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.