THE AESTHETICS OF ETERNAL PARADOX: ENDLESS DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND MINANGKABAU THOUGHT IN WISRAN HADI’S DRAMATURGY
THE AESTHETICS OF ETERNAL PARADOX: ENDLESS DIALOGUE BETWEEN ISLAMIC AND MINANGKABAU THOUGHT IN WISRAN HADI’S DRAMATURGY

Summary/Abstract: Wisran Hadi, a prominent Indonesian playwright, was born in the cultural background of the Minangkabau ethnic group, one of the ethnic groups in Indonesia that have received the most attention from world researchers. There are two main reasons, which make this ethnicity get special attention in humanities studies. First, because the Minangkabau ethnic contributed many thinkers during the formation of the Indonesian nation-state, which is believed to have originated from its egalitarian and democratic culture; and secondly because the matrilineal system in its customs is strongly intertwined with Islam which tends to be patriarchal. In this endless paradox, many literary writers are born. Wisran Hadi was one of them and became the most prolific and strongest of his time. In his drama works, Wisran Hadi makes the eternal paradox between Islam and Minangkabau a dialogical force, from which aesthetic value emerges as the ability to negotiate and make appropriations. When staged, the dialogue between the two sources of paradox is presented in the form of visual games, which gives the impression that differences of mind for the Minangkabau ethnic are understood as a game of life, a source of wisdom, and even a philosophy of life that is useful for shaping humans and their humanity. This paper is intended to show that in the form of typical dramaturgical architecture, this endless paradox becomes the aesthetic experience that Wisran Hadi offers to his audience through his drama works.

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