Title: "Rama Tambak" and "President Dosomuko": Foreshadowing the Fall of SuhartoSubmitted by: Marshall Clark, University of Tasmania, AustraliaAt about the same time that the full effects of the economic crisis began to hit home on Indonesia's previously prosperous middle classes and the urban and rural poor, the Indonesian government sought a 'spiritual' solution to the crisis. In January 1998 the Minister for Tourism, Post and Telecommunication, Joop Ave, suggested that a particular wayang shadow theatre tale, "Rama Tambak", be performed simultaneously throughout the major cities of Java. According to Joop Ave, "Rama Tambak" was the very same wayang tale performed for President Suharto whenever he faced serious problems in the early years of his presidency. In the hope that "Rama Tambak" would have a positive impact upon the economic crisis, Joop Ave allocated 150 million rupiah for the project, and in February 1998 performances were given by Indonesia's leading "dalang", or wayang shadow puppeteers, in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Solo. Meanwhile, in the 1990s numerous Indonesian writers, poets, songwriters and playwrights became "dalang" in their own right, rescuing, reinterpreting and subverting the very same "Rama Tambak" characters that had been cynically co-opted by Suharto and his pro-government "dalang Golkar." Return to Abstracts menuCarol Burnett Phone: 61 - 3 - 9349 1899 Email: c.burnett@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
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