Jakarta - As ASEAN continues to grow in relevance and power, the strings of puppets may be one way to better tie together the peoples of the region.
For many observers, traditional puppetry could be just one way of using Southeast Asia‘s shared cultural heritage to enhance cooperation between citizens.
The secretary general of Indonesian Puppetry Society (Sena Wangi), Tupuk Sutrisno, who is also a former Indonesian ambassador, said traditional puppetry could pave the way for more political and economic partnerships.
"People often neglect the influence of cultural partnerships at the regional level, but it is actually what affects international relations between countries. Culture is a people-to-people relationship that stands above differences and arguments," he said.
Puppetry has had a significant place in the cultures of Southeast Asia for centuries. Trade throughout the region has seen materials such as goat and buffalo hides finding their way into the puppet designs of different countries.
The famous wayang shadow puppets of Indonesia can be found, albeit in different forms, in Cambodia and Malaysia.
As in Indonesia, many countries such as Thailand also still use traditional puppets to tell the morality-laden Mahabharata and Ramayana Hindu epics.
Despite this rich tradition, puppetry has long been in decline in Southeast Asia, failing to draw the same level of artistic respect as art forms such as drama and sculpture. The rise of the modern mass media has also taken a heavy toll on puppet storytelling.
In a bid to preserve traditional puppetry, Sena Wangi and puppetry groups in several ASEAN countries last year established the ASEAN Puppetry Association (APA) to revitalize the traditional art across the region.
The head of Sena Wangi‘s international division Suparmin Sunjoyo said the new association would help preserve traditional puppetry at the same time as balancing ASEAN‘s more "serious" economic and political agendas.
Suparmin said part of the association‘s work would be to ensure puppetry performances were more common at regional meetings and informal gatherings.
Several Indonesian institutions, including Bank Indonesia, the State Ministry Office for Administrative Reform and flour producer PT Bogasari Flour Mills have recently made puppetry performances part of their official events.
APA is planning to hold its first regional meeting in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Sept. 6 to 7 to endorse its house rules and agreements. Representatives from 10 ASEAN countries will attend the event.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com (5 September 2007)