Anniversary events spotlight obscure cultural gems

Anniversary events spotlight obscure cultural gems

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): In its anniversary month, Jakarta does not lack
for international festivities. Different institutions are
continuing to organize interesting events as the celebratory mood
of June 22 lingers on.

The Jakarta International Carnaval and Jakarta Percussion
Festival, two of the celebrations heavy on cultural offerings,
should not be confused with the Jakarta International Festival
(Jakfest '97), a government-sponsored event held this week at
several cultural venues across the city.

Jakarta International Carnaval '97 (JIC '97) and Percussion
Festival '97 (Jakperc '97) are privately funded and will take
place only at the Jakarta Fairground. JIC '97 continues through
July 13, while Jakperc '97 is a two-day event from July 8-9.

"Jakarta craves cultural activities. The residents already
feel a compelling need to balance between their routines and
recreation," said Franki Raden, director of JIC and Jakperc.

JIC schedules six different programs of local and overseas
performances. Every evening, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., participating
artists will perform on the different walkways in the fairground
complex before they finally reach the main stage for brief final
performance.

Franki endorses this street parade as the most appropriate
format to introduce different cultures to Jakartans. "Enjoying
different kinds of cultural performances does not mean watching
them for hours," he said.

Foreign participants include the Chinese lamp parade, Polish
folk music and dance, Brazilian samba dance and the Cape Malays
of South Africa.

Cape Malay culture is particularly fascinating for
Indonesians. Cape Malays are descendants of Malay people who
settled in the area around Cape Town in the 17th century. They
developed a hybrid culture, marrying Malay traditions with those
of their new homeland.

Thanks to his music ethnology background, Franki has an inside
knowledge of the existence of unique, little-known cultural
performances.

These do not necessarily come from far away. The Kobrosiswo
dance is from the Mendut area in Central Java. The dance
developed during the fight for independence in the 1940s, as
villagers imitated Dutch soldiers by dressing up and marching
like them. Yet the movements look more like dancing than anything
else. The commander utters words sounding similar to Dutch, but
in fact they are gibberish.

Another rare performance is Gordang Sembilan from South
Tapanuli. Gordang Sembilan consists of nine giant drums, all
lined up and tied together like drum chimes. The musicians are
usually in trances while playing these drums. Myanmar is the only
other place in the world where the instrument is found.

Trance is not a novelty in Indonesian culture, but its mystery
is still a big attraction. The Debus trance dance from Banten
will intrigue people. Another trance-influenced number is the
Hudog mask dance, a ritual dance from East Kalimantan with strong
magical elements, and usually performed in a trance.

Franki has chosen a variety of performances to show how
animism, Hinduism, Islam and the West have influenced Indonesian
culture. Those trance performances have roots in animism. Hindu
influence will be represented by Balinese barong, East Javanese
Reog Ponorogo and West Javanese Sisingaan. Islamic influence can
be seen in Kuntulan of East Java, Rebana Hadroh and Rebana
Ketimpring of Jakarta, Tabuik of West Sumatra and Tabot of
Bengkulu.

Assimilating cultures will be reflected by Tanjidor from
Jakarta. Tanjidor originates from the 18th century slave culture.
At that time, the slaves were taught to play classical music
because those who played earned a higher sale price. The slaves
later developed their own music, Tanjidor. The musical concept
may be Western, but the expression and feeling are traditional.

Besides traditional and rare cultures, JIC '97 will also
feature mainstream modern performances, such as pantomime,
acrobats and marching bands, all performed by Indonesian artists.

Local and foreign percussionists will show their talents in
the two-day percussion event.

International participants include musicians from France, New
Zealand, Australia, the United States and Brazil.

Franki's own Jakarta Percussion Orchestra will play his
compositions, inspired by traditional Jakarta music. Well-known
Bandung artist Harry Roesli will show his dual talents of playing
music and telling jokes. Poet Emha Ainun Najib and his Kyai
Kanjeng gamelan orchestra present a combination of poetic verses
and music.

Other participating local artists are drummer Gilang Ramadhan,
percussionist-composer Ben Pasaribu and duo Inisisri and Sapto
Rahardjo.

"I hope that we can expose the wealth of the world's
percussion music to the general public," Franki said.

He takes pride in UNESCO's endorsement of the event. "This
shows how important it is to bridge the traditional and modern
arts."