Ardan, a Betawi cultural explorer

Ardan, a Betawi cultural explorer

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The stage featured a teenage girl, played by a middle-aged woman,
adored by many young gentlemen, who were all much too old to be
called young. However, the jokes went smoothly and audiences
forgot they were not watching the kind of good-looking actors and
actresses that now appear every day on television.

It was the 1970s and Lenong, a traditional Betawi (native
Jakarta) theater was struggling to stay alive. This gloomy
reality was more or less caused by the actors' low education and
worsened with their lack of managerial skills.

"Many artists had stopped performing traditional Betawi arts
because they were not able to rely on the arts to survive," said
S.M. Ardan, an explorer of Betawi culture.

This situation increased Ardan's motivation, along with some
friends, including Sumantri Sastrisuwondo, to revive the
traditional Betawi arts. Their first experiment was staging
Lenong at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Cikini, Central
Jakarta, once a month in the 1970s.

The young Ardan and his friends' hard work paid off when the
state-owned television station, TVRI, aired Lenong as part
of its traditional performance program.

Despite his success in helping Lenong regain its flagging
popularity, people have forgotten that Ardan began his career in
literature by writing poems and short stories portraying Betawi
culture, based on his own experiences living in Kwitang, Central
Jakarta.

His poems were compiled and published, along with works by the
poets Ajip Rosidi and Sobron Aidit, in Ketemu di Jalan (Meeting
on the Way) in 1956. His short stories also were compiled in the
Terang Bulan Terang di Kali (Moonlit Shimmers on the River), also
in 1956.

But Ardan's masterpiece is Nyai Dasima, which has been turned
into a play and a movie.

"I wrote a new version of Nyai Dasima as a play, with new
characters and variations in it," said the 70-year-old man, who
still writes using the old typewriter in his office.

Another masterpiece is Si Pitung, which he wrote as a
screenplay. The story concerns some of the folklore of the
Betawi.

Born in Medan, North Sumatra, on Feb. 1, 1932, to Muhammad
Zein, a photographer, and Mursah, Ardan came home to Jakarta at
the age of six months following his father's death.

His mother worked as a tailor in Kwitang to support her three
children.

Married to Mamas in 1977, Ardan has three children --
Ardiansyah, Armansyah and Armalia.

Discussing the Betawi, Ardan called it a melting pot where
various cultures mix.

"It's just like the popular Betawi dish, gado-gado (vegetable
salad with peanut sauce)," he said. "Betawi culture has been
influenced by various cultures since the very beginning. It
cannot be deconstructed into parts as it is a perfect whole."

"Nobody can claim to be pure Betawi. They must realize that
Betawi is a multicultural ethnic group that would lose its
identity by deconstructing it into parts."

Ardan explained that the Betawi dialect is a mixture of
Balinese, Javanese, Sundanese, Arabic and Chinese.

One thing that can be used to characterize the Betawi, and it
is reflected in most of their arts, is that they have a very good
sense of humor.

"The Betawi people love joking," he said.

Betawi culture is also very democratic, as reflected in their
frank and straightforward speech, which sometime gives the
impression of rudeness and ignorance.

When meeting old friends, Betawi people often say, "Eh masih
idup lu? Gue kire udeh mati," which literally means, "Hey, you're
still alive? I thought you were already dead."

In Ardan's opinion, anybody can be Betawi as long as they
adopt the Betawi culture and their way of life.

He recalled his experience living in Kwitang, which was also
home to migrants from Bogor. Prior to the Idul Fitri celebration,
most of them returned home, a tradition called mudik, leaving the
kampung quiet.

"As time passed, the younger generations (of the Bogor
migrants), who lost their cultural ties, refused to continue the
mudik," Ardan said.

These younger generations felt they were part of Betawi
society. "To that extent, we can simply say that they became
Betawi by the time they stopped going home for mudik," Ardan said
jokingly.

Since 1978, Ardan has spent time managing the film archives
center Sinematex Indonesia on Jl. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta.
He is also actively involved as a member of the Jakarta Arts
Council (DKJ) and the Institution for Betawi Culture (LKB).

Ardan warmly welcomes the many private TV stations that air
sinetron (TV dramas) featuring Betawi culture.

"It's good to have the Betawi culture begin to become popular.
But it still concerns me that traditional Betawi arts like
gambang kromong, topeng Betawi, rebana ketimpring and
many other traditional arts are still forgotten."

He pointed his finger at the Jakarta administration for its
lack of concern and attention in helping develop Betawi culture.

"It's merely lip service. They build lots of buildings, but
never a Betawi arts center," he said, adding that Betawi
culture's "golden age" was during the administration of governor
Ali Sadikin in the 1970s, who provided noteworthy support for the
development of Betawi culture.

After about 30 years of development, Lenong is now played by
young actors and actresses and aired on TV, including the well-
known programs Lenong Rumpi and Lenong Bocah in the 1990s.

However, Ardan refuses to become complacent. "Many traditional
Betawi arts are waiting to be revived."