Cultural talk show promotes art as bridge to peace in Maluku
Cultural talk show promotes art as bridge to peace in Maluku
Grace Siregar, Contributor, Tobelo, North Maluku
When I arrived in Tobelo, North Halmahera, of North Maluku province, in early 2005, one of the first people I met was Father Patrisius Anselmus Jeujanan, the director of SPB Radio, a local station. We struck up an immediate rapport and talked at length, particularly about culture and the arts.
As the conversation continued, we developed the idea of starting a weekly cultural show, in which local traditional and contemporary artists would be interviewed and would either describe or perform their work live on the radio.
Since Jan. 5, I have been presenting Ruang Budaya (Culture room), an hour-long talk show broadcast on Wednesday afternoons.
North Halmahera regency -- and North Maluku in general -- is an area of incredible ethnic, linguistic and cultural wealth.
Traditional crafts such as basket- and mat-weaving, sword- making and many forms of dance and music are maintained across the region to this day.
However, partly due to the national media's strong focus on the Javanese and Balinese cultures, the people of North Maluku are often unaware of the value of their own traditions. Before Ruang Budaya was broadcast, there were very few occasions on which local traditional and contemporary artists were given radio interviews and allowed an opportunity to perform live for their own community.
One of the most powerful tools that can be used to contribute to a strong and lasting peace in the province is that of traditional culture.
In the subdistricts of Galela, Tobelo and South Tobelo, for example, people from the Tobelo and Galela ethnic groups were split along religious lines and sometimes, blood relatives fought among each other -- that is, against their own brothers and sisters.
Tradition can be a very powerful way of reminding people of their common heritage and cementing the bonds that have had to be rebuilt since the conflict in the region, which lasted from 1999 to 2002, with sporadic violence arising through 2003.
Every week, I go to a new village and invite guests for the following week, ensuring that there is a balance in the show's representation of religions and ethnicities.
So far, Ruang Budaya has been dominated by traditional music, as this is one of the strongest art forms still practiced in North Halmahera Regency. Musical styles featured thus far include Tide, Lelehe, Togal, Cakalele, Gatetute, Bangeli, Yanger and Tokuwela.
Presenting the show has been a great honor as I interview talented artists and see, hear and experience their work first- hand. Many of the guests are farmers and fisherfolk who are often very surprised at receiving attention for a "gift" they accept as a natural part of their lives.
I have also enjoyed hosting young contemporary artists such as poets, dramatists and playwrights, and painters and sculptors as well as visiting guests from overseas, including a Chilean documentarian and an illustrator of children's books based in the United Kingdom who happened to be passing through.
As Ruang Budaya enters its eleventh month, the public's response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive.
It appears to be achieving the aim that inspired its birth, contributing to an increased sense of pride in the richness of North Maluku traditional and contemporary culture, bridging ethnic and religious divides toward a strong sense of this new province's distinct identity.