Australian-born puppeteer falls for adopted Indonesia, its culture

Jakarta, NU Online
There are many ways to love Indonesia, says Gaura Mancacaritadipura, a well known shadow puppeteer and cultural expert.

Gaura, a former Australian citizen, fell in love with Indonesia when he first visited the country as a senior high school student in 1968.&<>lt;br />
“I traveled all over Java and I was very attracted to Indonesia because of the culture,” Gaura told the Jakarta Globe, prompting a second visit just two years later.

“It was the first time I saw Bali and I told myself that ‘this is home,’” Gaura said.

Born in Melbourne 57 years ago, Gaura left Australia to take up permanent residence in Indonesia in 1978.

Working as a freelance writer and consultants for various publications and organizations, his love for art spurred him to study many aspects of Indonesian culture, including traditional musical instruments.

Javanese leather puppets, or wayang, however, proved his greatest interest.

“I started studying wayang in 1997. It was so intriguing for me because wayang is very noble and very beautiful,” Gaura said.

It took him seven years to fully master the art, which also required him to learn Javanese and master the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

“It’s not easy to learn wayang, especially in the beginning. The music, the language, it is definitely a challenge,” he said.

In 2003, news about the foreign dalang (puppet master) reached Sri Sunan Pakubuwono XII, the head of the Surakarta Palace in Solo, Central Java, who invited Gaura for a private performance.

“The king gave me a noble title of Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung, which makes me a member of the palace,” he said, adding that Pakubuwono also bestowed him with the name Gaura Mancacaritadipura.

It is the name Gaura listed when he was granted citizenship by the government in 2004.

“I love the country so much and the people, the culture. If I could choose, I would ask to have been born in Indonesia,” he said.

The dalang is also involved in writing nomination files for UNESCO for wayang, kris ceremonial daggers and batik be included on the list of intangible cultural heritage.

“My current project is to have angklung [traditional musical instruments] and nine traditional dances from Bali included on the UNESCO list as well,” he said.

Gaura extended his best wishes and hopes for the country’s 65 anniversary of independence on August 17.

“As Indonesia tries to shift to modernization, traditional art and culture are becoming neglected. I feel culture should be safeguarded and maintained. Happy anniversary my beloved Indonesia. Merdeka! (Freedom!)” (dar)