'Dangdut' dances onto the political stage

JAKARTA (JP): Someone should go on a globe-trotting safari to see if there is anywhere else in the world where music is politically more powerful than dangdut is in Indonesia.

In the recent election campaign, dangdut, which is heavily influenced by Indian rhythms, has again proven itself an effective political weapon. Despite its rejection by the middle and upper classes, dangdut has always attracted grassroots people to campaign rallies.

According to a neighbor who has watched dangdut since 1960, it has the power to attract the young to campaign events, especially those who don't understand the heavy programs offered by political parties.

The neighbor, a sociologist, said the music became popular here at the end of the 1950s in the wake of an invasion of Indian films. At first, local dangdut composers were too embarrassed to admit that they were plagiarizing songs from films.

But after two of the most popular composers accused each other of plagiarizing the other's work, the public realized the truth.

One of them admitted that they had both gone to see an Indian film. They had taken tape recorders and copied the songs.

They turned the best of these into what they called "Malay dangdut". The word dangdut is an imitation of the sound of an Indian drum.

But to more educated people, it plays no part in the people's political education, since it does not meet the criteria of good music and its lyrics have poor logic.

This might be true, but what is wrong with dangdut playing a political role?

The neighbor said "everything" because he sees it from another angle. He said "we never condone plagiarism or any violation of copy right".

"And isn't imitation suicide?" he asked.

Mahatma Gandhi, the great Indian nationalist leader, used to ask his followers not to imitate the British way of life. He told Indians to say "Aping the West" to anyone wearing Western dress, to shame them and make them return to tradition.

"Now we are aping India," said the neighbor, who spoke with great respect of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's support for the Indonesian revolution between 1945 and 1949.

"In fact we need a Gandhi here to remind us of the importance of national identity, but it is too late now," he said.

"Many have made the best use of dangdut for their political or personal ends."

Another neighbor, who had until then remained out of the discussion, saw the phenomenon in a positive light.

"Remember, India is the world's largest democracy. Copying something from it could boost our sense of greatness. While playing dangdut, we might feel greater than any other country," he said.

Latha Mangeskhar, the legendary Indian singer who is 70 plus now, has never sung in an electoral campaign, nor has the Congress Party or Janata Dal paid her to do so in their campaign. Perhaps it is because of their mature political consciousness.

But the reality is that dangdut is more popular here than in its country of origin. It has danced onto the political stage, the neighbor said.

Because this hasn't happened over there may well be why they do not call their general election "a festival of democracy", he said.

This is a good reason for us to call our election the world's greatest festival of democracy, he said.

There is another difference between India and our country, interrupted another young man who has seen hundreds of Indian films, including Boot Polish, Mother India, and Del-e-Nadaan.

He said, "although India has deadlier cobras, they have never employed them to protect polling stations as our police plan to do.

"They use more sophisticated and humane ways to protect their polling stations, perhaps because snakes could kill innocent people, besides, the method looks shamefully primitive," he said.

But with the exclusive combination of dangdut and cobras, the world will bear witness to the fact that we not only have the world's best guarded festival of democracy but we have the most sophisticated snake service since Cleopatra killed herself with the help of a desert snake.

-- TIS