Festival to celebrate oral traditions

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's national motto Bhineka Tunggal Ika, unity in diversity, was empty political rhetoric for the New Order regime during the last 30 years, says a literary expert.

Pudentia MS, chairwoman of the Association of the Indonesian Oral Tradition, said the quotation taken from the famous old Javanese kakawin (narrative poetry) titled Sutasoma was meant to be used by the authorities to bind social, cultural and ethnic differences as national assets.

The words Bhineka Tunggal Ika symbolically refer to Indonesia's diverse ethnic communities with their social, religious and cultural backgrounds, along with their rich traditions and linguistic wealth.

"Yet, the slogan has been coopted by political leaders and bureaucrats for their own interests," said Pudentia in conjunction with the upcoming national festival on oral traditions, performing arts and regional languages to be held between September and October l999.

The one-month event will be opened in Denpasar, Bali, and will continue in several cities, including Pontianak (West Kalimantan), Tanjung Pinang (Riau) and Jakarta.

The festival is aimed at revitalizing the country's oral traditions, regional languages and traditional performing arts.

The country's pluralistic traditions were standardized in accordance to the taste of those in power, Pudentia said.

Efforts to foster and to preserve the richness of the country's culture and traditions were artificial, she added.

The government, however, continues to boast about its efforts to promote traditions by holding annual festivals or extravagant performances of local dances, parades, etc.

"What most officials consider is preserving traditions is just about asking local artists to perform and wear traditional costumes on stages," said Pudentia.

Preserving and cultivating local traditions means understanding philosophical values and communities which support them.

As an example, Indonesia has a wealth of oral traditions (songs, poems, stories) which previously functioned as important agents for the transmission of knowledge, customs, history, moral philosophy and religious teachings.

These traditions also serve as outlets to express people's feelings and aspirations, to bolster cultural identity and to entertain.

Among the oldest and almost extinct oral traditions are wayang beber (Central Java), cokek (Jakarta), the theatrical tradition of Makyong (Riau, North Sumatra and West Kalimantan), didong (Aceh), rabab Pariaman and bakaba (West Sumatra).

"These traditions have played significant roles in the lives of millions of locals," Pudentia said.

The artists, story tellers and musicians who conveyed these artistic forms were highly esteemed persons within their communities. Many of them were influential village chiefs, priests and even shamans.

"People would likely follow any advice or message delivered by these artists because they acted as moral guardians to their communities," she said.

During the New Order regime, the roles of these artists and traditional leaders were gradually eliminated and were replaced by government-appointed district heads and regents who acted like "local kings".

Bureaucrats' arrogance and lack of understanding about local cultures and their social and religious backgrounds have often created serious tension between government officials and villagers.

Many programs were implemented with top-down approaches without paying attention to the real needs and aspirations of the affected communities.

"These are the results of people's dissatisfaction toward the government, which is now leading to possible disintegration," she said.

Almost all problems occurring in troubled provinces like Kalimantan, Irian, Aceh, and Maluku stemmed from the ignorance of local culture and traditions.

"It was wrong for governments to exclude traditional leaders and communities in the development process," said Pudentia.

Mohamad Sobary, a scholar from the Indonesian Science Institute, said the New Order government thwarted democracy in all forms of the lives of the people, including in politics, the economy and the arts.

"There is no denying that the flourishing traditional arts in that era were those coming from Java, because Java is the center of power and the former presidents were Javanese," Sobary said.

Wayang kulit (leather puppet), wayang orang (traditional Javanese theater), and other Javanese art forms were the preferred entertainment for high-ranking officials and the inner circles.

"Wayang stories centered on the lives of keraton (palace), the nobility and feudalism," Sobary said.

This clearly mirrored the political pattern adopted by the former regime. Many officials liken their personalities to those in wayang stories. Former president Soeharto was attracted to the wise Semar (a semi-godlike creature). Other officials aligned themselves with Bima and Arjuna (the brave Pandawa brothers in the Mahabharata epic).

Folk arts, which exist among the common people and lower-class communities, especially from outside Java, found no place or support in the New Order period.

"In the current reform era, it is time for the government and related parties to democratize the arts and allow all kinds of art products to develop evenly," Sobary said.

In Indonesia today, oral and traditional performing arts must compete with print media, radio, television, film and various other sophisticated communication means. But with strong political will from the government and interested institutions, preservation of this valuable heritage is possible, he said. (raw)