International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 132

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES SPRING 2016 perform. He became renowned for his colour and boisterous delivery. Thus, this sage of his time took on the colour and showmanship of a burungmerak (peacock). A profile of W.S. Rendra Willibrordus Surendra Broto Rendra was born in 1937 into a Catholic family. As an adult, he converted to Islam and simplified his name to Rendra. He studied English literature and culture at Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta. However, he did not complete these studies as he became preoccupied with staging plays. His first play was “Dead Voices,” staged in 1963 (Prijosusilo 2009). He became enthralled with the craft of performance. As his popularity spread as a dramatist and poet, Rendra drew on his traditional religious ritual performances as well as emerging avant-garde styles to enhance his presentations. Rendra has been credited with introducing modern theatre techniques, particularly through his work with the Bengkel Teater which he founded in 1968 (Prijosusilo). It was through his artistic presentations and his own colourful manner that he became known as the “Burung Merak” (the Peacock) by the press. His popularity grew as a poet through the 1950s. He took delight in promoting himself as cosmopolitan, flamboyant maverick. Throughout his life, he was highly influential as a poet across Indonesia and remained so until his death in 2009, aged 74 years. It is an accepted principle that a Javanese poet must be a guardian of the spirit of the nation (Bramantyo Prijosusilo 2009). This was a role he took seriously and with deliberate intent. The times in which Rendra lived Rendra lived through a tempestuous time in Indonesian history. Indonesia declared independence at the end of World War II. Initially, independent Indonesia was a parliamentary democracy. Nevertheless, there were many opposing forces contesting the politics of Indonesia. In 1959, President Sukarno introduced ‘Guided Democracy.’ This period saw a reduction of parliamentary power and an increase in Sukarno’s personal power. The military was developing its own power base and wealth. These factors were problematic in terms of the health of the Indonesian democracy. An alleged Coup was attempted on 30 September 1965. This led to the subsequent and systematic elimination of Communists and left wing sympathisers all the way down to village level. Eventually, Suharto took power and established the New Order regime. During the years of Guided Democracy (a poetically euphemistic term in itself), many freedoms were denied, even violently supressed. However, amid such authoritarianism, new forms of prose, drama and poetry arose. These were chaotic times and the artists speaking out, articulating the rage and frustration of the people attracted large audiences. Rendra was a significant voice amongst 132 | P a g e