Chinese-Indonesians cultivate ancestral art

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Just go to where the sound of the drums are coming from," a bystander tells me when asked the way to the Kong Ha Hong Foundation's hall.

The hall on Jl. Pinangsia III, North Jakarta, is a venue where Chinese-Indonesians practice barongsai, or the lion dance, their ancestral cultural legacy they cultivate in Indonesia.

Indeed, the cacophony of drums and cymbals reverberate along the road as soon as I get off the cab that took us to Jakarta's "Chinatown", an area called Glodok.

The sounds are coming out of the Tan Su Tjie "ash house", a house where the Chinese once kept the ashes of their loved ones. Now all that is left are the name plates of dead family members, Salim Tan, trainer of the Kong Ha Hong barongsai troupe says.

In the back hall, more than 20 of the troupe's 50 members are practicing. One is concentrating on his moves with the sword in front of a wide mirror against the back wall; two others are practicing acrobatic leaps and jumps on a platform, their legs seemingly made of springs, still two more practice martial arts moves with the toya or fighting staff.

As the night advances, practice became more concentrated. As the drums and cymbals became more boisterous, two boys donn their costumes and began dancing barongsai.

One boy assumes the head, turning it this way and that, blinking furiously, another boy was in charge of the lion's hindquarters and its wagging tail.

"Once a boy dons the barongsai costume, he must think as the barongsai does and completely become the barongsai," Tan says.

The lion-like "creature" leaps onto a set of poles, its head looking left and right, assessing the area. When it is deemed safe, up it leaps again onto a higher set of poles.

But wait, the barongsai halts, a river was in the way of it and food, the lettuce leaves that it loves so much. How to reach it? The barongsai sniffs for another way, it tests the water with its front paw and quickly pulls it out again; it was highly suspicious of water. But finally away it went across the river, represented by a length of rope pulled tight across two poles.

"There are many stories of the barongsai dance, one is about its search for food. How it scoured the lowlands to find a way up the mountain, crossing the river, and obtaining the plants on the edge of the cliff," Tan explains.

The barongsai's head is hanging precariously off the highest poles, it makes the movements of trying to bite something off a cliff.

The boy underneath the lion's head wraps his legs around his friend's waist as he is swung back up the pole. Gasps, then clapping follows the risky maneuver.

Having successfully obtained food and eating it, the barongsai furiously waggs its tail, blinking its eyes in happiness.

"There are eight basic characteristics of the barongsai that the dancers must know; happiness, anger, sadness, merriment, motion, dormant, astonishment, and suspicion," Tan says. All eight characteristics must be mastered to create a believable barongsai.

"Dancers must also master the anatomy of the barongsai, they must know exactly how a barongsai sleeps, walks and jumps," Ronald Sjarif, a founder of the Kong Ha Hong Foundation, says.

Dating back more than 2,000 years, no one knows exactly when and how the lion dance first originated.

One version tells of a mythical beast that appeared each new year's eve called Nian (Chinese for "year"). Every year it terrorized villages and devoured everything in its path. To chase away the beast, villagers created the barongsai. Together with a clamor of drums, cymbals, gongs and fireworks, the villagers have since been chasing the beast away.

"That was also why on new year's day people greet each other with gongxi meaning 'congratulations' for you are not devoured by the beast," Tan explained.

Another version recalls a war during the Sung Dynasty (420-479 A.D.) when General Zhing Yue led an army south to quell the country of Lin Yi -- presumably located somewhere around Laos and Burma. Lin Yi's king used elephants to stop the army's advance. But the general, having heard that all beasts submit to the lion, ordered his subordinates to construct imitation lions and put them on the front line. As soon as the elephants saw them, they scattered and Lin Yi submitted to the Sung.

Ronald says that the Chinese believe the barongsai dance will keep away misfortunes, drive away bad spirits and attract good fortune. That was why besides for the new year, barongsai dances are often employed for the opening of new businesses.

The lion head is constructed of a framework of bamboo and wire, with brightly colored and elaborately painted paper fleshing out its shape. It is decorated with strings, fringes, tassels, and bells.

Within the head are bamboo levers and pull strings that allow the lead dancer who carries the lion's head to manipulate the mouth, eyes, and ears. A long sheet of bright, multi-colored cloth forms the body and tail of the lion.

Ronald says the colors of the lions are traditionally white or yellow, red, and black, representing the three generals of Romance of Three Kingdoms -- a historical novel written some 600 years ago by Luo Guangzhong.

White or yellow symbolizing wisdom, intellect, and integrity as represented by Liu Bei; red symbolizing bravery and loyalty as represented by Guan Gong; and black for youth and courage represented by Zhang Fei.

"But now the barongsai comes in many colors. Two years ago, for instance, the year of the golden dragon, many barongsai were colored gold," Ronald says.

The style of the barongsai also differ according to region. The northern, or Beijing, version is short, stocky, and furry, much like an oversized Pekingese, mainly used by Chinese circuses and acrobats.

The southern barongsai comes in two styles, one from Fujian and the other, and the more popular, from Guangdong (Canton). The Cantonese lion can be divided into two styles, the Foshan style popular in Hong Kong and most Chinese communities around the world, and the Heshan style popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and with competition teams.

"There is also another kind, called kilin, used especially for thanksgiving ceremonies because the body is decorated with coins representing wealth and prosperity," Ronald adds.