PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

 

e-ISSN 2231-8542
ISSN 1511-3701

Home / Regular Issue / JTAS Vol. 27 (2) Jun. 2019 / JSSH-1565-2016

 

Regeneration of Sriwedari Wayang Orang Art-Observers: Opportunities and Challenges

Warto

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science, Volume 27, Issue 2, June 2019

Keywords: Art-worker regeneration, cultural icon, cultural values, performing art, social change, solo, Sriwedari, wayang orang

Published on: 28 June 2019

Regeneration of Sriwedariwayang orang/wong (literally, human puppet) art-observers is a complicated issue encountered by the Solo city art group. Wayang orang has long been becoming one of Surakarta's performing art icons and its continuity is a shared concern. The regeneration is influenced by many affecting factors, both internal and external, one of which is developed due to specific objectives. Internally, art-observers regeneration is difficult to accomplish since not all the wayang orang art-observers' descendants want to be wayang orang art-observers. Other factor is the difficulty of recruiting art-observers through bureaucracy. At present, the number of wayang orang art-observers with civil servant status is limited. When they reach the retirement age, no substitution is found yet. Other than civil servants art-observers, Sriwedari wayang orang group also recruits contract observers and other freelancers wishing to join the group. Objective conditions add to the difficulties of the regeneration of wayang orang art-observers. Social changes and shifts of cultural values leading to pragmatic and materialistic life style also affect wayang orang regeneration. Many of the spectators today seem to begin abandoning traditional art performance like wayang orang for a number of reasons, one of which people love to watch modernly presented media such as television, and internet. Mostly younger generations hold the belief that becoming wayang orang art-worker is materially less favourable. Wayang orang art-observers' efforts to regenerate need a strong of the government and community thorough participations to ensure that that precious cultural icon does not remain as a memory.

ISSN 1511-3701

e-ISSN 2231-8542

Article ID

JSSH-1565-2016

Download Full Article PDF

Share this article

Recent Articles