Marianto, Preserving Madiun’s ‘Dongkrek’ Art

Dongkrek art has existed in Madiun, since one and a half centuries ago. It experienced its ups and downs for quite a long time and began to thrive again in the 2000s. Among the people engaged in this art is Marianto.

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

MARIANTO

Marianto rose from his seat and headed for the sitting room. He left his woodcarving work of creating buto (giant) figures in the back room for a while, on Friday (25/11/2022).

Marianto’s sitting room is quite spacious. On one side there is a set of gamelan instruments. On the other side, a moderate-sized dadak merak (or gunungan, a tiger mask with peacock feathers) for the reog mask dance leans against the wall. A glass cabinet with a pile of traditional-art costumes stands in a corner.

“The dadak merak is not mine. It belongs to an elementary school in this region and is being repaired,” said Marianto when visited in his house in Gonalan hamlet, Kebonagung village, East Java.

Not only repairing dadak merak, Marianto also receives orders for dongkrek art equipment from two elementary schools not far from his home. The art gear comprises the masks of four buto or gandarwo (genderuwo, or ghosts), an old man, and two women with hair buns, Roro Ayu and Roro Perot. “They’re ready for painting,” he said.

The dongkrek art is familiar to the Madiun community, particularly in Mejayan district. They believe this art serves as a ritual to ward off an epidemic. When the COVID-19 pandemic set in, dongkrek was widely performed by observing health protocols.

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To the accompaniment of such instruments as kentongan (bamboo-tube drums), kempul, ketuk, kenong (various gongs), kendang (drums) and korek (wooden planks with jagged handles producing a cracking sound as they turn), dongkrek is usually performed by parading through the village. The name dongkrek is derived from the dominant sounds of drums, “dung...” and korek, “krek…”.

Based on several references, dongkrek was born in 1866 in Mejayan village. The initiator of dongkrek was Raden Bei Lo Prawirodipuro III (R Sosro Widjojo), who was the Palang (chief of a number of subdistrict heads) of Mejayan. At the time, Raden Prawirodipuro was striving to find a way to drive off a prevailing epidemic in his area.

“Formerly, the epidemic was more lethal than the present pandemic. A lot of victims died. They got sick in the morning and died in the afternoon,” he pointed out.

In its development, dongkrek’spopularity rose and fell from the colonial era and the New Order time, to the Reform period. In the colonial era, the art was suspected of being a medium to build up resistance to colonial authorities. In the Old Order time, dongkrek was linked with politics. In the New Order and Reform periods it had to compete with other art forms and the influence of foreign cultures.

There are innovations to adapt to current conditions, in order to be more popular in society. Fellow artists are attempting to preserve this art.

However, over the last few years dongkrek has been reviving. This art is no longer only performed as a ritual, but is also combined with dangdut folk music or campursari contemporary Javanese music.

Its artists keep innovating so that dongkrek can be enjoyed by all communities. Originally, this art was indeed meant as a ritual rather than a public performance. At present, the Madiun regency administration has included dongkrek in the local content of the school curriculum since 2016.

“Like reog, which has been innovated with by adding the number of bamboo-horse dancers, so has dongkrek. There are innovations to adapt to current conditions, in order to be more popular in society. Fellow artists are attempting to preserve this art,” said Marianto.

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

MARIANTO

Seeking data

Marianto’s involvement in dongkrek began in 1989, when there was an inter-hamlet carnival competition on the occasion of the Independence Day in his village. The father of two, who had never performed or watched dongkrek before, initiated mask-crafting.

As it was not shown for a long time, Marianto strove hard to gather data on the art. He was going everywhere to inquire of elders including the family of Palang Prawirodipuro as the originator of dongkrek. It was then only the Palang family that still kept dongkrek equipment.

“I was inquiring about the history, the form of the art. It’s because the art had long been dormant with only its story being told,” said Marianto.

The family of Palang Prawirodipuro gave directives to Marianto about the characters he had to create. During the process of crafting dongkrek masks, he was consulting the Palang family frequently. Apart from the faces of an old man and two women, there were four gandarwo characters to be carved, with red, black, yellow and white faces. Besides masks, Marianto also made the musical instruments, including korek, the planks with jagged handles that crack as they turn.

What Marianto had done was heard by the Madiun regency administration, which later ordered five sets of dongkrek equipment annually for three successive years. The orders had to do with the regency administration’s plan to revive this art.

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Assisted by a peer, he needs around one month to finish a complete set of dongkrek masks. Using the brand name Karya Agung, he faces no significant difficulty. Basic materials are easy to obtain like dadap (Erythrina variegata) or kemiri (Aleurites moluccana) wood with fairly light weight.

For mimetic work, some figures are crafted at night for the purpose of securing their proper auras. “The constraint is actually posed more by the devices used. They are all still traditional because so far I have developed them myself,” he revealed.

The man, who is also skilled in making furniture from tree roots, claims he has not been specially educated in art. His carving skill has been inherited. Marianto’s great grandfather was a crafter and player of wayang krucil (wooden puppets). “Now, my oldest child seems to inherit the same talent,” he said.

Marianto hopes dongkrek will not only be preserved but can also represent the identity of Madiun regency. “It’s my hope that dongkrek can become the regency’s art of identity. I don’t expect any plague, nor do I expect this art to fade away,” he added.

Marianto

Born:Madiun, 17 July 1971

Wife: Tutik Hidayah

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.