'Barongsay' dance springs back to life<\/p>\n
By Kafil Yamin<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): In the name of preserving national culture and
\ndefending precious traditional values, Chinese-related art and
\nculture has long been barred from public display in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians must celebrate the Lunar New Year modestly
\n-- no fireworks, no carnivals. But when Indonesians observe
\nindependence day on August 17, money is often collected from
\nChinese-Indonesians to help make the celebration as noisy as
\npossible. Stages are sometimes set up next to Chinese-Indonesian
\nhouses where ear-banging rock music is performed. It is
\nguaranteed no Chinese-Indonesian would refuse a donation or
\nprotest over the noise. Those who object to independence day
\nfanfare are the nation's enemies, aren't they?<\/p>\n
If authorities think that restrictions against Chinese-
\nIndonesians help create socio-cultural cohesion between the
\npribumi (indigenous Indonesians) and Indonesians of Chinese
\ndescent, they are wrong. Hostility against Chinese-Indonesians
\npulsates under society's surface like a time bomb. Last month's
\nriots prove how disastrous the explosions can be.<\/p>\n
Recently, many Indonesians gained new insight when they were
\nintroduced to a Chinese-related art form at the Ganesha Festival
\nheld from June 5 to June 8 in front of the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB).<\/p>\n
Performances of barongsay, a Cirebonese folk dance adopted
\nfrom China, are officially prohibited during Lunar New Year
\ncelebrations even though it has become a part of the pribumi
\ncultural heritage.<\/p>\n
Barongsay is performed by two dancers under a decorated cloth
\nwith the head of a monster on it. The two performers stamp their
\nfeet while following music. During the performance, the monster
\ndances throughout the watching crowd.<\/p>\n
Only people in their 40s or older can remember that this folk
\nart was very popular in West Java decades ago when it was
\nregularly performed without restriction. Today's teenagers who
\nsee the performance are often amazed that their culture possesses
\nsuch a unique art form.<\/p>\n
\"I thought that it was a performance from Beijing,\" said Dewi,
\na senior high school student. \"I've frequently seen similar kinds
\nof performances in kung fu movies on TV. But this is a unique one
\nbecause its music is so familiar to people here.\"<\/p>\n
Endo Suanda, an ethnomusicologist and director of the
\nbarongsay show, was not surprised that today's city youths don't
\nknow about the dance.<\/p>\n
\"They are surrounded by Hollywood movies and soap operas. You
\ncan't expect them to be informed about an art which is only
\nallowed to be performed in village ceremonies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Harvest<\/p>\n
Although it is precluded from Lunar New Year celebrations,
\nbarongsay is still performed during harvest and preplanting
\nceremonies in Cirebon. It was even performed to awaken people for
\nsahur (the predawn meal during the Moslem fasting month of
\nRamadhan). \"Not only have Cirebonese regarded barongsay as part
\nof their own cultural heritage, they have also practiced it as a
\nMoslem tradition,\" said Suanda.<\/p>\n
In 1996, after Cirebon was officially named one of the
\ncountry's tourist destinations, the government decided to
\nrestrict barongsay in public ceremonies. \"The government was
\nafraid that foreign tourists will think barongsay is one of
\nIndonesia's traditions,\" Suanda said.<\/p>\n
Suanda said that on one occasion, local police confiscated
\nbarongsay costumes during a harvest ceremony in 1996 in which he
\nwas involved. He went to the police station to reclaim the
\ncostumes, but was too late. \"The police had already burned it,\"
\nhe recalled.<\/p>\n
It is not known exactly when this Chinese art form first came
\nto Indonesia. Some say that the dance has gone through a sort of
\n\"Islamization\" and that it may have existed in Java before Islam
\ncame to its shores in the 7th century.<\/p>\n
The barongsay performance at the Ganesha Festival last week
\nwas intended to expose the art form as a part of Indonesia's
\ncultural heritage. \"Just like Chinese-Indonesians here, it is an
\ninseparable part of our nation,\" Suanda argued.<\/p>\n
Likewise, the skill the Chinese-Indonesian performers
\ndisplayed in the festival deserves credit, he said. They
\nmasterfully performed a Madurese fisherman dance and Sundanese
\nmusic as well as their indigenous counterparts did.<\/p>\n
According to Gustaff Harriman, from the art division of the
\nGanesha Festival committee, barongsay is an example of
\nIndonesia's cultural syncretic character. Indonesia has always
\nbeen open to outside values and cultures.<\/p>\n
\"We have adopted Indian culture, Arabic culture, European
\nculture and Chinese culture. We have the Borobudur temple, Arabic
\nletters and Portuguese-rooted keroncong music,\" Harriman said.<\/p>\n
\"So from the very beginning, our cultural attitude was very
\ndemocratic. We were a broad-minded people.<\/p>\n
\"Pribumi have no problem with our brothers of Chinese descent
\nor any other race. Current problems between pribumi and
\nnonindigenous Indonesians do not stem from race, but from
\ninjustice.\"<\/p>\n
Observers trace the financial disparity between the two groups
\nto the colonial period. Under Dutch colonial rule, Chinese
\nmerchants were treated as a second class under Europeans, while
\nthe pribumi were treated as a class below the Chinese.<\/p>\n
During Sukarno's presidency, the affiliation of some Chinese-
\nIndonesians with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) worsened
\nviews against them. PKI which was later involved in the 1965
\naborted coup attempt.<\/p>\n
The attempt to show barongsay as an Indonesian tradition in
\nthe festival, however, was overshadowed by anti-Soeharto
\nexpressions.<\/p>\n
\"No entry for political adventurists\", read the sign on the
\ngate. Some visitors seemed confused as to how political
\nadventurists could be related to the artistic event.<\/p>\n
A first glance at the festival compound convinced the casual
\nobserver that everything was normal: artistic presentations,
\nmusic instruments on stage and photographs on display. But soon
\nit was obvious these were nothing more than expressions of hatred
\nagainst the old regime.<\/p>\n
Sugandi, head of the festival's public relations, did not deny
\nthe theme. \"Well, let's just say that this is a medium for
\nmaintaining the reform fervor of the students,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/barongsay-dance-springs-back-to-life-1447893297",
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