Java - Yogyakarta 1

I had been looking forward to Yogyakarta since reading about it on a wet morning in Edinburgh library pouring over the Indonesia Lonely Planet. It was hard to believe we are now here.

Yogyakarta (pronounced ‘Jogjakarta’ and known as Jogja) is a small but vibrant city located in the heart of Java. Described as Java’s soul, the city is also its cultural hub. Along with being the gateway to the famous UNESCO temples Borobudur (largest Buddhist temple in the world) and the stunning Hindu Prambanan temple (which we had visited on the way in) LP told me Jogja is where you can see ballet, batik textiles, music, silversmithing, street art, and wayang puppetry. Exciting!!

It will also be our last destination in Indonesia. By favouring exploration of some of Indonesia’s sights along our route over long riding days covering more ground, we would now not make the Sumatra ferry to Malaysia before our visa ran out. (Or at least not without a lot of connecting train logistics and a squeaky bum). So with a heavy heart we’d opted to fly from Jogja to Singapore.

Arriving…

Jogja treated us to the best start, and we were immediately captivated. Checking in we loved our hotel. Expensive at £25/night (!) we enjoyed endless free eclectic buffet breakfasts, a big pool, views across the city, and a safe basement car park for the bikes. Through a little street-art filled ginnel across from the hotel we emerged onto a colourful street of restos, cafes, icecream flavours, plant-covered buildings, crafty souvenir shops, antiques, and… Via Via.

Full of healthy veggie-friendly food, Lilz-friendly coffee, and even friendlier staff Via Via became our happy place for meals. Twice we enjoyed great live music. It has plants and good spoons.

Shadow puppetry…

Time was ticking, and having arrived and eaten I jumped in a taxi to take me the half hour drive up to the university. I’d seen a poster online advertising a student performance of Wayung Kulit: one of the cultural things I definitely wanted to see.

Wayung Kulit is a traditional Indonesian shadow puppet theatre, and is becoming harder to witness as younger people have little interest in the tradition. Jogja is the best place to still see it.

I arrived in good time - I thought I’d get lost - but with the help of some students found it tucked behind the campus. A huge outdoor stage was laid out with a full gamelan orchestra. The instruments, red with gold detail, were set before the screen. Intricately carved leather puppets lined up ready to come alive. Seats for 200 people were set out under a temporary tin roof. I took a seat at the front. At ten to 7, I was the first person there. 😆

At half past - the show was meant to start at 7pm - I was still feeling pretty lonely. Music blared from speakers thunderously loud. Beautiful sickly sweet incense wafted on the warm evening air. I played on my phone.

At 8pm things eventually started to kick off. The compères, two ladies in smart traditional dress, asked everyone to stand for a prayer, and to sing the national anthem, and another song. A short dance by three ‘princesses’ followed. Then some poetry. And some long speeches - in a mix of Indonesian and Javanese - thanking various people for their part in the show and reminding people of its significance. I caught some of the gist using google translate…

“Tonight let us enjoy the story of Prabu Nala not only as a puppet show but also as a guide to life, a reminder that every intention must be accompanied by enthusiasm and sincerity. The performance is not only art but a reflection of human life, full of philosophy, human nature and human behaviour.”

Now past 9pm, the performance still hadn’t started. Finally, the dalang, the master puppeteer, took to the stage seating himself in front of the screen. Or rather, behind the screen. As technically we, the audience, are in the wrong place being situated to witness what would normally go on behind the scenes - so not the actual shadow of the puppets!

The dalang controlled all puppets and voiced the characters, improvising the dialogue, and narrating the story. He manipulated the figures with rods, skilfully moving their pointy limbs in time to the atmospheric percussion-heavy music: the gamelan players and vocalists providing the emotional soundtrack to the unfolding drama. I was spellbound.

Puppetry has always had an enchanting appeal for me. Its storytelling, intimacy and magic has the same pull as gathering around a campfire on a dark night. I’d read the Javanese wayang kulit was a medium for communicating the human soul. Only the dhalang sees the colourful painted side of the puppets - the character’s full inner qualities. The dhalang’s absolute control over the puppet parallels God’s power. The audience only sees the shadow: the character’s outward behaviour in the world. The characters’ shadows help the audience actively meditate on how practical, everyday actions and decisions shape an individual’s overall character.

I didn’t see the full epic tale out - the show would continue past 11pm - as without understanding the language I lost a lot of the meaning and entertainment. Happy to have seen this ancient art form I jumped on a Grab scooter (like Uber) and joined Lilz back at Via Via for a bintang beer.

The rest of our time in Jogja…

We spent our time in Jogja split between the headache of sorting bike boxes and transport for them and us, packing them up, booking flights, etc, and sightseeing.

We took two days out to visit Borobudur temple, another to explore Kota Gede a heritage neighbourhood of Jogja, and I spent a half day learning about batik at a local batik factory. Each of which we’ll detail in separate notes.

We also had a lot of fun taking a becak (beh-chak) - basically a motorised rickshaw - from our hotel to Sonobudoyo Museum. It was ace experiencing the city’s ambiance at a leisurely pace with our cheeky driver grinning over our heads as he wheedled through the traffic. The museum was brilliant - really well set out and gave us a real insight into key cultural aspects - and Lilz enjoyed the attention of hundreds of visiting school children wanting a selfie as I hid surreptitiously behind exhibits.Read more