Ludruk folk theatre of East Java: Toward a theory of symbolic action.

摘要

In this study I treat ludruk folk theatre of East Java, Indonesia as a dynamic, aesthetic performing arts genre that effectively works to evoke fundamental notions constitutive of the world view of the participants. Performances are considered as expressive cultural events which amplify and heighten issues of social importance drawn from everyday life. I explore how ludruk performances establish an important social and political forum, negotiating issues of control, power, authority, and local identity. Ludruk is meaningful in the lives of the participants because it appropriates local meanings, and offers methods to deal with sources of conflict and tension in their society.;Important to understanding context, I present an overview of the history and development of ludruk, explore the East Javanese social matrix, and discuss the form and structure of the ludruk performance. Performance is then considered as a cultural method of positing, legislating and channeling subjects of importance. Actors in ludruk align themselves with a larger, more encompassing social identity through the aesthetic use of sung poetry, dance, songs, music, and melodramatic folk stories. Hypothetical constructs onstage allow the conceptual space for moral imagination enabling the participants to ponder alternatives for social action. Through symbolic action in the performance, situations can be mocked, tested, discussed, and realized in a fashion not available through any other means.;Two important characters, the transvestite and the clown, seek to reckon incongruities between social and political ideals and everyday lived experience. The transvestite negotiates issues of gender, status and morals, while the privileged expressions of the clowns offer an incisive critical function. Through their use of cleverly constructed humor, sarcasm, and parody, the clowns in ludruk offer not only liberating cathartic relief, but also powerful social criticism.;Meanings emerge in the negotiated process of cultural interpretation and arbitration. A semiotic approach deepens our understandings of how performances enrich society, by moving analysis beyond a referential focus as the primary locus of meaning. Reading the performance reflexively adds a resonating echo to the importance of social action portrayed on the ludruk stage.