Shadow Boxing: Indonesian Writers and the Ramayana in the New Order
2001; Volume: 72; Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/3351485
ISSN2164-8654
Autores Tópico(s)Cultural and Religious Practices in Indonesia
Resumo1 would like to thank Virginia Hooker, Keith Foulcher, Barbara Hatley, and Benedict Anderson, in particular, for reading earlier versions of this article, which has been significantly improved as a result of their detailed comments.In Arus Bawah and other examples of Indonesian literary texts in which wayang themes were transformed-such as Agusta Wibisono's Balada Narasoma (The Ballad of Narasoma)4 (1990), Ki Guna Watoncarita's Wayang Semau Gue (Wayang as I Please)5 (1990), and Pipit Rochijat's Baratayuda di Negeri Antah Berantah (The Baratayuda in Never-Never Land)6 (1993)-the rulers themselves are often satirically caricatured as spoilt, nepotistic, corrupt, and power-hungry officials who are socially and politically ill-equipped to negotiate the ever-changing realities of life outside the palace walls.7However, these examples are extreme, and many texts, such as Sindhunata's Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin (The Little Runt Herding the Wind)8 ( 1983), Putu Wijaya's Perang (War)9 (1990), and Seno Gumira Ajidarma's Wisanggeni Sang Buronan (Wisanggeni the Outlaw)10 (2000), portrayed both the wayang rulers and their subordinates in somewhat tempered shades of gray.For example, in Wisanggeni Sang Buronan, the renegade ksatria of the Pandawa, Wisanggeni, respects the opinions of authoritative ksatria (knight) figures such as his father Arjuna and the advisor to the Pandawa, Kresna.However, Wisanggeni's peasant clothes, his unkempt appearance, his taste for arak (rice wine), his allegiance to the common people, and his opposition to the wayang gods can very easily be understood as a focus of an alternative site of values and beliefs, a focus which could also be seen as a rallying point for moral resistance against the hegemonic status quo.Therefore, by treating the wayang seriously, and by broaching issues such as hierarchy and feudalism in a subtle manner, 11 Sapto Aji, "Gatotkaca Gugur," Suara Merdeka, May 25,1997.12 Soebadio Sastrosatomo, Politik Dosomuko Rezim Orde Baru: Rapuh dan Sengsarakan Rakyat (Jakarta: Pusat Dokumentasi Politik "GUNTUR 49," 1998).13 Five-hundred rupiah notes are characterized by the image of an orangutan.In the context of the front cover of Soebadio's text, the publisher claims that these notes represent "ketek-ketek yang mengabdi kepada tokoh Rama" (the monkeys who serve the hero Rama).See Soebadio, Politik Dosomuko, inside cover.
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