Mama Arif Hidayat

Dongeng Sunda di Radio Sipatahunan

Bogor (ANTARA News) - Salah satu budaya lisan Sunda, yakni dongeng rakyat berbahasa Sunda, nyaris punah oleh desakan budaya global modern, terutama televisi, sehingga dibutuhkan upaya-upaya untuk menjaga dan melestarikannya agar tidak hilang.

"Guna melestarikan budaya lisan Sunda, Radio Sipatahunan Kota Bogor, akan menyiarkan dongeng Sunda secara rutin setiap sore, pada Senin hingga Jumat," kata Encep Moch Ali Alhamidi, Kepala Seksi Pelayanan Media Pemerintah Kota Bogor yang juga Penanggungjawab Radio Sipatahunan, di Bogor, Rabu.

Disiarkannya dongeng Sunda di Radio Sipatahunan yang mengudara di gelombang 89,4 FM itu, guna melestarikan budaya lisan Sunda yang nyaris dilupakan, terutama pada generasi muda.

Dongeng Sunda akan dituturkan oleh pendongeng tradisional Sunda, Mama Arief Hidayat, serta program pelestarian budaya Sunda lainnya akan disampaikan budayawan Eman Sulaeman.

Mama Arif Hidayat menjelaskan, dongeng Sunda bertajuk "Sumur Ajaib" akan menceritakan kehebatan masyarakat Sunda dengan latar cerita tempo dulu. Dongeng ini sudah disampaikannya di radio milik Pemerintah Kota Bogor, mulai Senin (30/6).

"Cerita lengkapnya tidak bisa saya ceritakan di sini, tapi bisa didengarkan di radio," kata Mama Arif, pria yang bisa menirukan 16 jenis suara.

Diakuinya, ia sudah berhenti mendongeng sejak 1980-an, bersamaan makin menurunnya minat masyarakat terhadap budaya dongeng.

"Sebetulnya, saya sudah berhenti mendongeng sejak tahun 1980-an. Tapi karena ada permintaan dari Radio Sipatahunan dan desakan dari Paguyuban Pasundan yang ingin menghidupkan kembali budaya dongeng Sunda, saya menyanggupinya," katanya..

Sebelumnya, dongeng Sunda yang disiarkan di radio, pada tahun 1975-1980, sangat digandrungi warga Bogor. Salah satu pendongeng Sunda terkenal di Bogor adalah Mama Arif Hidayat yang membawakan dongeng "Si Riweuh" dengan suara khas.
Setelah hampir 30 tahun menghilang, Mama Arif Hidayat, tampil lagi membawakan dongeng Sunda di radio. (*)

Sumber :http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2008/7/2/dongeng-sunda-di-radio-sipatahunan/

Mama Arif Hidayat: Captivating listeners with his tales

When he first launched his storytelling career more than 30 years ago, Mama Arif Hidayat was already capturing the attention of his listeners.

They stayed glued to their seats to learn what would happen next in his two famous Sundanese tales, Sirjibang and Siriweuh.

"Euuuhh... waktos ngaseep," he would say, his signature words meaning "time's up now, time to end the story".

The 55-year-old Sundanese man was born in Arafat, Saudi Arabia, as Sarip Hidayatulah before he took the popular name Mama Arif Hidayat. He is a legendary storyteller of West Java folklore.

"Mama" is the term used by the Sundanese in Bogor, West Java, for someone well versed in a particular field of knowledge, a master.

His storytelling career began when he started criticizing a private radio station in West Java's capital city Bandung for not appreciating Indonesian culture, particularly Sundanese culture, enough and for broadcasting Western music from dawn to dusk.

"Why does this station air so many Western songs instead of Sundanese programs, or at least Indonesian music?" Arif asked in his letters.

He was then invited to the station where the management asked if he had any solution to offer.

"I said I could solve it and was prepared to help out," he said. He offered to tell his stories over the radio.

With the station manager looking on, Arif made his debut the next morning, portraying two characters, first a very old man, then a woman.

Three days later some sponsors asked him to present radio programs and appear in stage shows.

His storytelling soon became popular, perhaps because his tales were unique or TV programming was not as varied as they are today.

After three months, Arif toured radio stations across West Java, including Radio Wahana in Cirebon, before finally joining Radio Elpas in Bogor in 1977, to fill its folklore program.

In no time, he was well known and capturing the hearts of many listeners.

"When I came to Bogor, I felt drawn in and I've never left. Believe it or not, people say, to control West Java, the first thing is to hold sway over Bogor, once the center of the Padjajaran kingdom of Pasundan region," he said.

Arif was surprised at his own creative process, honed during the many broadcasts.

"I felt like I was being controlled by some magic force, allowing me to relate various legends without concepts, using diverse voices without faltering for months. I should thank God for my talent," he said.

He told his stories without preparation, sometimes adding sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. He developed 18 different voices to portray many characters.

His most famous stories at Radio Elpas were that of Sirjibang, which centers on supernatural powers, and Siriweuh, which is about a troublemaker he identified as himself.

His tales made housewives and children gather in front of their radios in the afternoon. Some farmers even took their radio sets to their rice fields to not miss the programs.

However, in 1982 a strange quirk of fate caused him embarrassment and hurt his career.

Arif was invited by a political party to tell a Sundanese story in Petir village, Bogor regency, to support the party's campaign. Thousands of people crowded to see him.

"In the beginning, it was all smooth but halfway through the tale, my voice left me, like an erased tape," he said.

"I felt I was talking normally, but the large crowd started to boo and heckle. Though I tried to remain calm, I was eventually led off the stage for losing my voice."

The incident robbed Arif of his self-confidence, forcing him to abandon his Elpas job and to turn down offers to do stage performances. Plagued by constant nervousness, he practically lost his narrative ability.

"During that long traumatic period, I realized that, as a storyteller, I should have belonged to all fans instead of a certain group," he said.

Recently, Sundanese cultural organizers in Bogor affiliated with Paguyuban Pasundan invited Arif to discuss ethnic cultural affairs. In June 2008 they persuaded him to return to the radio.

The effort aims to interest the Sundanese in Bogor in their own folklore and become more accustomed to speaking the local tongue.

With the assistance of Bogor city officials, Arif returned to the air, this time via Radio Sipatahunan, one of the city's outlets for communication and information on regional development.

As of June 30, Arif is back on the air telling his inimitable Sundanese tales.

Sumber :http://www.thejakartapost.com