Reminding Jakartans of Indonesia's cultural richness

Reminding Jakartans of Indonesia's cultural richness

Mario Koch, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As more and more Indonesians, particularly Jakartans, get swept
up by globalization, they are drifting farther and farther away
from their artistic and cultural roots.

Recognizing the threat of many of the country's unique
traditions disappearing forever, the Jakarta Arts Council
organized the Art Suku II Kencan Budaya Nusantara, or Art Suku II
Archipelagic Cultural Rendezvous, to help remind and return
Indonesians to their roots.

The council invited artists from the ethnic communities of the
Sasak from Lombok, the Kajang from South Sulawesi and the Talang
Mamak from Riau to perform at the event, held at Taman Isamail
Marzuki (TIM) in Central Jakarta from Nov. 17 through Nov. 19.

In addition to these artistic representatives from around the
archipelago, the festival was enriched by participants from
Okinawa, Japan.

During the day, an exhibition of handicrafts, screenings of
documentaries, discussions and workshops provided visitors with
the opportunity to learn more about these unique cultures and
their arts, as well as to interact directly with members of the
respective communities.

Visitors were able to try their hand at making traditional
Kajang musical instruments from leaves, or to learn traditional
Talang Mamak dances.

On Friday and Saturday evening, colorful music and dance
performances attracted hundreds of spectators to the spacious
auditorium at Graha Bhakti Budaya.

The performances commenced with the Batek Baris dance, a
unique combination of different dances, Batek and Baris, staged
by members of the Sasak community from Lingsar village in west
Lombok.

The histories of these dances are difficult to trace, as there
are no written records of when they first appeared.

At the core of the performance was the Batek dance, while the
Baris more or less served to supplement the first dance.

Batek, a classical dance with a long tradition, depicts a raja
or leader. It is performed by three people, all women, dressed up
as men.

In contrast, the Baris seems to have its roots in the Dutch
colonial period. It shows an army commander drilling eight
soldiers, thus showing off their ability to always ensure the
safety of the raja.

The strong Dutch connection of the dance is underlined by both
the clothes and props the dancers use and the accented Dutch
language in which the commander gives his orders.

This, together with the dancers' movements, which frequently
appeared awkward, could lead observers to believe the dance was
being staged as a parody -- but that is far from the truth.

"This Batek Baris dance is very old and can only be found in
Lingsar village. It is an integral part of the pugewali ceremony,
a religious event that takes place every Dec. 15 at Lingsar
temple," Joe Hendra, who played the role of the army commander,
told The Jakarta Post.

No less exciting were the three performances by the artists
from Okinawa and the Kajang and Talang Mamak communities later on
Friday and on Saturday evening.

In a foreword to the official program and in speeches given
before Friday's performances, organizers made clear their
concerns that motivated and shaped the festival.

Ratna Sarumpaet, chairwoman of the Jakarta Arts Council,
talked about the many hardships Indonesians faced and the
challenges presented by globalization.

In this context, she voiced her sadness about educated
Indonesians more and more alienating themselves from Bahasa
Indonesia and their fellow citizens by speaking English with
their peers.

The chairwoman of the council's dance committee, Maria
Darmaningsih, referred to significant changes in urban areas of
the country.

She particularly worried about the innumerable shopping malls
springing up like mushrooms in large cities, creating forests of
malls and threatening to turn Indonesian culture into a faceless
mall culture.

The main goal of Art Suku II was to show Indonesians how they
can preserve their distinctive identity, and how feelings of
national unity and togetherness can be fostered in the vast
archipelago.

It is difficult to imagine anybody who witnessed the festival
at TIM regretting not having instead spent that time at a mall,
drinking coffee and chatting in English.

Art Suku II truly succeeded in emphasizing what Ratna
Sarumpaet described as: "Our country's own cultural roots, which
are strong, rich and versatile."

Jakartans can only hope for many more events similar to this
one.