Singing a human tragedy
Readers who have not encountered local cultures and traditions might wonder how comedian Benyamin Suaeb, who died here on Tuesday of a heart attack, became a legend. Fame followed Benyamin, who was a Betawi (indigenous Jakartan) by birth and a comedian by profession, from the grassroots to the middle class.
The actor, singer and all-round entertainer was phenomenally sensitive to people's problems. His situational comedies and TV programs managed to deal with daily life in the sprawling capital in a comical way. His many rap songs in Bahasa Betawi also poked fun at life in Jakarta.
His work caricatured the daily realities, only slightly exaggerating the numerous defects of Jakarta. His sense of humor was so warm and his jokes so light that his antics outshone all contemporary Indonesian comedians.
Living evidence of his popularity is the way people call him Bang (older brother) Ben. He was the first person from outside the professional acting domain to be awarded a Citra Award (the Jakartan equivalent of the Hollywood Oscar). Afterward, his fans branded him "a bumpkin with a metropolitan fortune". He didn't seem to mind the less-than-flattering alias because life was a comedy to him.
Benyamin's widespread popularity was due his dexterity in milking the Betawi dialect. His use of Bahasa Betawi, which is a variety of Malay dialects, put his name in lights.
The urban dialect is becoming more popular because it is intimate, simple and adaptable. Last, but certainly not least, it lacks grammatical rules, which many Indonesians find appealing. Benyamin, who spoke, gibed, jeered and joked in the dialect, was able to leap over provincial borders. He was also reportedly popular in Malaysia.
To ethnic Betawi, Benyamin was a powerful figure in a lonely battle to keep their culture alive. The late comedian cum singer's songs reflected the Betawi's vanishing culture.
The Betawi community feels it is an awkward phenomenon in a fast changing city. The people, who are steadfast traditionalists, were long ago pushed to the periphery by the drive for modernization. Development and bulldozers threaten their culture.
Four decades ago, various Betawi cultural activities, such as Ma'ruf, Cokek, Tanjidor, Topeng Betawi, thrived. Now, many of them are virtually extinct. Lenong, a very popular traditional drama, was staged regularly at Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center until the 1970s. It is now on the wane. Even at a Betawi arts festival here in 1986, the show failed to attract an audience. The Betawi are vulnerable to metamorphosing Jakarta. Two decades ago, the city governor wanted to create a Betawi sanctuary to preserve their unique culture. Just the idea is lamentable.
In the end, Benyamin wasn't singing a human comedy but a human tragedy.