata that came from India may be popular, but we have our own story of Panji from East Java carved in the reliefs of some temples and Mount Penanggungan. This Panji Story appears in wayang beber that we will talk about now.
.:: THE STORY ::.
There are several Majapahit temples in East Java adorned with reliefs depicting the Panji Story. When I climbed up Mount Penanggungan and visited Candi Kendalisodo in 1996, it was my first time to see the Panji relief and it was mindblowing. For years I travelled across East Java researching temples that depict a figure with a hat. Candi Kendalisono at the slope of Mount Penanggungan was built around 1450 CE, and it was a special place consisting of a terraced building for worship to the gods and the ancestors, and a meditation cave covered by a wall. Both buildings were adorned with reliefs of worship – we can see a long panel with beautiful and captivating depiction of a man and a woman walking in nature and they sat together intimately, the man was playing fiena, a musical instrument similar to a rebab with two resonators. The man was wearing a Tekes hat. The depiction of nature with the mountain, the trees, the lake and water fountain, the walkway, is very beautiful. As if we can picture ourselves coming along their walk to the mountain.
At the last panel, the couple was standing by the sea, ready to cross it. The story is not exactly known, but from the Tekes hat worn by the man, the iconography, and the carving style of the natural elements, it is possible that these panels depict the Panji Story. On the wall of the meditation cave, we find scenes of Arjuna Wiwaha and Bima Suci on the reliefs. The main takeaway of the stories is meditation and entering the sea to gain infinite knowledge.
The figure of Panji in wayang batu (red. stone relief) transformed into wayang beber made out of high quality mulberry tree bark called daluang. Not many in Indonesia are continuing the tradition in making daluang, but one of them is a craftsman from Bandung.
Since not many people are continuing the ancient tradition of paper making of daluang, there are not many mulberry trees planted and available. It is fortunate that Mufid Sururi from Bandung, one of ancient paper conservationists, successfully cultivated and preserved this traditional process.
If a plain paper made from pulp contains chemicals, daluang has no additives. Mufid maintains the daluang-making tradition without any additives, only water for soaking.
Many great nations are proud of their traditional papermaking. Egypt with its papyrus, Japan with washi, Papua New Guinea with tapa, South Korea with hanji, and others.
Mulberry tree, or Broussonetia papyrifera, or also known in Sundanese as saeh tree, bears fruits that you can enjoy, and the tree bark can be made into paper known as paper mulberry. Traditionally we known them as daluang or dluwang. The white-coloured inner tree bark are peeled and soaked for 24 hours. Afterwards, it is pounded hundred times over using tools of various sizes and surfaces.
This strong and beautifully textured organic paper is a material of Indonesian heritage for painting wayang beber, replacing cloth and stone carving from temples in East Java.
With natural dye, like red from suruh, black from coal, white from burnt bones, and other organic eco-friendly material, it is not surprising that after hundreds of years, the colours and the paintings are still vividly beautiful.
There’s only three ancient wayang beber made from daluang left in the world. The first is Wayang Beber Desa Gedompol from Pacitan, East Java kept by Tri Hartanto family. The second is from Gelaran Village at Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, an hour drive away from Pacitan, kept by Wisnu Utomo family. The third is beber scroll kept by the Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden, the Netherlands. Today’s Buka Kotak, ‘Wayang Beber, This is Your Life will trace down all three of them to discover their beauty, find their uniqueness, and develop their potential.
.:: GALLERY ::.
