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Mrs. Hj. Chamamah in Iran (an illustration)

KERJA SAMA SENI BUDAYA UNIVERSITAS KOREA DAN UGM

chamamah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:53:02 +0000

http://www.hamline.edu/apakabar/basisdata/1996/01/27/0058.html

Kerjasama Seni Budaya (kuliah perdana)

From: apakabar@access.digex.net
Date: Sat Jan 27 1996 – 10:23:00 EST

From: John MacDougall <apakabar@access.digex.net>

Kompas Online
_________________________________________________________________

Kamis, 25 Januari 1996
_________________________________________________________________

KERJA SAMA SENI BUDAYA UNIVERSITAS KOREA DAN UGM

Yogyakarta, Kompas

Salah satu penyebab konflik antara buruh-buruh Indonesia dengan para
pengusaha Korea yang menjadi majikan mereka, adalah munculnya
perbedaan persepsi di bidang sosial-budaya. Diperlukan sebuah kerja
sama di bidang sosial budaya agar hubungan kemasyarakatan antara
Indonesia dan Korea itu bisa dijembatani.
Demikian disampaikan Prof Dr Seung Yoon Yang, guru besar Hankuk
University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), Korea Selatan, di kampus
Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, hari Rabu (24/1). Prof
Seung Yoon Yang berada di Yogyakarta untuk menandatangani Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) kerja sama seni dan budaya antara HUFS dengan
UGM, yang hari itu diwakili oleh Pembantu Dekan (PD) I Fakultas Sastra
UGM Prof Dr Siti Chamamah Soeratno.
Saat ini di Indonesia ada sekitar 360 usaha besar dan kecil yang
dilakukan oleh para pengusaha Korea. Antara para majikan Korea dengan
para buruh Indonesia, yang bekerja di usaha-usaha itu, memang sering
terjadi pelbagai konflik, demikian diakui oleh Prof Seung Yoon Yang.
“Konflik itu ternyata lebih sering disebabkan oleh adanya pemahaman
yang kurang terhadap pelbagai masalah budaya, khususnya hal-hal yang
berkaitan dengan bahasa,” demikian kata guru besar Hankuk University
tersebut. “Karenanya, kerja sama antarbudaya ini akan lebih bermakna,
mengingat budaya lebih bisa menciptakan human relations dan hubungan
yang memunculkan persahabatan. Kerja sama dalam budaya ini memang
tidak bisa dilihat hasil konkretnya, seperti kerja sama ekonomi
misalnya, namun bisa dirasakan manfaatnya bila dilakukan secara terus
menerus,” tandasnya.

Bahasa Korea

Sementara itu, Prof Dr Siti Chamamah menjelaskan, sebenarnya kerja
sama dengan Universitas Hankuk ini telah dirintis sejak tahun 1967.
Namun baru tahun 1996 ini kerja sama itu dibuat menjadi lebih legal
melalui MOU antara dua universitas.
Dalam tahap pertama, bentuk kerja samanya adalah pengiriman pengajar
bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Korea. “Dari UGM sudah 9 dosen yang
dikirim ke Universitas Hankuk dan mulai semester lalu di Fakultas
Sastra mulai ada mata kuliah Bahasa Korea,” kata Prof Siti Chamamah.
Di samping itu, atas permintaan masyarakat luas, Fakultas Sastra UGM
juga menyelenggarakan kursus Bahasa Korea. Hal ini disebabkan karena
kini masyarakat telah menilai Korea sebagai ‘macan Asia’ di bidang
ekonomi. Mereka sangat berkepentingan untuk memahami dan mengerti
Bahasa Korea agar bisa melakukan hubungan bisnis dan ekonomi.
Prof Siti Chamamah juga menjelaskan bahwa untuk tahun-tahun mendatang,
kerja sama tersebut akan dilanjutkan di bidang budaya. “Masing-masing
universitas kini sedang mempersiapkan penyelenggaraan program studi
budaya Indonesia dan progran studi budaya Korea,” ujar Chamamah.
“Melalui MOU ini kerja sama antara UGM dan Hankuk bisa diperluas pada
masalah-masalah yang menyangkut kerja sama sosial, politik dan
ekonomi,” tambahnya.

PRESIDEN SBY KETEMU TOKOH MUHAMMADIYAH

chamamah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:38:43 +0000

Rabu, 10 Mei 2006, 15:00:24 WIB

SBY Terima Pimpinan Muhammadiyah

Jakarta : Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Rabu (10/5) siang, di Kantor Kepresidenan Jakarta, menerima Ketua Umum PP Muhammadiyah Din Syamsuddin dan Ketua Umum PP Aisyiyah, organisasi wanita Muhammadiyah, Prof. Dr.Hj.Chamamah Suratmo. Keduanya datang didampingi sejumlah pengurus inti PP Muhammadiyah. Kedatangan Din Syamsuddin itu, selain bersilahturahmi juga menyampaikan program-program Muhammadiyah pasca Muktamar ke 45 lalu, serta menyampaikan sikap dan harapan Muhammadiyah kepada bangsa dan pemerintah.

Din Syamsuddin kepada waratawan mengatakan, “Kami tadi menyampaikan kepada Presiden SBY sikap dan harapan Muhammadiyah, agar tetap dalam kepercayaan diri untuk mendorong roda reformasi bagi kebangkitan, kemajuan bangsa, dan keunggulan bangsa, di tengah ancaman dan tantangan yang menghadang,” katanya.

Menurut pandangan Muhammadiyah, kata Din, ada arus liberalisasi yang deras dalam bidang ekonomi, politik dan budaya atau moral yang memang tidak dapat di hindari, karena itu diperlukan strategi dan kebijakan yang tepat. “Tadi kami menyampaikan kepada Presiden agar pemerintah memiliki strategi yang tepat untuk menjadi acuan, tidak hanya dalam bentuk bertahan dalam arus liberalisasi itu, tetapi juga bagaimana melakukan lompatan hingga terjadi kebangkitan Indonesia,” katanya.

“Presiden berharap agar Muhammdiyah tetap menjadi kekuatan penggerak bagi kehidupan bangsa, dan bisa menjadi mitra strategis pemerintah bagi kebangkitan Indonesia,” kata Din Syamsuddin. (win)

WS RENDRA DIANUGERAHI DOKTOR HC UGM

chamamah — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:31:54 +0000

http://www.sinarharapan.co.id/berita/0803/04/sh03.html

Gelar Doktor Honoris Causa untuk WS Rendra

Oleh
Yuyuk Sugarman

YOGYAKARTA – Tak lulus dari Fakultas Sastra (kini Ilmu Budaya) Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) bukan lantas membuat WS Rendra tak bisa menyandang gelar kesarjanaan. Buktinya, pagi ini, Selasa (4/3), Rendra memperoleh anugerah gelar Doktor Honoris Causa (Dr. HC) dari almamaternya.
”Tidak masalah dia tidak lulus dari UGM. Yang kita lihat adalah karya-karyanya yang menjadi karya bakti yang besar bagi masyarakat Indonesia. Rendra juga konsisten dengan apa yang dia geluti dan selalu menghasilkan karya-karya besar,” kata sang promotor, Prof. Dr. Siti Chamamah Soeratno.
Dalam pandangan Chamamah, Rendra memilih jalan hidup sebagai seniman. Puisinya sebagai karya seni hasil pencermatan atas fenomena sosial dan budaya, lebih dari sekadar ungkapan perasaan seorang seniman.
Puisi merupakan sikap perlawanannya kepada setiap bentuk kejaliman dan ketidakadilan. Rendra memiliki kredo kehidupan yang berdasarkan filsafat kesenian yang mengabdi pada kebebasan, kejujuran dan harmoni.
Sesuai tradisi yang berlaku, pada pengukuhannya itu Rendra menyampaikan orasi yang berjudul ”Megatruh Kambuh, Renungan Seorang Penyair dalam Menanggapi Kalabendu”. Di sini Rendra mengupas zaman ”Kalatida” (zaman ketika akal sehat diremehkan, perbedaan antara benar dan salah, baik dan buruk, adil dan tak adil, tidak digubris).
”Kalabendu” ialah zaman yang mantap stabilitasnya, tetapi alat stabilitas itu adalah penindasan. Ketidakadilan malah didewakan. ”Kalasuba” adalah zaman stabilitas dan kemakmuran yang diambil dari karya besar Ronggowarsito di pertengahan abad 19, yang hingga kini masih relevan.
Acara yang berlangsung di Balai Senat UGM ini, ”dibanjiri” oleh seniman di antaranya Adi Kurdi, Emha Ainun Nadjib, Djoko Pekik. Tampak juga Gunawan Mohamad, Sri Edi Swasono, Amien Rais, Syafii Maarif.
Dalam orasinya, sang pendiri Bengkel Teater itu menyoroti kondisi sosial, politik, ekonomi, dan lain sebagainya yang terjadi di Indonesia sejak zaman penjajahan hingga zaman reformasi sekarang ini.

Tata hukum dan tata negara yang berlaku sekarang ini masih meneruskan semangat undang-undang dan ketatanegaraan penjajah Hindia Belanda tempo dulu, yang sama-sama menerapkan keunggulan daulat pemerintah di atas daulat rakyat. Tata hukum juga sama-sama menerapkan aturan politik ketatanegaraan yang memusat, dan sama-sama pula memperteguh aturan berdasarkan kekuasaan dan keperkasaan, tidak kepada etika.
Tentu saja ada Pancasila, sumber etika bangsa yang cukup lebar cakupannya, ujar Rendra. Tetapi ternyata Pancasila, kata Si Burung Merak ini, hanyalah bendera upacara yang tak boleh dikritik, tapi boleh dilanggar tanpa ada akibat hukumnya. Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab, satu sila yang indah, ternyata tak punya kekuatan undang-undang apapun bila dilanggar oleh orang-orang kuasa atau perkasa.
”Lihatlah kasus pembunuhan terhadap empat petani di Sampang, Madura; pembunuhan terhadap Marsinah, Udin, Munir, dan pembunuhan-pembunuhan yang lain lagi,” katanya.
Sila kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab, keadilan sosial, dan kedaulatan rakyat, benar-benar tak ada implementasinya di dalam undang-undang.
KUHP yang berlaku adalah warisan dari penjajah Hindia Belanda yang tidak punya dasar etika. ”Sungguh ironis, bahwa di dalam negara yang merdeka, karena kedaulatan rakyat dan kedaulatan hukum diremehkan, maka hukum dan undang-undang justru menjadi sebab merosotnya etika bangsa,” ucap Rendra.

Mendesak Perubahan
Apabila para ahli hukum terlambat membahas dan memperbaiki kenyataan adanya jarak antara ius dan lex, maka, tutur Rendra, ”Kalatida” akan berlaku berkepanjangan dan masuklah kita ke alam ”Kalabendu”.
”Ah, gejala-gejala bahkan menujukkan bahwa ‘Kalabendu’ sudah menjadi kenyataan. Inilah zaman kacau nilai, zaman kejahatan menang, penjahat dipuja, orang beragama menjadi algojo, kitab suci dikhianati justru oleh ulama, kekuasaan dan kekayaan diperdewa. Pepatah ‘mikul duwur mendem jero’ sudah lepas dari konteks moralnya dan berganti makna menjadi: kalau anda berkuasa dan perkasa maka berdosa boleh saja,” Rendra berujar.
Menurut penyair Ronggowarsito, kata Rendra, kita harus bersikap waspada, tidak mengkompromikan akal sehal. Dan juga harus sabar tawakal. Adapun “Kalasuba” pasti datang bersama dengan ratu adil. Namun tak demikian halnya dengan Rendra. Ia mempunyai sikap yang berbeda dengan Ronggowarsito dalam mengantisipasi datangnya “Kalasuba”.
Pertama, “Kalasuba” pasti akan tiba karena dalam setiap chaos secara “build-in” ada potensi untuk kestabilan dan keteraturan. Tetapi kestabilan itu belum tentu baik untuk kelangsungan kedaulatan rakyat dan kedaulatan manusia yang sangat penting untuk emansipasi kehidupan manusia secara jasmani, sosial, rohani, intelektual dan budaya.
”Dalam sejarah kita mengenal kenyataan bahwa setelah chaos Revolusi Prancis, lahirlah kestabilan pemerintahan Napoleon yang bersifat diktator. Tentu masih banyak lagi contoh semacam itu di tempat lain dan di saat lain,” ungkapnya.
Kedua, kata Rendra, harus ada usaha kita yang lain, tidak sekadar sabar dan tawakal. Tetapi toh kita tidak menghendaki “Kalasuba” yang dikuasai oleh diktator. Tidak pula yang dikuasai oleh kekuasaan asing seperti di Timor Leste. Oleh karena itu, kita harus aktif mengembangkan usaha untuk mendesak perubahan tata pembangunan, tata hukum dan tata kenegaraan sehingga menjadi lebih baik untuk daya hidup dan daya cipta bangsa.
Ketiga, situasi semacam itu tidak tergantung pada hadirnya ”Ratu Adil”, tetapi tergantung pada hukum yang adil, mandiri, dan terkawal.
Pada kesempatan yang berbeda, Rendra mengaku tersanjung dan mendapat kehormatan besar dengan dianugerahi gelar Doktor Honoris Causa ini. ”Saya nilai ini sebagai rangkulan dari almamater. Ibarat anak yang diperhatikan oleh ibunya,” tuturnya sambil menambahkan, meski mendapat gelar dirinya tak akan menjadi seorang dosen. ”Saya tidak bisa mengajar. Kalau mengajar malah mahasiswanya saya pacari,” katanya seraya tertawa.
Pemberian gelar ini, menurut Rendra, juga sebagai bentuk UGM sekarang ini terbuka. ”Ini sebagai bentuk keterbukaan UGM, karena waktu saya mau mentas di sini dilarang. Ketika itu, zamannya rektor Pak Sukaji,” katanya lagi.

INFO AISYIAH,MUHAMMADIYAH, DLL.

chamamah — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:43:11 +0000

Siti Chamamah Ketua Umum Aisyiyah, SILAKAN CLICK BERITANYA DI SINI:

Berita tentang Aisyiah

http://www.tempo.co.id/hg/nasional/2005/07/07/brk,20050707-63558,id.html

Berita tentang aktivitas Aisyiyah & THE Ansaar Muslim Mentoring Program, Melbourne

http://www.muhammadiyah.or.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1137

Berita tentang Andrea Hirata, click di sini:

http://renjanaorganizer.multiply.com/journal/item/37/37

Dan info tentang Ibu Chamamah, silakan lihat di: http://kabare.jogja.com/?VFR5L0ZlWjNWRi9JblVkUmhOIHk%3D=

PENYIAR TV WANITA MENDAPAT PENGHARGAAN

chamamah — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:14:10 +0000

Khadijah penyiar TV wanita berjilbab mendapat penghargaan

Dalam rangka peringatan hari internasional perempuan, penyiar wanita, bernama Khadijah bin Qanah, mewakili channel telivisi internasional Aljazeera sebagai penerima penghargaan dari asosiasi pengusaha dan profesional perempuan Timur Tengah. Telivisi internasional yang bermarkas di Doha Qatar ini dinilai telah menghargai peran dan kedudukan perempuan. Menurut Khadijah, penghargaan ini membuktikan bahwa perempuan modern telah memainkan peran penting dalam dunia informasi. Yang menarik, Khadijah adalah satu-satunya penyiar wanita yang mengenakan jilbab di telivisi pro mainstream moderat Arab itu. Upacara penyerahan penghargaan itu dilaksanakan di Dubai 8 Maret lalu. Sayang, bila telivisi Indonesia malah enggan mempekerjakan penyiar berjibab. Malah konon beberapa tahun lalu sebuah telivisi yang mengaku sebagai CNN-nya Indonesia memberhentikan salah satu penyiarnya yang memutuskan untuk memakai jilbab. (Tapi sejak pertengahan tahun 2008 ini sudah mulai banyak bermunculan penyiar TV berjilbab, bahkan di hari-hari besar Islam banyak yg mengenakan jilbab).This entry was posted on March 14, 2008 at 2:18 am and is filed under Dunia Islam . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Saudara mahasiswa S3 KTT UGM silakan memahami teks sastra dengan membuat sinopsis novel

chamamah — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:57:57 +0000

Novel yang kita pilih kali ini adalah Biola Tak Berdawai

dikutip dari : http://www.solopos.net/index2b.asp?id=45597

Sementara film Biola Tak Berdawai garapan Sekar Ayu Asmara, merupakan produksi kedua dari PT Kalyana Shira Film, yang pernah sukses dalam film Ca Bau Kan. Dan pada film tersebut dipasang dua pemeran dari dua generasi yang berbeda, Ria Irawan dan Nicholas Saputra.
Seperti diketahui, Ria Irawan adalah aktris layar lebar terbaik di era 1990-an (peraih Piala Citra sebagai pemeran pembantu terbaik dalam film Selamat Tinggal Jeannet), sedangkan Nicholas merupakan pendatang baru yang punya bakat besar dalam seni peran.
Ketika saya tahu lawan main dalam Biola Tak berdawai adalah Nicholas, saya langsung setuju. Tapi bukan berarti setuju main dalam film ini karena ceritanya, melainkan saya bermain dengan Nicholas, kata Ria Irawan kepada wartawan setengah bergurau.
Sebaliknya, Nicholas mengaku terperanjat ketika mengetahui lawan mainnya Ria Irawan. Ya, sedikit ngeri juga. Tapi saat itu saya yakin mampu bermain baik dengan Ria, katanya.
Niola Tak Berdawai yang melakukan syuting di Yogyakarta dan daerah sekitarnya selama tiga pekan itu, bercerita tentang Renjani (Ria Irawan), bekas penari balet berusia 31 tahun yang melarikan diri dari masa lalunya yang pahit. Ia mendedikasikan hidupnya untuk merawat bayi-bayi penderita cacat ganda atau multi-handicapped(tunadaksa). Salah satu anak asuhan Renjani adalah Dewa (Dicky Lebrianto), bocah berusia delapan tahun namun bentuk fisik dan kemampuannya seperti anak berusia setahun, yang selama ini selalu membisu dan tak pernah memberikan reaksi pada dunia di luar dirinya.
Renjani selalu memperlakukan Dewa sebagai anak normal. Ia selalu bercerita tentang kehidupan dan sering mengajaknya bepergian. Renjani yakin, dalam tubuhnya yang seakan tak berdaya, Dewa mendengarkan semua yang diceritakannya. Ia mencintai Dewa, tak rela bahwa sewaktu-waktu Dewa bisa meninggalkannya, seperti yang terjadi pada anak-anak asuhnya yang lain, yang usianya pendek.
Renjani sendiri juga selalu menutupi rahasia masa lalunya yang diam-diam telah menimbulkan luka dalam di jiwanya. Hanya kepada Mbak Wid (Jajang C Noer), dokter anak eksentrik yang menolong Renjani memelihara anak-anak cacat Renjani mau membuka sedikit jiwanya. Mbak Wid adalah wanita berusia 40 tahun yang juga memiliki indara keenam dan memiliki kesamaan dengan Renjani, yang sama-sama mencoba melupakan masa lalunya. Dia jugalah yang selalu mencoba menyadarkan Renjani bahwa Dewa tidak memiliki kemampuan seperti yang diyakini Renjani.
Sampai ketika seorang pemain biola muda bernama Bhisma (Nicolas Saputra) hadir dalam hidupnya, Renjani merasa sebuah titik cerah akhirnya tiba. Bhisma adalah seorang seniman yang terluka, yang menemukan kebahagiaan pada diri Renjani dan Dewa. Persahabatan pun terjalin antara Renjani dan Bhisma.
Namun kemudian masa lalu Renjani dan sebuah bencana mengancam untuk merenggut kebahagiaan itu dari mereka. Bagaimana nasib hubungan Renjani, Dewa dan Bhisma? – Bisnis/sin

Nostalgia in Yogyakarta:

The Film Biola Tak Berdawai (Stringless Violin)1

Tineke Hellwig

Social Change in the Post-Suharto Era

May 21, 1998 marked the end of an era in Indonesian history. On that day President

Suharto announced his resignation as the circumstances forced him to step down after

thirty-two years. In Jakarta the days preceding Suharto’s resignation were ‘full of high

drama, nerve-racking suspense, and unexpected turns’ and four students from Trisakti

University were shot ‘without any provocation’ (Suryakusuma 2004:3). Indonesia entered

a period of Reformasi (reform) which gave way to more democratic institutions and more

freedom of speech for writers, filmmakers, journalists, and the public at large. As

Reformasi relaxed the long-standing constraints on media and public life at large, many

women emerged publicly and engaged in cultural production. All of a sudden it was

possible to challenge Suharto’s authoritarianism and masculinist paradigm of power that

had defined the roles of women almost exclusively within the domestic sphere (state

ibuism).2 A new generation defied the New Order’s monolithic culture and way of

thinking.

More liberated ideas regarding sexuality, particularly female sexuality as well as

homosexuality have come to the fore since 1998, undermining the hetero-normativity and

societal expectations of marriage and family that were strongly endorsed during the

Suharto years. The much-debated novel Saman by Ayu Utami (born 1968), published one

month before Suharto’s fall from power (April 1998), presents in an outspoken (some

would say blunt) way female characters who enjoy their bodies and sexuality, and are

openly promiscuous. Some critics and readers have found the book’s content immoral,

and its language ‘vulgar’. Five and a half years later (December 2003) the American-

1 A Dutch version of this paper was published in Willem van der Molen et.al. (eds), Milde Regen (2006).

2 Ibuism is defined as an “ideology, which sanctions any action provided it is taken as a mother who is

looking after her family, a group, a class, a company or the state, without demanding power or prestige in

return” (Djajadiningrat-Nieuwenhuis 1987: 44).

102 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

trained female film director Nia DiNata (born 1970) released her second feature film

Arisan! (a social gathering for women, all contribute money and, as in a lottery, one wins

the amount). Arisan! presents a gay male relationship in a positive way, and gives it a

place in society, thus breaking through long existing taboos regarding homosexuality. Nia

DiNata’s most recent film Berbagi Suami (Love for Share, 2006) confronts its audiences

with Muslim practices of polygamy, and offers a lesbian relationship as a solution out of

a polygamous household. This film was declared the best film at the Hawaii International

Film Festival.

It is interesting to examine the question of how young creative artists position themselves

at a time of rapid social and political change. Do they ‘write or speak against’ dominant

discourses, particularly the master narrative of Suharto’s New Order that prohibited

critical debates on gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race, religion, class, and nation?3 We

find in post-1998 cultural production that women emphatically celebrate female

sexuality, and subvert “traditional” gender ideologies. In this paper I analyze and

comment on one particular film, Biola Tak Berdawai (Stringless Violin, 2003) directed

by Sekar Ayu Asmara, and produced by Nia DiNata. Coming from a western feminist

perspective I will argue that this movie, in fact, reverts back to conservative, masculine

notions of gender and sexuality. Biola Tak Berdawai reinforces the idea that women must

follow their kodrat wanita, innate nature, and that they are destined to be mothers.

Biola Tak Berdawai

Biola Tak Berdawai is set in Yogyakarta/Kotagede in 2002, and portrays this place in

Central Java nostalgically, as the heart of Javanese culture with centuries old traditions.

Yogya is presented as a haven of tranquility in contraposition to the modern and

cosmopolitan capital Jakarta, the signifier of the modern nation. Jakarta is not shown in

the film, but only referred to. Ballet and violin music, as expressions of western art

forms, have special significance in contrast with Javanese dance and gamelan (absent in

3 SARA (Suku, Agama, Ras, Antar-golongan) were topics that could not be publicly debated as they might

challenge national stability.

Hellwig 103

the film). The volcano Merapi, Java’s south coast (Pantai Krakal),4 the Prambanan

temples and a traditional Javanese house serve as the background of the events. These

images, laden with symbolism, suggest a Javanese essence, a homogeneous and

harmonious entity. We, the viewers, are well aware that this no longer exists – probably

never existed – yet the movie maintains this distorted picture of essentialism, and evokes

a sense of longing and nostalgia for an idealized and long-gone era.

From a feminist point of view my analysis focuses on the way Biola Tak

Berdawai represents women, and implies gender roles and ideologies. Renjani and Mbak

Wid, the protagonists, share the same fate as victims of a patriarchal order. They are not

capable of resisting masculinist norms that allow them no autonomy over their own

bodies and sexuality. Sekar’s conservative take on female sexuality is striking when

compared to cultural products from other women since Reformasi. At the end of this

paper I will briefly discuss the novel Biola Tak Berdawai by Seno Gumira Ajidarma

(2004) which is based on the movie.

Renjani and Mbak Wid

The opening of Biola Tak Berdawai shows a nostalgic street scene of Kotagede with

andong, mopeds and bicycles. An older man, dressed in a lurik jacket and a batik head

cover, peddles his bicycle through the narrow alleys until he reaches a Javanese house. Its

spacious, tiled veranda reminds viewers of Dutch colonial homes. Wooden pillars,

beautifully carved at the foot, support the roof. The space is decorated with potted plants

and teak furniture, and colonial-style lamps hang off the ceiling. The house, we later see,

dates from 1857.5 These first images imbue a historical sphere of hushed serenity and

stillness, far removed from present-day hastiness and loud commotion. The house turns

out to be an orphanage for children with severe disabilities (tunadaksa), and is called

Rumah Asuh Ibu Sejati (The True Mother Orphanage). Two unmarried women manage

the orphanage: Renjani, thirty years old (played by Ria Irawan) and Mbak Wid (Jajang C.

4 See Sekar [n.d.]: 11. I am grateful to Seno Gumira Ajidarma who gave me a copy of the film script.

Audiences will no doubt recognize the film’s images as Java’s south coast. I do not know to what extent the

specific site of Pantai Krakal is generally known and recognizable.

5 According to the film script (Sekar [n.d].:4) and the novel (Seno 2004:9) the house dates from 1887, but

the year displayed in the movie clearly says 1857.

104 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

Noer), a forty-year-old pediatrician. On the morning that Pak Kliwon arrives by bicycle,

they have to bury Larasati, a baby who only lived for five days. The small graveyard is

located on a slope out in nature, surrounded by trees.

Renjani is particularly concerned with, and attached to one of the orphans, Dewa (Dicky

Lebrianto), a stunted eight-year-old boy, whose head is bowed to the ground. Visually

Dewa gives the impression of a “broken” child. As we hear from Mbak Wid, he has brain

damage and is blind, deaf, mute and autistic. Dewa was expected to live only briefly, but

miraculously he survived beyond his first year. Renjani behaves like a doting mother. She

takes him with her everywhere she goes, and talks to him continuously in order to inform

him about his surroundings. She verbalizes what she sees and hears for him so that he can

feel involved in the world in which he lives. Dewa, however, never reacts to Renjani’s

flood of words. He faces the ground, his face hidden. Initially it seems that Renjani gives

meaning to Dewa’s life, but soon we learn the tables are turned: Dewa makes Renjani’s

life purposeful.

From the very start the images indicate that Renjani and Mbak Wid are two diverging

personalities. Their outer appearances are distinctly different, and so are their private

room and work spaces. Renjani is an attractive woman with a friendly, open face and soft

features. She mostly wears a colorful sarong and kebaya (traditional blouse) in which she

can freely move around. Her hair is braided and she does not cover her head. Her office

space and bedroom where Dewa’s crib is located too, are bright and sizable because of

the open, high windows, and furnished with teak wooden bookcases, chairs and tables in

art deco. Framed pictures of ballerinas hang on the walls. Renjani has a CD player and

computer, yet these rooms create a sphere of the past. Large vases with tuberoses are

omnipresent and indicate a household well cared for. We see the tuberoses also in the

common space of the back porch where Mbak Wid, Renjani and Dewa eat their meals

and spend time around a marble dining table.

Mbak Wid appears as two different figures: as a physician she looks professional in her

white uniform and with her hair tied in a bun. Her facial features show no emotion, she

Hellwig 105

emanates an aloof authority in the clinic of the children. In the evening, however,

completely dressed in black and wearing eye-catching jewelry she has a spooky

demeanor with her blue eye shadow and long hair hanging loose. This becomes more

evident in her role of fortuneteller: Mbak Wid enjoys reading tarot cards. When she

makes predictions, but also in conversation, she speaks slowly and with circumspection,

as if she carefully weighs every word. For her, life is full of riddles, teka-teki. This word

is constantly on her lips. She lights dozens of candles in her bedroom every night, some

in silver candleholders that remind one of the kraton (sultan’s palace) paraphernalia. The

flickering flames create a mysterious, frightening realm. With her dual identity Mbak

Wid is an enigmatic individual.

In spite of their diverging personalities Renjani and Mbak Wid share unspeakable life

experiences that are related to norms and values regarding female sexuality. When Mbak

Wid warns Renjani not to become overly attached to Dewa (Kamu sudah terlalu lengket

sama Dewa), Renjani replies that he replaces her own, unborn child. She subsequently

confesses that she is a victim of rape, violated by her ballet instructor, and that she had an

abortion. Later in the film more details are provided: Renjani trained as a ballerina in

Jakarta, and performed in public. Her rape abruptly ended her career, and because she

had inherited her grandmother’s house in Yogyakarta, she turned her back on Jakarta.

However, she cannot rid herself from the traumatic memories, and regularly we witness

her nightmares which are shot in black-and-white. In slow motion we see a ballerina with

her male dance partner in close physical contact. These experiences haunt her, and every

time she wakes up after such a bad dream, she winces with pain in her abdomen.

Mbak Wid responds disapprovingly to Renjani’s confession of her abortion. She explains

that her emotional reaction is caused by the fact that her mother had self-induced

miscarriages up to six times. Her mother earned a living as a sex trade worker. In a blackand-

white flashback we see how Mbak Wid as a child witnessed her mother’s fornication.

For that reason she made a vow that she would devote her life to save children’s lives.

Mbak Wid and Renjani suffer from enormous guilt complexes in a social context where

abortion is condemned as a deadly sin (dosa). Mbak Wid’s mother and Renjani

106 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

transgressed patriarchal boundaries of what makes a woman respectable as wife and

mother. As women they are victims of respectively male violence (rape) and economic

circumstances (prostitution) that exploit women. Renjani and Mbak Wid have been

forced to keep their secrets, they were never able to turn to someone for moral or

emotional support. At this point their frankness brings them closer together and they find

consolation. It forges a strong bond of female solidarity.

Bhisma, the violinist

One day Renjani finds Dewa on the floor with a box full of memorabilia from her past

life. When she takes a ballet shoe from his hand, and dances her ballet steps on the music,

Dewa lifts his head for the first time to look up. The moment Renjani notices this and

approaches him, his head bows down again. Convinced that music will be therapeutic

Renjani decides to take Dewa to a recital. The next shot is of the Prambanan temples, and

the camera zooms in on a string quartet playing in the light of the full moon with the

three temples in the background. After the concert Renjani meets the young violinist

Bhisma (Nicholas Saputro). One will immediately associate the name Bhisma with the

Mahabharata: Bhisma is the man who raised the Pandawas and Kurawas, and he could

determine the moment of his death himself. While Renjani converses with Bhisma, Dewa

grabs the bow and will not let go. Bhisma responds to Dewa in a natural and caring way;

he accompanies them home. When he returns the next day to pick up his bow, he is given

the opportunity to get to know Renjani better, but also to see the orphaned children with

disabilities. Through his eyes the viewers see the babies born with hydrocephalus and

other impairments, and share his compassion.

A close friendship develops between Renjani and the twenty-three year old music student

which in Mbak Wid’s eyes can turn into some sort of romance. Renjani’s fear of (sexual)

intimacy plays tricks on her. In one scene where Bhisma compares the orphans to

stringless violins, Renjani tells him of Dewa’s reaction to her ballet dancing. Bhisma

suggests they test him once more. While he plays the violin and Renjani dances, Dewa

lifts up his head as before and looks at what is happening. Elated by Dewa’s response

Hellwig 107

Renjani and Bhisma embrace each other. But when Bhisma holds her closer and tries to

caress her, Renjani rejects him. Traumatized she writhes herself from his embrace and

tells him to leave. Later she tells Mbak Wid that she is afraid to succumb to this young

man, eight years her junior. That night Renjani dreams of an embryo in a jar filled with

formaldehyde. In a shot from above we see Renjani lying on her bed wincing with pain,

an infinite suffering. She is filmed through the lattice of her four-poster bed as if she is

detained behind bars, framed in a structure she cannot escape.

Yet, Renjani seems to be able to let go of her past. In a later scene we see her with the

box of memorabilia on the beach of the south coast. One by one she floats her ballet

shoes on the waves until she commits the entire box to the ocean. This “launching”

evokes associations with the legend of Nyai Loro Kidul, the goddess of the South Sea, to

whom the Javanese pay respect with offerings. Nyai Loro Kidul controls Java’s south

coast with her supernatural power and regularly claims people’s lives. Renjani entrusts

her past life to the almighty goddess in order to disengage herself from the oppressing

complexities and limitations that haunt her, and to open herself up to a new future.

Meanwhile Bhisma is hurt, confused and insecure because of Renjani’s rejection, which

he cannot understand. We see him out in the beautiful nature of Kalikuning with Mount

Merapi in the background, lost in thought and playing with his cigarette lighter.

Tormented by Renjani’s refusal he deliberately burns his fingers in the flame. We can

connect this self-torture to a previous scene in which Bhisma witnesses how Renjani

lovingly consoles Dewa after having burnt his fingers. Bhisma’s self-inflicted pain can be

interpreted as his way of needing attention from the woman of his heart.

Next we see Bhisma in his modestly furnished student lodgings composing a piece Biola

Tak Berdawai which he has dedicated to Renjani and Dewa. He intends to express the life

energy of Dewa and the other orphans through his music, but as the many balls of paper

on the floor indicate, he is not very productive and becomes increasingly frustrated.

When he tries to play his violin, he is unsuccessful because of the bandage on his finger.

Eventually he visits Renjani to beg her, literally on his knees, not to refuse/reject him

108 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

(Jangan singkirkan saya). She is his muse; he cannot function without her. Renjani

encourages him to complete his composition and explains that she needs time to make

peace with herself and her past. After this meeting Bhisma’s creative inspiration returns

and over the phone he invites Renjani and Dewa to the premier performance. Again he

asks, or rather orders, Renjani not to reject him.

However, Renjani and Dewa do not attend Bhisma’s concert. Disappointed and desperate

Bhisma throws his sheet music in the air: his musical creativity and talents are useless if

he cannot share them. In the days following, he struggles with himself and his memories

of Renjani. This time he directs his anger not toward himself but toward his violin. One

by one he tightens the strings to such extent that they snap. When finally he visits

Renjani’s house, Mbak Wid informs him Renjani has died because of uterine cancer as a

result of her abortion.

The film ends with Bhisma, dressed in black, and Dewa, in white, at Renjani’s grave.

Bhisma plays his Biola Tak Berdawai for her, and Dewa lifts up his head to the sky and

utters some sounds: “D..de…f..faa…shaa.aaang…ii..buu”6 (Dewa sayang ibu - I love you,

mommy). Bhisma holds Dewa in his arms while the camera zooms out, and from

increasing distance the two of them disappear in the natural environment of the graveyard

that looks out on to Merapi.

A Western Feminist Interpretation

The first time I watched Biola Tak Berdawai, on VCD “at home”7 in Jakarta. I was

fascinated by the familiar images of an extremely idyllic Yogyakarta and surroundings. I

enjoyed the nostalgic representation even though I realized I was deceived by the

stereotypical depiction. At the same time I was shocked by the denouement when Renjani

dies as the result of uterine cancer caused by her abortion. I became aware of how the

interplay between the visual aspects and the plot reinforces a gender ideology that is

6 Sekar [n.d.]:69.

7 From September to November 2004 I lived in Jakarta with my cousin Achmad Danial and his family. I

am grateful for their hospitality and the way they allowed me to share in their family life.

Hellwig 109

explicitly confirmed at the very end of the movie. The film attests to its audiences that

abortion leads to uterine cancer and death, and warns women not to have an abortion.8

The message is that ultimately women must fulfill the duties of motherhood under all

circumstances. They have no rights to decide over their bodies and sexuality, they are not

allowed to terminate an undesired pregnancy, even when it is the result of rape.9

Renjani and Mbak Wid’s mother transgress the rules and expectations imposed on

women, and commit a sin against humanity. Mbak Wid has internalized her mother’s

scandalous and shameful actions, and spends her life as an old spinster. Both she and

Renjani dedicate themselves to the children with disabilities, abandoned by their parents.

These unwanted babies, one of whom is Dewa, were rejected by their parents, “aborted”

after birth. But they, too, are, in Bhisma’s words, “creations of God, they have their own

beauty”.10 Because of his posture – his stooped body, his head bowed, and curved

shoulders and back – Dewa can, in fact, be interpreted as the personification of a fetus.

Renjani’s overwhelming love for this child must compensate for the loss of her own

unborn child. She cannot be absolved of her sin of abortion, however, hence she is

penalized and pays with her life.

To me, as a western feminist, the direct link of cause and effect between Renjani’s

abortion and her uterine cancer11 is extremely problematic and unacceptable because in

8 E, Djohan et al. mention “the sensitivity of the topic in a country where abortion continues to be very

restricted and socially condemned” (1999:284). Kartono Mohamad and Ratna Megawangi (2000: 57-59)

make a plea for legalizing abortion under strict conditions. Suryono Ekotama et al. conclude their expose as

follows: “Dalam kasus abortus provocatus bagi korban perkosaan, peranan pemerintah sebagai pembuat

kebijakan memegang posisi kunci yang amat penting […] Penelitian-penelitian dan aspirasi-aspirasi

masyarakat seputar legalisasi abortus provocatus harus segera ditindaklanjuti dan dikaji lebih dalam lagi”

(In the case of abortus provocatus for rape victims, the government as policymaker plays a very important

role [...] Research and people’s aspirations on the legalization of abortus provocatus need to be followed up

and studied further. 2001:202).

9 The same message was conveyed through the popular novel, later turned into a movie, Karmila by Marga

T. (1975, see Hellwig 1994:183-185).

10 “Mereka juga ciptaan Tuhan [...] mereka mempunyai keindahan tersendiri.” (Sekar [n.d].:43).

11 See Sekar [n.d.]:65: “Kankernya akibat dulu pernah melakukan aborsi [...] aborsi yang ceroboh.” The

word ceroboh (vile, bad, irresponsible) could indicate that this abortion was illegal and riskful. I wondered

whether the film could be interpreted as an indictment against clandestine abortion practices in which

women lose their lives, and as a plea for legalization, but concluded that this is not the case. Renjani’s

uterine cancer manifests itself more than eight years after her abortion; her death is not the result of

haemorrhaging because of unprofessional treatment.

110 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

my view it represents women who choose for abortion in an unfair and misogynist way.

One of the important issues of the second feminist wave in the western world was that

women obtained the final say over their bodies and sexuality. In the 1960-1970s

feminism and the sexual revolution in the West made contraceptives widely available,

and led to more openness, better education, a breakdown of taboos and liberation from

social and sexual restrictions. Virginity and monogamy were no longer considered norms

for “decent and acceptable” female behavior. As a result women today can have a legal

and safe abortion in special clinics in a number of countries. With regard to rape it is no

longer automatically the case that a male dominated society points the finger at women as

guilty and “having asked for it.” If in the past women were blamed and the rapist

remained scot-free, present-day ways of thinking and the legal situation have changed,

and the man is charged as the offender and violator.

Feminism as a grassroots movement and the sexual revolution of the 1970s never reached

and impacted Indonesia as such. While Indonesian women today have many more

opportunities than before in terms of education and careers, liberated ideas regarding

sexuality and sexual behavior are in Indonesia not (yet) commonly accepted, at least not

to the same extent as in (certain parts of) the West. To a large extent patriarchal

(religious) principles dominate society, depending on the region and other circumstances.

Biola Tak Berdawai underscores a sexist gender ideology that denies women their rights

over their bodies. It is striking that Renjani’s rapist is never indicted in the film. On the

contrary, the effect of the visualization of Renjani’s nightmares might be that viewers

tend to make her responsible for the rape. The black-and-white shots of her dreams show

two dancers: she in a tutu with thin straps, he stripped to the waist. They are in close

physical contact as is common in ballet: his hands hold on to her waist when he lifts her,

her legs rest against his torso. In contrast to the ballet flashbacks we never see the rape

visualized.12 In other words, ballet replaces the rape, and functions as a metaphor. An

implied logical link between ballet and rape explains the unexpressed assumption that a

woman who chooses for ballet, asks for being raped. The man remains out of sight, he is

12 Mieke Bal stipulates that rape cannot be visualized as it is both physically and psychologically an inner

experience, it is an “irrepresentable experience” (1988:26-27, italics in original).

Hellwig 111

anonymous and we never see his face. He is not charged as guilty. In this context the

omnipresent tuberoses in the house become more meaningful. On the one hand the

Indonesian word for the flowers, bunga sedap malam (literally flowers that are fragrant at

night), also refers to sex trade workers,13 and the clearly visible flowers can be interpreted

as a metaphor for the two inhabitants of the house: Renjani as an immoral ballerina who

displays her body publicly, and Mbak Wid as a prostitute’s child. On the other hand the

flowers are associated with death: people bring tuberoses to the house of a deceased. As

such the flowers foreshadow Renjani’s pending death.

In Biola Tak Berdawai ballet functions as the licentious western dance form. It runs

counter to traditional Javanese court dances, absent and invisible in the film, but

notwithstanding strongly suggested by the visuals of refined (alus) Javanese culture: the

house that resembles the kraton, and Prambanan, the site of Ramayana dance

performances. Renjani’s ballet career and experiences in Jakarta are in flat contradiction

with the stylized Javanese serimpi and bedhaya dances, considered the apex of alus dance

art.14 Jakarta represents the modern, western, permissive and debauched capital, a cesspit

of vice where women bring disaster to themselves. Yogyakarta functions as Jakarta’s

counterpoint, as a safe cultural haven where Javanese traditions provide a strong footing,

and wounds can heal.

The invisible violation of rape contrasts poignantly with Renjani’s abortion. Twice

viewers are confronted with Renjani’s memories of the abortion in black-and-white

dream visions. In one scene a forceps comes into view as a menacing tool.15 Another

scene shows the earlier mentioned fetus in formaldehyde. This last image cannot but

leave a strong impression on the audience, and must have been intended to provoke

13 See Stevens and Schmidgall-Tellings 2005:887. According to Manneke Budiman, the Javanese associate

the fragrance of bunga sedap malam with the presence of kuntilanak or sundel bolong, wandering spirits

that rob parents of their babies. Kuntilanak and sundel bolong were usually sex trade workers during their

lives.

14 See Brakel-Papenhuijzen 1992.

15 See Sekar [n.d.]:33: “Sepasang kaki perempuan di sandaran kaki yang biasa terdapat pada bangku

periksa diruan praktek ginekolog. Sebuah tangan yang kasar memegang sebuah forceps.” Even though the

word biasa is ambiguous here (i.e. meaning that this is not a normal situation), the fact that a gynaecologist

is mentioned implies that Renjani’s abortion was conducted professionally. Compare footnote 11.

112 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

repulsion. Personally I associated this particular scene with images used in anti-abortion

campaigns which portray a fertilized ovum or embryo as a viable fetus. This, in my view,

false representation of abortion propagates a sexual morality that forces women to adhere

to masculine control over female bodies and reproduction, particularly in cases where

pregnancy is the result of sexual violence.

Biola Tak Berdawai confirms conservative, (religiously) patriarchal norms and values

that protect unborn life unconditionally. Renjani’s moral offence costs her her life.16 The

figure of Mbak Wid as a physician, on the other hand, could serve as a role model for a

successful and respectful career woman. Her metamorphoses, however, undermine her

credibility. Moreover, professionally she devotes herself to a cause she missed in her

personal life: the caring mother figure she never knew and she will never be herself.

Significant in this respect is the name of the orphanage: Rumah Asuh Ibu Sejati, The True

Mother Orphanage. It speaks metaphorically to “true motherhood” as a woman’s

destination. All in all the film conveys that women cannot deny their kodrat wanita,

innate nature, as mothers.

Bhisma’s violin music plays a central role in the film, both visually and in the plot line. It

is Bhisma who uses the metaphor of a stringless violin for the children with multiple

disabilities: “They cannot produce beautiful sounds”.17 The film music, composed by

Addie M.S., intensifies the significance of visual aspects and dramatic moments. Within

the plot line the music, which accompanies the ballet dance, offers the possibility to

stimulate Dewa’s perception and improve his development. Renjani and Bhisma’s

experiment leads to the result they hoped for, and the moment that Dewa lifts up his head

for the second time, forms the climax of the relations among Renjani, Bhisma and Dewa.

At this point the ideal hetero-family of male, female and child seems within reach.

However, as positive as the experiment is for Dewa as expressed in his reaction, the

effect is negative on Renjani and Bhisma. Renjani rejects Bhisma and an intimate relation

16 As one Indonesian friend put it, when I asked her opinion of the movie: “You take a life, you pay with

your life”.

17 “Tidak bisa menghasilkan nada-nada indah” (Sekar [n.d.]:43). This is Renjani’s reaction to Bhisma’s

observation.

Hellwig 113

which causes him to resort to self-inflicted pain and destruction of his violin, literally a

stringless violin.

Bhisma’s music runs parallel with Renjani’s ballet, both are western art forms that in the

Yogyakartan context serve as contrasts against the vacuum of the non-visible Javanese

dance and inaudible gamelan. Bhisma may find obstructions in his musical career, but he

can overcome them and eventually celebrate his creativity and talents. Even though he

and his musical inspiration cannot rescue Renjani from her downfall, his composition

Biola Tak Berdawai is triumphant in the end. He is able give a voice to the muted

orphans. At Renjani’s grave Dewa not only lifts his head but even expresses through

unarticulated utterances that he loves his mother because Bhisma’s music stimulates him

to do so. The film’s ending seems to hold an optimistic promise that Bhisma will commit

himself to the care of Dewa.

Biola Tak Berdawai undermines women’s rights to decide over their bodies and their

lives, and justifies a patriarchal gender ideology that can easily victimize women. Yet, the

film presents Renjani and Mbak Wid as economically independent, in their social

circumstances they are quite well off. Strikingly, no explanation is given of how Renjani

can afford to finance and manage an orphanage, or how Mbak Wid, the daughter of a

single mother who earned her living in the sex trade, succeeded in completing a medical

degree at university. The film is suspiciously reticent about family relations or an explicit

social context: Renjani, Mbak Wid and Bhisma interact as individuals without any

references to family members or their specific backgrounds.

Because of the norms and values propagated in the film I was curious to learn more about

Sekar Ayu Asmara. The back cover of Seno’s novel displays her photo and a blurb on her

work as a film producer, writer, composer and painter. The internet provides some

information, but no interviews and nothing about Sekar’s socio-political ideas or personal

convictions.18 Because of lack of data on where she stands ideologically regarding gender

and feminism, or on her religious convictions, I have not been able to find an answer to

18 A Google search (November 24, 2005) resulted in 9610 items on Sekar Ayu Asmara.

114 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

how Biola Tak Berdawai fits in her gender politics. Viewed within the larger framework

of cultural production since 1998 Biola Tak Berdawai stands out because of its

reactionary-conservative moral tone. As mentioned above, since Reformasi women

writers, female filmmakers and artists intentionally subverted sexual taboos, and

appropriated their female sexuality in no uncertain terms. If women writers during

Suharto’s New Order presented masculine, or even sexist points of view in accordance

with the Darma Wanita ideals, in recent literature, film and theatre women express

themselves far more critically about misogyny and oppressive mechanisms. Hence, the

unprogressive and patriarchal message of Sekar’s 2003 film is exceptional, and indicates

that conservative perceptions regarding sexuality have not been uprooted. Biola Tak

Berdawai received a number of awards: it was declared the best film with the best music

and best actor (Nicholas Saputro) at the 2003 Bali International Film Festival, and was

awarded the Naguib Mahfouz prize at the Cairo International Film Festival. Ria Irawan

received the prize of best actress at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in Shiraz, Iran, and in

2004 the films was nominated for an Oscar Academy Award in the category of best

foreign film.19

Seno Gumira Ajidarma’s Novel

Following a new trend in Indonesia novelists these days are approached to write a book

based on a movie, rather than the other way round.20 In February 2004 Seno Gumira

Ajidarma published his literary version of Biola Tak Berdawai in 198 pages. Seno is a

journalist and writer of Javanese descent who grew up in Yogyakarta. In a most creative

move Seno chose the seemingly blind, deaf and mute Dewa as his protagonist-cumomniscient

first-person narrator, and the reader experiences the events through Dewa’s

perception. As the narrator Dewa creates a world in words, but as the protagonist at the

plot level he is not capable of communicating with his ibu (Dewa refers to Renjani

exclusively as ibu, mother), Mbak Wid or Bhisma. The novel consists of fifteen chapters

19 See Dwi Arjanto 2003, Republika 2003 and Yus 2003.

20 Besides Biola Tak Berdawai the film Ungu Violet by Rako Priijanto (2005) was turned into a novel

(written by Miranda), and the sinetron (soap opera) Dara Manisku came out as novel under the title Sejuta

Rasa.

Hellwig 115

narrated by Dewa and six chapters, printed in italics and dispersed through the novel, in

which an external narrator relates episodes from the wayang literature that are relevant to

Dewa’s story. This way Seno highlights some of Mbak Wid’s statements about wayang

characters such as Gandari, Drupadi and Bhisma, and about the great war of the

Bharatayuda (Sekar [n.d.]: 6,18,41,63). Thus, with this extra dimension Seno positions

the events explicitly in a Javanese context and he verbalizes the filmic cultural-visual

aspects that are lost in print.

The novel literally adheres to the film’s dialogues, and the plot remains unchanged. Yet,

Seno does not simply regurgitate the film’s narrative. He uses his imagination to

elaborate on certain scenes and to create new details. Dewa’s perspective is a brilliant

invention, and gives the book its specific approach. Dewa starts his account as follows:

“My name is Dewa. Actually it is strange they call me Dewa, because isn’t a dewa (deity)

an almighty being with supernatural powers? Whereas I, what kind of power do I have

except for stirring up sympathy among my fellow humans?”21 Many times he emphasizes

his posture with his head bowed (kepalaku tertunduk, aku tertunduk), reinforcing the

visual image from the film. However, the narrator Dewa is all knowing about the world

around him and his fellow orphans. He ruminates on existential questions of life and

death, and possesses a sixth supernatural faculty that allows him to communicate with the

spirits of the deceased babies.

Seno accentuates two visual aspects from the film that recur a number of times in his

book. First he uses butterflies as a metaphor. A short scene in the movie shows Renjani

and Dewa in the paddy fields in which Renjani explains how a caterpillar turns into

butterfly. She continues to express her hope that Dewa, like a butterfly, will fly out into

the world. The metamorphosis serves in the novel as a metaphor not only for Dewa who

considers himself a caterpillar who will never realize his mother’s expectations to

become a butterfly, but also for Renjani who, when she dances, is as light as a butterfly.22

21 “Namaku Dewa. Sebetulnya aneh sekali aku diberi nama Dewa, karena bukanlah dewa adalah makhluk

sakti mandraguna yang sangat berkuasa? Sedangkan aku, apalah kekuasaanku selain menerbitkan belas

kasihan sesama manusia?” (Seno 2004: 7).

22 Seno 2004: 38-43, 78-79, 81, 83, 117, 151, 172, 187.

116 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

Butterflies represent transformations and cycles of subsequent stages in life. For Dewa

butterflies hold the promise that he can overcome his physical challenges, and for Renjani

they indicate that she can liberate herself from the oppressive cocoon of the past. Seno

connects a second image to that of the butterfly, namely the candles in Mbak Wid’s

bedroom. In the film the candles are a (quite cliché) metaphor for life: whenever a baby

dies, we see a candle extinguish. In the novel Dewa associates the glow of flickering

flames with frolicking butterflies. Flames and butterflies represent hope and faith in the

future. However, the candlelight is also ominous and related to Mbak Wid’s passion for

the tarot cards: a flame that wavers in the wind, always risks to be extinguished.

As omniscient narrator Dewa is able to enter Renjani’s past life and her dreams (Seno

204: 55, 77, 129). He is present (Aku berada di sana) when Renjani’s ballet instructor

rapes her. Remarkably, the novel depicts the rape far more explicitly than the film does:

how Renjani resists him, how she hits him and escapes from his grip, but eventually is

forced to succumb to him (Seno 2004: 78). Relating another nightmare Dewa identifies

himself with the innocent fetus in the jar with formaldehyde (janin tak berdosa) (Seno

2004: 129-130). While I read Seno’s depiction of the rape as a clear denunciation of this

reprehensible act of violence against women, I interpret the narration of the second dream

as a condemnation of abortion much in line with what the movie conveys.

In Dewa’s version we read how at times he wishes to share his emotions with his mother,

but is not capable to do so. At the moments when he lifts his head as well as when he

grabs Bhisma’s bow, he is overcome by an extremely powerful force.23 Readers of

Seno’s novel realize how extremely grateful Dewa is for the love and care he receives

from his mother, how his life is filled with her attention and affection. The literary

version emphasizes the theme of unconditional motherly love through the eyes of the

child, and underlines the importance of the self-sacrificing mother and kodrat wanita.

The six wayang chapters report on different Mahabharata scenes and characters: on

Gandari, Desarastra’s wife who gave birth to the one hundred Kurawas to witness them

23 “Tenaga yang mahadahsyat entah darimana, kekuatan entah dari mana.” (Seno 2004:83, 105).

Hellwig 117

later fall in battle in the Bharatayudha; on Drupadi, the spouse of all five Pandawas who

is publicly stripped of her clothes by Dursasana and would have been scandalized were it

not for Kresna’s divine intervention; on Bhisma, who forefeits his right to the throne and

opts for celibacy and therefore is rewarded by the gods to determine the moment of his

death; on Sangkuni, the slick politician who traps Yudhistira in the game of dice with his

deceit but eventually dies by Bima’s hand; on Kunti, who secretly entrusts her premarital

son Karna to the river and sees him being killed by her other son Arjuna; and lastly on

Drupadi who takes revenge on Dursasana and washes her hair in his blood. These

episodes are part of Javanese culture and refer to the inevitable fate of humans, a

combination of predestination and agency that no person can escape. They are related to

Dewa’s account: in the same way it has been determined that the Pandawas will be

victorious and that Karna will die in a man-to-man fight with his half brother, Dewa is

destined to accept his life as tunadaksa, a person with multiple disabilities, and Renjani is

preordained to die an early death.

In closing I return to Yogyakarta. Seno’s novel confirms the film’s message, namely that

time stands still in Yogyakarta, that kodrat wanita reigns supreme, that abortion is a

crime but rape is not. This society in Yogyakarta is not at all part of the modern nationstate

of Indonesia, and postmodernity is far beyond the horizon. The cinematography of

Biola Tak Berdawai contributes to present Yogyakarta as utopian and pre-modern, as a

harmonious and uncomplicated space that can exist as long as influences from outside do

not upset the equilibrium. While the film may attract those who indulge in a sense of

nostalgia, it may not appeal to critical feminist viewers.

Reference

Bal, Mieke, 1988, Verkrachting verbeeld. Seksueel geweld in cultuur gebracht. Utrecht:

HES.

Brakel-Papenhuyzen, Clara, 1988. The Sacred Bedhaya Dances of the Kratons of

Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Leiden:

Djajadiningrat-Nieuwenhuis, Madelon, 1987, “Ibuism and Priyayization: Path to Power?”

in Elsbeth Locher-Scholten and Anke Niehof (eds), Indonesian Women in Focus.

118 Nostalgia in Yogyakarta

Past and Present Notions. Dordrecht-Holland/Providence-USA: Foris Publications,

pp.43-51.

Djohan, E., R. Indrawasih, M. Adenan, H. Yudomustopo, M.G.Tan, 1999, ‘The Attitudes

of Health Care Providers Towards Abortion in Indonesia’, in Axel I.Mundigo and

Cynthia Indriso (eds), Abortion in the Developing World. London, New York: Zed

Books, pp. 283-292.

Dwi Arjanto, 2003, ‘Biola Tak Berdawai Masuk Seleksi Oscar 2004’, in Tempo 28

October.

Hellwig, Tineke, 1994, In the Shadow of Change. Images of Women in Indonesian

Literature. Berkeley: University of California, Centers for South and Southeast

Asia Studies.

Kartono Mohamad, 2000, ‘Aborsi yang legal cegah tingginya angka kematian ibu’, in

Jurnal Perempuan (March-May), vol.13, pp. 57-59.

Megawangi, Ratna, 2000, “Aborsi jangan dijadikan alasan hidup hedonistik” in Jurnal

Perempuan (March-May), vol.13, pp. 57-59.

Oetomo, Dede, 2001, Memberi Suara pada yang Bisu. Yogyakarta: Galang Press.

Republika, 2003, ‘Biola Tak Berdawai Masuk Academy Awards’, 31 October.

Sanders, Douglas, 2005, Flying the Rainbow Flag in Asia. Unpublished paper presented

at the International Convention of Asia Scholars, Shanghai, 20-24 August 2005.

Stevens, Alan M. and A. Ed. Schmidgall-Tellings, 2004, A Comprehensive Indonesian-

English Dictionary. Athens : Ohio University Press.

Sekar Ayu Asmara, [n.d.] Biola Tak Berdawai (unpublished filmscenario, typescript). 69

pp.

—. 2003, Biola Tak Berdawai. Kalyana Shira Film. VCD.

Seno Gumira Ajidarma, 2004, Biola Tak Berdawai. Jakarta: Andal Krida Nusantara

(AKUR).

Suryono Ekotama, St. Harum Pudjiarto RS, G. Widiartana, 2001, Abortus provokatus

bagi korban perkosaan: perspektif viktimologi, kriminologi dan hukum pidana.

Yogyakarta: Universitas Katolik Atma Jaya.

Yus, 2003, ‘Biola Tak Berdawai Lolos Seleksi Official Entry Academy Awards 2004’, in

Warta Kota, 28 October.

Assalamu alaikum wr.wb.

chamamah — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:43:59 +0000

hope

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The illustration about her photograph in China