THE WAYANG STORY IN MODERN INDONESIAN FICTIONS (Reviews on Mangunwijaya and Sindhunata’s Novels) Burhan Nurgiyantoro Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta email: [email protected] Abstract The wayang is a traditional story which influences toward the writing of modern Indonesian literature. This study is aimed at describing the adoption of aspects of stories in the wayang plays in modern Indonesian novels with a focus on Mangunwijaya and Sindhunata’s novels; i.e. Burung-burung Manyar, Durga Umayi, and Anak Bajang Menggir- ing Angin. The study uses the receptional, intertextual, and discourse-analysis approach- es. Results show the following findings. Character referencing from shadow-wayang sto- ries includes naming and characterizing, viz. complete adoption of names and characters of wayang figures, hypogram of simultaneous naming and characterizing, and characteriz- ing with no naming. The hypogramming of novel plots on the shadow puppet plots in- cludes shadow-puppet show plots and shadow-puppet story plots. Every work has its own uniqueness and it is on this uniqueness that lies the values of a fiction work. This can be seen from the development of characterization of the figures and specific and unique plots. The value substances of the wayang story are related to personal, social, and religious life matters leading to perfect lives. Shadow-wayang values in novels are discharged through signification, comparison, symbolization, characters, life principles, and behaviours functioning more as cultural guidances. Keywords: shadow wayang, modern Indonesian novels, hypogram, characterization, plot, values WAYANG DALAM NOVEL INDONESIA MODERN (Tinjauan Novel Mangunwijaya dan Sindhunata) Abstract Cerita wayang adalah adalah cerita tradisional yang berpengaruh terhadap penulisan sastra Indonesia modern. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan pemunculan aspek cerita wayang dalam novel Indonesia modern dengan fokus pada novel Mangun- wijaya dan Sindhunata, yaitu Burung-burung Manyar, Durga Umayi, dan Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan resepsi, intertekstual, dan anali- sis wacana. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan hal-hal sebagai berikut. Perujukan penokohan dari cerita wayang mencakup penamaan dan perwatakan, yaitu pengambilan lengkap nama dan karakter tokoh wayang, hipogram penamaan dengan perwatakan sekaligus, dan perwatakan tanpa disertai penamaan. Hipogram plot novel pada plot wayang men- 167 cakup plot pertunjukan wayang dan plot cerita wayang. Tiap karya memiliki keunikan- nya sendiri dan di situlah antara lain letak nilai sebuah karya fiksi. Hal itu terlihat pada pengembangan karakter tokoh, plot yang khas dan unik. Substansi nilai-nilai cerita way- ang berkaitan dengan masalah kehidupan pribadi,sosial, dan religiusyang bermuara un- tuk mencapai kesempurnaan hidup. Nilai-nilai wayang dalam novel disampaikan lewat pembandingan, pelambangan, simbolisasi, karakter, sikap hidup, dan perilaku tokoh yang lebih berfungsi sebagai acuan kultural. Kata Kunci: wayang, novel Indonesia modern, hipogram, penokohan, plot, nilai-nilai INTRODUCTION to Java, the texts are translated and edited Up to the present time, the wayang into Old Javanese. The translation and story is widely known in the Javanese so- edition, doubled by the adoption of sto- ciety, also Indonesian society, especially ries and legends living in the society, pro- the one that is presented through the duce Mahabarata and Ramayana of the shadow-wayang show. Shadow wayang Javanese version (Groenendael, 1985). story books, both in the prose and poetry Shadow-wayang stories living in the genres, both leather wayangs and wayang socie ty presently are cultural heritages of theatres, all originate from shadow wa- an old age dating not less than 3,500 yang stories. The wayang stories are epics years ago (Mulyono,1989:1). The texts originating from the genres Mahabarata and stories of the wayang of the Javanese and Ramayana. In core, the two genres version has been continuously rewritten, narrate the heroism of protagonistic edited, and added with various stories of characters to face and destroy antagonis- the later time, and now are even written tic characters. Looking at its long history in Indonesian and foreign languages. and the fact that many people still like it, The importance of the influence of it shows the high value and meaning of waang onto the Javanese society in the shadow wayang in the life of the society. past time can also be seen from temple From the point of view of the present reliefs depicting wayang figure and sto- era, shadow-wayang stories can be seen ries. For example, through anthropologi- as fulfilling the criteria of masterpieces, cal studies the figure of Bima (the second highly valued literary and cultural works. of the five Pandawa brothers) can be seen In addition, it can be used as a ‘brigde’ as reliefs in Sukuh Temple, Karanganyar which connects old and modern cultures (Middle Java) and Penanggungan Tem- since it is seen as a gap between both cul- ple. In other temples,­­ reliefs can al- tures (Rochmat, 2018). so be seen of Ramayana stories such The original texts of the wayang sto- as in Loro Jonggrang Temple in ries, both of the genres Mahabarata and Prambanan (Yogyakarta) and Pana- Ramayana, are not of Javanese literary taran Temple in Blitar (East Java); origins. Both originate from India and reliefs that tell about the Arjunawi- are written in Sanskrit. Upon coming in- waha shadow-wayang story can be 168 LITERA, Volume 18, Nomor 2, Juli 2019 seen in Jago Temple, Surawana Temple, nesia. The monumental and valuable and Kedaton Temple (Kasnowihardjo, work can be seen as the canonical literary 2012: 3). It must be remembered, how- work (Thomsen, 2017:4). Thus, the wa- ever, that shadow-wayang cultures are yang story is the classic literary work also found in other countries such as Ma- which is monumental and valuable as the laysia, Thailand, and surely India as their canonical literature to the traditional lite- place of origin. rature. The wayang stories are not only of The wayang is also widely read, stud- the Javanese ethnicity; it is also the trea- ied, learned, and taken as research mate- sure of other Indonesian ethnics (such as rial in various countries in the world, in- Balinese and Sundanese), and is even the cluding shadow-wayang stories con- belonging of the Indonesian nation. tained in literary works. Such has been Now, the wayang culturees are acknow- done, for example, by Figueras-Lucero ledged as valued international heritages. (1997) who investigated the aspects of In 1997, UNESCO, the UNO affiliated shadow wayang in the Pramudya’s novel organization in education, science, and Perburuan; Downes (2012) who studied culture, developed the laws for Master- such aspects in Y.B. Mangunwijaya, Putu piece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Hu- Wijaya, dan Ayu Utami’s modern Indo- manity. Through accurate research, on nesian novel; Mustikasari et.al (2012) re- 2003, in Paris, the Indonesian wayang searched the same aspects in Yanusa Nu- sories or culture was declared by the groho’s Di Batas Angin karya; Varela UNESCO as Masterpiece of Oral and In- (2014) who studied about innovations in tangible Heritage of Humanity of the world the contemporary Javanese shadow wa- (Wibisana 2009; Kasnowihardjo 2012: 3; yang in her dissertation; and Foley (2005) Sudjarwo 2010: xxxiv).1 This again shows who researched shadow wayang perfor- that the wayang stories are acknowledged mances as media for studying Indonesian as a value-loaded international cultural cultures by students in California. In ad- heritage that has a great role in the form- dition, the present study is similar with ing and developing of nation identities. It O’Neill (2017:65-75) who studied the is therefore natural that the the wayang transformations of the “Transformative becomes a source of reference for the Tales for Recessionary Times: Emma writing of literary works in modern Indo- Donoghue’s Room and Marian Keyes’ The Brightest Star in the Sky”. The writing 1) There are five kinds of wayangs were of these two works and two writers has included, namely (i) old Javanese wa- much influence or intertextualization yang from Middle Java, (ii) old Bali- from references to Victorian fairytale. nese wayang from Bali, (iii) Sundanese Facts show that quite many of mo- doll wayang from West Java, (iv) Palembang wayang from South Suma- dern Indonesian literary works use, refer tra, and (v) Banjar wayang from South to, reveal hypogram, or reactualize shad- Kalimantan (see Wibisono, 2009; Sud- ow-wayang stories. Writers like Y.B. jarwo et al, 2010; Kasnowihardjo, Mangunwijaya, Sindhunata, Putu Wi- 2012). jaya, Sena Gumira Adjidarma, Yanusa The Wayang Story in Modern Indonesia Fictions (Reviews on Mangunwijaya and ... 169 Nugroho, Tjahyono Wibisono, Amrih zation of the cultural convention can be Pitoyo, and others bring up shadow-wa- the works that have been produced by yang stories as one of their inspirations people in the past, including folklores and sources. Notwithstanding, there are given down orally from generation to differences in the way they “treat” the generation, which later are referred to as wayang stories in their works. They may mythology. The intertext theory views even use their own ways in telling about that later texts are written based on the the wayang stories such as those in Wi- existing texts. A text commonly uses a sanggeni and Drupadi (Sena Gumira Adji- previous text as an example, guide, frame- darma), Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin work, reference, or model. This will also (Sindhunata), Hanoman, Akhir Bisu Se- bring out consequences on the part of the buah Perang Besar, The Darkness of Gatot- readers. kaca, and Sebuah Novel Pahlawan Kesuny- Modern Indonesian literary works ian (Pitoyo Amrih). which reactualize shadow-wayang stories The theories underlining this study can be seen as using the stories as their are related to reception of literary aes- bases. In the intertext concept, this can be thetics and intertexts. The receptional called as a hypogram (Riffaterre, theory deals with the reception of or res- 1980:23).