Betawi cuisine, arts make comeback
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 Betawi food has been replaced by the likes of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.