Bogor - "My father was a wooden puppet master and my mother was a sinden (a female singer who accompanies a gamelan orchestra)," Ade Suarsa told The Jakarta Post recently.
"They didn`t have wealth; they were only able to pass on their knowledge of the Sundanese traditional arts, and that has been a very meaningful blessing in my life," he added.
Ade Suarsa was born in Bogor on Sept. 10, 1974, and studied Sundanese arts at the Indonesian Art High School in Bandung.
In 1991, during his university studies, he traveled with fellow student artists to Japan to perform in the Japanese Folklore Festival in Tokyo. In 1995, he took part in an art mission to Malaysia, and in 1997 accompanied the West Java Art Mission to Italy visiting Rome, the Vatican and Bologna.
Ade became well known after creating a traditional-style musical instrument called the lodong bogoran.
The lodong bogoran has become a speciality instrument used in Sundanese traditional music in Bogor City, and is now rapidly being introduced to society through the various musical programs held in the region.
The lodong bogoran, a percussion instrument, is made from bamboo; it is approximately 118 centimeters long with a diameter of 13 cm. Lodong means "a large piece of bamboo".
"I dream that one day in the future the lodong bogoran will be played in a mass orchestra at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta," he said.
Ade created the lodong bogoran five years ago. He said the inspiration to make the instrument came when he was young.
"I lived in Sindang Sari Village in the East Bogor sub-district of Bogor City. My house was surrounded by clumps of bamboo. The sound of bamboo trunks rubbing together when they were blown by the wind created a beautiful natural rhythm and it helped me sleep.
"That sound was recorded in my heart and mind, and stayed with me into adulthood. Wherever I was, I always longed to go home to that sound," said Ade.
"My mission is to conserve the Sundanese traditional arts. I want the arts of Sunda to be well known by the wider society, especially the younger generation."
Ade set up an art studio called Etnika Daya Sora, which he shares this other Sundanese artists in the Bogor City community.
He said although there were a large number of quality artists in Bogor, there was no institutional organization to support them.
Ade`s attention to Sundanese arts and his lodong bogoran invention drew the attention of the regional government in Bogor City, which supported his participation in a pioneer youth competition at the provincial West Java level.
In July, Ade won the pioneer youth award in the art field.
In 2000, the father of two was appointed as a permanent teacher at the Budi Mulia (BM) Senior High School, where he teaches Sundanese language and karawitan (gamelan music accompanied by traditional singing).
The BM school is the only school in Bogor that has included these two subjects on its list of obligatory study units for all students.
In the beginning, Ade`s students took a cynical attitude towards learning these two study units because they felt awkward; they believed the study units lacked prestige, and considered the Sundanese language and the art of karawitan to be very old fashioned and boring.
Ade said many of his students who had graduated from the BM school and gone on to study overseas, had emailed him to express their regret at not taking their Sundanese language and karawitan classes more seriously, especially after discovering just how valued and appreciated Indonesian traditional arts were overseas.
One of his students is now studying medicine in Germany and returned to Indonesia some weeks ago for a holiday. This student spent his vacation time at the BM school learning how to play traditional instruments.
"The experiences of the BM alumni are evident, and I`ve made these students an example for other students. I always tell new students about them ... every time I start Sundanese language and karawitan lessons, these stories of the experiences of others helps open the new students` eyes.
"Now, there are more students who want to study Sundanese traditional arts," Ade said.
The dedicated teacher said he admired Cepot (a character in traditional wooden puppet shows) because, he said, there were similarities between himself and the character: Both liked to entertain, both were funny and honest, and both tried to never hurt people`s feelings. Theresia Sufa
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com (September 23, 2008)
