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Jakarta Post

Masks in motion

Buried in the plain and white Panji mask are layers of colorful stories, wisdom and treasured beauty

Dian Kuswandini (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, August 18, 2010

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Masks in motion

Buried in the plain and white Panji mask are layers of colorful stories, wisdom and treasured beauty.

Contemporary touch: Whatnot Studio’s Buka Topeng takes on the story of Peterpan’s vocalist Ariel. JP/Dian Kuswandini

A symbol of purity, the traditional mask from West Java represents the earliest phase in human life, where the newborn possesses noble traits of character connecting him or her to the Divine Spirit.

“To understand the soul of the Panji mask is to look at it and ‘read’ it using our inner side,” says mask maker Galis Agus Sunardi of the mask at the heart of Cirebon and Indramayu traditional dances. “The Panji mask carries a plethora of rich messages. Its half-closed eyes, for instance, allude to the Javanese tradition of avoiding direct eye contact with the elderly to show them respect.”

Panji is only one of countless traditional masks rich in inspiring stories. But over the years, these masks have been forgotten, as a result of their absence from many cultural events and school textbooks.

“Traditional masks aren’t popular among Indonesians because they haven’t been exposed much to the public,” says Galis, who has been dedicated to the art of mask making — both traditional and contemporary — for more than 20 years. “The government hasn’t really made any effort to promote the mask heritage to the public.

“I know some traditional mask makers [in Cirebon and Indramayu] who even changed profession because they could no longer make a living from creating masks. They became laborers — it’s heartbreaking,” he adds.

Untitled, a painted mask, is covered in Indonesian stamps, by designer Diela Maharanie. JP/Dian Kuswandini
Untitled, a painted mask, is covered in Indonesian stamps, by designer Diela Maharanie. JP/Dian Kuswandini

Actress and cultural advocate Peggy Melati Sukma, who’s also the spokeswoman for Prima Ardian Tana Foundation, concurs with Galis, saying the mask heritage risks disappearing because it has been removed from the nation’s agenda.

“The mask tradition is still alive in many regions, but it’s struggling to survive on its own,” says Peggy, whose foundation recently conducted research on traditional masks. “It doesn’t really exist as  [a nation’s] heritage, thus it’s hard to tell whether it has a promising future or not.”

Fortunately there is still hope, as both Peggy and Galis mentioned art and cultural enthusiasts today were looking into ways of turning on the masks’ charms. To rekindle people’s interest in traditional masks, they started organizing arts and cultural events centered around these masks.

“Once people start to show interest in masks again, mask makers will be encouraged to revive the tradition,” says Galis, whose art workshop in Paseban, East Jakarta, provides a free mask-making class for children in his neighborhood.

Galis and Peggy are currently involved in the country’s biggest mask festival — dubbed the “Festival Topeng Nusantara”, or the Indonesian Mask Festival. Organized by Prima Ardian Tana Foundation, the festival just kicked off this month and will end in October.

Via Lactea, a mask by fashion designer Sapto Djojkartiko, fuses the art of mask making with the theme of fashion. JP/Dian Kuswandini
Via Lactea, a mask by fashion designer Sapto Djojkartiko, fuses the art of mask making with the theme of fashion. JP/Dian Kuswandini

“We are concerned not many cultural events embrace traditional masks,” says Peggy, the festival’s program coordinator. “If cultural heritage like batik and wayang [puppet shows] is becoming popular again, then why not traditional masks, we thought to ourselves?”

Primarily aimed at bringing traditional masks into the limelight, the festival also acts as the first step toward building a case for adding Indonesian masks to UNESCO’s list of world’s cultural heritage — just like batik, wayang and kris (Indonesian daggers), says Peggy.

“To be included in the UNESCO’s list is difficult, as we have to meet many requirements and standards,” explains Peggy. “But we’re working on it. We already started an archiving project on traditional masks from across Indonesia and we’ll soon publish a book — Jejak Topeng Nusantara [The Trail of Indonesian Masks].”

“The festival is set to be held every two years. Various events will be staged in a few months to ensure the festival’s impact is maximized,” she adds.

This year, the foundation chose Cirebon as the festival’s main venue since the region is considered famous for its mask tradition, in which it’s the centuries-old Mask Dance has managed to survive.  

Cultural heritage: Bapang Jaya Santika, a traditional mask from Malang, East Java, is named after a supporting character in the Panji dance.
Cultural heritage: Bapang Jaya Santika, a traditional mask from Malang, East Java, is named after a supporting character in the Panji dance.

“We picked the Panji mask from Cirebon [as our mascot] this year – it’s one of five masks used in Cirebon’s Mask Dance,” Peggy says. “In the future, the festival will make its way to other regions and promote their traditional masks.”

A series of rare traditional mask performances along Cirebon’s main streets, which will be held on Oct. 16, will be the highlight of this year’s festival. Mask dances and performances like Gundala-gundala from North Sumatra, Hudog from East Kalimantan, Cerita Cupak Gerantang from West Nusa Tenggara and Tenget from Bali are set to charm the public, along with West Java’s Tari Topeng Cirebon, East Java’s Guro Gudho, Central Java’s Topeng Gandrung and Jakarta’s Topeng Tunggal.

Apart from the parade, thousands of school students and artisans in Cirebon will create 10,000 traditional masks, to break the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) Award.

Meanwhile, another program, part of the same festival, is currently taking place in Jakarta: an exhibition titled “Expresi!”. The exhibition consists of around 40 young urbanites — from public figures and celebrities to designers and housewives — showcasing their reinterpretation of the Panji mask at Grand Indonesia’s Shopping Town. Participants used Galis’ white, plain Panji masks as their “canvas” and turned them into contemporary-looking masks under various themes including culture, metropolitan, gender and fashion.

“It’s our first step to introduce traditional masks to the public, in a fresh, different way,” says Peggy. “We picked a mall for the event to highlight that a modern place could also become a space where arts and tradition meet with the wider public.”

 

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