Innovations of Borobudur Traditional Art Products

                

On the foothill and slopes of Menoreh Hill at the south side of Borobudur Temple, Magelang Regency, Central Java, traditional performing arts which are believed to have been exciting since more than a century ago develop rapidly. Traditional performing arts are preserved although they have to face tough competition with modern art that invades across the villages.

Various traditional performing arts such as Rodat, Topeng Ireng, Kubro Siswo, Jathilan, have undergone revitalization process that includes make ups, costumes, background music, movements and formations which made them become more attractive public entertainments.

Traditional performing arts are public entertainments that developed in village settlements. They say that long time ago, while waiting for coming of harvesting season, the farmers dwelledinto the process of creating performing arts. Post harvesting season, they performed the creation to express gratefulness to Gog for abundant harvest they got.

The other part of society was spectators usually they came in crowd without invitation. People came from everywhere, not only from the village where it took place but also from the surrounding villages, to watch the free of changes performance.

Currently in this modern era, many kinds of media entertainments are easy to find such as big screen cinemas, television transmissions, radio broadcast and the internet. The wxistence of traditional performing arts seems to have been left and forgotten by their spectator. It, at least, has been proven by the phenomenon of decreasing number of spectators during each performance.

Aeiswara Sutomo (68), a person of culture in Borobudur said that the traditional performing arts in Borobudur region exist sibce long time ago, but developed in 1930’s. The more people enjoy the traditional performances, the larger they developed. But when people leave and forget them, they will face their natural death.

Sutomo told us that around 1950’s, Raden Cokrodisastro-the father of H. Boedihardjo (ex-first director of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur and ex RI’s Minister of Information- had publicly popularized groups of traditional performing arts. Folk performing arts around Borobudur region often performed in Borobudur Temple tourism area and therefore made them more recognized.

 In their developments, traditional performing arts experienced the touch of choreography as well as innovations. One of the persons who did the revitalization was Ahmad Sujak of Tuksongo village, Borobudur. Nbah Sujak –his popular nickname- had transformed the traditional dance Rodat into Topeng Kawedar dances included a new elements of masks with animal countenance such as tiger, horse, elephant, etc.