RAMAYANA BALLET:ANOTHER EXOTICA OF JAVANESE CULTURE

How strange it is to be a native Javanese who hardly ever watched Javanese traditional dances…..

All of a sudden,I stumbled upon an article of newspaper reporting a Javanese traditional performance which looks luxurious and outstanding as it is held at Prambanan Temple,Yogyakarta, starting from Friday,8/7/2009 to Monday,8/10/2009. It is a highly well-known tourist attraction after Borobudur,so I concluded there must be some government officials watching it.Presented by more than 250 artists at its original place: Ramayana Open Air Theater & Trimurti Theater Prambanan Temple complex – Yogyakarta – Indonesia.

Here is the factual report on the ballet I read on The Jakarta Post:

“Ramayana Ballet at present time being the most popular performance in Yogyakarta. It is held at an outdoor theater (episodic) and Trimurti indoor theater (full story) in Prambanan, 16 km east of Yogyakarta, with the magnificent Prambanan Temple as a scenic background. Ramayana Ballet presents the finest dancers from the region.

 

The entire Ramayana epic consists of four episodes, each night one episode, presented from 07.30 to 09.30 p.m. in four clear nights on and around the full moon, each month from May through October. The full story is held at Trimurti Theater every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; presented by more than 50 professional dancers. The large outdoor amphitheater, more than 250 assorted dancers and gamelan musicians, four clear tropical nights on the full moon, a thousand-year-old temple of inspiring beauty as part of the scenery; Ramayana, the story of gods, mortals, giants, monkeys and beautiful women based on the epic of Hindu found in the relief’s of Prambanan Temple, are the reasons for its popularity, reputation and appeal with every performance.”

“Looks like the Indonesian tourism is starting its toil to restore its fame and regain tourists’ sympathy after the terrifying, deadly blast of J. W. Marriot and Ritz Carlton“, I thought. But apart from that, I feel a bit odd as I realize how rarely I watch any Javanese shows or art performances for my 25 years of my lifetime.”This is wrong,so wrong!”, I said by heart. I can’t even read Javanese alphabets well which I used to learn in my elementary school days (a series of alphabets that I didn’t really skillfully write and read at that time and -tragically-still now). What strikes me is the fact that bunch of foreigners are found more atttracted to Javanese cultural products than I am. This is, to me, like an indirect slap on my bare face. I don’t hate those who love Javanese stuff but it makes me lament my loss of Javanese sense and my being a Javanese and living as a Javanese. An ironic,bitter fact that, I’m pretty sure, many other Javanese may encounter either consciously or subconsciously.

 

Occasionally,I try to listen to kethoprak shows aired on local radio stations,but find myself fail to enjoy the story. I feel like I’ve betrayed my Javanese origin and ancestors. I guess,it is because of Javanese natives-who don’t enjoy Javanese shows like me, Ngesti Pandowo (a celebrated Javanese artists group) is now gasping to survive,though succeeded to remain active for decades.

 

Ok, enough with all complaints, onto business. As I can’t literally do anything significant for the betterment of Javanese culture,perhaps this is the one and only good deed I’ve ever done for the culture,i.e. posting this article. For anyone who may find this show interesting, click here to book the seats.