Decorated helmets turning heads among youngsters

Text by Tedy Novan and photos by Hari Budiono

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Creativity is apparently identical to youth. At least this is what is shown by a group of youths in Yogyakarta who express their creativity through helmets.

One afternoon, amid the hustle and bustle of Yogyakarta's traffic, a group of youths in high school gray and white uniforms, formed a motorcycle convoy. There was something that distinguished them from other motorcyclists. Not only were the shock absorbers of their motorcycles so low they were nearly touching the asphalt, but their helmets were covered with accessories.

The sticker-covered helmets also had goat's horns, faucets, iron pipes, wire spirals and welder's goggles attached, all attracting public attention.

This is what characterizes the group of youths who have been calling themselves Helemann-Heleminn for the last-one-and-a-half years.

Their presence is apparent after school is over, at noon or in the late afternoon, when they usually form a convoy riding at slow speed.

This Helemann-Heleminn trend was started by students of Kolese De Britto Catholic high school in Yogyakarta at the end of 1995. The school is known for the creativity of its students. It all started with the students wearing the helmets when watching inter-school basketball games.

"The helmets were used to identify our group, but also to protect our heads from stones thrown by the opponents' supporters," said Antonius, who is in his second year at the school.

This practice, according to Antonius, 20, later spread to music performances where hard objects were also thrown. Their habit was gradually copied by students from other schools, leading to a need to distinguish one group from another. For identification purposes stickers with writing or pictures came into use. The writing is humorous and sometimes obscene. Here is a look at some of the slogans: There is a Helemann on your chest. Wearing helmets makes you beautiful. It's not Helemann's mistake. To be seen but not touched (with an accompanying picture of breasts).

The Rp 3,000 plastic helmets are remade into a collage of graffiti with 3 cm by 5 cm stickers stuck around other accessories. A further stage of development is the design of your own stickers. This is profitable because production costs are only Rp 200 and the stickers can be sold for Rp 1,000 each.

The use of accessorized helmets has been imitated by students from other schools, even outside Yogyakarta, so now it has become difficult to distinguish the various school groups. Apparently this Helemann-Heleminn trend in youth circles is no longer an attempt to tell the groups apart, but has become a bond between them. Eventually, at an intergroup meeting, the name Helemann was given to male youths wearing this type of helmet and Heleminn to female youths.

"The name has at least given birth to a bond," said Antonius. According to him students from other groups may not know each other, but by wearing the Helemann-Heleminn helmets they feel a bond, despite the fact that rivalry among schools often gives rise to physical conflict.

"The helmets make it easier for us to know students from other schools," he added.

Helemann-Heleminn students also regulate their own daily behavior. They are fed up with accusations from older people who say that they like to create unrest, get drunk or write graffiti on walls in the city. They prohibit members of their group from riding their vehicles at an excessive speed. Their slogan is: "No fighting, no drugs, just listening to music."

"Our group does not want to be a nuisance to the community. We want to correct that kind of impression. We are fed up with those opinions," said Petrus, one of the group's supervisors.

They were angry once to find their group's name on a number of city walls. They looked for the culprits and when they found them calmly explained the situation. Then, together, they wiped out the graffiti.

Petrus further said that the actions of the Helemann-Heleminn group also reflect their opposition to injustice in the community. Their response to the condition of the environment can also be seen on the stickers.

They say they need space and facilities to express themselves, but in Yogyakarta the possibilities are getting narrower and narrower because many facilities are already taken up by people with money. The Malioboro area is no longer a cozy place for gatherings, because it is full of restaurants, cafes and shopping centers. "The face of Yogyakarta has changed so much, creating a gap between groups in the community. We want to make Helemann- Heleminn the symbol for, and a facility of, togetherness," said Petrus.

This is a positive collective response from a generation that is considered to be psychologically in an unstable state. If were to take to the streets, it would certainly be a choice fraught with hazards. Especially so because using these helmets does not really give enough protection to the head in case of accidents.

"These helmets are cheap. We do not ride with excessive speed and do not encounter problems with the police," said Antonius.

The attitude of Antonius and his group does not generally pose a problem for the police. "The Helemann-Heleminn group is orderly and uses helmets," said Sgt. Herwanto, a policeman usually on duty at the Jl. Sudirman crossroads in Yogyakarta. The situation was different when the regulation making the use of helmets compulsory was originally enforced. "Many students played hide- and-seek with the police because they did not want to use helmets," he said.

Herwanto said he never made problems for motorcyclists who wear plastic helmets, provided they use a safety strap. However, Herwanto added that the use of accessories on the helmet should not endanger the user. "Just imagine, wouldn't it be dangerous to put nails or steel wires on a helmet?" he asked.

As a trend in youth circles, people should use wisdom in dealing with this phenomenon, that actually is not beneficial from the aspect of motorcyclist safety. Repressive measures though, will possibly lead to opposition that is more harmful.

"I am still convinced that there will be a saturation point. I hope they will realize quickly that such strange creativity is not useful," said Lt. Col. Sukarni Ismail, chief of the police traffic unit in Yogyakarta.