This has prompted 60-year-old cultural activist Eko Henri Nurcahyo to take the initiative in "provoking" local administrations, universities and cultural activists to explore the wealth of Cerita Panji.
By
AMBROSIUS HARTO
·5 minutes read
East Java is the proud birthplace of Cerita Panji, a collection of classical stories from the Kadhiri to the Majapahit kingdoms. However, in terms of preserving Cerita Panji, East Java lags behind other places in Southeast Asia. This has prompted 60-year-old cultural activist Eko Henri Nurcahyo to take the initiative in "provoking" local administrations, universities and cultural activists to explore the wealth of Cerita Panji and to popularize them.
Cerita Panji is the epic tale of Raden Inu Kertapati (Panji Asmarabangun) and Dewi Sekartaji (Galuh Candra Kirana). For hundreds of years, the story was told, developed and spread along intercontinental trade routes through oral tradition. Not surprisingly, Cerita Panji is thus well known throughout Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, Cerita Panji has been the inspiration behind popular literature in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines, and hundreds of versions of the classical epic exist in manuscript form, stored throughout the world.
In fact, the stories they are usually told through traditional art are actually part of Cerita Panji.
In the birthplace of Cerita Panji, some East Java people are unaware of the epic. However, they recognize and can recite by memory the tales of Ande Ande Lumut, Entit, Golek Kencana, Keong Mas or Timun Mas. In fact, the stories they are usually told through traditional art are actually part of Cerita Panji.
This circumstance made Henri realize that East Java was far behind in preserving the epic compared to Thailand, especially Kediri, “the land of Cerita Panji”. Since the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the “country of the white elephant” had adapted Panji into the inao and dalang operatic ballets, or sendratari. The two remain popular traditional performances to date, helping to develop that country’s Panji culture.
Henri felt uneasy because Panji seemed to be forgotten in its country of origin, whereas other countries glorified Panji. "I lived and grew up with Panji culture. Panji is a part of life from childhood to adulthood through folklore and the traditional arts. But even I was not aware of this," he said in Sidoarjo in late September.
To quell his anxiety, Henri, who is also a writer, attended discussions with artists, young people and Panji scholars in 2008. This gave birth to the East Java Arts Council’s Panji Cultural Conservation Institute, and Henri was appointed as its coordinator.
"Since I accepted this responsibility, I have been determined to jump into and explore Panji culture," said Henri.
Panji is a part of life from childhood to adulthood through folklore and the traditional arts.
Henri began by organizing a variety of discussions, workshops and seminars on Panji. He encouraged and became involved in national and international festivals, and encouraged the formation of the Panji
Nusantara Cultural Network, to which he is an active contributor. At the same time, he became an editor and wrote books on Panji.
He developed cooperation with international researchers and close countries to write articles on Panji. The books were published independently through the Brang Wetan Cultural Community.
Provocation
Henri took a different approach to preserve Panji. He realized he was not an arts activist, a gallery owner or a researcher of Panji reliefs or temples. "What I have might be the ability to provoke, as well as to produce popular writings to spread knowledge on Panji culture," said Henri, who is now in charge of Panji studies at the University of PGRI Adi Buana in Surabaya.
He admitted that he was often cynical towards regions that had a wealth of Panji traditions, but did not show enthusiasm. He urged region administrations to hold more discussions and festivals and to present artistic installations, including masks and sculptures. At times he criticizes the regency, provincial and central governments so that they might pay special attention to Panji.
Henri diligently visited museums and galleries that stored sculptures, reliefs, inscriptions and artifacts related to Panji. "I obong-obong [provoke them] so that the historical legacy is returned to East Java or, if not, create a kind of study center for Panji culture," he said.
The UNESCO Memory of the World declaration was a new way of venturing through Panji culture.
Along his journey, he met former education and culture minister Wardiman Djojonegoro, who turned out to harbor a great love for Panji. "Through Pak Wardiman, the joint effort for Cerita Panji to gain international recognition and become more accessible finally succeeded when UNESCO declared in October 2017 that Cerita Panji was a Memory of the World," said Henri.
The result was the combined efforts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, the Netherlands and England, which submitted various Panji manuscripts.
For Henri, the UNESCO Memory of the World declaration was a new way of venturing through Panji culture. He issued a call that we never forget Cerita Panji.