Cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy of political solutions should be put
forward among Southeast Asian countries. It has been a prevalent
practice that conflicts in Southeast Asia have been solved by
informal rather than formal means. The mechanism of solving
problems lies not on abiding laws, but on a friendly situation
which would benefit parties involved in disputes. Problems
concerning a formal border are a striking example of this kind of
solution.
Because of its strategic location for international trade
dating back to ancient times, Southeast Asia is probably the most
diverse region on earth. Not only has the region as many as 700
languages, but also major religions such as Hinduism, Theravada
Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam and Christianity color the
landscape of culture of Southeast Asia. Richness in culture --
being formatted and reformatted by "local genius" -- is our
strongest bind for our sense of regionalism. This idea was taken
into account for the implementation of the performance of
Realizing Rama organized by the ASEAN Committee on Culture and
Information.
The ASEAN Flagship Voyage: A performing arts tour across ASEAN
(Realizing Rama) was staged at the Auditorium Gedung Perwayangan
Kautaman Taman Mini Indonesia Indah on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24.
The group, consisting of dancers, choreographer, composer,
designer and sound designer from various countries of Southeast
Asian countries, will be touring 10 cities of Southeast Asia.
Based on the Ramayana epic which India introduced during the
Indianization of the region in 150 B.C. to 150 A.D., Realizing
Rama is really a synthesis work of art. Although Ramayana has
been depicted as sources of performing arts in myriad ways:
shadow play in Java, dramatic folks ritual in Bali, masked
pantomime in Thailand, spirit dances in Myanmar, folk-song dramas
in Laos, Chinese derived opera in Vietnam, and the Royal Ballet
of Cambodia, the underlying play's message is the same; that good
spirits imbued by the God of Visnu conquer bad spirits.
Despite a good performance by beautiful and handsome dancers
with a film screen as a backdrop to tell of the current crises in
Southeast Asia, this performance should be played to a larger
audience.
The dynamics of political life in Southeast Asia can be best
followed by the interpretation of culture since we as peoples of
Southeast Asia know each other culturally, not politically.
HAFIANSYAH MEGE
Jakarta