Folk arts give villagers political education

Folk arts give villagers political education

JAKARTA (JP):Don't let party leaders cheat you... choose a
party that never deceives you. Use your rights in the coming
elections to bring our country to a brighter future.

This poem was read by a traditional poet and storyteller
during the Mendu folk poetry recital in a remote village in
Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The recital was part of a voter
education program to prepare locals for the upcoming elections.

A line taken from Seloko-Dul Muluk, a folk poem from Jambi,
Sumatra, mirrors the expectations of villagers in Jambi: choose a
party that we trust because nobody dares to force us anymore.

A few years ago, no storyteller or artist in Indonesia's rural
areas would have had the courage to deliver such bold and
persuasive words, especially in the presence of local officials.

But times have changed. Words and phrases like reformasi
(reform), demokrasi (democracy), pemilu jurdil (fair and just
elections), KKN (the acronym for collusion, corruption and
nepotism) and money politics are on the lips of most villagers
these days.

One may wonder how these people, who live in remote and
isolated locations, came to understand this new political jargon
and use it in daily conversation?

Many villagers in remote areas are illiterate and only speak
the local language. Television news, radio programs, newspapers
and other source of information are often unavailable.

Few people realize rural and traditional communities have a
powerful and effective means of communication, namely folk art
traditions, including poetry, song, storytelling, folk theater,
dance and music.

For rural and traditional communities, such centuries-old
traditions primarily serve as a means to disseminate messages and
ideas.

The Jakarta-based Lontar Foundation used these diverse and
rich folk arts as an entry point to begin political and voter
education programs in rural areas.

The chairwoman of the foundation, Adila Soewarmo, said
political debates and pre-election coverage and programs in
newspapers and on the television and radio only worked
effectively for middle to upper-class urbanites who had an
adequate educational background.

"What about the uneducated, the poor and those who live in
faraway places and who make up more than 70 percent of the
country's 220 million population. They are the majority of voters
in the next elections," she said.

"Educating these vulnerable groups of communities is very
crucial if we want to create a democratic nation in the future,"
she said.

To reach village communities and Indonesians at the grassroots
level, alternative means of communication must be employed.

"Traditional performing arts and oral literature have long
been proven as the most influential means to address the public
about social values, religion and education," she said.

Last December, the Lontar Foundation, in cooperation with the
Asia Foundation, local non-governmental organizations and
networks of provincial artists, launched voter education programs
in dozens of villages in 18 provinces in Java, Bali, Sumatra,
Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Sulawesi.

The message of the programs is clear: The upcoming elections
are different from previous ones. People should no longer be
intimidated to choose a certain party. They are now free to vote
for any of the 48 parties contesting the general election.

"In every province, we use various forms of traditional
performing arts and oral literature to disseminate the messages
and educate voters," she said.

The program involves hundreds of traditional artists
performing 20 types of folk art and literature, including Didong
in Aceh, Gendang Guro-Guro Aron in North Sumatra, Bakaba
Batusangkar in West Sumatra, Wayang Gremeng in Central Java,
Kecapi Suling Cianjuran in West Java, Gejean Singaraja in Bali,
Bonet Timor in East Nusa Tenggara and Batik-Batik Selayar in
South Sulawesi.

Program coordinator Jabatin Bangun said when the program began
in each village people were suspicious that it was organized by
Golkar.

"In previous years, villagers underwent traumatic experiences,
especially before and during elections," Jabatin, a noted
ethnomusicologist, said.

He said that in earlier elections, if villagers did not follow
the orders of local officials, including village chiefs and
subdistrict officials, often the instruments of the ruling
Golkar, they risked losing their social and economic benefits.
Access to health facilities, credit schemes and infrastructure
development would often be cut.

"Only after they were sure that the program was nonpartisan
did they warmly accept it, including village chiefs and regional
officials," he said.

A folklore expert and professor of anthropology at the
University of Indonesia, James Dananjaya, said the program was
good and effective as long as it did not have any vested
interests.

Traditional performing arts like wayang (shadow puppet), folk
theater, dance, poetry and storytelling have long been used as
propaganda by authorities or other parties seeking to achieve
certain goals, he said.

"Both the Old and the New Order regimes frequently manipulated
the contents of native performing arts to further their
interests," Dananjaya said.

Fostering indigenous art forms for educational purposes and to
improve people's awareness of their rights are positive steps, he
said.

The organizers of this voter education program should not
expect to see instant results, he added. "These efforts may pay
off in the next five to 10 years."

Adila said the current voter education program was just a
beginning. "We are just a small element in the process of the
social and political education of the Indonesian people." (raw)