Fantasies Behind the Mask
Darmawan, 62, dances to look for what he did not get in life. Through the mask dance, he found fantasies that are much more colorful than his daily routine as a clove picker in Natuna.
He has been in love with the mask since he was first taught by his father to dance about 50 years ago. That became the most important thing that ever happened in his life.
The spiritualism of the mask turns dreams into life and life into dreams. It allows him to break down the boundaries of space and time to become whatever he wants. "That is what gets me to continue to dance persistently," Darmawan said on Sunday (2/9/2020).
He is part of a third generation of mask dancers in Tanjung village, Northeast Bunguran, Natuna, Riau Islands. Sanggar Buana Sakti dance studio, which he leads, is now the only mask dance group left. Regeneration stalled because no one was willing to replace Darmawan as the leader of the studio.
The knowledge and skills of the mask dance, said Darmawan, were originally taught by a Natuna nobleman named Datuk Kaya Wan Muhammad Benteng to his grandfather. The inheritance was then passed on and reached him. However, until now he has not yet found a suitable person to be the successor. "Indeed, not just anyone can be a group leader. The chosen person must have spiritual power and be able to summon \'someone\' from the forest," he said.
This spiritual power is needed to cure the dancers who are sometimes possessed while performing. The spirit or soul that possesses the dancer is known by residents as the bunian.
In Malay land, the bunian is believed to be the guardian spirit of the forest that usually lives in the mountains. At present, the mask dance is rarely performed. Mask dancers only have the chance to appear during official events held by the government. In fact, according to hereditary stories, the mask dance is said to be a healing ritual. The dance is believed to have the magical power of eliminating pain.
Once upon a time, long ago, there lived a princess whose beauty was incomparable. However, the beautiful girl was filled with sadness. The king never allowed the princess to come out of the palace without strict escort by the soldiers. One time, the princess fell ill and no physician could cure her. The palace’s astrologists told the king that the princess could only be healed by a dance. Thus, all dancers from all over the country were called to perform dances for the recovery of the princess.
"Still there is no result. The illness of the king\'s daughter was not healed," Darmawan said. Apparently there is still one dance group that has not been invited. They are 41 dancers who live in the forest. The dancers were willing to come as long as they were allowed to wear masks when they appeared in the palace. Although heavy hearted because they felt less respected, the king was forced to agree for the healing of the princess.
The first is about the human longing for freedom to choose his or her desired life.
The dancers from the forest opened their performance with a dance. However, the princess still hadn\'t recovered from her illness. Only in the second performance, the tari piring (plate dance), did the princess wake up and recover from illness. In the third show, the tari kain (cloth dance), they offer a closing as well as gratitude. However, there is a price to pay.
One of the 41 dancers could not remove the mask from their face. The princess who fell in pity then accompanied the poor dancer back to the forest. There, far from the glittering of the palace, the beautiful girl finally found the long-desired freedom. "The name of the dancer whose mask cannot be taken off is what must be \'invited\' every time we want to perform the mask dance. Not everyone is allowed to know and say that name," he said.
The mask dance, said Darmawan, contains two messages. The first is about the human longing for freedom to choose his or her desired life. Second is the message for the authorities to always be humble in order to listen and appreciate the lives of even the most marginalized people.
Life difficulties
Now there are only 15 mask dancers in Tanjung village and on average they are elderly.
According to Darmawan, the future of the mask dance was unclear. Young people are not interested in continuing it because the income from dancing is not enough to make a living. Within a year, the mask dance group only performs at most three to four times. They don\'t get any reward when dancing. It has become a tradition in Natuna, with people invited usually only required to provide adequate means of transportation and food.
Such tradition eventually made them stricken by difficulties. Musical instruments gong, limbong (a kind of bonang in gamelan) and the long drum needed for performing must be borrowed from other groups. The outfit for dancing is also torn out as time passes. "Here [dancing] is not aimed at earning money for food. If you want to get money, you have to work in the farm or at sea," he said.
As a child, Darmawan dreamed of becoming a rich nobleman. However, his fate made him become a clove picker. From every kilogram of clove he picks, he receives Rp 7,000. In a day, he can only pick about 10 kilograms. It\'s not much, but it\'s enough to live with his wife. The same work was carried out by most other mask dancers at Sanggar Buana Sakti. However, the hardships of life and the similarity of fate actually made their brotherhood closer. Dancing became a way out for them to escape the fatigue of everyday life.
"I consider all of my fellow dancers brothers, even if they have children, it feels like they are our own children. I am sad when their children are sick and happy when they get well," he said. In mask dance there are at least three roles that can be played, namely as a king, princess, or youth from the forest. "When I was young I chose to be a young man from the forest because I wanted a beautiful wife. For now, it\'s good to be a king because I want to live rich," he said, laughing.
For him, dancing became a way to protest the hardship in his life. He dances because he wants to do a lot of life, even though humans only have one chance. The mask dance is consolation for Darmawan in facing the hardships of life.
Darmawan
Born: Natuna, Riau Islands, 17 August 1957
Wife: Sadiah (63)
Child: Sadarwati (39)
Education: Package C