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
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