'Barongsay' dance springs back to life

'Barongsay' dance springs back to life

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): In the name of preserving national culture and
defending precious traditional values, Chinese-related art and
culture has long been barred from public display in Indonesia.

Chinese-Indonesians must celebrate the Lunar New Year modestly
-- no fireworks, no carnivals. But when Indonesians observe
independence day on August 17, money is often collected from
Chinese-Indonesians to help make the celebration as noisy as
possible. Stages are sometimes set up next to Chinese-Indonesian
houses where ear-banging rock music is performed. It is
guaranteed no Chinese-Indonesian would refuse a donation or
protest over the noise. Those who object to independence day
fanfare are the nation's enemies, aren't they?

If authorities think that restrictions against Chinese-
Indonesians help create socio-cultural cohesion between the
pribumi (indigenous Indonesians) and Indonesians of Chinese
descent, they are wrong. Hostility against Chinese-Indonesians
pulsates under society's surface like a time bomb. Last month's
riots prove how disastrous the explosions can be.

Recently, many Indonesians gained new insight when they were
introduced to a Chinese-related art form at the Ganesha Festival
held from June 5 to June 8 in front of the Bandung Institute of
Technology (ITB).

Performances of barongsay, a Cirebonese folk dance adopted
from China, are officially prohibited during Lunar New Year
celebrations even though it has become a part of the pribumi
cultural heritage.

Barongsay is performed by two dancers under a decorated cloth
with the head of a monster on it. The two performers stamp their
feet while following music. During the performance, the monster
dances throughout the watching crowd.

Only people in their 40s or older can remember that this folk
art was very popular in West Java decades ago when it was
regularly performed without restriction. Today's teenagers who
see the performance are often amazed that their culture possesses
such a unique art form.

"I thought that it was a performance from Beijing," said Dewi,
a senior high school student. "I've frequently seen similar kinds
of performances in kung fu movies on TV. But this is a unique one
because its music is so familiar to people here."

Endo Suanda, an ethnomusicologist and director of the
barongsay show, was not surprised that today's city youths don't
know about the dance.

"They are surrounded by Hollywood movies and soap operas. You
can't expect them to be informed about an art which is only
allowed to be performed in village ceremonies," he said.

Harvest

Although it is precluded from Lunar New Year celebrations,
barongsay is still performed during harvest and preplanting
ceremonies in Cirebon. It was even performed to awaken people for
sahur (the predawn meal during the Moslem fasting month of
Ramadhan). "Not only have Cirebonese regarded barongsay as part
of their own cultural heritage, they have also practiced it as a
Moslem tradition," said Suanda.

In 1996, after Cirebon was officially named one of the
country's tourist destinations, the government decided to
restrict barongsay in public ceremonies. "The government was
afraid that foreign tourists will think barongsay is one of
Indonesia's traditions," Suanda said.

Suanda said that on one occasion, local police confiscated
barongsay costumes during a harvest ceremony in 1996 in which he
was involved. He went to the police station to reclaim the
costumes, but was too late. "The police had already burned it,"
he recalled.

It is not known exactly when this Chinese art form first came
to Indonesia. Some say that the dance has gone through a sort of
"Islamization" and that it may have existed in Java before Islam
came to its shores in the 7th century.

The barongsay performance at the Ganesha Festival last week
was intended to expose the art form as a part of Indonesia's
cultural heritage. "Just like Chinese-Indonesians here, it is an
inseparable part of our nation," Suanda argued.

Likewise, the skill the Chinese-Indonesian performers
displayed in the festival deserves credit, he said. They
masterfully performed a Madurese fisherman dance and Sundanese
music as well as their indigenous counterparts did.

According to Gustaff Harriman, from the art division of the
Ganesha Festival committee, barongsay is an example of
Indonesia's cultural syncretic character. Indonesia has always
been open to outside values and cultures.

"We have adopted Indian culture, Arabic culture, European
culture and Chinese culture. We have the Borobudur temple, Arabic
letters and Portuguese-rooted keroncong music," Harriman said.

"So from the very beginning, our cultural attitude was very
democratic. We were a broad-minded people.

"Pribumi have no problem with our brothers of Chinese descent
or any other race. Current problems between pribumi and
nonindigenous Indonesians do not stem from race, but from
injustice."

Observers trace the financial disparity between the two groups
to the colonial period. Under Dutch colonial rule, Chinese
merchants were treated as a second class under Europeans, while
the pribumi were treated as a class below the Chinese.

During Sukarno's presidency, the affiliation of some Chinese-
Indonesians with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) worsened
views against them. PKI which was later involved in the 1965
aborted coup attempt.

The attempt to show barongsay as an Indonesian tradition in
the festival, however, was overshadowed by anti-Soeharto
expressions.

"No entry for political adventurists", read the sign on the
gate. Some visitors seemed confused as to how political
adventurists could be related to the artistic event.

A first glance at the festival compound convinced the casual
observer that everything was normal: artistic presentations,
music instruments on stage and photographs on display. But soon
it was obvious these were nothing more than expressions of hatred
against the old regime.

Sugandi, head of the festival's public relations, did not deny
the theme. "Well, let's just say that this is a medium for
maintaining the reform fervor of the students," he told The
Jakarta Post.