The Gamelan Digul and the Prison Camp Musician who Built it: An Australian Link with the Indonesian Revolution. By Margaret J. Kartomi. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2002. xxiii, 123 pp. Bibliography, index, maps, photographs, illustrations, compact disc. $75, hardcover. Reviewed by R. Anderson Sutton (Univ. of Wisconsin).

This remarkable volume offers a unique glimpse into the life of Pontjopangrawit, Solonese gamelan musician and nationalist, and the “life” of the gamelan he built under extraordinarily adverse circumstances while a prisoner in the infamous Dutch prison camp Digul, located in Central New Guinea. Although the wretched conditions at this camp have been documented elsewhere, Kartomi’s focus on one individual—drawing on interviews, photos, and recordings—sharpens our view. Drawing on a combination of interviews with family and others who knew him, as well as historical sources on the prison camp and the socio-political environment that led to their creation, we are led to imagine what life might have been like for this erudite court musician, forcefully removed from his homeland; and we are introduced to his musical life, before and after his imprisonment. In addition, the author provides detailed description of this necessarily modest gamelan set and its unlikely journey from the highlands of New Guinea to Australia. All of this is enhanced with photos and recordings of the instruments being played by A.L. Suwardi, one of the top gamelan musicians in Central Java currently, as well as rare recordings of Pontjopangrawit himself playing the two-string fiddle rebab (although not with gamelan Digul).

The organization of the book is broadly chronological, framing its twin subjects within their socio-historical circumstances. It takes us from Solo, to Digul, back to Solo, and finally from Digul to Australia. Following thoughtful forewards by American ethnomusicologist Judith Becker and Javanese scholar-composer-musician Rahayu Supanggah, the author begins with her own “Prologue” providing basic background for readers not familiar with Javanese gamelan music. The first chapter tells of Pontjopangrawit’s youth, emphasizing his early musical training and experience, as well as his political activism. The author gives evidence of having explored a variety of potential sources, but much of this early phase of Pontjopangrawit’s life is unretrievable, as many of those who could have reported first hand, not least Pontjopangrawit himself, have passed away. Moreover, very little written documentation can be found with information about musicians of this era.

The next chapter shifts focus to the Digul prison camp and Pontjopangrawit’s internment, including the actual construction by Pontjopangrawit and others at Digul. Drawing on what limited sources are available, the author seems to offer us every detail she could verify and attempts to fill in some of the lacunae with thoughtful extrapolation. The gamelan, a simple but miraculous testament to the power of music and humankind’s strength in adversity, remained there after Pontjopangrawit was released in 1932, used by others up until its removal along with the prisoners to Australia during the period of Japanese occupation. Pontjopangrawit’s life from his release from Digul until his death in 1965 is covered in the following chapter, by which time we have a sense not only of his main experiences, but also of his personal demeanor, his approach to music, and his accomplishments as a teacher. To give readers the best sense of his musical style or personality, the compact disc includes three examples of him playing rebab (fiddle). These were lesson recordings made by Mantle Hood and include only rebab and the main melody outline, known as balungan, played on the slenthem (single-octave metallophone).

Pontjopangrawit could not have imagined when he built the gamelan in Digul that it would be transported to Australia, played by former prisoners there, and thence to Monash University where it would be carefully restored. In the chapter entitled “The Australian Connection, 1943 to the Present,” Kartomi tells us of the prisoners who were brought to Australia from Digul, bringing their precious gamelan with them. The chapter is largely devoted, however, to Australia’s (and Australians’) involvement with the Indonesian independence struggle, and to political developments in Australia with little demonstrable connection to the gamelan. The following two chapters describe the instruments in detail and document their restoration.

Most readers will likely find the earlier chapters the more interesting, with the more technical descriptions of the instruments and the process of restoring it of less import. Yet the fact that the author recognized the symbolic value of this ensemble of instruments and took great pains to demonstrate its musical viability is a testament to the exceptional character and know-how of its creator, Pontjopangrawit. Indonesia has produced many exceptional artists, who struggled to maintain their cherished traditions in the face of adversity. Perhaps this work of Kartomi will inspire others involved in the arts of Indonesia to place long-needed emphasis on the persons whose art it is we so admire.

(This review was uploaded to www.antarakita.net on September 26, 2003)