Being Productive Amid Physical Limitations

His disability is no impediment to Mulyono Sejati, who doesn’t allow his permanent foot disability to discourage him or make him dependent on others. He has skillfully carved wood into wayang puppets, which has been his livelihood and contribution to cultural preservation for 12 years.

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Mulyono Sejati

His disability is no impediment to Mulyono Sejati, 43, who doesn’t allow his permanent foot disability to discourage him or make him dependent on others. He has skillfully carved wood into wayang puppets, which has been his livelihood and contribution to cultural preservation for 12 years.

On a cloudy afternoon on Thursday (15/11/2018), Mulyono was supervising a construction worker who was repairing the roof of his house on the outskirts of Turus hamlet, Ternyang village in Sumberpucung district, Malang regency, East Java. On a small living room table in front of him was the half-finished logo of a private bank in Surabaya made of wood.

Nearby were wooden wayang puppets of different sizes in a pile, awaiting their final touches. These puppets were ordered from customers in several East Java cities, including one order from Madura Island.

Aside from finishing these orders, Mulyono still needed to fill other orders for wayang puppets. At least seven customers would have to wait patiently, including a celebrity in the capital that had commissioned a Krishna puppet.

Mulyono does something different from other wayang puppet makers: while most craftsmen use leather, Mulyono uses wood to carve puppets that are the spitting image of the original wayang characters. Mulyono’s pieces are usually decorative or collector’s items.

“So, this is a wayang puppet made from wood. It is bigger than wayang kulit [wayang puppets made from leather], but the motifs are the same. It is three-dimensional. In Malang or the southern part of East Java, God willing, I am the only one making wayang from wood. There used to be one in Blitar, but now there are none,” he said.

Unlike the wayang golek from West Java, which is also made of wood but is a different kind of puppet, the puppets Mulyono makes is the wayang purwa [leather puppet] type used in shadow puppetry, only carved from wood. Wayang golek, on the other hand, is a kind of rod puppet that resembles human form.

To make his puppets, Mulyono uses a special type of mahogany wood that he harvests from his own plantation. This wood is suited to his craft, as it is easy to carve but is stronger than other types of wood.

At prices ranging from Rp 100,000 to Rp 2.5 million per puppet, Mulyono can finish one regular puppet in five days. However, he needs an additional three to four days for complex and large puppets.

Mulyono said it was not particularly difficult to craft the puppets. He primarily used traditional methods. Attention to detail and patience were key, considering the many ornamental details carved into each puppet. Impatient people would survive long in the craft, as was the case with seven of Mulyono’s workers, who eventually quit because they lacked the necessary patience.

“What is difficult is mixing the paint. How to mix the paint to produce the perfect shade,” said Mulyono, who has participated in several handcraft expos in East Java, including in Surabaya.

Another problem was the limited number of craftsmen. Today, he does everything on his own, so he once had to decline an order for a set of wooden puppets consisting of dozens of wayang characters.

Mulyono, the fifth of seven children, learned his trade in wooden puppet making from a local puppeteer. He assisted the puppeteer without pay but received meals, a kind of unpaid apprenticeship known as ngawulo in Javanese. From his apprenticeship, he learned about the wayang characters and the ins and outs of puppet making. “Incidentally, I really like the wayang arts,” he said.

Before he was apprenticed to the puppeteer, Mulyono worked at a furniture factory, but he only lasted a year because his physical condition did not allow him to perform strenuous activities. It was at the furniture factory that he was introduced to woodcarving, although carving furniture was not as complex and detailed as carving wayang puppets.

Strong determination

Mulyono was born with a physical disability. He travels by tricycle. He uses a crutch to walk. Even so, Mulyono, who lives with his octogenarian father Amir, had a strong determination be self-reliant.

Mulyono certainly did not want to beg for money on the street, like some lazy people who pretended to be disabled. “I sometimes cross paths with people while I am out walking, and they try to give me money. But I decline politely. I don’t want people to pity me. I want to work, even though I may be physically limited,” he said.

Mulyono is generous in sharing his knowledge. His door is open wide to neighbors and anyone who wants to learn how to make wooden puppets. However, no one has come so far except one of his brothers from Pakisaji, a village in Malang, who was there for three weeks learning the craft and was currently taking a break.

“Anyone can learn here, as long as they are serious. As for my neighbors, so far no one has come to learn because they are not very interested in making puppets,” he said.

Mulyono said that a few years ago, he a lecturer in Surabaya invited him to share his knowledge at the university, but he declined because he felt he was not ready. He felt at the time that he still lacked knowledge on mixing colors.

This humble craftsman – who can also make wayang puppets from leather – is determined to continue making wooden wayang puppets, even if he delves into other activities later. For Mulyono, wayang puppet making is his life’s blood. It is also a form of cultural preservation that not everyone can do, even those who are able-bodied.

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Mulyono Sejati

Mulyono Sejati

Born: 1975

Father: Amir, 80

Mother: Rati