Betawi cuisine, arts make comeback
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Si Pitoeng, the legendary Robin Hood of the Betawi (native Jakartan) people, may twirl the tip of his famous bushy moustache in satisfaction to know that his story is being retold to the present generation through puppets.
The Wayang Lenong Betawi (wooden puppet telling folk tales) was established when puppeteer Tizar Purbaya found himself with dozens of puppets that were ordered but never picked up by foreigners who fled Indonesia after the riots in May 1998.
"The Betawi did not have their own wayang," said Tizar on Wednesday, adding that Betawi's wayang golek (wooden puppet) was influenced heavily by the Sundanese people of West Java.
Many of the traditional cultural performances of the Betawi, unfortunately, have not had much success in this generation. Traditional folk music has been abandoned for dangdut and MTV- style pop music. Betawi food has been replaced by the likes of french fries and pizza.
The Jalansutra club and the Sahabat Museum society are two informal communities of people who delight in traditional dishes and culture heritage, respectively. Those two groups have been the driving force behind the organization of the "Heritage Food in Heritage City 2004" event to revive interest in Betawi culture and food.
The event, which combines traditional food and art performances, will be held on Aug. 29 at the National Archives building on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta.
"We want to show that many ethnic groups, like the Chinese, Indians, Dutch, Arabs and Portuguese, were key influences of Betawi culture," said committee chairperson Ade Purnama at a press conference on Wednesday.
The dishes to be presented include nasi ulam (rice with fried bihun -- thin rice noodles from China -- and peanuts covered with soup), and nasi kebuli (Arabic style fried rice and spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and caraway seed). Bir pletok (a ginger drink with palm sugar, cinnamon and Brazil wood) and es selendang mayang (red and green gelatin from mung bean flour in a mixture of ice, sugar and coconut milk) is among the many beverages at the fiesta.
"We'll have a lot of foods that are difficult to find," said Arie Parikesit, the organizer of the event. "For example, there are only three places in Jakarta where one can find es selendang mayang," he said.
Culinary expert Bondan Winarno, who started the Jalansutra club, said that food heritage was disappearing because of lack of attention to it.
He said he hoped that Jakartans would eat more traditional food. "The vendors have to have a financial incentive to selling the dishes," said Bondan.
Jalansutra members were encouraged to find such vendors, buy their local food and document them. "Who knows how many (kinds) of food that have become extinct. There are no records of them," Bondan added.
The committee said that it would try to display rare fruits, such as menteng, gandaria or kemang, the inspiration for several area names in the capital.
Cultural performances will include the ondel-ondel and tanjidor, gambang kromong, Chinese barongsai and liong, Indian tabla, wayang lenong betawi, and Gusrak -- a band which specializes in songs by Benyamin S., a legendary actor and singer.
Entrance fees are Rp 30,000 (US$3.23) each for the whole day -- from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.