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Malang'€™s '€˜wayang krucil'€™: under threat of Extinction

Puppet master: Djain, the only dalang for wayang krucil in Malang regency, East Java, plays a character during a performance

Nedi Putra AW (The Jakarta Post)
Malang, East Java
Mon, August 24, 2015

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Malang'€™s '€˜wayang krucil'€™: under threat of Extinction

Puppet master: Djain, the only dalang for wayang krucil in Malang regency, East Java, plays a character during a performance.

Dullah, 60, was fixing the hands of a wayang puppet, ready to be played, and preparing a number of others on a modest stage, while several men were laying down offerings and burning incense amid gamelan instruments backstage.

After saying prayers, the men shared the food and dishes offered, as Djain, 50, arranged the puppets in their proper order and kept the air fragrant with smoldering incense.

They were all set for a wayang krucil (wooden puppet) show in Wiloso hamlet, Malang regency in East Java. Djain is a dalang (puppet master) and Dullah is a gamelan player of this rare traditional art, which is now preserved only in Gondowangi.

According to Djain, he is Malang'€™s only wayang krucil player today. He learned the skill from his late father, Karlin. This recent performance, held seven days after Idul Fitri, was mandatory. '€œBut it can also be performed for weddings or circumcisions,'€ he said.

The obligation to stage the show a week after Idul Fitri has existed for centuries. Local residents
believe that without fulfilling the requirement, misfortune may befall the village, thus prompting community assistance to help realize the event.

So far Djain has performed only in the Malang region, including a show in Malang Tempo Doeloe, Malang city'€™s commemorative program, several years ago. In fact, he is ready to stage wayang krucil anywhere to promote more widespread awareness of the tradition.

The man, who is also a construction worker, claims to be a 10th-generation puppeteer and has no idea yet about his successor, although he is convinced there will be somebody interested in carrying on the profession.

The story he presented on the occasion was Raden Trenggono Wulan-Raden Trenggono Sasi, belonging to the legend of Panji or the East Java princes. The tale was the puppeteer'€™s choice so its duration was not fixed.

Adding to the rarity of wayang krucil, only 72 of the centuries-old puppets are left, which are kept in a special box. Saniyem, 85, is the woman entrusted to take care of the cultural treasures. She also observes the ritual of fasting and lays offerings around the box on certain days.

The woman with 13 great-grandchildren said she inherited the task from her ancestor known as Mentaram or Mbah Taram, who had preserved the puppets. '€œNobody appointed me but this duty has been handed down through generations,'€ said Saniyem, who only speaks Javanese.

The annual show has always been staged in the yard of Saniyem'€™s house as the caretaker. The rare collection has also attracted antique collectors, some even offering to swap the wayang set for a new truck, which was flatly refused by Saniyem.

A number of cultural observers and historians from Malang paid special attention, watching the infrequent performance. Among the figures was Malang-style tari topeng (mask dance) master Ki Soleh Adi Pramono, who described the show as populist in nature, with its stories covering agriculture, Panji and Islam.

'€œTechnically, the dalang still adopts the gamelan compositions of wayang kulit [shadow puppets],'€ he added. Malang'€™s wayang krucil involves at least 15 people, comprising a puppeteer, two sinden (female singers) and 12 gamelan players. The gamelan used is a limited version of the instruments used for wayang kulit.

According to Ki Soleh, unlike night-time shadow puppet shows, wayang krucil is more frequently staged during the daytime to give the opportunity for children to join the audience. '€œThe duration is not so long, from one to three hours only, depending on the episode chosen,'€ he said.

Preparation: Dullah, 60, one of the wiyogo (gamelan musicians) is preparing the puppets for a performance while wayang krucil characters are racked in the background.
Preparation: Dullah, 60, one of the wiyogo (gamelan musicians) is preparing the puppets for a performance while wayang krucil characters are racked in the background.

Archeologist M. Dwi Cahyono referred to two views from historical studies of the origins of wayang krucil. '€œThe first indicates that it was a product of Wali [Islamic proselytizers], notably Sunan Kalijaga in the 1500s, using wayang as a medium and presenting Islam-based Menak stories,'€ he said.

The second view came from the author of Islamic States in Java, HJ de Graaf and Th. Pigeaud, that this wayang was created by Pangeran Pekik, a ruling prince in Surabaya in the 1630s. While presenting Panji tales, in its further developments Menak and Damarwulan folklore were also covered.

Coastal areas as the bases of Islamic growth were marked by Menak stories, compared to the dominance of Panji episodes in interior regions. '€œIn the context of Malang, it'€™s a variant of Malang'€™s Panji,'€ explained Dwi, adding that wayang krucil in Malang were three centuries old.

In Indonesia this type of wooden wayang developed in the pre-independence period and decreased in activity during the Japanese occupation, only to reemerge in the early 1950s and 1960s. Many art performances halted after the 1965 political turbulence, including wayang krucil, which as Dwi noted, experienced a generation'€™s vacuum until 2009.

Like the other versions of wayang krucil in East Java and Central Java, the Malang style in Gondowangi is also crafted from wood with a thickness of about 2 centimeters and almost the size of leather shadow-puppets. The wooden puppets are also called wayang klithik.

Uniquely, wayang krucil'€™s gunungan (mountain shape), a symbol of nature, is made from feathers, originally those of peacocks and now of Java'€™s eagles. The stage needs no screen to create shadows so spectators can view the show from all directions, although they generally watch it from behind the puppeteer and his troupe.

Every performance uses genuine puppets, making them prone to damage. '€œThe conservation of this wayang set is very important as it belongs to rare cultural assets not only in Malang but also East Java,'€ stressed Dwi.

Meanwhile, the other problem is the regeneration of dalang and gamelan players, which should be considered by the regional administration.

The plan to make duplicates of the wayang is an alternative solution. '€œThe duplication will provide a means of training for those interested in learning puppet playing without damaging the originals,'€ said Danis Setya Budi Nugroho, Gondowangi village head. The duplicates, according to him, would also be produced with the required rituals as taught by ancestors.

The reproduction is also very important as the number of puppets in the village was actually more than 72. '€œSeveral accessories like arrows and bows have mostly been damaged,'€ he said. He therefore expects the Malang regency administration to support the near-extinct art by allowing it to appear at various events of larger scale.

The sacred character of this wayang on the one hand slows down the process of regeneration to guarantee its continued survival through performances. On the other hand, it offers protection from extinction, as the treasure box kept by Saniyem instills confidence among Wiloso people in Gondowangi about their endeavor to preserve the ancestral heritage.

Our view: Most wayang krucil spectators enjoy the performance from behind the dalang (puppet master), wiyogo and sinden (female singers) who are on duty.
Our view: Most wayang krucil spectators enjoy the performance from behind the dalang (puppet master), wiyogo and sinden (female singers) who are on duty.

'€” Photos by Nedi Putra AW


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