A Tribute to Pak Eddy: Remembering a Friend
It's with a heavy heart that we share that Pak Eddy Pursubaryanto - a renowned wayang artist, former Shansi Visiting Scholar (1997-98), and friend, guide, and mentor to generations of Shansi Fellows - has passed.
We, the Shansi family, are mourning collectively at the loss of titan within our community. We also extend our deepest condolences to Pak Eddy’s family, who also shaped the lives and experiences of generations of Shansi Reps and Fellows.
Below, in celebration of Pak Eddy’s life and spirit, we have shared some fond memories and expressions of love from a few former Reps and Fellows.
**Images have been sourced from Shansi’s internal archive, Brittany Jordan, Eli Fisher, Guy Brown, and Paris Mercurio. We extend an additional “thank you” to the contributors who remain unlisted.
“When I arrived at UGM in the fall of 1982, Pak Eddy was the most junior lecturer in a cohort that included Pak Alex Horo Rambadeta, Pak Stefanus “Steve” Djawanai, Pak Bakdi Soemanto, and Pak Gondo (who now has a building named after him), among many others.
Pak Eddy was much closer to us Shansi Schleps in age, and this made for a very casual and fun relationship with him. He played an important artistic role in helping us stage a rather hilarious (Java-adapted) version of “Fiddler on the Roof.” There were so many warm moments and good conversations that remain with me even to this day.
Over the decades Pak Eddy became one of Shansi’s and Oberlin’s most devoted friends and supporters at UGM. What a rich and wonderful life he lived. He will be missed.”
~ Jeffrey Winters
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 1982-1984
“I had a close and deep relationship with Pak Eddy and his family way back in my 1988 to 1990 period as a rep and beyond during my extra year in Yogya.
He was a deeply loyal friend and had a mischievousness both in his eyes and words and deeds – matched only by Bu Eddy. I remember being shocked (and then delighted) by their bawdy humor and the range of their jokes.
Pak Eddy helped me navigate some really important challenges in my own life and was a huge champion of mine, believing in me and helping me believe in myself. Peter Riggs and I loved all our times with Pak Eddy.
I was just thinking yesterday of him as I searched for my Javanese keris, which was temporarily lost in my move, and as I played with the shadow puppets that he helped me source, choose, and understand the deeper meaning and symbolism of the characters. I had many evenings of all night wayang, sitting next to him and smoking kretek (him more than me!).
I also loved his relationship with his daughter, who developed a sharp wit before the age of 5, prompted by her father’s word play and loving (and relentless) teasing.”
~ John Kurtz
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 1988-90
“I had dinner with Pak Eddy in 2023, on my first and only visit back to Yogya this century:
We went questing for durian like in the old days, only this time he was the retired grandfather surrounded by generations of family; his daughter now a lecturer at UGM. We went to Minomartani, the wayang and gamelan center he’d helped establish and still performed at. What stays with me, even more than the marvel of the big, boisterous family and Pak Eddy’s undimmed spirit of mischief and fun, was the incredible care he took of everyone. The warmth of his attention, whether focused on a grandchild’s brilliant English, or on deftly reshaping the conversation to include everyone at the table, from those losing their memory, to me, still regaining my Indonesian. Meanwhile, the self-deprecating stories, the glimpses of what it was like to play gamelan for the Sultan, the curiosity about my life. As a 22-year-old teaching beside Pak Eddy back in the early 1990s, I took for granted his energy, his sensitivity, his humor, his touch for dropping a moment of real vulnerability, or a perfectly shocking dirty joke, into what might otherwise be an ordinary moment. I thought such skills came with age. But they were properties of someone brave and true to his vision of how art and life belonged together.
My other favorite memory of Pak Eddy was actually from when he was in residence at Oberlin and we performed shadow puppetry together. I came down from Ann Arbor, where I was a graduate student and—inspired directly by nights I’d spent with him in Yogya, years before—a storyteller and sometime puppeteer. I remember being anxious on the drive down. Had I learned enough from him and from his mentor, Ki Ledjar Subroto (to whom he’d generously introduced me) to fairly represent the wayang tradition? I went over the stories he’d taught, prepared myself to be exposed as still a callow beginner. But I’d forgotten Pak Eddy’s spirit. The most important things that happened were eating pizza together, and starting a snowball fight in Tappan Square. When I tried to be all serious and respectful of puppetry, he jumped in and started hazing me, picking a cheerful fight with puppets on the shadow screen, just as he had with the snow. He kept things loose and playful.
‘Don’t take things so seriously—take them artfully.’ It was a lesson he taught, and that I’ve heeded, with gratitude—but that will be harder to remember, without him here.”
~ Gregory Harris
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 1991-93
“When I was a Shansi Rep, Pak Eddy was one of the most approachable dosen, and I know my fellow Reps who co-taught with him truly enjoyed the experience. My own appreciation for him deepened years later, when I was living in Jakarta and able to visit Yogya from time to time. I remember one conversation in particular where he spoke about the Shansi Fellows with such warmth and kindness, while also recognizing that they were, in many ways, still very young. That mix of bi-cultural empathy, realism, and humor—as a dalang but also dosen and man of the world—is how I will always remember him.”
~ Elizabeth “Betsy” Osborn
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 1993-95
“Pak Eddy was such a generous soul who welcomed us with such enthusiasm, as part of the ‘Shansi family’ in Yogyakarta. He was trustworthy and wise and by the time I got there in 1997; he seemed to be the Bapak of all of us Shansi Reps. I remember him helping very young me with various cultural misunderstandings and debacles, and still find the memories flooding back at times, hearing his voice: ‘You should have come to me first!’ ( Ah! Why didn’t I think of that? Of course!) He really knew so much. And it seemed, could help with anything. After one long conversation about what was troubling me and why, he said, ‘I will take care of it! By telling a story…!’
Thank you Pak Eddy for welcoming me, teaching me, and including me; and thank you for your creativity, kindness and love. I was very lucky to meet you.”
~ Anna Fewell
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 1997-2000
“Pak Eddy truly welcomed us fellows into his family.
I went to see a lot of late night performances with him and his family. He took me to see performances of jathilan at midnight in small Javanese villages where the dancers get into a trance state and wild feats take place like eating glass and becoming possessed all while reenacting battle scenes from the Mahabharata. I remember on one occasion a dancer becoming possessed and chasing the children around the rice field.
I also have very fond memories of going to Parangtritis Beach and eating fresh snapper prepared in a Sulawesi style of Rica-rica. Pak Eddy knew I was into the hot chilis and lime leaves, but that was and is still one of the best fish I’ve ever had. In fact, I often got a lot of late night meals with Pak Eddy coming back from performances. I remember one night he showed me how to find and order pork. We went to a warung that was operated by some Chinese folks and he told me just ask for ‘B dua.’ Ahhh a wonderful world opened up for me that night. I will always remember Pak Eddy’s love of stories and of culture. He was one of God’s own, not intended for mass production. Thanks for everything Pak Eddy.”
~ Guy Brown
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2006-08
“I feel a big grief to learn about Pak Eddy's passing. He made me feel so welcome, and so cocok in a place that was completely foreign to me, and probably not that cocok after all. How could a type A, anxiety-ridden, perilously punctual Italian-American classical violinist possibly ever be at home in Yogyakarta, epicenter of mysticism and nongkrongan? But Pak Eddy was brilliant at bridging cultural gaps, and mentoring us young and naive people. I remember my first all-night wayang performance, how he got us special access to sit on stage and told us all about the "Devil's Dalang," as this famous puppeteer was known. My throat burned from the ambient smoke and lack of sleep by the end, but it's still one of the most magical experiences of my life. Later, we saw Pak Eddy as dalang for a wayang kancil performance and I was deeply impressed).
I remember Pak Eddy taking us to nearby towns to visit ancient ruins, and down the street to the best [insert any food of the day] in Jogja. There was a particular fish place northwest of UGM that he loved and took us to often. There was another place that my memory cannot dig up, but we went often for lunch, and I treasured those times. I remember him smoking kretek, but I must be mistaken, because Patrick says that he'd quit by then. The aura may have remained.
Pak Eddy convinced me to participate in a musical performance at UGM and I remember how scared I was when one of the students collapsed on stage. I was ready to call an ambulance, but the students knew that she had just been possessed by the ghost that haunted UGM and the only person who would know what to do was Pak Eddy. Mbak Dewi was married the year I was in Jogja and the fellows attended both the small Muslim ceremony, and the large Javanese wedding ceremony, which was beautiful and joyous, of course filled with music and dance performances.
It's impossible to put into words how much Pak Eddy did for me in terms of my own development as a person and what he did to nurture my love of Java and Jogja in particular. Many of the lessons he taught me are attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge I've passed down to students and my own children. If I could see him now, I would sing him the one Javanese tune I still remember: Suwe ora jamu....
Much love to Mbak Dewi, and all the friends and family who will miss our friend and mentor.
~ Brittany Jordan
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2009-2011
“I'm certain Pak Eddy will be sorely missed by everyone who had the good fortune to know him in his lifetime. Even before I met him, Pak Eddy had a grand reputation for his vitality, generosity of spirit, sense of humor, and the depth of his insight and wisdom. He was an exemplary ambassador for traditional Javanese culture for many generations of Shansi Fellows in Yogyakarta before my arrival at UGM in 2009, and many cohorts after.
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to enjoy one last conversation and glass of tea with him (but no kretek cigarettes, as he had quit smoking by then) when I visited Yogya once again in June, 2016. It is difficult to imagine Pak Eddy's absence from the world, and it is sad that Javanese culture has lost such a worthy and devoted steward and scholar, but his countless pupils will keep his memory alive.
Selamat jalan, Pak Eddy.”
~ Patrick H. Hung
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2009-11
“Pak Eddy personified the indelible qualities of both Oberlin and Jogja: a fierce commitment to the good, an ageless joie de vivre, and the courage of artistic conviction. No one embodied the Shansi vision of building bridges between worlds quite like Pak Eddy. He always had time for us Obies.
His deep love for people, friendship, and humor will continue to show the way. Rest in peace.”
~ Cory Rogers
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2012-14
“Although the beginning of my Shansi Fellowship coincided with Pak Eddy’s retirement and his reduced involvement with UGM, no one did more than Pak Eddy to make me feel like part of the community. He regularly invited us to his home for meals, including to celebrate my birthday one year, and to Balai Budaya Minomartani to watch wayang. No matter the time, he would always say “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere” and then proceed to offer us Bailey’s Irish cream, which I never actually saw him drink.
In 2022, I returned to Jogja to lead international student programs, and Pak Eddy became a mainstay of the programs. He presented to my students each semester on the philosophy and significance of wayang and gave them the opportunity to try the puppets. I will sincerely miss his monthly WhatsApp messages reminding me of upcoming wayang performances in Jogja, both in person or online. As well as having him as my go-to resource for anything related to Javanese arts and culture – always responding with long, enthusiastic paragraphs. Just two weeks ago, I was messaging him about where to buy an authentic kris in Jogja, and he sent me about 5 links to articles, Facebook posts, and photos.
Jogja will not feel the same without him.”
~ Eli Fisher
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2016-2018
Pak Eddy was one of the first people I met in Indonesia when he took us (UGM Fellow Mia Bird, Aceh Fellow Trevor Smith, and myself) out to dinner. He immediately made us feel like part of the family, and that was greatly stabilizing to me in my first weeks as I was struggling to find a deeper sense of community in Jogja. Speaking to his cheeky nature and the habits that remained after ditching kretek, I will always remember the first time he made me coffee; he was exceedingly excited to offer the inclusion of a shot of Bailey's. He also mentioned the phrase he had learned from some previous fellow whenever he would offer me my "special coffee" in the mornings we would visit him: ‘It's five o'clock somewhere’.
When he heard that Mia and I were interested in trying gamelan, he quickly incorporated us into the group his grandson, Juna, plays in, and we spent the Saturdays of my first semester here learning gamelan with kids aged 7-15. That soon evolved to include English Story Time, where we would play games and read stories and explore the world in English with Juna and his friends before moving to BBM to make music together. Pak Eddy, his daughter Mbak Dewi, and his grandson Juna have been foundational parts of making me feel connected to Javanese culture and the communities of Yogyakarta.
From the very beginning, it was clear that he was dedicated to building community and creating a home away from home for all Jogja fellows. Whenever I was trying to explain my relationship with Pak Eddy to friends back in the states, I would call him the ‘Jogja Shansi Grandpa.’ He may have been retired from UGM by the time I met him, but a person like Pak Eddy couldn't ever retire from being a mentor and friend. He was endlessly generous with his time, knowledge, resources, and kindness and I will forever remember his light, just as I'm sure you all will, too. He is and will continue to be deeply missed.
Mia and I went to his house to pay our respects and had to park at the Indomaret around the corner because the street was absolutely flooded with people. His funeral was similarly attended by academics and artists alike, and his deeply intergenerational impact was as clear in the attendees as it is in this compilation of stories.”
~ Ella Erdahl
Shansi Fellow at Gadjah Mada University, 2025-present
As someone who has touched so many lives within the Shansi Community over decades, the loss of Pak Eddy resonates deeply within the Shansi Community. On the other hand, so too does his legacy of love, warmth, artistry and irrefutable wit.