The Covid-19 pandemic is something that places fear into the hearts of the Indonesian people. The first case of this virus in Indonesia was discovered two months ago, and now there are more than 12 million people infected worldwide. This fear is similar to the fear that was experienced by the victims of the ’65 political tragedy and the 30 September Movement mass killings.
“In ’65 they were thrown into prison, on Buru Island, and now they are being ostracized by their families, their corpses are stigmatized because of a disease. So it’s the same, the ’65 tragedy and this corona pandemic,’ said Winarso, Coordinator of the Ketoprak Srawung Bersama (KSB) theater group – ketoprak is a traditional Javanese theatrical form.
Pagebluk, the title of the performance (meaning plague in Javanese), directed by ST Wiyono, evolved from an idea by Winarso. ST Wiyono is an artist and playwright that has devoted 32 years of his life to the Surakarta Cultural Center (Taman Budaya). His work always addresses three elements: education, culture and creation. A lot of ST Wiyono’s work, particularly from 1980-1990, was highly regarded at national level. His plays Dua Matahari (Two Suns), Ranggalawe (a Javanese historical figure) and Gendhuk Gotri (a Shadow Puppet character) all made it into the top three at the National Theater Festival.
Ketoprak Pagebluk involves both traditional and modern performers, the grandchildren of victims and other young people, mainly students from two of Surakarta’s universities. The performance is accompanied by musicians from Lumbini. Ketoprak Pagebluk’s performance was supported by Indonesia for Humanity (IKa) and the Peduli Program.
The Peduli Program is a program working on poverty eradication that adopts an inclusive development approach in order to ensure that marginal communities are able to participate in and reap the benefits of development. The Peduli Program works with and for marginalized communities all over Indonesia, to support their access to public services and economic opportunities.
Originally, the ketoprak troupe was going to perform an adaptation Mangir, a story by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, on 28 March 2020. However, Sekber ’65 (an organization representing victims of the 1965 humanitarian tragedy) in consultation with the artists, decided to put on a show that responds to the current situation instead. The decision was taken to put on a ketoprak performance aimed at educating the audience about the pandemic, and thus Pagebluk was written to be performed online so that it could be viewed by a wider audience, along with a discussion on the theme of Covid-19.
Pagebluk tells the story of Seloguminto District which has been struck by Covid-19. Initially, the District Head was unsure how to respond to the plague, but following discussion with two of his trusted advisers, he decided to introduce a lockdown of the District, which is an acronym of:
L: Lungguh ayem ning omah (sitting in peace at home)
O: Ora usah keluyuran (can’t leave the house if it’s not important)
C: Cukup ngasohi (take lots of rest)
K: Kumpul karo keluarga (gather and be happy with your family)
D: Dipepe awake (bathe in the rays of the sun)
O: Olahraga secukupe (exercise)
W: Wisuh karo sabun (wash your hands with soap)
N: Ngerungo seng akeh (don’t make a fuss)
This decision didn’t come out of the blue. Initially Adimas Senopati, one of the District elders, felt that the District Head had to issue a firm policy in order that Covid-19 be contained. He pushed for a policy that would see the arrest of any villagers that dared to leave their homes. He did not care about the rights of the villagers. However, thanks to discussion with one of the soldiers who felt guilty at having perpetrated acts of violence and mass killings 55 years previously, in the end the District Head issued a policy that focused on containing the virus but also honored human rights.
Cultural Approach to Addressing Human Rights
To this day, the discussion of gross human rights violations in Indonesia requires an approach that is deemed acceptable by society. Both traditional and contemporary art forms are used to discuss social issues, but their use in raising human rights issues remains limited. Artists and performers themselves also have different opinions. Winarso recounts that initially, many traditional and contemporary artists in Surakarta rejected the idea of portraying human rights violations.
After a lot of discussion and through a personal approach, a number of artists and performers agreed to raise the issue of gross human rights violations. In addition, some of the artists and performers met with the victims and their children and grandchildren so that they could get a complete picture of what the victims and their families experience. Following this process, a number of parties became involved in the production that was presented by KSB, including students and lecturers from two universities in Surakarta.
Ketoprak Pagebluk was well received by the broader public. This is because ketoprak is a traditional theatrical genre which is not only entertainment but also has the capacity of providing education to the public regarding Covid-19 and gross human rights violations were perpetrated in Indonesia. Moreover, the Mayor of Surakarta gave his appreciation of the production via a short WhatsApp message expressing his hope that Pagebluk might be performed in the Municipal Hall.
The Ketoprak Pagebluk production is an effective approach that can be further developed by other parties in order to provide public education regarding gross human rights violations in Indonesia. We all need to remember and learn from the past in order that these tragedies might not be repeated in the future.
“With the arts we can educate the public without being patronizing. The Arts are a very powerful medium that can be gladly received by the public,” said Winarso.
*Ketoprak is a traditional Javanese theatrical form; Pagebluk is a Javanese word for plague