Ki Dalang Anom Suroto Dies, Peek At The Figure Of The Maestro Who Once Extorted Wayang Kulit In Five Continents

This morning the world of traditional Javanese art mourns the passing of a pedalangan maestro, Ki Anom Suroto, who in his distinctive voice and performance style has introduced wayang skin to various corners of the world. From a small child who studied pedalangan at a family home, to a stage on five continents, he left a significant imprint for the puppeteers of the younger generation.

Born with the real name Anom Suroto with the title Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Haryo Lebdo Nagoro on August 11, 1948 in Juwiring Village, Klaten, Central Java. Ki Anom grew up in the mastermind family environment. His father, a puppeteer named Ki Sadiyan Harjadarsana, introduced him to the puppet world from a young age.

Since the age of 12, he has started to explore and play shadow puppets, learn directly from his father and also from various senior teachers in the pedalangan environment. Furthermore, he took pedalangan courses in Surakarta through organizations such as the Surakarta Cultural Association / HBS), as well as studied in pedalangan educational institutions such as Pawiyatan Kraton Surakarta, and Habiranda Yogyakarta in 1976-1977. He also received education from institutions such as Pasinaon Dalang Mangkunegaran (PDMN).

While studying wayang in Yogyakarta, Ki Dalang Anom Suroto disguised himself. He, who was already the mastermind at that time, still wanted to learn and disguise himself under Margono's name. In the process of exploration and finding peculiarities in the elements he always played in wayang performances.

Ki Anom is known to have a good basic voice, inherited from his family and his senior teachers. His voice was able to bring the wayang character to a strong life, making the dialogue and narrative of the wayang play more lively and meaningful.

His professional career began to stand out since around 1975. That year, he appeared at the Radio national radio station of the Republic of Indonesia (RRI) after going through a rigorous selection.

In addition to vocal abilities, his performance style combines various pedalangan traditions: he combines Surakarta style, Yogyakarta style, and Banyumas style. This approach is sometimes considered to violate traditional standards by some wayang lovers, but for him the substance of messages from stories is more important than just following the standard style.

Not infrequently, the performance is also interspersed with jokes as part of the dialogue of punokawan (minant service) characters, so that the audience not only listens to epic stories, but also reflective light entertainment.

Ki Anom's extraordinary achievement was that he was the first Indonesian mastermind to ever stage on five continents. Several countries or regions that were listed as their stage places include the United States (Indonesian cultural exhibitions in the US), Japan, Germany (including West Germany), Spain, Australia, and Russia in early 2018.

In addition to the stage, he also conducted studies in other countries such as India, Nepal, Thailand, Egypt, and Greece to deepen understanding of the concept of a god in a wayang play, so as to enrich the interpretation of play and symbolism in its performance.

Ki Anom Suroto's departure leaves sorrow in the world of Javanese skin wayang traditions. However, his distinctive voice heritage, his approach that combines various styles of pedalangan, as well as his commitment to fostering future generations will continue to live and be passed on to the next generation of puppeteers as intellectual and spiritual heritage.

According to Ki Dalang Anom Suroto's son, Ki Bayu Aji, 'Before he died he was hot for a few days. He still had time to love and advised to be careful, I didn't look at Kadhohan's face, he said', reported by the Solo Regional account YouTube, Thursday, October 23. The maestro's message, who died this morning, asked his son to be careful when traveling to the puppet stage in Magetan for the next few days. Ki Anom Suroto also promised to see from the 'distance'.