Wayang, Tolerance and the Internet
1 Tjahjono
Rahardjo, 2 Dr. Ridwan Sanjaya, 3Dr. Rustina Untari,
1Post
Graduate Program on Environment and Urban Studies, Soegijapranata Catholic
University, Indonesia
2Faculty of
Computer Science, Soegijapranata
Catholic University, Indonesia
3Faculty
of Economic and Business, Soegijapranata
Catholic University, Indonesia
1tjahjonorahardjo@yahoo.com,2ridwan.sanjaya@gmail.com,3r.untari@gmail.com
“The highest result of
education is tolerance.” – Helen Keller
Abstract
For
centuries wayang kulit has played an important role in shaping the world view
of the Javanese, including the special kind of tolerance that the Javanese
people have. In recent years, however, we have seen an erosion of this sense of
tolerance amongst the Javanese. Because of this, a team of researchers from the
Soegijapranata Catholic
University in Semarang
has introduced a portal dedicated the artist of wayang in Solo and Semarang. It is hoped
that this portal will make wayang not only survive, but continue to be able to
contribute in the development of a plural, tolerant and multi-cultural
Indonesian society.
Keywords: internet, multi-culturalism, tolerance, wayang, wayang network
Introduction
A wayang [1] performance
was first documented in sufficient detail in the Kakawin Arjuna Wiwaha, a
narrative poems composed by Empu Kanwa in 1030 AD during the reign of King
Airlangga in East Java. In stanza 59 Empu Kanwa wrote:
“Hanonton ringgit [2] manangis asekel muda
hidepan, huwus wruh tuwin yan walulang unikir molah angucap, hatur neng wang
tresnaning wisaya malaha tan wihikana, ri tat wan ya maya sahana hananing bawa
siluman”.
"People who watch
the puppets cry, laugh, marvel, and wonder, even though they know that what they see is only leather carved into
human forms, made to move and
talk. Those who are
seeing puppets in such a way are like a man lusting over
worldliness, being self-forgetful
and not knowing it
is just a ghost-like shadow.”
(Hazeu quoted in Soetarno, 2005).
Earlier,
wayang was already hinted in an inscription dating from 907 AD issued by King
Balitung of the Indic Mataram Kingdom
in Central Java. The inscription reads:
“… Si Nalu macarita
bhima kumaramangigal Kicaka si jaluk macarita ramayana mamirus mabanol si
mukmuk si galigi mawayang buat thyang macarita bimma ya kumara…”
“…Si Nalu recited Bhimma Kumara (and) danced as Kicaka, Si
Jaluk recited the Ramayana, Si Mukmuk play-acted and clowned, Si Galigi
performed wayang for the gods, reciting the story of Bimma Kumara…”
(Soedarsono, 1984)
There are two opinions
regarding to the origin of wayang. The first one
is that wayang originated on the island of Java, specifically in East Java. This
opinion is mainly shared by Indonesian scholars as well as Dutch
scholars such as L.A. Brandes J. Kats and specially G.A.J. Hazeau
who defended this view in his dissertation ’Bijdrage tot de Kennis van het
Javaansche Toneel’ (1897). In 1931 W.H.
Rasser wrote a book titled ’Over de Oorsprong van het Javaansche Toneel’ in
which he contested Hazeau’s view. Rasser believes that wayang has its origin in India,
and brought to Indonesia along
with the Hinduism. Other scholars who support Rassers’ viewpoint include N.J. Krom, C. Poensen, and B.H. Goslings. (Soedarsono, 1984)
Wayang
and Tolerance
Whatever
the case may be, wayang became an important part of Javanese culture. For more
than a thousand years it has developed to become “one of the world’s most
complex and dramatic theatrical forms” (Brandon,
1970). Wayang was not merely an
entertainment. In the
past, the dhalang (puppeteers) were
regarded as a person who possessed extraordinary knowledge and power who
transmitted moral and aesthetic values through their art.
The words and actions of
comic characters (punakawan)
representing the “ordinary person” have provided a vehicle for criticizing
sensitive social and political issues. It is believed that these are the
reasons why wayang has been able to survive over the centuries (UNESCO, 2008).
Mangkunagara VII (1933) in his paper “Over de wajang-koelit (poerwa) in het
algemeen en over de daarin voorkomende symbolische en mystieke elementen”
published in the journal Djawa pointed
out that for the Javanese people wayang had a philosophical, symbolic and
mystical significance.
Wayang
is usually seen as a conflict between good and evil. However, as Brandon (1970) points out, the ethical
cleavage between good and evil are not absolute. All the main characters
(notwithstanding which side they belong to) have their good and bad traits.
Therefore, Brandon
maintains that in wayang there is no “good” and “evil”, only “better’ and “less
good.”
In
his book “Mythology and the Tolerance of the Javanese” (1976), Benedict R. O’G Anderson affirms the role of
wayang as a metaphysical and ethical “system” in shaping the special kind of
tolerance that the Javanese people have. But we have to take into account the
fact that Anderson
proposed his idea based on observations made in 1976. Since then, however, we
have seen an erosion of this sense of tolerance amongst the Javanese. As
Lindsay (2012) points out, we now are living in a much less tolerant period in
history. This is, incidentally, taking place parallel with the decline of
wayang.
Though
seemingly still enjoying popularity, wayang
performances nowadays tend to accentuate comic scenes at the expense of the
story line. Very few dhalangs
adhere to wayang as philosophy, oral literature, and food for thought. As a consequence, wayang is
no longer, in Anderson’s
words “an almost universally accepted religious mythology which commands deep
emotional and intellectual adherence.” The question is: Is there any
correlation between the shift in the role of wayang, from that of metaphysical
and ethical system to a mere entertainment with the decline of tolerance
amongst the Javanese?
Indonesian
Wayang Network
In
July 2012 the celebrated comic artist Raden Ahmad Kosasih passed away at the
age of 93. He is considered as the father of the art in Indonesia.
Kosasih’s first work was published in 1953 and he continued to work till 1993.
He is best known for his wayang comics, retelling the great Hindu epics, the
Ramayana and Mahabarata. For three generations of Indonesian, their first
encounter with wayang was through Kosasih’s comic books. Comics in those days were considered a
novelty and “modern.” The first comics introduced in Indonesia were American comics,
such as Tarzan, Rip Kirby, Phantom and Johnny Hazard, which are seen as
representing the “modern” West. Through this “modern” medium ancient local
stories became available to a wide audience.
Compared
to comics, the Internet can reach a much wider audience. So far, there has been
no real attempt to use the Internet to disseminate knowledge about wayang to
the general public, despite the potentials of the Internet to reach many
people, especially the young who are by and large incredibly computer literate.
Young
people recognize wayang as being one of Indonesia’s iconic art forms and become
angry when it is claimed by other countries. However, they actually know very
little about it (Sanjaya, 2012).
This
is unfortunate because according to
Mulyono (1989, quoted in Nurgiyantoro, 2003),
wayang, besides being a sophisticated art form, also contains in the
stories conveyed philosophical ideas that are still relevant today.
Mastuti
(2012) argues that wayang teaches us how to practice tolerance and how to
address differences, Many aspects and values of humanism can found in wayang. With
this in mind, a team of researchers from the Soegijapranata Catholic University
in Semarang has introduced a portal dedicated the artists of wayang in Solo and
Semarang. The
basic concept behind this portal is to train wayang performers and wayang
studios on how they can use the Internet as a showcase of their arts, so that
more people can learn about wayang and the artists involved. It is hoped that
this portal will make wayang not only survive, but continue to be able to
contribute in the development of a plural, tolerant and multi-cultural
Indonesian society.
Acknowledgments
This
manuscript is fully granted by Penelitian Unggulan Project on 2012 from the
Directorate General of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and
Culture of the Republic
of Indonesia under
contract no. 011/O06.2/PP/SP/2012.
References
Anderson,
Benedict R. O'G (1976) Mythology and the
Tolerance of the Javanese Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell Modern Indonesia Project,
Southeast Asia Program, Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell University
Brandon, J. R.
(1970) On Thrones of Gold: Three Javanese
Shadow Plays, Cambridge, Mass, USA: Harvard
University Press
Lindsay, J.
(2012) Seni Pertunjukan Tradisi dan
Diplomasi Antar Bangsa, paper presented to the Yayasan Pamulangan Beksa
Sasminta Mardawa International Seminar “Menapak Jejak Meniti Harapan: Tantangan
Seni Pertunjukan Tradisi di Masa Datang” 14 July 2012, Gadjah
Mada University,
Yogyakarta
Mangkunagara
VII (1933) Over de Wajang-Koelit (Poerwa)
in het algemeen en over de daarin vooromende Symbolische en Mystieke Elementen,
in “Djawa”, XII, 1933
Sanjaya, R.
(2012) Mengangkat Wayang lewat Internet,
Suara Merdeka 22 July 2012. URL: http://blogridwan.sanjaya.org/2012/07/mengangkat-wayang-lewat-internet.html
Soedarsono (1984) Wayang Wong: The State Ritual Dance Drama in
the Court of Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Gadjah Mada
University Press
Soetarno (2005)
Pertunjukan Wayang dan Makna Simbolik.
Surakarta, Indonesia: STSI Press
UNESCO (2008) Wayang puppet theater, http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/00063 downloaded 1 August 2012
Mastuti, W.
(2012) Wayang dan Bayangan Kehidupan, http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/content/read/wayang-dan-bayangan-kehidupan/ downloaded 3 August 2012
Nurgiyantoro,
B. (2003) “Wayang dalam Fiksi Indonesia” in Humaniora
vol. XV No. 1/2003
Tjahjono Rahardjo is a
lecturer at Post Graduate Program on Environment and Urban Studies,
Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, Indonesia. He holds the Master
degree in MA Urban Management and Development from Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam. His research
interests are in Cultural Heritage and Urban Studies.
Ridwan Sanjaya has been working as a lecturer at the Faculty of Computer Science in
Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang, Indonesia since 2002. This author
became a member of IEEE, IACSIT, and IEICE. He received the Master of Science
in Internet and E-Commerce Technology (MS.IEC) degree and Ph.D. in Computer
Information System (Ph.D.CIS) from Assumption
University, Bangkok, Thailand.
He has been publishing more than 95 books related to computer area such as Web
Development with JSP, Graphic Engineering using PHP, PDF Report Development
with PHP 5.0, Cross-Platform Computer Network Administration, Creative Digital
Marketing, Business-Driven Information System, etc. His research interests are
in Internet Technology, Information System, and Creative Industries.
Rustina Untari is a lecturer at Faculty of Economic
and Business, Soegijapranata Catholic University,
Semarang, Indonesia. She holds the Doctoral
degree in Management of Industry from Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
and a Master degree in the same field. Her research interests are in Small
Medium Enterprises, Entrepreneurship, and Cluster Industries.
[1] The word “wayang” in this article, unless otherwise indicated, refers mainly to
the Javanese wayang kulit purwa, wayang performed using flat leather puppets
telling stories taken from the Ramayana and Mahabarata epics.
[2]“Ringgit” is the Old Javanese and High Javanese word for “wayang.”
