Civil servants cash in on 'calung' music

Agus Maryono, Contributor, Purwokerto, Central Java

The economic crisis that hit Indonesia in mid-1997 has forced many people, including civil servants, to find ways to supplement their salaries with additional income.

The civil servants, as is widely known here, are underpaid but have not lost the motivation to find ways to earn more money. One example is in the tourist resort of Baturaden, Central Java, where 12 civil servants working at the tourism office all perform Banyumas calung, a traditional orchestra mostly comprised of bamboo instruments.

The 12 musicians form the Calung Banyumasan Wulung Sari group and perform twice a week in Baturaden. The group also receives invitations to perform at private gatherings out of working hours.

Despite demand for the group, they are only paid Rp 150,000 (US$15.80) per show by the Banyumas regency's tourism office. That is a small amount considering that the money needs to be divided among the 12 members.

Wulung Sari leader Sodikun admitted that the pay-per-show salary has not been enough for his players.

"We have received Rp 150,000 per show for more than five years. There's nothing we can do about it though because we are paid by our superior at the tourism office. We have to obey her. But perhaps we'll ask for a rise next year," he said.

"The money is only enough to buy cigarettes," one of the members joked.

Sodikun said that the proper fee for each show is around Rp 400,000.

The group has set its own standard price for private performances.

"We usually receive between Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000 per show. The price is set based on the distance of the show's venue," he said, adding that the group usually performs for seven hours per show.

The group may charge additional fees for transporting the musical instruments to venues outside Baturaden resort.

The office head, Sri Amini, said that by performing calung every weekend, her employees could earn additional income.

"We also give them additional money for practicing," she said, declining to mention the figure. "If they are invited to perform outside the regency, they take home the total payment. We don't charge them at all."

A Dutch tourist expressed his astonishment at the calung performance.

"The performance is excellent and I really like their playing. We don't have this kind of music in our country," he said, adding that he had visited Baturaden twice.

Yuni, a local tourist from Surakarta, also enjoyed the calung performance.

"Calung is very funny and simple. What's more, we can watch it for free while eating roasted corn," she said.