Tanjung Manis inspires artists from near, far
By Gotot Prakosa
JAKARTA (JP): If we look at the maps of Kalimantan from any period, we will find that there are always new names and locations of villages while the old villages somehow cease to exist. This is due to the region's nomadic tribal culture. Every time one of the Dayak tribes migrate to a new location, they establish a new name for it. The village they once occupied is left as it was, so that eventually it will become one with the forest again.
It is often the case that the newly established villages are not recorded on new maps. This may cause a problem for those who wish to locate the village Tanjung Manis on the East Kalimantan map. Ironically, the name of the village is well-known internationally for those who are deeply interested in arts and culture.
Tanjung Manis has inspired many composers, film directors, and choreographers. The dancers and sampek (a traditional music instrument) players from Tanjung Manis village are internationally known and have performed abroad,for example in Japan, France, Australia, and the United States.
Dancer and choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo, has been frequently inspired by Tanjung Manis village in the creation of his works. On some of his performances, Sardono referred to a letter he received from Ngang Bilung, the village chief of Tanjung Manis.
Ngang Bilung is the son of the Kenyah Dayak tribal chief from Umak Tow in Apokayan in the Bulungan region, near the Indonesian- Malaysian border with Sarawak. In his youth, Ngang Bilung traveled to foreign countries and as far as Canada while working in a log exporting company. He led a rather easy life, but not the other Dayaks in his home village. They planned to migrate en masse due to the harsh conditions they were suffering, such as forest fires, infertile land, and insufficient supply of necessities.
Led by Ngang Bilung, the Dayaks found a new area which is considered to be strategic and fertile. They named the new village Tanjung Manis, established in 1972.
The village is under the Muara Anclong district of the Kutai region, East Kalimantan. To reach the village, it takes a 10-hour trip from Tenggarong, using a speed boat, which may consume up to 1,500 liters of fuel. Or, to save money, it is possible to hire a water-taxi, which takes two days and one night. This costs a mere Rp 40,000.
Tanjung Manis has also affected choreographer Dedy Luthan, who was first acquainted the village in 1976 during his college years with the Jakarta Art Institute, IKJ.
"When the IKJ students first came in 1976, the village was still in a basic stage, the houses for example were still extremely simple and made from the bark of trees," Dedy said.
At the very same moment, Hartanto, now a lecturer at School of Films and Television, IKJ, and his colleagues made a documentary film on Tanjung Manis, when the people were constructing the traditional longhouses. Then other names came to be inspired by the village, such as ethnomusicologist Franki Raden, whose essay on the Kenyah and Modang tribe, was awarded a prize from the Jakarta Art Institute in 1978. Musician Otto Sidharta composed an electro-acoustic song about forests and the music was later performed in a music horticultural festival in the Netherlands, 1983. Seno Gumira Ajidarma made a lot of short films based upon the everyday life in Tanjung Manis.
The Samarinda television station of TVRI has repeatedly made films using the villagers and their culture as their background. Two of their documentary films are competing in this year's national festival of sinetron (TV films) in the non-fiction category.
Sailani Idris, a choreographer who is currently a staff member in the local administration office, often recommends Tanjung Manis to scientific researchers or foreign authors.
There are a number of scientific writings which mention the community of Tanjung Manis. There are also fictional stories which include the culture of Kenyah Dayak tribe of Tanjung Manis, such as Le secret de Sungai (Sungai's Secret) by French author, Francoice Grund.
The book tells the story of a child of the Dayak tribe named Sungai. His father works in a coal mine and his mother in the paddy fields. The father's pay is barely enough to meet the family's daily needs. One day, Sungai's only baby brother is sick. Yet the nearest doctor available is quite far from the village where they are. Because of the critical circumstances, the father decides to sell their family-inherited traditional cloth, which is the pride of the whole family line. Yet, when they manage to sell the cloth to an antique dealer, they only receive enough money to pay the doctor, the medication, and one meal. After a few days the medicine runs out, and the baby's health is not improving.
In the end, Sungai brings his baby brother to a witch doctor named Tante Tanjung, who gives faith healing to the infant. Through Tante Tanjung, a message is relayed to the readers. This is that maintaining the solidarity of the Kenyah Dayak tribe is of the utmost importance. This is reflected through life in the same longhouse as their ancestors, but now this tradition has long been left behind. People tend to live alone, slowly the solidarity which once was strong between the people has crumbled.
The story is a campaign about life in an isolated tribe, whose cultural inheritance has been taken away by modern civilization.
Joe Farges, a film director and producer from France (who is also one of the producers of the film Telegram by Slamet Raharjo), through his film company ARTCAM International, in cooperation with PT Ekapraya Tata Cipta Film, created a movie version of Le Secret de Sungai. Destruction of forests through exploitation and forest fires are among the settings presented on the journey to the city by the river, while traditional hunters who represent the past are starving because they can not survive without the forest.
In reality life in the Kenyah Dayak community is as tragic as it is depicted in the movie. The once thick forest is now gone, the trees cut by logging companies, and the land is exploited aggressively for its coal and gold. Meanwhile the local people are unable to grow crops anymore since the land is now utterly infertile. Worst of all the locals are being blamed for causing the forest fires by surrounding companies.
The story about Sungai becomes a metaphor for the tragic life in the community of an isolated tribe in Kalimantan. Their natural resources have been exploited by people from the cities, while their culture and traditional belongings are traded for money.
The film, which lasts minutes, has a mixed crew from France, Canada, and Indonesia. Past the shooting stage,it is now being edited in Canada. The film is projected for screening on world television networks together with other films featuring ethnic tribes from other parts of the world.
- The writer, a filmmaker, teaches at the School of Films and Television, Jakarta Arts Institute.