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NATIONAL CULTURE AND ETHNIC CULTURES: GOVERNMENT POLICY AND PERFORMING ARTS IN 20TH CENTURY

INDONESIA

JULIANTI LAKSHMI PARANI Doctoranda/ Dra In History (Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia)

A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2003

Declaration:

This dissertation is submitted to the National University of Singapore in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Southeast Asian Studies Programme, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. It has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma of any examining body. Except where specifically acknowledged, it is all the original work of the author.

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Acknowledgements

When I retired from the National Archives in Jakarta in 1995, and was also nearing completion for my other projects in the arts, I planned to remain active, in particular to develop my intellectual ability. It was a long intended wish to be able to study for a doctoral degree as I never had a chance to do it during my government service. I read an advertisement on NUS in the newspaper one morning, and then Asia Magazine’s ranking of Universities around the Pacific Rim, then I decided to take the risk and enrol at NUS as a post graduate student by research for this purpose. Later I met a NUS lecturer in Southeast Asian Art History, Professor T. Sabapathy, at a Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, from whom I obtained some useful advice. I would like to thank many people, but please forgive me for not mentioning the ones I unintentionally omitted. When I made preparations to enrol at NUS, in December 1997, I received encouragement, for which I would like to thank my first interviewers, Associate Professor Paul Kratoska, Associate Professor John Miksic, and Dr Hong Lysa of NUS. I was privileged to get guidance, first from Associate Professor Paul Kratoska at the History Department, where Professor Edwin Lee followed by Associate Professor Tan Tai Yong as Head of Department gave me encouraging support. Dr. Hong Lysa read my first immature draft. I am also thankful to Professor Leo Suryadinata, from NUS’ Political Science Department — whom I happened to know from the History Department of the University of Indonesia — for giving me very beneficial ideas in drafting the basic concept of a possible thesis. After a few years spent wandering usefully in NUS, the focus of my thesis became clearer. I transferred to the Southeast Asia Studies Programme under supervision of Associate Professor John Miksic, to whom I am mostly grateful for assistance in finishing the writing of this doctoral thesis; and for allowing me to follow his lectures. In particular I would like to give a special token of warm gratitude to Mrs Heimun Miksic, who is always so kind in giving encouragement.

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I should mention foremost the support of four Coordinators who intentionally or unintentionally guided me, Dr. Hong Lysa, Professor Victor Savage, Professor Chua Beng Huat, Professor Reynaldo C. Ileto, and the secretarial staff Lucy Tan, Rohani J. and Rohani S. I would also like to thank Geoffrey Benjamin for allowing me to follow his lectures at SEASP. It was so nice that he came along on the Jambi cultural trip that I made in 1999, together with some other students, in particular Vani, who became a friend in need for me in Singapore. To the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) which allowed me to use their library and documentation. To the ‘Dokumentasi Sastra H.B. Jassin’ at the Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta which let me browse in their collection. To Rosemary Robson, who did the proofreading for my whole dissertation and so made it possible for me to speed up. In particular to Lao Bao, a special friend whose comments I cherish. To Andrew Cowan who did the second proofreading, I am thankful. One significant friend in Singapore is Lily, whom I have known through the archival profession since the 1970s. I was a faithful visitor to Singapore in transits from my outbound official trips and personal holidays, and came to enjoy chatting with her. She remains a special friend to whom I always can pour out my heart and get comfort. I enjoyed also the help of her personal secretary, Elsi, who helped in minor computer typing problems. Other significant colleagues in my profession are Kim with her husband who offered me the hospitality to stay in their home the first week I came to Singapore in 1998, and afterwards, accompanied me in my search for a comfortable room. It was Pit Kuan Wah who gave me assignments to remind me that I am an archivist. To Tom Ibnur, my ex-student in the arts who is like a foster son to me, whom I admired in his work and who hosted my study tour in Jambi; and to Wayan Dibya, my faithful friend, and his STSI staff who made it possible for me to know more deeply the thoughts of Balinese artists in Denpasar.

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To all the interviewees in Jakarta, Denpasar, Jambi etc. and please forgive me if I have done something wrong as I am not always able to overcome all my shortcomings. I enjoyed a lot of friendship at NUS, in particular from my colleagues, Mala, Widya, James and Hui Kian, in particular Clement who made time to read one of my draft chapters, as well as Eric who helped me with my draft chapters. There were many others from the History Department and also from the SEASP academic circle, some I know casually, others a little more, but all of whom have become dear to me. One particular friend, whom I knew through a publishing project before my stay in Singapore, is Sian Jay. Besides reading one of my draft chapters, she accompanied me to many performances and painting auctions, and introduced me to the arts circle of Singapore. The art world of Singapore, for me, is like a combination of the one that I know so well in Indonesia, in particular Jakarta, with the international ambience of Sydney, London, Paris, New York, Amsterdam, etc. It has been enjoyable to attend and participate in activities at the Substation, Victoria Theatre, Esplanade, Kallang, and the La Salle-SIA Dance Department, in particular Caren Carino. Thanks go to the NAFA Performing Arts School where I teach part-time; Goh Soo Khim and The Singapore Dance Theatre whom I admired for her achievements and felt privilege because several times, she invited my ex-student Boi Sakti, who has become a much liked choreographer; Angela Leong and The Arts Fission, where she appointed me as one of her Board Members; Som Said and Sri Warisan, whom I admired for her popularity and whose studio I often visit, finding a warm collegial environment; Teater Kami and Atin Amat whose performances I loved; Osman with his Ilsa Tari and the PA artists of whom I expect much in developing Malay performing Arts; and in particular the Malay Heritage Centre where I had the privilege to work as a researcher, preparing the Taman Warisan Melayu Singapura, and many others that I cannot mention on this occasion as it would need many pages.

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I would like to give special thoughts to my late father and mother, and Chris, my late husband, who would be proud to know that at last I have come to this stage. To my son, Rizal, with the hope that this will inspire him to progress in his academic career and that he may achieve also personal comfort and happiness. My sister Lilian, I thank for support and without whose help I could not have succeeded, including her family and also my brother Oengke with his family. Beside these relatives, I would like to pay respects to my mother’s first cousins living in Singapore with their families, aunt Betty and aunt Kitty and in particular her daughter Cathy. Also to Henry and Noreen, my late husband’s business associates in Singapore. Singapore has been a second home for me, and its artistic ambience has given me the feeling that I am just in the neighbourhood of home and not in a foreign county. To all my friends, my fellow professionals in the arts, in the archives, and in the academic society, also to many who have passed away, whose thoughts were precious to me while writing this dissertation. Last but not least, to the anonymous examiners who have meticulously given comments which were beneficial in the revision.

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Development which is merely economic is incapable of setting man free; on the contrary, it will end by enslaving him further. Development that does not include the cultural, transcendent and religious dimension of man and society, to the extent that it does not recognize the existence of such dimensions and does not endeavor to direct its goal and priorities towards the same, is even less conducive to authentic liberation. Human beings are totally free only when they are completely themselves, in the fullness of their rights and duties. The same can be said about society as a whole. The Wisdom of John Paul II, Encyclical: on social concerns (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis), 1987

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………...….iii Table of contents …………………………………………………………………………….viii Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………...xi Chapter 1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………………1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Nationalism and Culture ............................................................4 Nation-building and Modernization ..................................................5 The Culture of Carnivals and Tradition ……………………………………….10 Related Studies …………………………………………………………………11 Studies in Contemporary Arts …………………………………………………13 New Option for Performing Arts Studies ................………..........................14 Research Methodology ………………………………………………………...18 Organization of the Dissertation ……………………………………………….20

Chapter 2: Context and Consciousness in Indonesian Nation Building …………………….28 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Configuring the Roots of Nationalism ………………………………………...28 Cultural Consciousness of Nationalism ………………………………………….32 Nationalism and Changing Concepts of Ethnicity …………………………….35 The Core of Nation-building ………………….………………………….39 The Struggle through Education in the Context of Dutch Colonialism …………43 The Cultural Discourse of the 1930s …………………………………………….49 The Japanese Occupation and the Transition to Independence ………………….53

Chapter 3: Official Cultural Policy: Action and Reaction in the Arts …………………….59 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Independence and Constitutional Provision ……………………………………59 The Continuing Cultural Debate …………………………………………………68 War of Ideologies during the 1950s and the 1960s ……………………………77 Cultural Strategies of the New Order ……………………………………………84 New Provisions for the Arts ……………………………………………………89 The Jakarta Arts Council and the Art Centres …………………………………93 Cultural Festivals ................................................................................................100 Dissent through the Arts ………………………………………………………..104 Commentaries on Various Cultural Issues ……………………………………..106

Chapter 4: The Intercultural Role of Jakarta …………………………………………….112 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Background of the Roots ……………………………………………………….112 The Colonial Setting ……………………………………………………………118 The ‘Foreign’ Chinese Impact ………………………………………………….123 The Ethnic Setting of the Betawi ……………………………………………….130 The Rise of the Betawi Arts ……………………………………………………133 The Coming-of-Age of the Betawi Performing Arts …………………………..140

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7. Collage of Nationalistic Expression in the Arts ……………………………….143 8. Serampang Duabelas ‘Tari Nasional’ …………………………………………153 9. Contemporary and Mainstream in the Arts ……………………………………156 10. Performing Arts at the Fringe …………………………………………………..164 11. Performing Arts towards Globalization ……………………………………….170 Chapter 5: Javanese and Balinese Performing Arts Par Excellence ………………………178 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Heritage Excellence and Diversity in National Culture ………………………..179 The Cultural Connection of Java and Bali ………………………………183 Javanese Classics in the Performing Arts ………………………………………186 Javanese Contemporary Significance in the Performing Arts ………………….198 Balinese Culture and Historical Background …………………………………..202 Role of the Arts School in Bali …………………………………………………209 Balinese Initial Creativity and Development …………………………………..212 The New Generation of Performing Arts in Bali ………………………………219 The Question of Cultural Dominance ………………………………………….228

Chapter 6: Local Roots and National Perspective: The Performing Arts in the Outer Islands ……………………………………………………………………………..233 1. The Management of Diversity …………………………………………………233 2. Minangkabau Heritage and Historical Background …………………………...240 3. The Role of the Arts in Minangkabau …………………………………………243 4. Arts Education in West Sumatra ………………………………………………245 5. Historical Background of Bugis Struggle ……………………………………..248 6. Arts Education in South Sulawesi …………………………………………….252 7. Arts in South Sulawesi after Independence …………………………………...254 8. The Malay Culture Commitment of Riau ……………………………………..257 9. Riau Political Evolution and Social Development …………………………….260 10. Malay Cultural Definitions in the Post Independence Period ……………262 11. Jambi: A Multi-Ethnic Province ……………………………………………267 12. Ethnic Groups in Jambi ……………………………………………………..268 13. Jambi’s Performing Arts on the National Stage ..............................276 14. Jambi’s Achievements and Set-backs in the Arts ………………………….279 15. Summarised Similarities and Differences among “Outer Islands” ………280 Chapter 7: The Reformulation of Performing Arts...………………………………………..282 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The Challenge of Reformulation ………………………………………………282 The Paradox of Tradition and Modernity ……………………………………...286 Cultural Uplift through Political and Economic Shake-Down …………...287 Internal Cultural Management and its Parallels …………………………291 The Role of Islam in National Culture ………………………………………...292 The Conducive Culture State ………………………………………………..294 Lessons Learned ………………………………………………………………296

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Tables 1. Ethnic Group of Indonesian Citizens, Indonesia 2000 ………………………….21 2. Ethnic Group of Indonesian Citizens, Jakarta 2000 …………………………….21 Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………………………….299 Bibliography and other Sources ……………………………………………………………300 Published and Unpublished Works ………………………………………………300 Newspapers ………………………………………………………………………336 List of Personal Interviews ………………………………………………………337 Appendix 1: Abridged Transcripts of Interviews: 1. Made Ariani, Cok & Agung Anom ……………………………………………339 2. Wayan Dibia …………………………………………………………………...345 3. Gusti Bagus Adi Perbawa ……………………………………………………...351 4. Gusti Ngurah Panji …………………………………………………………….356 5. Nyoman Catra …………………………………………………………………362 6. Nyoman Nekanaya …………………………………………………………….367 7. Nyoman Astita ………………………………………………………………...370 8. Nyoman Tusan ………………………………………………………………374 9. Nyoman Gede Yudhana ……………………………………………………….376 10. Wayan Rai ……………………………………………………………………..379 11. Idris Djakfar ……………………………………………………………………382 12. Fachruddin Saudagar …………………………………………………………..387 13. Lukman Zakaria ……………………………………………………………….390 14. Datuk Maliki …………………………………………………………………..395 15. Nur Aini Rahman ………………………………………………………………403 Appendix 2: List of Pictures …………………………………………………………………..408 Pictures ………………………………………………………………………411 Appendix 3: Textual materials …………………………………………………………441 1. Advertisements from Dewi Dja Dardanella shows in Singapore, 1935……..441-442 2. Documentaries Festival Kesenian Daerah tingkat Nasional, 1995………… 443-447 3. Unpublished article of Soedjatmoko, “Over Ware en Onware Culturele Probleemstellingen”, 9-7-1948. Manuscript from the Arsip Nasional R.I. ‘Algemeen Secretarie no.17905 file AOKW 114 – 1 ……………………...448-458 4. Mukadimah Pedoman Dasar Dewan Kesenian Jakarta dan Pusat Kesenian Jakarta, (Preamble of the Basic Guidelines of the Jakarta Art Council and the Jakarta Art Centre),1968 – 1994. Copied from Enclosure II of Governor of Jakarta Decree 17 June 1968 No.Ib./3/2/19/1968, in book 25 Tahun TIM .Jakarta: Ya y a s a n K e s e n i a n J a k a r t a , 1 9 9 4 . … … … … … … … … … ……….459 5. Pendahuluan Pedoman Dasar Pusat Kesenian Jakarta (Preamble of the Basic Guideline of the Jakarta Art Centre). Copied from Governpr of Jakarta Decree No.D-III-6.13/2/35/73, in book 25 Tahun TIM. ………………………………..460 6. Pendahuluan Pedoman Dasar Organisasi Pusat Kesenian Jakarta (Preamble of the Basic Guideline on the Organization of the Jakarta Art Centre). Copied from the Governor of Jakarta Decree No. 148 Th 1991, tanggal 1 Februari 1991, in 25 Tahun TIM. ..........................................................................................................461

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Summary

The dissertation will analyse the changing relations between regional cultures and national culture in 20th century Indonesia. Description and analysis of changes in Indonesian performing arts will focus on developments in the Jakarta region: Jakarta provides one model for arts development in the context of implementing national culture, wherein developed cultural pluralism— a blend between indigenous and foreign. Comparative case studies from the cultures of Java and Bali, areas considered “core” or “inner islands” of Indonesia, and selected cultures from the “outer islands” (Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi in the east) are examined to investigate the effects of shifting policies on national and regional levels. The performing arts as discussed in this dissertation are not merely considered as formalised aesthetic products of cultural performance, but as flexible and meaningful media highly vulnerable to social and political changes. The dissertation utilizes a theoretical approach based on “new historicism”, which has opened new possibilities of viewing the performing arts as an object displaying continuity with the humanities studies in general; arts in Indonesian context thus display enormous diversity, due to both geographical and historical factors that have precluded the development of a homogenous art with a single line of evolution. The object of this study is to examine the changing effects of central government policies on the performing arts in certain regions of Indonesia under different political regimes: the late Dutch colonial period (1900 – 1942), the Japanese interregnum (1942 – 1945), the Sukarno period (1945 – 1966), the New Order of Suharto (1967 – 1998), and the post-New Order period (1998 – 2000). During the entire period under study, performing arts, and the arts in general, was a particular subject of government attention and intervention. Indonesian nationalists in the preIndependence period and official central government policies in the post-Independence period

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have seen the arts as a vital part of the struggle to build a unified nation from a huge archipelago with widely diverse traditions. The study will treat government policy as its main independent variable, while attempting to discern how other factors have also affected the evolution of Indonesian performing arts at the national level versus the regional level. This involves the process of conscious culture change derived from “national ideologies” to sets of cultural meanings that are labelled as “nationalism”. National culture was developed as one of the basic means to forge national unity during Suharto’s National Development Plan to support stability and economic development, various dissident opinions found expression. The conclusion argues for the need to reformulate views about the performing arts of Indonesia in the development as cultural resource if performing arts are to retain their significance in the life of the nation. How to achieve this goal while simultaneously fostering cultural regions and ethnic groups which exemplify unique features in styles of performing arts is a major dilemma which many post-colonial societies face. The example of Indonesia both illuminates one example of this tension, and also serves to suggest some ways in which cultural diversity and political unity can co-exist.

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

In this dissertation I will analyse the changing relations between ethnic cultures and national culture in Indonesia during the course of the 20th century. For the purpose of this dissertation culture is defined as “a body of value systems and the conglomerate of basic concepts that form an integrated set of ideas to which members of a respective society orient their behaviour.”1 The focus of this study will be to describe and analyze the effects of government policies on the performing arts of Indonesia beginning with the late colonial period (approximately from 1900 to 1942), continuing through the brief Japanese interregnum (1942-45), and especially during the Independence period (19452000). Significant trends in other artistic media during the same period will be provided with necessary background information. The performing arts in Indonesia have been tightly interwoven with all aspects of the nation’s life, and evolved in tandem with changes in other realms of culture. I have been involved in many of the government institutions and programmes dealing with the arts of Indonesia, in particular dance and other performing arts, over the past 30 years. Thus the reader should be conscious that I myself have been an actor in many of the events and processes discussed in this dissertation. I cannot promise to be a completely objective outside observer of the policies and their effects recorded here. On the other hand, I have tried to be as truthful as possible in giving various sides of the arguments over the theory and implementation of arts policy in Indonesia. I possess

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Edi Sedyawati et al, “Multiculturalism: Reflection for a Discourse and Background of the Exhibition”, Contemporary Art in the Non-Aligned Countries, (Jakarta, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, 1995) p.13

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certain knowledge which only a participant involved in the making and application of policy can have. It is unlikely that an outsider would be able to provide the kind of perspective which I develop here. The benefit of my experience is that I am myself a primary source for some of the data on this subject. It is possible that someone else will write a better dissertation with a more detached point of view of these matters in the future, but I feel it is important to record my observations of a period which is rapidly slipping into historical time. When I began this dissertation, the Suharto era had just come to an end. As I complete the writing of this work, the fourth successor to Suharto has just been elected. Most of my career was spent under Suharto, but I remember Sukarno’s years too. I therefore hope that the reader will excuse my occasional lapses when I take a personal point of view and make value judgments in cases where a neutral observer would refrain. If you will take note of my experiences and my origins, you will able to put my remarks into your own perspective. In this dissertation, I will view the development of government programmes in the performing arts in comparative perspective. The multitude of cultures in Indonesia can be used as a lens through which to inspect the precise dynamics of interaction between government policy and the regional cultures of Indonesia, and to extract some general conclusions. Indonesia’s regional cultures can be considered variations on a common theme, but these variations covering a vast latitude. Research sites utilized here include the Jakarta region and specifically Betawi culture; central Java and Bali (what used to be called the “inner islands”) and sites from the outer islands, including both eastern and western Indonesia. This sampling – the rationale of which is discussed in detail below - is

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meant to form a basis on which to reach some general conclusions on the relationship between national and regional policies in the performing arts.

Most performing arts of Indonesia originated as means of spiritual communication at the level of small-scale communities. While classifiable from one point of view as aesthetic expressions designed in such a way as to provide sensory pleasure, from a functional perspective the performing arts served as significant social vehicles during the formative period of complex society (from the early historic period to the development of early modern states prior to and during the era of European incursions). During this period institutionalized rulers such as chiefs and kings reinforced their positions by encouraging celebratory and attractive compositions of ritualized movements which combined symbolic and aesthetic traits to convey meanings and persuasive messages to those who could decode their meanings. Such expressions according to James Brandon2 convey the existence of a firmly established tradition of folk performance in Southeast Asia, tied to communal rites of worship and propitiation and to cyclic festivals that served both the purposes of worship and entertainment. Time has transformed the sacral roles of performing arts in Indonesia, but links to the past are still maintained to a certain degree among most Indonesian ethnic groups. In others, however the heritage of rites and worship through dance has been transformed into mere entertainment with no trace of the original communicative functions of stylized movement. Spiritual value in some areas has also become mixed with other forms of artistic expression such as language, music, and theatrical plays, which thereby became

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James R.Brandon, Theatre in Southeast Asia,, (Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1967) p.12.

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more closely related to other aspects of culture, such as the teaching of religion and other doctrines. The spiritual and symbolic functions of performing art are still on the whole significant phenomena in contemporary Indonesia, whether these are tied to heritage or linked to new aspirations.

1. Nationalism and Culture Already during the colonial period, cultural change entered a new dimension in the Indonesian archipelago. Cities gave rise to new forms of cultural events, and folk arts became parts of larger entities. New patronage for the arts on the one hand was able to give them beneficial encouragement, but on the other hand quite a number of arts particularly in the hinterland were unable to survive. The colonial masters supported court performing arts as they saw them as beneficial to the maintenance of the colonial relation itself. In the early twentieth century art became a significant vehicle designed to give people the feeling of solidarity and of participating in the achievement of common goals, such as political independence. With the rise of the nation, there occurred a shift in the manner in which subnational identities labelled as ethnic cultures of the regions were identified. Due to political conditions these ethnic cultures have become united under a central government in the new Indonesian nation state but by inherited culture they nonetheless remain different from each other. The first Indonesian president, Sukarno, can be cited as a charismatic figure who was not loathe to use art, and dance in particular, as media for the promotion of nationalism. His political ideas were inspired by influential Western exponents of

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nationalism like Ernest Renan, Karl Radek, Karl Kautsky, and Otto Bauer and were paralleled by the views of his nationalist colleagues like Tjokroaminoto from the ‘Sarekat Islam’, Tjipto Mangunkusumo, and Setia Budhi Douwes Dekker from the ‘Indische Partij’. Sukarno stressed in an article, “Nationalism, Islamism and Marxism” (1926) in the ‘Suluh Indonesia Muda’, the monthly organ of the Bandung Study Club,3 that nationalism is a faith, a conviction of the people that they form one group, one nation.4 In their efforts to create a national culture, nationalists of Sukarno’s generation, like the literati Muhammad Yamin and Sanusi Pane, wrote plays and novels drawing on the history of Indonesia’s regions (in particular from Java) to inspire interest and pride in encouraging the establishment of the independent nation state of a unified Indonesia. This ideal of creating a new ‘national culture’ was given a great boost by the ‘Sumpah Pemuda’ / Youth Oath (1928). Newly established nations tend to justify their existence by reference to older communities. The concept of “imagined communities”, inspired by Anderson,5 suggests that several centuries ago new nation states began to form, envisioning themselves armed with moral attributes, while striving to become modern descendants of great ancient cultures. Sharing historical strength with which to build the new unity, or, alternately, forsaking it for the sake of creating a new narrative was an essential component of the nation building project.

2. Nation-building and Modernization

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Sukarno, Under the Banner of the Revolution, (Jakarta, Publication Committee, 1966) p. 3. Ruslan Abdulgani, “Nationalism, Pancasila, Sukarno” in Haryati Soebadio and Carine A.du Marchie Sarvaas, ed., Dynamics of Indonesian History, (Amsterdam, North Holland Publ.Co, 1978) pp. 271, 273. 5 Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, (London, Verso, 1991) pp. 178 – 185. 4

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Nation-building and modernization over time yielded an evolving Indonesian national culture, introducing new institutions for education, internationalization of modern values, urbanization, and industrialization. These extensive changes can be understood in the context of the relationship between a nationalist ideology as a set of cultural meanings, a national culture which is contingent, and a process whereby the creation of nationalist ideologies anticipates a larger project: the formation or reformation of a national culture.6 The performing arts in Indonesia since independence, although characterized by great diversity, in general can be said to have undergone one or more of several processes: gradual change through re-invention; re-creation; re-actualization; or dissolution into the new national culture. In particular during the New Order another stream of thought emerged, composed of such intellectual currents as modernist and post-modernist ideas in literary and artistic criticism. The ideas propounded by these new generations of intellectuals have exerted new influences, including trends not present in the early nationalist phase. The individualistic or communitarian artistic endeavours of that time have been partially replaced by new official bodies such as art institutions, schools, and cultural centres. These new developments have also influenced the notion of what it means to be a nation. The new notions of culture flowing from the institutions of cultural development have made the realization of a nation as a unity more than ever a complex task, a quest which is never-ending. As Anderson has observed, if nationalism is a common project for the present and the future, its fulfilment is never finally complete… the process to become an Indonesian, with an Indonesian 6

Cf. Richard G. Fox, Nationalist Ideologies and the Production of National Culture, (Washington DC, American Anthropological Association, 1990), p. 4.

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spirit, an Indonesian commitment, and an Indonesian culture is a long one, and there is no guarantee of success. 7 The process of formation of national culture, accompanied by the evolution of other aspects of the Indonesian nation, is related to constantly changing value systems. This provides a concrete example of Wee’s generalization8 that “cultures and value systems at the ‘bottom’ are fluid and may be combustible in the way they relate to each other as well as to the state”. The economic crisis of 1997 resulted in political upheaval in Indonesia and shook many aspects of everyday life which Indonesians assumed were stable. The ‘combustible’ nature of the cultural and socio-economic mixture of the nation was demonstrated by numerous physical conflicts. These arose because the nation lost the idea of being one. In the resultant atmosphere of unleashed local identities, clashes between ethnic groups, regions, ideologies, and religions have separated citizens from each other, mostly at the periphery of the country including Kalimantan, Aceh, East Timor, Maluku, Sulawesi, and Irian / Papua. Nonetheless the centre where political ferment was constant was not immune. These conflicts resulted from differences in perception and aspiration between various sub-groups within the fabric of the Indonesian population. Such conflicts are nothing new to Indonesia; they have surfaced regularly since independence. Earlier strong political leadership was powerful enough to drive them underground temporarily, but did not solve the underlying causes; it only postponed the expressions of tension and perhaps ultimately made them worse. Inherent national conflicts imploded in 1998.

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Benedict Anderson, “Indonesian Nationalism Today and in the Future”, Indonesia 67, April 1999, p. 3. C.J.W.-L.Wee, Local Cultures and the New Asia, “Introduction”, (Singapore, ISEAS, 2002) p.15.

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It seems that prior to this the nation was drugged by the robust image of progress and physical achievements. This general feeling was so strong that the nation believed harmony and unity were intact and resilient enough to withstand ‘combustible’ change. The economic collapse after 1997 and subsequent violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups in Indonesia have indicated the illusory nature of the idea of guided cultural development which could be used as an instrument by which to overcome divisions between ethnic groups and regional cultures in Indonesia. Nevertheless, despite the failure of the New Order’s attempt to create cultural unity in Indonesia, many Indonesians still feel that the goal of achieving this unity is worthy of continued pursuit. It was in the artistic subculture and among the artists themselves that warning signs surfaced in dialogue sessions and also in various works of art during the New Order period. One of the more prominent among these were the discussions on the “liberation of handcuffed culture” (1989) by Umar Kayam, who warned that Indonesian nation building was creating tension among regional and ethnic cultures. Among others who also gave warning signs was Kwik Kian Gie, a critical writer and politician, who highlighted “the unfriendly collusion of culture, economic life and business” (1993), and Mochtar Pabottingi, political observer, who advanced the opinion that “the argument of culture and auto centricity from colonial times up to Independence” (1994) created a situation in which the artistic cultures were alienated from the people, in part because of the deliberate colonial policies of the past, and underdevelopment in culture was not corrected by Indonesians themselves after Independence. Then Abdurrahman Wahid, religious-cultural leader and president from 2000-2001, expressed the view that “cultural decentralisation in the national development was a prerequisite” (1993) in maintaining

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pluralism in order to prevent stagnation due to uniformity caused by over-centralisation. (The ideas of these experts are discussed further in the last part of Chapter 3).9 Theoretically, nationalism as the ideology of the modern nation–state is considered a prerequisite to the formation of a nation and has been a much-studied topic in political science, macro-sociology, and history. However, since the 1980s, anthropology has also taken an interest in nationalism. One anthropologist10 has noted that the study of nationalism raises methodological problems relating to scale and the impossibility of isolating the unit of study, and these problems inevitably arise to other topics in distinguishing the nation relationship to a modern state, and so it will also be shown that an anthropological perspective is essential for a full understanding of nationalism. Another anthropologist points to important changes in the general discipline of anthropology which affect the fundamental framework of discourse which is now used to approach the subject: National culture today does not have the hard, fully formed or configured quality attributed to it by the anthropology of two generation ago, neither does it have the erector-set character often presupposed in modernization studies: national culture does not consist of rigid institutional and cognitive pieces properly fitted together into stable and immobile structure. 11 In striving for this transformation the peoples affected acquired new cultural traits, but at the same time many facets of their indigenous culture were lost due to other forms of development. However, traditional cultures of Indonesia in some instances have tended to revive once the central government has relaxed its control over cultural matters. 9

Agus Sardjono, ed, Pembebasan Budaya-Budaya Kita, (Jakarta, Gramedia-Pusat Kesenian Jakarta, 1999). Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism. Anthropological Perspectives, (London, Pluto, 1993) pp.98-99 11 Richard G. Fox, Nationalist Ideologies and the Production of National Cultures, p. 2. Cf. Hirano Ken’ichiro, ed. “Introduction”, The State and Cultural Transformation. Perspective from East Asia, (Tokyo, UN University,1993) pp.1 – 12, who notes that in the 1980s, social scientists began to investigate attempts by states to transform cultures by creating national cultures. 10

9

In one ideal scenario, people would live in a cultural matrix of overlapping local and global identities while remaining rooted in local culture.

3. The Culture of Carnivals and Traditions The study of the arts becomes important when the use of knowledge goes beyond the formalised aesthetic products of cultural performance. The spiritual roles incorporated in the rituals and celebration of parades and carnivals have also become significant as objects, notwithstanding their political bias. The study of the value, meaning, and function of the arts in the community and social environment may help us to understand better the value of integration in cultural hybrids. Victor Turner12 considered carnivals to be a world-wide fundamental phenomenon rich in cultural significance. International cultural missions have become another activity which enhances carnivals. They frequently initiate economic and political relations between nations. Government-driven and funded multinational and multicultural festivals are not designed simply to reach an artistic objective; they also enhance other agendas, such as diplomacy, politics, and economics, by bridging gaps between host countries, between communities, and between nations. However, if curators do not handle them carefully, they can become a competitive arena, creating resent and rivalry, which can easily be blown out of proportion or be manipulated by the media and other groups. This kind of distortion often happens in sporting events, like football matches. At festivals where performances of different cultural roots and backgrounds are staged in a

12

Victor Turner, The Anthropology of Performance, (New York, PAJ, 1987) p.124.

10

variety of artistic presentations, conflicting arguments occur in the forms of talk shows and expressions of fanatical culture perceptions.13 In a search for ‘Little’ and ‘Great Traditions’, and the cultural role of cities as distinctive ‘orthogenetic and heterogenetic transformations’, it can be seen that these phenomena can co-exist. Studies initiated by Robert Redfield and Milton Singer14 in semiotics suggest that “mutual security depends on mutual understanding, and for understanding there has to be a conversation so as to build the civilisation of dialogue like that which led to the emergence of the ideal of a conversation of cultures after the Second World War”. Art can then become a flexible, meaningful medium in the politics of society. There is a need for an ideal way to keep the balance between artistic aspirations and various beneficial intentions, including the political ones, since they can never be free from each other. This study seeks to suggest some ways this might be done in Indonesia as the “Reformasi” period moves ahead.

4. Related Studies In Indonesia, the study of the arts in their historical context began with the observation of archaeological remains, such as ancient paintings on the walls of caves and temples, stone statues, carving of images on boulders, and similar expressions. The invention of other tools has constantly pushed the development of the visual arts of drawing and painting on animal skin, palm-leaves, tree bark, paper, stone, animal skins, and most recently canvas. This was followed by photography, and in modern times new

13 14

John Hutchinson, Modern Nationalism, (London, Fontana Press, 1997) p. 188. Milton Singer, Semiotics of Cities, Selves, and Culture, (Berlin, Mouton de Guyter, 1991) pp. 169, 170.

11

ways of expression, such as films and virtual reality generated through computers have joined other media. The analogous approach of new historicism15 has opened new possible ways to view the performing arts as a historical object displaying continuity with the remains of visual arts found in archaeological studies. One initiator of the study of Indonesian art was Claire Holt, who began her work in Indonesia as assistant to the distinguished Dutch archaeologist and culture historian, Willem F.Stutterheim. As a research associate of the Modern Indonesian Project of Cornell University, Holt also studied Indonesian dances in Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi, both during the colonial period and after Independence. She was able to observe the significant establishment of the ‘Taman Ismail Marzuki / TIM (the Jakarta Arts Centre), and her interest remained unabated until her death in 1970. Holt approached the art history of Indonesia by not limiting herself to European definition of ‘high art” and ‘visual art” but by including the performing arts in the wider perspective of ‘living traditions’ through dance and dance-drama. She also discussed the arts in the post-Independence period, paying special attention to the task of the government, cultural sub-organisations of political organisations, and art institutions. She stressed that the diversity of art in Indonesia… precluded the development of a homogenous art with a single line of evolution, … a multitude of cultural phenomena coexists in the archipelago at quite different stages of their life cycles. Some are ancient but still very vital; others are old but apparently dying or undergoing radical transformation; still others were born recently and are growing vigorously. 16

15

See H Aram Veeser, ed. “Introduction”, The New Historicism,.(London, Routledge, 1998) and Norman J. Wilson, History in Crisis. Recent Directions in Historiography, (New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 1999) p.118, which draws on Derrida, Foucault, Geertz, and other works of literature influenced by the broader culture. 16 Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuity and Change, (Ithaca, Cornell University, 1967) p. 3.

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Holt’s premature death in 1970 prevented her from delving deeper into the concept of the ‘national character’ of Indonesian art. However she had already explored the changing styles and moods of Indonesian arts that revealed changing conceptions and feelings of society and its artists in different ages. The study of the Indonesian arts has progressed since formal educational bodies for art were founded in the 1970s and with the emergence of critical artists in the performing arts in various major cities of Indonesia: in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo, Denpasar, Makassar, Padangpanjang to name but a few. The performing arts have been institutionalised, and scholars have been motivated to study them the perspective of social sciences. This will help us gain a better understanding of the socio-political conditions which influence artistic genres.

5. Studies in Contemporary Art Claire Holt’s path-breaking work has been furthered by such scholars as Helena Spanjaard and Astri Wright, both of whom have studied contemporary arts against the political background of Indonesian history. Helena Spanjaard examines Western art circles and Netherlands Orientalism from the time of Raden Saleh up to the East-West Debate. She described the creation of a national cultural identity through the spectrum of the contemporary movement returning to its roots by turning its back on the ‘West’ in order to go ‘East’, leading to the combination of the abstract-decorative with forms of realism and the avant-garde of the new visual arts movement. 17 She also deals with role of the art schools after Independence, in Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta, as materials for the formation of national culture in the painting arts. 17

Helena Spanjaard, Het ideaal van een Moderne Indonesische schilderkunst, (Amsterdam, Kirps-Meppel, 1998).

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However, she does not include the Balinese painting traditions nor their contemporary development, in particular the Pita Maha movement, focusing instead on developments in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bandung. Astri Wright18 discusses Indonesian artists in relation to their diverse cultural heritage, juggling ideas about economics and cultural development and about tradition and modernity. She divided Indonesian modern art into three forms. After an early modern phase during which artists imitated Western models, ideas, and themes, there emerged two groups: one which is very much interested in indigenous thematic and artistic traditions, creating their own hybrid version of modernism; and another which considers art works to belong both to a specific cultural and historical moment and to an international culture. Wright argued that an Indonesian concept of aesthetics is a pluralistic phenomenon which includes elements of Indonesian identity, local or ethnic culture, and a variety of existing and potential solutions to the problems of form and content. Her observation that official definitions of modern art to a larger degree cluster around the Javanese philosophical values basically applied to the characterisation of the wayang world and the classification of dance movement gamut between halus and kasar19 is important for the analysis to follow here.

6. New Options for Performing Arts Studies

18

Astri Wright, Soul, Spirit and Mountain, (Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University Press, 1994) p. 243. The idea of halus / refined and kasar or gagah / strong or coarse, is derived in particular from Javanese court art performance, which Wright applies to the visual arts. This is related to an important argument among Indonesian commentators on the New Art Movement / Gerakan Senirupa Baru. This movement, which espoused a postmodern / installation art style launched at the Jakarta Art Centre, Taman Ismail Marzuki, in 1975, was condemned by conservative critics as kasar. 19

14

The new historicism which emerged in the middle of the 20th century has made new options in the development of performing arts studies through the growth of literary criticism that dominated close textual analysis. This new development might be considered to have had a counterpart around a century earlier in the work of Ranggawarsita, the Javanese man of letters at the court of Surakarta, who died in 1873. Quinn20 points out that despite his close contacts with European scholars, Ronggowarsita endeavoured to maintain the Javanese court tradition of creating history out of literature. The development of visual arts can be studied with some precision over a long period because they consist of concrete media and tools which have left tangible, hard evidential sources of their past development. Performing arts, in which expression depends on live visualisation, is more difficult to study because physical evidence of its past stages is almost non-existent. The arts of dance, music and theatre can be conceptualized separately, or as a total expression, as is the case in traditional cultures in Indonesia. In the European context, before live recordings were invented, music was preserved in the form of notation. Theatrical scripts served as documentary reproductions which supplemented other documentary records to serve as raw material for later researchers. Attempts were also made by experts to invent a kind of notation for the dance. The 19th century saw the invention of the European Laban notation, then later American Benesh and others, but they turned out to be ineffective in practice, and are mainly significant as academic icons. In the Indonesian context, developments in education have opened up the option of adopting or inventing notation techniques. Nevertheless, attempts to devise methods of recording traditional dance through written notation have not been 20

George Quinn, The Novel In Javanese, (Leiden, VKI 148, 1992) p. 268.

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very successful. New technology of audio-visual documentation has opened up new, easier and faster techniques for creating archives of performing arts, which are much more effective than the exhausting and complicated method of manual notation. Given the nature of these sources, the empirical study of the history of Indonesian performing arts faces many constraints. Due more to the lack of available materials than lack of intrinsic importance in Indonesian culture history, the study of the traditional performing arts, in particular the study of the history of dance, has received less attention than the fine arts. Nevertheless some scholars have written about the history and other aspects of the performing arts in Javanese culture. Extensive bibliographic works can be consulted in Java en Madura in de Uitvoerende Kunsten by V. M. C. van Groenedael (1995), and Theodore G. Th. Pigeaud’s Javaanse volksvertoningen en latere studies 1817-1995. The focus on Java is understandable because written and living sources have left comparatively abundant materials in the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Court manuscripts are noted in Soedarsono‘s Wayang Wong; the state ritual dance drama in the court of Yogyakarta (1990), and Sumarsan’s Gamelan; cultural interaction and musical development in Central Java-Surakarta’s court (1992). David J. A. Fox’s Bibliography of Bali (1992) shows that publications on Balinese culture were numerous from 1920 to 1990. Few scholars by contrast have written about sources on Balinese performing arts such as the 9th-century Prasati Bebetin.21 Written materials about the evolution of ethnic performing arts in other parts of Indonesia are much scarcer.

21

A copper plate charter about 896 AD found in Bali listing masked dancers and other court artists(see Chapter 5) in I.M. Bandem & F.de Boer, Balinese Dance in Transition, (Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University, 1995).

16

The study of dance history in particular needs to be developed within the wider perspective of the social sciences. The earliest book on dance history, ‘The World History of the Dance’ by Curt Sachs, published in New York in 1937, is much appreciated as a bibliographic source but is almost never quoted by authors. New perspectives have, however, made some contribution to this neglected field of study. During colonial times the academic study of Indonesian art was primarily the preserve of foreigner scholars. Theodore G. Pigeaud’s 1938 study, Javaansche Volksvertoningen (“Javanese popular performing arts”), was an important advance, particularly for the study of dance. Although his book is in some aspects outdated, it still serves as a comprehensive reference. The work of Alessandra Iyer (1998)22 marks an important development involving the analysis of the origin of Javanese dance. She re-interprets a series of reliefs depicting dance poses from the 9th century Prambanan complex, Central Java, using movement analysis and comparison with Indian textual and figurative sources. She concludes that the” whole question of Indian influence needs rethinking, and that the exchange of people –and of ideas- must have been a two-way process”. Iyer has demonstrated the necessity of further research on the subject of artistic / cultural recycling, which her data indicate was not an unusual phenomenon in Java’s relations with mainland Asia, and in particular with the Southeast Asian area. This is particularly relevant to the subject of the possible predecessor of Javanese classical dance

22

Alessandra Iyer, Prambanan: Scupture and Dance in Ancient Java: A Study in Dance Iconography, (Bangkok, White Lotus, 1998) pp. 91-100. This subject was previously studied by Edi Sedyawati, RIMA 1982 (see Bibliography).

17

and theatre which was first recorded during the period of the Islamic Mataram kingdom in the 16th century.23 Other new approaches have been developed for the arts in general and the performing arts in particular by such Indonesian scholars as Edi Sedyawati, Soedarsono, I Made Bandem, Sumarsam, and Sal Murgiyanto.24 They have provided other perspectives and discussed the rise of new trends in traditional arts and have analysed Indonesian ethnic performing arts which have interacted with those of other nations that have resulted in new performing art works.

7. Research Methodology This study will deal with several performing arts but will place special emphasis on dance, supplemented by theatre, music, and other media, using a combination of published and unpublished materials, informal and oral sources relating to the efforts of the central governments of Indonesia to impose cultural hegemony. The principle object of this study is to examine the effects of central government policies on the performing arts in certain regions of Indonesia during the two periods of Sukarno and Suharto (1945 1998). It is however necessary to view those policies against the background of the late Dutch colonial period and the Japanese interregnum (1900 - 1945). During the period under study, performing arts, and the arts in general, formed an object of government attention and intervention. Indonesian nationalists in the pre-Independence period and official central government policies in the post-Independence period saw art as a vital part 23

Edi Sedyawati, “Tari di Jawa dalam Tinjauan Ragam dan Perkembangannya”, in Pertumbuhan Seni Pertunjukan, (Jakarta, Sinar Harapan , 1981) pp. 2, 3. 24 Edi Sedyawati edited Ensiklopedi Tari Indonesia, compiled from projects of the provinces under the IDKD/ Inventarisai Dokumentasi Kebudayaan Daerah, of the Directorate General of Culture in 1998, resulting from the 3rd & 4th PELITA.

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of the struggle to build a unified nation from a huge archipelago with widely diverse traditions. One of the main problems confronting central government policy-makers has been the search for a proper balance between encouraging the formation of a “national culture” and the preservation of Indonesia’s rich cultural diversity. Different policies have been attempted by various governments in pursuit of this goal. Other factors such as Islam, economic, political, and social change, and increasing exposure to external cultures have also exerted powerful effects on Indonesian performing arts. The methodology implemented for this study is inspired by Clifford Geertz’s interpretative cultural anthropology and the new historicism approach25 which has given scholars new opportunities to cross boundaries separating history, anthropology, art, politics, literature, and economics. This study represents an effort to refigure the performing arts, in particular dance, in the context of Indonesian 20th century historical development, and to a certain extent to examine the relation of performing arts to other genres in the process of social change. This study will also discuss individual ideas and creativity in the performing arts (as opposed to the pre-modern period when artists were expected to reinforce, not challenge, social norms, and when artists had no special identity) due to contemporary artists’ desire for innovation through interaction; many modern Indonesian artists feel themselves part of global rather national or regional art. One of the main points of dissent on the part of the artists concerns the degree to which art should be “national” as opposed to individual or global. There may be certain “windows of opportunity” when artists have more freedom to incorporate external sources 25

H.AramVeeser, The New Historicism, p.ix.

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as opposed to periods when governments try to exert more control over artistic content, often using nationalism as a justification for their restriction on expression.

8. Organization of the Dissertation This study will proceed in a two-part sequence. Following the introductory chapter, part one (chapters 2 and 3) provides an examination of the history of the idea of national culture in Indonesia, from the late colonial period to the end of the 20th century; part two gives an overview of the situation in which the effects of policy changes on selected regional cultures are identified and the influence over the role of the government in fostering national with regional cultural development is analyzed. Case studies were selected on the basis of representativeness, since it is patently impossible to cover the whole of Indonesia. Jakarta has to be included, because it forms a special case of the persistence and even formation of a new ethnic identity, active in the arts, in the heart of the national capital. This is followed by examinations of regional groups from Java (necessary because the Javanese comprise roughly half of Indonesia’s population); Bali (an important case because of the use of Balinese culture in the presentation of Indonesian national identity to the outside world, partly for tourism purposes, partly because Bali’s traditions are thought by some to be representative of the pre-Islamic period of Indonesian culture); several groups from central Sumatra (from West Sumatra Minangkabau, Riau Malays, and ethnic groups of Jambi Province because they offer instructive parallels and contrasts both with each other and the experience of the nation as a whole), and the Bugis of South Sulawesi (representing eastern Indonesia).

20

In supporting the choice of case studies for this dissertation a recent study on Indonesian population gives the following information for ethnic groups of Indonesia.

Table 1 Ethnic Groups of Indonesian Citizens, Indonesia 2000 No. 1. 3. 6. 7. 8. 11.

Ethnic Group Javanese Malay Minangkabau Betawi Buginese Balinese Total

Number 83,865,724 30,978,404 5,475,145 5,041,688 5,010,421 3,027,525 201,092,238

Percentage 41.71 15,41 2.72 2.51 2.49 1.51 100.00

Table 2 Ethnic Group of Indonesian Citizens, Jakarta 2000 No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

Ethnic Group Javanese Betawi Sundanese Others Chinese Batak Minangkabau Malay Buginese Madurese Bantenese Banjarese Total

Number 2,927,340 2,301,582 1,271,531 539,529 460,002 300,562 264,639 134,477 49,426 47,055 20,582 7,977 8,324,707

Percentage 35.16 27.65 15.27 6.48 5.53 3.61 3.18 1.62 0.59 0.57 0.25 0.10 100.00

The above data were calculated from the 2000 population census on particular regions in combination with data on Indonesia as a whole.26

26

Leo Suryadinata, Evi Nurvidya Arfin, Aris Ananta, Indonesia’s Population, (Singapore, ISEAS, 2003) pp.7, 9 ,19.

21

Data for this study was obtained during the author’s 30-plus years of personal involvement in Indonesian arts administration and practice; archival research in the Arsip Nasional Republic of Indonesia and the Art Centre of Taman Ismail Marzuki - Jakarta, and the libraries of NUS and ISEAS in Singapore; and fieldwork. Interviews were conducted on field trips in February and March 1999 in Jambi, and in Bali in April 1999. Other interviews were conducted irregularly as circumstances allowed, and during years of work in the arts. A complete list of interviews is included in the reference section with transcriptions of selected topics in Appendix 1. Chapter 2 will show how the concept of culture with the connotation ‘Indonesia’ came into existence more or less contemporaneously with ‘national awakening’ during the colonial period. The attempt to conceptualise ‘national culture’ was initiated by nationalistic intellectuals in the process of the formation of the Indonesian constitution in 1945. This process of conscious culture change derived from “national ideology” according to Fox,27 who uses the term to refer to “sets of cultural meanings labelled nationalism”. In the process of inculcating nationalist ideas by intellectuals among the wider Indonesian populace, national culture development emerged as one of the means adopted to resist the colonial overlords, in one of several ways; as a spiritual force; in the form of tangible social movements; or a combination of the two. The Japanese occupation (1942 – 1945) marked a milestone. This period of history was significant as an interlude allowing the nationalist process breathing space to reach maturity; this process of maturation was assisted by the Asian solidarity propaganda promulgated by the Japanese, which gave Indonesians the opportunity to instigate

27

Richard G. Fox, Nationalist Ideologies and the Production of National Cultures, p. 2.

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significant social and political reform activities, despite their subjection to many insulting and painful experiences by the Japanese occupying regime. Chapter 3 deals with aspects of cultural development in the turbulent period of Independence when national culture was developed as one of the basic means to maintain unity of the nation. National culture was transformed into various functional entities: a unifying tool, a heritage to be shared, a source of ideological support, a sign of elite status, a progressive social movement, and so on. Sukarno‘s ideological speeches during the late 1950s regarding ‘MANIPOL-USDEK’ (the political manifesto of the General Outline of State Policy – Garis Besar Haluan Negara / GBHN) and the return to the 1945 Constitution, the socialistic democracy and the national identity, supported the shifting of the notion of “culture movement” to USDEK (acronym : U=”Undang Undang Dasar ’45 / Constitution of ’45”, S= “Sosialism Indonesia / Indonesian Socialism”, D=”Demokrasi Terpimpin /Guided Democracy”, E=”Ekonomi Terpimpin / Guided Economy”, K=”Kepribadian Indonesia/ Indonesian identity”). During Suharto’s New Order period (1967 – 1998) the state philosophy Pancasila became the sole political ideology, with significant effects on the official perception of culture. In particular, the New Order fostered ‘self reliance’ through the P4 (Pedoman / Guideline, Penghayatan / Appreciation, and Pengamalan / Application of Pancasila) and the Five Year National Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun – Repelita). Art schools, art institutions, art centres, art festivals, and other such developments were instituted as a result of central government policy. During the first two decades of Independence, the notion of national culture degenerated into a rhetorical tool in the government of Sukarno, which was preoccupied

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with the harsh task of maintaining the stability in the midst of highly disruptive political and separatist turmoil. During the New Order period the policy of national development pertaining to culture gained significance as a source of stability and unity which would enable economic development to proceed more rapidly. In the early era of Independence during President Sukarno’s rule the arts formed part of a revolutionary and nationalistic ambience. The New Order rule managed to restore some political stability and increased economic development, in which the arts received some significant attention. One motive for this allocation of central governmental resources was to support symbolic status for the government in particular through the institutionalization of art schools, art centres and the festivals. The role of the state capital Jakarta discussed in Chapter 4 presents a case study of arts development of Batavia during the late colonial period, and how, as capital of both the Dutch colonial government and the new Republic, Jakarta became the heart of the political mainstream, which from the 20th century onward influenced intercultural development. Batavia / Jakarta provides one model for arts development and how one community reacted to the implementation of national culture derived from a colonial cultural “entrepot” and so developed a significant role in cultural pluralism, initiated as an intercultural blend between indigenous and foreign. It was in Batavia that Betawi ethnic arts emerged. These ethnic arts originated in a colonial environment but were permeated by anti-colonial sentiment developed from urban lowbrow entertainment forms to become the cultural icon of Jakarta. The revitalisation of Betawi arts was primarily motivated by one of the earliest establishments of the infrastructure of the New Order Government, the Jakarta Arts Council, founded in

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1967 with particular support from the regional government of Jakarta. This founded establishment includes new innovative arts or the so called avant-garde, modernism up to postmodernism, the mass production of nationalistic and religious arts, and the international advancement of the arts. The rise of the Betawi culture in Jakarta and its development can be seen as the result of changing demands to a multicultural perspective in the process of national culture development. This contrast exemplifies Hannerz’28 view that “cultures, rather than being separated from one another as the hard–edged pieces in a mosaic, tend to overlap and mingle”. Chapter 5 discusses the Javanese and the Balinese. These ethnic groups have showed significant development in the performing arts on the national scene and in the international dissemination of performing arts as well. Further discussed are certain notions that were laid down as the foundation of national heritage in the era of the nationalist movement, which was inspired by the idea of apexes of ancient heritage in Indonesian history, a source of support for artistic benchmarking after Independence. The socio-politically and bureaucratically dominant role of the Javanese and the artistic strength of the Balinese, in particular since the last decade before Independence was related to a number of European colonial officials, scholars and tourists travelling or staying in these islands, and can be seen as the source of their tendency to play a significant role in the national representation of various media, and also of their popularity with the international art audience. While Javanese culture retains its role as the typical cultural image of Indonesia, Bali offers a paradise for tourism because of its

28

Ulf Hannerz, “Cosmopolitans and Locals in World Culture”, in Mike Featherstone, ed. Global Culture; Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity: A Theory, Culture and Society Special Issue, (London, Sage Publication, 1990) p.239.

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cultural strength, despite the temporary setback incurred by various circumstances such as recession and the October 2002 instance of terrorism. Chapter 6 explores art in select islands in the ‘Nusantara’29 periphery; their historical significance; their cultural context; and their particular roles in the national perspective. This supports Redfield’s and Singer’s arguments which claim that the socalled ‘Little’ and ‘Great’ traditions can coexist both at the core and the periphery levels as well. Conversely, the core of ‘Great Tradition’ in politicised Jakarta or cultured Java can form the periphery of a ‘Little Tradition’ for the ‘Nusantara’. The interaction between “Local Roots” and “National Perspective” in this chapter examines case studies of 20thcentury performing arts development among the Minangkabau, Bugis, Riau and Jambi. Riau is an important example because of its contrast to Jambi, due to the impact of economic development, and in its image as the ‘Cradle of Malayness’. Chapter 7 contains concluding arguments concerning the necessity to reformulate the way of thinking on the development of the performing arts of Indonesia as cultural resource so as to become a significant exponent for the life of the nation. The cultural regions and ethnic groups which exemplify unique features in styles of performing arts should have been developed in accordance with local social and artistic conditions. The formation of national culture has often been misunderstood and manipulated for extraneous reasons in the implementation of policies and in commodification for tourism. The culture of Indonesia bears out the point postulated by Hannerz30 that “the division between cosmopolitans and locals is marked by an organisation of diversity rather than by a replication of uniformity, as no total homogenisation of systems of meaning and 29

Term derived from Majapahit times indicating the regions outside Java. Ulf Hannerz, Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity: A Theory, Culture and Society Special Issue, p.237.

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expression has occurred, nor is it likely that there will be one any time soon”. The state of the performing arts in modern Indonesia then is a problematic issue connected with the relationship between the state and the regions; this parallels the present cosmopolitanlocal distinction on a global basis, which was instigated by colonialism or the contact between nations.

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Chapter 2 CONTEXT and CONSCIOUSNESS in NATION BUILDING

This chapter describes how the notions of Indonesian national culture can be seen through proto-national and sub-national ideas that developed in the context of nationalism. Initially these concepts arose in early 20th century cultural movements which formed part of the political struggles against colonization in which notions for education and the cultural debates became significant expressions of the process of nation formation. This came to a temporary halt with World War II which gave significant momentum to struggles for independence.

1. Configuring the Roots of Nationalism Consciousness of proto-national and sub-national identities1 in the Indonesian nation building context had its roots in small-scale socio-cultural movements during the Netherlands-Indies colonial period prior to the acknowledged ‘national awakening’ of 1908 through movements such as the 19th century struggle of Imam Bonjol in West Sumatra and Dipanegara in Central Java. These evolved into a political movement following the awakening of 1908. Political arguments had significant cultural implications for the idea of nationality in Indonesia. Resink 2 noted that under Netherlands-Indies colonial rule, the archipelago consisted politically of a large number of principalities of various sizes and types, all theoretically independent of one another and connected only through their common

1

The phrase “sub-national identities” is connected to “national ideologies” which refers to a set of cultural meanings labelled “sub-national identities”, “nationalism” and “ethnic nationalism” as the production of conceptions of people-hood, Richard G. Fox, Nationalist Ideologies and the Production of National Cultures, pp.2-3. 2 Gertrude Johan Resink, Indonesia’s History Between the Myths, (The Hague, Van Hoeve, 1968).

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status as Dutch vassals. Harsja Bachtiar 3 noted that although consciousness and movements appeared some centuries ago, the process of state formation was still incomplete at the time of Independence. The problem of the cultural rights of these principalities or ‘proto-nations’ in the context of the process of nation formation became questionable. Would the new locally defined dominant identity foster resistance against foreign domination and thereby increase the significance of nationalism? In 1996 Clifford Geertz wrote: The citizenship feels new, at least to the citizens, but the identity does not … This disposition, not unqualified but nearly such, to view culture, geography, politics, and self in the blocked-out spaces of the absolute map, as a matter of countries, leads to a conception of the past as prologue, and future as denouement … Within the bloated categories of regime description called feudalism or colonialism … or the world system … there is a resident suchness …, inner Indonesian ness, struggling to get out.4

The psychological aspect of nationalism is perhaps less important than the sociological service it performs in creating a new form of shared mythology into which formerly disparate groups can integrate themselves. Like religion, nationalism provides symbols around which people can agree to formulate new models of commonality. What is sometimes problematic is that the creators of the illusions themselves confuse the superficial symbols with the ultimate goals of unity, which those illusions (or better perhaps: imaginings) are meant to serve. Anthony D. Smith noted the ‘integrative revolution’ is a clearly double-edged process, most noticeably in places where the modern state seeks to unite diverse ethnic groups in a national territory.5

3

Harsja Bachtiar, The Formation of the Indonesian Nation, (Cambridge, Harvard University Ph. D. thesis, 1972) 4 Clifford Geertz, After The Fact, (Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1996) p. 23. 5 Anthony D.Smith, Nationalism and Modernism, (London, Routledge, 2001 reprint of 1998) p.153.

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The desire to create a new cultural entity called Indonesia took conscious shape in the 20th century, in the context of the nationalist movement, although it is conceived that it might have had roots in various earlier religious and social movements. If Clifford Geertz’s hypothesis that it was an ‘illusionary essence of unity’ is acceptable, then how the diversity acknowledged by the founding fathers of Indonesia could, be harmonised with the nationalistic notion of unity? Was there enough evidence for such a commonality of culture among Indonesian groups to risk enshrining such a notion in the Indonesian constitution, where the founding fathers of Indonesia stressed its significance to the basic formation of national culture? The idea of this relative unity rests on the evidence of history and of cultural connections. It is possible to examine the assumption that for centuries the various parts of the archipelago maintained connectivity in culture. Is this background enough to support the image of some unifying power? Are the images of the ancient South Sumatran kingdom of Sriwijaya and of the later East Javanese kingdoms such as Majapahit, which inspired the founding leaders to glorify this historical essence as a ‘modern myth’, sufficient to unite the country? Resink6 stressed that this Nusantara myth offering a perspective of a great past and thereby evoking a prospect of a great future as well, has taken particular advantage of Sriwijaya and Majapahit. This must be balanced against the reality of Indonesian geography, and of the history of Indonesian culture. As a gradual process of divergence, the islands, with different natural environments, prompted different adaptations. Logically, it would be expected that the cultures of the people would also diversify. The probability of cultural diversification in Indonesia would seem to have been ineluctable. Landscape and topographical features have dictated local differences in development of

6

Gertrude Johan Resink, Indonesia’s History Between the Myths, p. 99.

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ecological diversity, making it a formidable task to formulate universal rules relating forms of culture. Groups with very different forms of social and technological organisation may exist in close proximity to each other and this invariably produces disturbances in communication. The amazing thing is not so much the cultural diversity as the fact that any cultural continuity was maintained despite the pressures favouring differentiation.7 Dutch colonisation paradoxically stimulated people in Indonesia to strive for national unity. The shared burden during Dutch colonial rule gave the formerly divided and sometimes mutually antagonistic Indonesian ethnic groups a new basis for merging their efforts to counteract this external domination. George McTurnan Kahin, one of the first significant writers on nationalism in Indonesia commented: It has often been noted that political frontiers tend to establish national consciousness, and it is certain that the arbitrary frontier delineating the area of Dutch political control in the East Indies was decisive in determining the boundaries of the Indonesia which absorbed the attention of Indonesian nationalists.8

Kahin further wrote that the beginnings of Indonesian nationalism cannot be even roughly dated. It is clear that an organized base began in the 20th century, but many of its most essential constituents went back much further.9 Heroic endeavours such as the 19th century struggle of the Javanese prince, Dipanagara, offered nationalistic commentators a century and a half later the opportunity to depict a kind of premature nationalism. Dipanagara made a genuine attempt to bind very disparate elements of Javanese society to his cause and in this sense he was probably the first ‘nationalist’ leader in modern Javanese history … Dipanegara’s failure 7

Haryati Soebadio, “Indonesia Geography and Culural Diversity”, Indonesian Heritage Ancient History volume 1, in John Miksic, ed., (Singapore, Archipelago Press, 1998) pp.8,9. 8 George McTurnan Kahin, Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia, (Ithaca, Cornell , 1952) p. 37. 9 Ibid, p. 41.

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permitted the emergence of a wider Indonesian polity, although the problem of social division and economic distress which he attempted to resolve are as immediate as ever.10 Some other heroic figures of the 19th century might also fall in this category, although they are more closely bound to their local contexts. Some came from Sumatra, for example Imam Bonjol who initiated an Islamic reform movement in the west, and Teuku Cik Di Tiro, who launched a direct protest against the colonial power in the north. Similarly, in other parts of the archipelago and especially Java, the gradual disorganization of traditional authorities not only gave rise to the development of various social movements but also paved the way for a shift towards the entrenchment of Dutch colonial power.

2. Cultural Consciousness and Nationalism Nationalism as a form of cultural consciousness does not always have to result in a sense of unity. However, it was significant to the objective of becoming independent from colonialism. In many cases, however, issues of the essence, the quality, and the usefulness of unity persist after Independence. In his pidato budaya (cultural speech) “Pembebasan budaya- budaya kita” (The Liberation of Our Cultures), on the 44th anniversary of Independence at Taman Ismail Marzuki 11 in 1989, Umar Kayam mentioned the importance of ‘cultural liberation’ after almost half a century of political independence. An intellectual in the cultural field, who held high positions in the government, universities and cultural

10

Peter Carey, “Introduction”, Babad Dipanegara: An Account of the Outbreak of the Java War (18251830), (Kuala Lumpur, MBRAS, 1981) pp. XLVI, XLVII. 11 On Taman Ismail Marzuki, the Jakarta Art Centre, see further in Chapters 3 & 4.

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organisations, Kayam earned himself a reputation through warning Indonesians, as described by Agus Sarjono:12 Umar Kayam bahkan menghimbau untuk membebaskan berbagaibagai budaya lokal Nusantara agar berkembang tanpa dikerdilkan serta dikungkung wacana tunggal kesatuan. Dari perjumpaan berbagai-bagai budaya di Indonesia diharapkan justru muncul dinamika yang menggerakkan élan vital dan kreativitas budaya Indonesia. Umar Kayam suggests liberating various local cultures of the Nusantara so as to enable them to develop without being stunted and restrained by the sole discourse of unity. It is hoped that from the coming together of various cultures of Indonesia, there can rise a dynamic force to motivate the creative vitality of Indonesian culture.

In seeking to understand the background to the issue of ‘cultural liberation’, it is necessary to postulate that Indonesian nation-building has generated a certain tension long after Independence among the regional or ethnic cultures. This argument becomes relevant when the notion of nationalism depends on culture so that culture is pulled simultaneously towards two separate poles. One pole is the new concept of national culture. The other pole is the traditional cultural heritage of the ethnic groups which have remained segregated from each other. 13 Before Independence, this connection did not present a problem. People were mainly concerned with the need for solidarity to achieve the strength required to evict the ‘enemy’ in the form of the colonial regime. While it is true that Indonesia was eventually politically united from the colonial rulers, the country still retained its cultural fragmentation, which had evolved over millennia. A common culture represents a new possibility. In its efforts to create this commonality the Indonesian government during the Sukarno period set up 12

Agus Sarjono, ed. “Introduction”, Pembebasan Budaya -budaya Kita (collective cultural speeches at the TIM- Jakarta Art Centre). The title of the book is derived from Umar Kayam speech’s on 18-81998. p. 7. Author’s translation . 13 One could postulate a tripolar constellation consisting of the ‘Europeanised’, Americanised’, and ‘Asianised’ poles.

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various national programmes incorporating ethnic diversity. One such strategy was to elevate local figures of historical importance to national status, representing the various cultures of the archipelago as national heroes (pahlawan nasional). Sukarno designated approximately 48 pahlawan nasional; Suharto elevated about 42 more to this status.14 The ideal of pemerataan (equalisation) was integral to the method by which this was carried out. Pahlawan were identified from as many parts of the country as possible in order to spread the shared feeling of nationhood. 15 Inescapably this programme developed distinct political overtones. Sukarno’s interest in the programme was to achieve cultural unity, while his successor Suharto was more concerned with binding the nation together through economic reforms. It should be remembered that in this context, these paradoxes were related to the unresolved nature of the traditionalist movements (sub-nationalist or protonationalist by nature) of the 19th century which arose as a consequence of the colonial situation, paradoxes that still remain at the core of contemporary issues. As the Dutch colonial administration became more invasive in the late 19th century, the traditionalist movement strove for the restoration of the old order and on the other hand, the modern nationalist movement aimed at the establishment of a new social order with a more consistent movement, and a more definite form of social movement.16 Pahlawan, with a few exceptions such as Kartini, Ki Hajar Dewantara, “Bapak Pendidikan Nasional” , father of national education, and Dewi Sartika (also an

14

Timothy P. Barnard, “Local Heroes and National Consciousness”, in Cynthia Chou and Will Derks, ed. Riau in Transition, (BKI 153 4e afl. 1997), p. 512. 15 Ibid, pp.511, 512. 16 Sartono Kartodirdjo, “Political transformation in the 19th century”, in Haryati Soebadio and Carine A.du Marchie Sarvaas, ed., Dynamics of Indonesian History, (Amsterdam, North Holland Publication Co., 1978) pp.250-3.

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educator), were not people who were immersed in social life, education or artistic development. They were chosen from among the ‘warrior’ figures that used force to try to achieve their goals. Pahlawan were perceived as irreproachable heroes free of any negative attributes. They were pictured as unswerving in their devotion to Indonesian independence. Some individuals such as Arung Palaka of South Sulawesi, who were allied with the Dutch, were disqualified from pahlawan status even though they still enjoy enormous strong respect within local societies today. Constructive attributes in terms of nation-building were not very strongly emphasised. Even those pahlawan who were not ‘warrior’ figures were strongly nationalistic in their aspirations rather than being devoted to the welfare of the population. The pahlawan have performed a useful service in the endeavour to create a unified Indonesia. Criteria for the selection of pahlawan include firm historical evidence for their deeds in the service of the Indonesian struggle against foreign domination. Pahlawan must be nominated by the regions, be processed by local government circles, before submission to the Department of Social Affairs. There, their credentials are subjected to verification before the president makes the final decision to enshrine them in the Indonesian pantheon. However this tendency to glorify the physical aspects of pahlawan and omit those whose achievement lay in other fields’ means that “cultural heroes” whose services consisted of efforts to form a national culture, remain outside the limelight; these heroes remain regional than national figures.

3. Nationalism and Changing Concepts of Ethnicity A significant benchmark of nationalistic inclination in Indonesian history is represented by the founding of the first modern western-oriented organisation, Budi

35

Utomo, on 20 May, 1908. Although founded by a select group of Javanese priyayi (upper class figures of mostly royal descent including intellectuals), its goal was to care for the people’s welfare in general, and to establish educational institutions in particular. In 1948 the establishment of Budi Utomo was chosen by the nation’s elite in Yogyakarta as the starting date of the “national awakening”, marking the symbolic beginning of the nationalists’ struggle for independence.17 This event was identified as a landmark at a time when independence was still hanging in the balance, and the strife for unity had not yet ended, because the Dutch colonial power had been precariously restored after the departure of the Japanese in August 1945. Sovereignty was only offered at the end of 1949. The anniversary of the foundation of Budi Utomo, 20 May, continues to be commemorated as Hari Kebangkitan Nasional (National Awakening Day). Although limited in scope, Budi Utomo was described by Sartono Kartodirjo as a conflict group arousing the opposition of both the colonial overlords and the traditional groups. Meanwhile, it was considered insipid and passive in its responses by those wanting a more fiery response. 18 Regardless of such criticism, it left a significant impression on cultural development in the arts and literature. Asrul Sani19, cultural expert, essayist and writer for the theatre and cinema, expressed just such a view. During a commemoration speech for the National Awakening celebration (at Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Centre, Jakarta) on 8 May 1990, he commented on the connection between the National Awakening and movements in the arts and highlighted how the Awakening stimulated the emergence of new intellectuals, particularly in the literary field. External influences contributed to the development of

17

Ki Hadjar Dewantara, Dari Pembangunan Nasional sampai Proklamasi Kemerdekaan, (Jakarta, N.V.Pustaka & Penerbit Endang, 1952) p. 32. 18 Haryati Soebadio and Carine A. du Marchie Sarvaas, ed., Dynamics of Indonesian History, p. 253. 19 Asrul Sani is a Minangkabau born in Pasemah, South Sumatra, on 10 June, 1927.

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the new wave of poets and writers. In particular, the 19th century European humanism popular at the time in the Netherlands fomented anti-colonial criticism and called for a new policy to develop education, language and literature among the oppressed colonised people in Indonesia. This European humanist notion can be said to have influenced the thoughts of two pre-Independence literary institutions. One was the Balai Pustaka (Literary Council), an organisation which provided reading materials for the indigenous peoples. It was established in 1917 by the colonial government’s Commission for Popular Reading Matter. The other, the Pujangga Baru, was a very different type of literary organisation formed by a group of writers (the new literati) in 1933. It supported the cultural ideals of young people by promoting the new national language of Indonesian, its central theme being the creation of a new Indonesian culture through interaction between East and West which surfaced in the cultural debate of the Pujangga Baru. From 1908 to 1938, the Awakening created an atmosphere stimulating dynamic innovations, and was able to boost the rise of a new sociocultural environment. In particular, it inspired new expressions in literature through the rise of the Indonesian language, triggered by the launch of Malay as the national language with the swearing of the 1928, Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Oath). The Sumpah Pemuda, which launched the notion of Satu Nusa, Satu Bangsa, Satu Bahasa (One Country, One Nation, and One Language) on 28 October, 1928, was another milestone in the history of Indonesian nation-building. This political declaration was launched by a youth organisation as indicated by the naming Jong of which the members were divided by geography and ethnicity, including such groups as Jong Java, Jong Sumatra, Jong Ambon, Jong Minahasa and so forth. The confluence of these young people from so many disparate ethnic groups can be

37

interpreted as signifying that the people indeed desired to become a new nation. The political rallying cry of the nationalists also inspired a new movement in the arts, through reviving the ancient, preserving the already existing, and encouraging innovation. This movement began in the arts most directly connected with the national language, the literary arts and theatre, then it moved on to mass communication, while also encouraging other fields of the arts to espouse the new perspectives. Theatrical works derived from westernised concepts began to appear, and later gave rise to films. This process, though mocked as childish melodrama, should be considered as an irrespective recognition of the rise of a popular theatre known as Komedi Stambul, a significant ‘artistic’ achievements of the Eurasian population of colonial times in Java, popularized in cities such as Surabaya at the end of the 19th century. It was a genre similar to Bangsawan, which in some cases also adopted the designation tonil, a bastardised form of Dutch toneel, and other popular theatre genres of that time as a hybrid variety of European, Malay, Javanese, Chinese, and Indian, Arab etc. such as Abdul Muluk, Komedi Jawa, and Wayang Cerita.20 This genre was infiltrated by interested Indonesian literati, in particular during the Japanese occupation, and paved the way for more serious works of theatre and the cinema after Independence. Prominent in this respect were initiators of the Maya Group of Jakarta founded in 1944 by Usmar Ismail, dramatist and cinematographer, supported by others such as D. Djayakusuma, cultural expert in theatre and the cinematographer, Rosihan Anwar, writer and outspoken journalist, and Suryo Sumanto. These were the people who shaped modern Indonesia after Independence (see further Chapter 4.6 “Arts in the Ambience of Revolution and Nationalism”). 20

Matthew Isaac Cohen, “On the Origin of the Komedie Stamboel, Popular Culture, Colonial Society, and the Parsi Theatre Movement”. BKI no. 157 / 2, (2001), pp. 313-357.

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Saini K.M.,21 a theatre expert and critic, a significant exponent of the Bandung Arts School / STSI, once Director for the Arts of the Directorate General of Culture, argues that the contemporary theatre, the so-called ‘modern Indonesian theatre’, is an art form which is, by nature, Indonesian, particularly motivated by the desire to encourage national uniformity in language, politics, economics, science and technology. The dramatist depicts national issues and faces nationalistic audiences. Apart from new aspirations in the form of theatrical expression of an Indonesian character, another sort of awakening was made possible through the rise of a new folk art. Indigenous people of Batavia (Jakarta) the Betawi, at this juncture emerged as a distinct group newly conscious of its own ethnicity.22 The Betawi had evolved over the centuries in the urban environment of Batavia, emerging from an amalgam of various migrant groups. They were acknowledged as an ethnic group in the 1980s, probably due in large measure to the development of new concepts of ethnographic identities in Indonesia (see Chapter 4). At the dawn of Indonesian nationalism, various new forms of artistic expression like that of the Betawi, also derived from pluralistic environments, appeared. The pluralistic environment of a newly urbanising Indonesia also inspired innovative works of popular theatre among the traditional environments such as in Bali and Java, and in West Sumatra among the Minangkabau. These innovating efforts were given an extra boost through the newly founded art institutions.

4. The Core of Nation-building National historical continuity is closely bound up with the vexing question of the relationship between ethnicity and nationalism. 21

Saini KM, Teater Modern Indonesia dan beberapa permasalahannya, (Bandung, Binacipta,1988) p.6. The Betawi first appeared in 1923 as the Kaum Betawi Group represented by Husni Thamrin in the colonial Volksraad. In the 1930 colonial census this group was listed as Bataviaan.

22

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For many theorists, the adjectives ‘ethnic’ and ‘national’ are interchangeable … ethnicity like history is crucial to an adequate understanding of nationalism … The nationalist appeal to the past is therefore not only an exaltation of and summons to the people, but a rediscovery by alienated intelligentsia of an entire ethnic heritage and of a living community of presumed ancestry and history. The rediscovery of the ethnic past furnishes vital memories, values, symbols and myths, without which nationalism would be powerless.23 Colonial period definitions of cultures or ethnic groups were based on 19th century definitions of “race” and assumptions about their historical relationships in the Indonesian archipelago: a hierarchy ranging from primeval to sophisticated mixtures24 gradually becoming Indonesian under the political unity imposed by Dutch colonisation. Resink25 noted that these ethnic groups were all “native states”, which remained under the rule of indigenous princes exercising authoritarian, paternalistic government. At the end of Dutch colonisation, nationalism in the modern sense, was but vaguely understood in the greater part of the archipelago, so that the cultural independence of the genuinely autochthonous “native states” could still be experienced in relatively intact form. These autochthonous units in the archipelago were divided by C. van Vollenhoven into 19 adatrechtskringen (spheres of customary laws) in his comprehensive three volume standard work entitled

Het Adatrecht van

Nederlandsch-Indie (1918-1933). The 19 adat law areas were intended to be merely a preliminary classification through which the adat law system could be incorporated into the colonial administration. 26 His work was later continued and developed by

23

Anthony .D.Smith, Nationalism and Modernism, p. 45. Encyclopaedie van Nederlandsch Indie, Vol III, (The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1919) pp. 547- 555. 25 Gertrude Johan Resink, Indonesia’s History Between the Myths, p. 342. 26 Koentjaraningrat, Anthropology in Indonesia:A Bibliographic Review, (The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff, 1975) p. 89. 24

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others such as R. Kennedy (1945)27, and F. Lebar’s work about ethnic (not racial) groups of Insular Southeast Asia (1964)28 which attempted to identify anthropological / linguistic regions of Indonesia. After Independence, these divisions were transferred into points of reference for developing administrative units of regions into provinces and their sub-divisions, and the ethnic groups became the sukubangsa.29 In this context, the word ‘ethnic’30 can be said to encompass the same meaning as sukubangsa, but nonetheless the term ‘ethnic’ remains a complex concept relating to race and nation and invariably stimulates plenty of arguments and discussions. An important work published in 1995, a two-volume Ensiklopedi Suku Bangsa di Indonesia by Junus Melalatoa, describes 400 ethnic groups or sukubangsa, based on bibliographies compiled by Kennedy, Koentjaraningrat, Jopie Wangania, and others supported by fieldwork on various ethnic cultures carried out under the Proyek Media Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (Cultural Media Project of the Department of Education and Culture). The accumulated units of these ethnic groups came to be interpreted as a ‘dogmatic’ image of unity. Harsja Bachtiar concluded that: The formation of Indonesian nation has not been completed. It was only the ideological unity assumption, or practically considered as a dogma by those who actively participated in the struggle for national independence. In reality many individuals who are by law regarded as Indonesians are not yet incorporated as parts of the newly Indonesian

27

Raymond. Kennedy, Bibliography of Indonesian Peoples and Cultures, (New Haven, Yale Anthropolical Studies, 1945). 28 F. Lebar, Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia, (New Haven, HRAF Press, 1964). 29 Koentjaraningrat, Masalah Kesukubangsaan dan Integrasi Nasional, (Jakarta, U.I. Press, 1993) pp.6 – 13. 30 The first usage of ethnic group as a term can be attributed to the American sociologist David Riesman in 1953. Since then it has been used in social anthropology to imply a means of classification of people and group relationships. The term ethnic group generally replaced the term ‘race’, which at that time began to be considered to have dubious descriptive value, and the relationship between ethnic group and nationality thereby became more problematic. Thomas H.Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives, pp.3–6.

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nation, such as the small ethnic groups in some parts of the interior jungle of Irian Jaya and Kalimantan.31

The eminent Indonesian anthropologist Koentjaraningrat expressed his own view on the subject of ethnicity (kesukubangsaan) and national integration. He noted the rise of ethnic movements worldwide during the 1970s, and observed that various ethnic groups were then attempting to liberate themselves from the countries in which they were living. Inter-ethnic wars were breaking out in Yugoslavia and separatist ethnic movements in the former Soviet Union were achieving prominence. These conflicts were linked both to ethnic frictions in multi-ethnic states and also to economic crisis situations. Koentjaraningrat suggested that a country of multi-ethnic people plagued by the continuing danger of separation should attempt to strengthen national unity without sacrificing individual ethnic cultural identity, and asked what kind of policy should be undertaken to maintain national integration.32 It would have shocked Koentjaraningrat, as it shocked most Indonesians, to discover at the beginning of the 21st century that Indonesia could revert to the status of a country endangered by separatism and violence between ethnic groups during a period of economic crisis. One of the most urgent questions is whether this separatism is mainly a quest for reform, a situation which usually explodes when political suppression and economic decline reach their peak. The following section will not attempt to answer that question; instead it examines evidence that progress was made in the second half of the 20th century in transforming Indonesia from a set of communities who identified themselves as members of local traditions into a more unified cultural entity. Initially this was accomplished through education, although failures in the implementation of policies meant that these efforts were not always 31

Harsja Bachtiar, The Formation of Indonesian Nation, pp. 338-339. Koentjaraningrat, Masalah Kesukubangsaan dan Integrasi Nasional, (Jakarta, U.I. Press, 1993) pp.15.

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able to foster national unity or to create an equally beneficial cultural life for all groups, either during colonial times or during the Independence period when economic conditions were much better.

5. The Struggle through Education in the Context of Dutch Colonialism The cultural context and consciousness of the pre-Independence nationalist movement became significant primarily in the field of education; in particular, after radical political proponents like Suwardi Surjaningrat, one of the ‘Indische Partij’ leaders whose voice were quelled by the colonial power in the early 1920s, switched their attention to education. The struggle went on to transform the movements into concrete action, by educating the people formally to make them conscious of their own culture. This heightening consciousness became an important means by which to form the identity of a nation, to shape the culture among the mass of the younger generation. Remarking on education as an effective weapon in the nationalistic struggle, Reid recognises two categories; ‘revitalizers’ and ‘borrowers’; the revitalizers tended to see problems as moral and religious, and the solution in a truer adherence to established norms; the borrowers to see the problem as primarily technical, and the solution in learning the tricks of the West … The other great item on the agenda of the borrowers, the item most widely shared in the first decades of the twentieth century, was education … The earliest enthusiasts for education were emphatically borrowers. As education became universally accepted as part of the solution, however we begin to discern new lines of demarcation and debate between revitalizers and borrowers. A whole new range of fascinating experiments in education began, whereby the ‘soul’ of traditional values would be retained within the shells of modern learning. 33 The ‘revitalizers’ usually combined education with religious reform. The majority of them were Muslim reformers educated at well-known Islamic institutions in Mecca and elsewhere such as al-Azhar in Cairo. However, other religiously inspired agents such as missionaries, who had their own channels of advanced 33

Anthony Reid, Charting the Shape of Early Modern Southeast Asia, (Singapore, ISEAS, 2000) pp. 251, 264.

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education, were also involved. On the other hand the ‘borrowers’ were the Western educated, in particular those who actually went to the West. Eventually a third category emerged, which was a combination of the two, for instance Suwardi Surjaningrat or Ki Hadjar Dewantara. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was a ‘borrower’ and remained so until his death. Groeneboer 34 wrote that education during colonial times was hampered by poor language tuition and in particular a lack of fluency in the colonial language, Dutch. This was why the language used among people from different parts of Indonesian became a lingua franca formed from a mixture of Dutch, Portuguese, and Malay. Then, in 1818, a regulation was passed to establish the first European Elementary Education Europees Lagere School-ELS. This also gave the indigenous people of the colony the opportunity to attend this kind of Dutch school. Initially their purpose was to educate children of indigenous royal families and of other prominent leaders of the society, so that they might communicate better with the colonisers. However, this attitude underwent a change for the worse as protests arose from some politicians back in Holland. The upshot was that separate schools, known as H.I.S (Dutch Indonesian Schools) and H.C.S. (Dutch Chinese schools) were established. Schools based on religion like Christianity, Islam (later on) and other special religious divisions were also regulated according to this system. Besides Dutch, each special school had its own particular second language, such as Malay, or Chinese. The nationalists were not at all happy with these educational conditions which fostered the policy of “divide-and-rule’. However some liberals considered it as a good reform measure paving ‘the way to the West’. This emerged as the main point criticised by nationalists in their struggle. The advantage of this system for the Dutch was that the

34

Kees Groeneboer, Weg tot het Westen, (Leiden, KITLV/VKI 158, 1993) p. 93, 157

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Dutch language had already become the basic means of communication for the elite. Malay language gained strength, it was argued, in the 19th century in an attempt to prevent the influence of the Portuguese (mestizo) culture from endangering the position of the colonisers. However the more the indigenous became literate and used Malay, the more they could communicate with each other. Nevertheless, Groeneboer continued, when the new policy known as the ‘ethical policy’, launched by liberal Dutch politicians as a ‘debt of honour’, was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, this provided numerous opportunities for new forms of development in Indonesia. At the dawn of the new century, a dissemination of education and a wave of economic development in which indigenous people were more generally involved seemed to have taken off. Health care programmes, and the infrastructure by which the colonial government intended to bring about self-government in the long run were implemented. One of the results of the ethical policy was that in 1918 the People’s Council (Volksraad) officially acknowledged the Malay language as the general vehicle of communication, although a “nasty” comment from the Dutch Minister of Colonies negatively intimated that this matter was irrelevant as the Dutch language had already become the language of the intellectuals. Whereas the nationalist struggle oscillated between positive and negative developments, including the usage of language and in the cultural sphere; in politics the situation was clearer. By the second decade of the 20th century, the nationalist movement against the colonial regime involved three groups: the liberals, the democratic Muslims, and the radical nationalists. Supporters of the liberal movement were to be found among STOVIA, a group of Budi Utomo medical students who launched a movement intended to counter some of the goals of the imperialists through the formation of a cultural organisation with an educational objective. Its

45

purpose was to serve the basic spiritual educational needs of the Javanese. The Democratic Muslims founded the Sarekat Islam (an Islamic commercial organisation) movement. A fairly progressive group was led by Douwes Dekker Setiabudhi (an Indo-European), Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo (a Javanese medical doctor by profession) and Suwardi Surjaningrat (a Javanese student at the STOVIA medical school). It was the radical nationalist Indische Partij, according Abdurrahman,35 that aimed to forge cooperation to struggle against the colonisers. After being banned for such radical notions, they shifted their strategy to other sectors. Suwardi Surjaningrat, who was a Javanese aristocrat related to Paku Alam III, initiated a systematic program for national education, which contributed to the formation of nationalist culture, and he took part in the famous cultural polemic of the 1930s. Suwardi Surjaningrat’s experiences, including exile in the Netherlands after the Indische Partij was banned, became significant in the development of education later. Returning to Indonesia in 1917 with new ideas to change the strategy in the struggle against the colonials through educational means he [Suwardi Surjaningrat] founded a school, Taman Siswa. It was a new concept of education that differed from the Javanese Budi Utomo, and the Islamic Muhammadijah. It was, in particular, a reaction against the Dutch Western style education. The educational system was progressive in international terms, yet characteristically Indonesian as well. 36

Claire Holt added that the Taman Siswa was an Indonesian version of progressive education…To this Dewantara added his own Javanese spirit…The teaching was to foster in the children a free, humane, creative, and at the same time nationally conscious attitude. While their initiative and self reliance as individuals were encouraged, the pupils were led to take pride in their Indonesian

35

Abdurrahman Surjomihardjo, Ki Hadjar Dewantara dan Taman Siswa dalam Sejarah Indonesia Modern, (Jakarta, Sinar Harapan, 1986) pp.43-49. 36 Ruth T.McVey, “Taman Siswa and the Indonesian National Awakening”, in Indonesia, No. 4, (Ithaca, Cornell University SEAP, 1967) pp. 130-133.

46

identity. The arts, especially painting, were an important feature in the Taman Siswa curriculum as an outlet for the pupils’ inner impulses.37

Suwardi Surjaningrat (who adopted the name Ki Hadjar Dewantara in 1928) and the other Taman Siswa founders made particular use of the ideas of Montessori and Frobel in Europe and the Dalton school system in the United States. Rabindranath Tagore’s critique of Western education and his Indian Santiniketan school also provided a source of inspiration, though like other leaders of the Indonesian National Movement, they never rejected Western ways to the extent Tagore and Gandhi did.38 Through his Taman Siswa school network, which was founded in Yogyakarta in 1921 and spread to Jakarta and then throughout the country, Ki Hadjar Dewantara made it possible for education to play an integral role in the nationalist movement to independence. He and his colleagues tried to formulate a counter-format for popular education which challenged the educational policies and politics of the Netherlands Indies government. When Indonesia gained Independence in 1945, Ki Hadjar Dewantara became the first Minister of Education. After his death in 1959, he was hailed as the Father of Indonesian Education. He expressed some of his ideas for shaping the national education system in the following way: We live in a period of transition; all about us change is taking place. Here the disappearance of a surviving custom saddens us, elsewhere renovation brings delight. Sometimes we set ourselves against a change in adat; at others it is we who seek to do away with antiquated and impeding custom. Sooner or later, however, we come to realize how useless it is to fight against the inevitable and how everything comes in its time. Then we reconcile ourselves to the unavoidable, if only because we know that what comes is not our choice but sheer necessity.39

37

Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuity and Change, p. 195 Ruth McVey, “Taman Siswa and the Indonesian National Awakening”, p.133. 39 Ki Hadjar Dewantara, “Some Aspects of National Education and the Taman Siswa Institute of Yogyakarta”, in Indonesia, No. 4, 1967 , p 150. Anonymous translation with annotations by Ruth McVey. 38

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Another cultural exponent of the Taman Siswa was Ki Sarmidi Mangoensarkoro. He was important because it was he who formulated ideas through writing about nationalism at the Taman Siswa in 1937, with a particular focus on popular / folkculture (Kebudayaan Rakyat, 1951). He assiduously articulated his views, in particular against Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana of the Pujangga Baru, the opponent of the Taman Siswa concept of culture. Surjomihadjo40 further considered the Taman Siswa was based on positive cultural thinking and is considered unique and outstanding in the development of national educational thinking. The Taman Siswa held that cultural preservation was important. The Taman Siswa is considered to hold a universal spirituality as it represents an approach in the national culture by preserving the valuable assets of the past and adopting new elements in a selective way. Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s ideas, which were included in the Indonesian Constitution of 1945, can be found in Article 31 on education, Article 32 and its elucidation on the national culture, and Article 36 on the Indonesian language. These Articles represent the foundation of Indonesian national education. In nation-building in Indonesia much effort has been expended on education, which is understandable in a developing country. However, the core of educational development, which implies a cultural context, was expressed too simplistically in the drafting of the constitution. It was initially based on the ideas propounded by Ki Hadjar Dewantara and his Taman Siswa colleagues around Independence, at a time when tensions generated by World War II still persisted. The concept of national culture was also rather based on underestimating the varied cultures of the country and was composed within a brief, limited period of time. It basically advanced an idealistic thesis drawn from several hypotheses. Politicians and bureaucrats in the 40

Abdurrachman Surjomihardjo, Ki Hadjar Dewantara dan Taman Siswa dalam Sejarah Indonesia Modern, pp. 120-124. Author’s translation.

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process of the development of the nation and in the context of cultural affairs often quoted the concept of national culture, but it was not really understood by the people concerned. The ineluctable outcome was that it became a laughing stock among opponents brave enough to challenge it, in particular during the New Order, in discussion groups among the artists.41 The cultural discourse of the 1930s, long before the drafting of the constitution, showed that it was an irresolvable debate which continued on the same course during the early years of independence with only some minor changes.

6. The Cultural Discourse of the 1930s The nationalist movement was split on the values espoused by Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s Taman Siswa. For example, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana and his associates typified borrowers, to use the category suggested by Anthony Reid’s critique. Sutan T. Alisjahbana’s views were argued in a written discourse, which became known as the Polemik Kebudayaan (cultural debate). Articles on the subject were widely published in Indonesian newspapers and magazines, such as Pujangga Baru, Suara Umum, Pewarta Deli, and Wasita, from October 1935 to April 1936. Polemik Kebudayaan actually began as a literary debate about the formation of Indonesian culture, prompted by questions about writers’ orientations to Eastern and Western cultures. It began when Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana wrote Menuju Masyarakat dan Kebudayaan Baru, (Towards a New Society and Culture), Indonesia –Prae-Indonesia, which was then disputed by another Pujangga Baru, Sanusi Pane, supported by Dr. Purbatjaraka. Another poet of the next generation, Achdiat Karta Mihardja, explained that the debate was important to Indonesian cultural history 41

This observation is based on personal experience in various discussion groups, seminars and symposiums from the 1970s to the 1990s at Cultural Centres.

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because, for the first time, fundamental ideas and values were being measured, investigated and questioned thoroughly in a nation engaged in building a new culture to suit the demands of a modern independent society. This debate between Sutan Takdir and his supporters was countered by Sanusi Pane and his supporters, which Miharja summarised as follows: Polemik antara Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana dengan lawannya itu adalah salah satu pernyataan tentang adanya unsur reaksi didalam kebudayaan feodal yang sudah beku itu, sebab sekalipun para polemis itu berhadapan sebagai pihak pihak yang berselisih, namun dalam satu hal mereka itu adalah sependapat, ialah bahwa kebudayaan kita yang telah beku itu harus dibikin cair supaya mungkin bergerak lagi untuk mengalir terus ke arah muara kesempatan. Tiap kebudayaan yang hendak diwariskan kepada sesuatu angkatan tidak bisa diterima dengan secara pasif, apabila kebudayaan itu mau segar bertunas serta hidup terus dengan subur. 42 The polemic between Sutan T. Alisjahbana and his opponents was an elucidation of the reactionary principles in stagnant feudal culture. While the polemicists confronted each other as antagonists, nevertheless in one respect they were in agreement, that our stagnant culture had to be melted so that it could once again flow in the direction of the opportunities downstream. Any culture which is worthy of being passed down to a new generation cannot be accepted passively, if that culture is to take root and flourish.

The debate on the subject of national education was based on Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana’s ideas expressed in his Semboyan Yang Tegas (Firm Signals), written as a critique of Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s Prae-advies at the Congress of Indonesian Educational Institutions in Solo 1935. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana was the chief editor of the Balai Pustaka (Publishing Office), in charge of the Pujangga Baru (New Poets) magazine and a law graduate, famous for his novel Layar Terkembang. The “Praeadvies” (position paper) of Ki Hadjar Dewantara stated: Marilah saudara kita menyusun perguruan nasional, yang lebih sempurna sifatnya daripada perguruan dibenua Barat, daripada yang berlaku di negeri kita ini, yang oleh ahli-ahli pendidik bangsa Eropa 42

Achdiat K. Mihardja, ed., “Sekapur Sirih dari Pengumpul”, Polemik Kebudayaan, (Jakarta, Balai Pustaka, 1950, reprinted 1998) pp. ix, x. Author’s translation.

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pun sudah diakui kekurangan dan kesalahannya. Guna memenuhi “kekurangan” ini Taman Siswa diantara lain menunjukkan salah satu sifatnya perguruan itu, yang berarti penambahan perguruan, yaitu kecakapan muridnya menunjukkan perasaan elok yang berwujud, berupa menari atau menyanyi yang mendekatkan perasaan kita kepada bangsa, sehingga timbullah dengan sendirinya kecintaan kepada tanah air dan bangsa itu.43 Let’s establish a national education, which has better characteristics than education in the west, than that which is in effect in our country, which European educators themselves admit contains inadequacies and errors. In order to fill in these “gaps” the Taman Siswa system would serve as an example of one of these attributes of education, which is to expand education, the ability of students to display a concrete sense of perception of beauty in the media of dance or song which would bring our perceptions closer to those of the nation, so that love for the homeland and nation would automatically ensue.

Commenting on Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s Prae-advies Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana said: Kita mesti selekas-lekasnya memperoleh sifat dinamis Barat yang melahirkan kebudayaan barat yang dinamis. Bangsa kita hanya mungkin mempunyai harapan untuk masa yang akan datang apabila segala yang dicapai oleh Barat itu dalam berabad-abad dapat kita jadikan kepunyaan kita dalam waktu yang sependek-pendeknya. Sesudah itu pastilah kita akan mencari jalan sendiri, bersama atau tidak bersama-sama dengan bangsa lain dimuka bumi.44 As quickly as possible, we must avail ourselves of Western dynamism, which gave rise to dynamic Western culture. Our nation can only foster hope for the future if we can quickly obtain everything which it took the West centuries to achieve. Then we will certainly find our own path, together with or separate from other nations on the face of the earth.

In support of Sutan T. Alisjahbana, the journalist and former STOVIA student Tjindarbumi indicated that national education had reached a stage where it must firmly answer to history and progress. Another journalist, Adinegoro, and Cipto Mangoenkoesoemo, Ki Hadjar’s colleague in the banned ‘Indische Partij’, thoroughly endorsed Sutan Takdir Alisjabana’s ideas. Others, like Dr. Sutomo, nationalist leader 43

R. Sutomo, “National-Onderwijs-Congress”, in Achdiat K. Mihardja, ed., Polemik Kebudayaan, p.42. Author’s translation. 44 Sutan T. Alisjahbana,”Sambungan Zaman”, in Achdiat K. Mihardja, ed., Polemik Kebudayaan, p. 28. Author’s translation.

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of the STOVIA, and Dr. M Amir, also a STOVIA graduate, and Dr. Purbatjaraka, an expert in philology like Ki Hadjar Dewantara, were not in agreement with Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana. Dr. M. Amir, who favoured Ki Hadjar Dewantara, said that those who consider the West in the guise of an evil spirit will probably destroy the formation of a nationality. The civilisations in many countries of the world at that moment were following two paths: the national path and the international path. As long as national aspirations were alive and well in the East, then the way to the West should not be too perilous.45 Remarking on this debate Keith Foulcher commented that: Sutan T. Alisjahbana embarked on a passionate and life long campaign to awaken Indonesia from its feudal past … Ki Hadjar Dewantara embodied a more syncretic approach to the definition of modernity, and to the conception of a modern Indonesian culture. He sought a modern Indonesian identity, which equalled the West, founded on the belief that the integrated personality of individuals and the nation, a part of which was indigenous cultural heritage, was a pre-requisite for human and social progress.46

This debate remained a delicate issue on the road to independence until the end of the century and remains relevant today. Junus Melalatoa, an anthropologist from the University of Indonesia who also teaches at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, argues that Indonesia’s problems of the late twentieth century stemmed from the unresolved nature of cultural issues in national development. He characterized the status of the traditional cultural system as distorted and marginalised, resulting in cultural disintegration. 47

45

Excerpts from the ideas of the concerned from Achdiat K. Mihardja, ed., Polemik Kebudayaan, pp. 153-158. 46 Keith Foulcher, Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts, (Melbourne, Monash Centre of S.E.A.Studies 1986) pp. 14-15. 47 Junus M. Melalatoa, “Krisis Kebudayaan”, academic speech for I.K.J. Lustrum on 7 December 1998 (published in the newspaper Suara Pembaharuan the following week).

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The feeling of losing one’s individual, group, or national cultural identity is terrifying. It posed a dilemma. It was realised that local identity inherited from the past could not be preserved unaltered, but unfortunately a new nationalist identity has never developed. The nationalist identity has always been considered by regional champions as a ‘foreign’ disguise, offered by what has been considered a ‘foreign’ remote government, the so-called central government. The essential function of national culture is to support cooperative behaviour in providing services such as education, health and the enhancement of the arts to people in every region of Indonesia. This challenge has never seriously been taken up. The argument regarding the nature of two polar opposites devoted by the Polemik Kebudayaan has come to a dead end. Koentjaraningrat believed that this deadlock might be the result of misconceptions about one’s own culture. Identification with familiar old traditional surroundings would be felt absurd, as one would find oneself attached to a “foreign” and unfamiliar ethnic culture. None of these social units can provide the modern Indonesian with a much-needed point of reference on which the feelings of socio-cultural identity, and therefore dignity and selfesteem can be founded.48

This basic argument continued into the early years of Independence, in particular during the time known as the ‘war of ideologies’ up to the reformation clashes after 1997, which led to the end of Suharto, when various economic and emotional upheavals led to massacres among people all of whom belonged to the Indonesian nation.

7. The Japanese Occupation and the Transition to Independence

48

Koentjaraningrat, Anthropology of Indonesia: A Bibliographic Review, p. 173.

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The nationalist movement had already fanned enmity toward the Dutch for several decades before the Japanese invasion of 1941. Most Indonesians were proud of the Japanese victory, as they had been imbued with heavy Japanese propaganda launched prior to the occupation. Few realised that the onset of the Japanese occupation would create a heavier burden than they had endured under Dutch rule.49 During the Japanese occupation, there was no further development in education worth mentioning. However, in the realm of Indonesian culture a certain embryonic development occurred, which would give rise to a new infrastructure in the arts. The Japanese occupation led to various feelings and attitudes towards the army of occupation that could be divided according to degree of intensity ranging through the anti-Japanese propagandists, the nationalists, the collaborators, the underground fighters, and others.50 In accordance with the Japanese promise to support the nationalist movement in Indonesia under the banner of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”, a special body was established in 1945, less than six months before the Japanese surrender to the Allied forces. The Dokuritsu Zyunbi Tyoosakai or the Badan Penyelidik Usaha-Usaha Kemerdekaan (Committee to Investigate Independence measures) was the name of this body, formed with the objective of planning for independence. Some fruitful results emerged from this body which contributed towards eventual independence. Under Sukarno and Hatta (who were the leaders of the collaborators yet worked secretly with the revolutionary underground), a draft of a constitution was prepared. The task of drafting the section dealing with the aspirations for national education and culture was delegated to Ki Hadjar Dewantara, Hussein 49

H.B.Jassin, Kesusastraan Indonesia dimasa Jepang, (Jakarta, Balai Pustaka, 1985) p.11. Hi Hadjar Dewantara, “Pendahuluan”, Dari Kebangunan Nasional sampai Proklamasi Kemerdekaan, p. 120.

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Djajadiningrat, Asikin, Rooseno, Ki Bagus Hadji Hadikusumo, and Kjai Haji Masjkur. This draft underwent little correction at the central drafting and was finished on the eve of the Japanese withdrawal from Indonesia. Some important ideas about a national culture were expatiated in this draft.51 Governments were expected to take the greatest possible care to provide popular universal education deemed to be sufficiently in line with civilised humanity. Education was to be based on religion and culture, with the objective of ensuring the safety and happiness of society in order that the culture of the nation would arise from the endeavours of all Indonesian people, including the ancient, indigenous cultures, which were to be identified as cultural “highpoints” in all regions of Indonesia, forming the mosaic of national culture. The document stressed that cultural efforts should lead towards advances in civilisation, culture and unity, without rejecting ideas from foreign cultures and from new materials which would serve to enrich the nation’s culture, as well as to raise the humanity of the Indonesian nation to new heights. The Indonesian language was to be taught in all the schools and used as the main medium of instruction. In those regions which had their own language it was compulsory for the national language to be taught from the third grade of the primary schools in order to guarantee that the pupils could speak the national language adequately after finishing school. The way in which the preparation for the drafting of the constitution was conducted by the body established in agreement with Japanese authorities, may explain why the matter of culture was not considered to be of central significance at the time. The definition of culture was changed a bit by adding the matter of foreigninfluenced culture at a later date. While the task of the body was changed from the

51

Ibid. pp. 131-134.

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“preparation of,” to the “investigation of” by the Committee for the Investigation of Indonesian Independence Badan Penyelidik Kemerdekaan Indonesia-BPKI) on 1 March 1945, the attitude to culture had not been changed. The Indonesian nationalist movement encouraged by the Japanese authorities, in particular through the founding of the BPKI, was primarily strategic, and did not focus on substance. In contrast to what had happened under the Dutch, the Japanese occupation did not bring about the development of education. Many schools were closed and the number of pupils in school dropped. Tertiary colleges were closed, although in 1943 the school of medicine in Jakarta and the technical colleges in Bandung were reopened. 52 Nevertheless some achievements in schools were important in nationbuilding during that occupation. First and foremost the Indonesian language was officially taught and used as the medium of instruction, and the beginning of the nationalisation of teaching staff began, helping to prepare the younger generation to assume the task of independence. The Indonesian language replaced Dutch in general, and was also promoted through radio and newspapers. Although these media aimed mainly to disseminate Japanese propaganda, the Indonesians could make use of them for other purposes which proved highly advantageous in the preparation for independence. For instance, it was possible to obtain international news and to propagate nationalist ideas. Literary works by Indonesians in the national language were also published in these media. On 1 April 1943, the Japanese Cultural Centre (Keimin Bunka Shidosho) was opened to promote literary works, songs, theatre and films produced by indigenous Indonesian artists, although their output was under strict control. It was the policy of the Japanese Government of occupation to ban all Western entertainment, 52

Marwati D. Pusponegoro et al., ed., Sejarah Nasional Indonesia, Vol. IV, (Jakarta, Departemen Pendidikan &Kebudayaan/Balai Pustaka, 1984) pp. 51 – 54.

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and to replace these with Indonesian theatre. In October 1942, the Djawa Eiga Kosya was founded to foster the arts. One of its activities was a theatre school in Jakarta to put on propagandistic plays like Putera Asia / (Son of Asia), Ratu Asia (Queen of Asia), and Pendekar Asia (Champion of Asia) all designed to promote Asia Timur Raya (Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere). Later, the group moved to the Miss Tjitjih building in the centre of Jakarta around the Kramat area and became part of the Tjahaja Timur (Light of Asia) propaganda program. Its activities survived up to Independence when it was transformed into a Sundanese folk theatre, which deteriorated as other up-to-date groups appeared. So the theatre and the cinema played an important role in spreading propaganda. Some of the artists active in the ex-Dardanella group (see Chapter 3) like Fifi Young and Tan Tjeng Bok were invited by Fred Young (theatre and film director) into the Bintang Surabaya group, an entertainment group that originated in Malang and travelled throughout Java, and eventually made Jakarta its home, where it ‘gave birth’ to Indonesian cinema. This gave an enormous boost to these two performing arts fields, developing far more swiftly than before the Japanese occupation, when theatre and cinema using the Indonesian language had been unheard of. This was also the time when Indonesian intellectuals espoused the theatrical arts to initiate a modern Indonesian theatre. Most prominent in this was the Maya Group founded in Jakarta on 24th May 1944 with members consisting of doctors, pharmacists, nationalists, and artists. Their aim was to foster an Indonesian nationalist theatre. It was formed as a reaction to the Japanese Keimin Bunka Shidosho.53 A new movement in Indonesian painting also began during this time. After the middle of 1944, many anti-Japanese youth movements appeared. During the meetings of these 53

Jakob Sumadjo, Perkembangan Teater Modern dan Sastra Drama Indonesia, (Bandung, Citra Aditya Bakti, 1992) pp. 128 - 129, 133 - 135.

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movements, Indonesia Raya, composed by Wage Rudolf Supratman, which had been launched as the Indonesian national anthem on the occasion of the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Oath) in 1928 was always sung, while the Kimigayo, the Japanese anthem was not. The Red-and-White flag and not the Japanese flag was hoisted.54 In the mind of Indonesians, according to H.B.Jassin55, although enduring with much suffering, the Japanese Occupation of three and half years was fruitful as Indonesia ripened for revolution, a development that would probably not have been possible in three and a half centuries of Dutch occupation. The severe burdens that were endured during Japanese occupation after the much longer period of Dutch colonialism strengthened the conviction of the people that independence in the political sense was needed, and moreover that there was a need for a new culture, a national culture. From the perspective of the underground leadership national culture seemed to be a handy tool to consolidate the people in the face of the common enemy. There was an understanding that ethnic cultures would not be abandoned when a need for a national culture was being fulfilled. Instead it was considered a much needed spiritual and historical inheritance providing the basis on which to build the new nation.

54

Marwati D. Pusponegoro, Sejarah Nasional Indonesia, p. 75. H.B. Jassin, “Pendahuluan”, Kesusastraan Indonesian dimasa Jepang, p.13 (author’s translation), cf Leo Suryadinata, Interpreting Indonesian Politics, (Singapore: Times Academic, 1998) p. 77.

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Chapter 3 OFFICIAL CULTURAL POLICY: ACTION AND REACTION THROUGH THE ARTS

This chapter discusses how the formation of a national culture was constructed in the constitution, and the cultural policies implementation which resulted in various activities. Development can be divided into three periods: the liberal system of the early independence period, the Sukarno ‘Guided Democracy’ period, and the Suharto New Order. Significant for the arts were the establishment of art schools, art centres, and festivals, and the institutionalization of national culture policies, as well as the expression of discontent.

1. Independence and Constitutional Provisions for Culture The desire to be free from colonial masters prompted the drafting of a constitution including provisions for education and culture. The constitution was discussed, drafted, evaluated and edited while the Japanese regime was still in place. The Badan Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (BPKI), Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence was founded on 1 March, 1945 and officially announced its final version on 29 April, 1945. The committee consisted of sixty members, majority of whom were Javanese. Representatives from Sumatra, Sulawesi, Maluku, and from the Chinese community and Arab communities made up the minority. Among the committee’s members were radicals like Sukarno, Yamin, Hatta, Susanto Tirtiprojo, Sartono, Samsi and Ki Hadjar Dewantara. The chairman, KRT Radjiman Wediodiningrat, had been the Budi Utomo chairman in

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1914-1915. The first sessions between 29 May and 1 June, 1945 consisted of discussions about the way to create unity, and were pregnant with the conviction of the duty to look for means relating to the putative brotherhood between all the groups that would become the Indonesian nation. The second round of sessions began on the 10 July and lasted until 17 July, 1945, with a discussion of proposals for independence, the basic constitution, the nature of federation, citizenship, regions, religion, defence, and finance. Culture was not on the agenda, and Djajadiningrat, Haji Agus Salim, and Supomo only paraphrased the concept of national culture promulgated by Ki Hadjar Dewantara. On August 18th, 1945, the day after independence was proclaimed, the BPKI held a historic meeting to decide on the constitution and to select the president and vicepresident of the State. The document contained the following articles pertaining to culture.1 -Article 32 Pemerintah memajukan kebudayaan nasional Indonesia The government promotes Indonesian national culture. -In the Elucidation to Article 32, Kebudayaan bangsa ialah kebudayaan yang timbul sebagai buah usaha budinya rakyat Indonesia seluruhnya. Kebudayaan lama dan asli terdapat sebagai puncak-puncak kebudayaan di daerah-daerah di seluruh Indonesia, terhitung sebagai kebudayaan bangsa. Usaha kebudayaan harus menuju kearah kemajuan adab, budaya dan persatuan, dengan tidak menolak bahan-bahan baru dari kebudayaan asing yang dapat memperkembangkan atau memperkaya kebudayaan bangsa sendiri, serta mempertinggi derajat kemanusiaan bangsa Indonesia.

1

Sejarah Lahirnya Undang Undang Dasar 1945 dan Pancasila, disusun oleh Lembaga Soekasrno-Hatta, (Jakarta, Inti Idayu Press, 1986) pp.22, 38, 41.

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National culture is the culture which arose through the joint contributions of the entire population of Indonesia. The ancient, indigenous cultures found to be cultural peaks (apexes), in all regions throughout Indonesia, are considered national culture. Cultural efforts should be aimed towards achieving advances in civilization, culture and unity, without rejecting new materials from foreign cultures which can encourage the development of or enrich the culture of the nation itself, and should elevate the level of humanism of the Indonesian nation.

Article 36 stipulates that the official language shall be the Indonesian language. The Elucidation to Article 36 goes on to explain that in areas possessing languages of their own which are actively used by the people concerned (for instance, Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese and so forth), those languages will be respected and preserved by the State. These languages are part of the living culture of Indonesia.2 The idea of puncak puncak kebudayaan was based in particular on the ideas of Ki Hadjar Dewantara, his supporters from the Taman Siswa and the nationalists of his generation, and became significant in the formation of a concept that was adopted in the constitution and had its effects on the national culture policy. The goal was … untuk mewujudkan persatuan untuk seluruh tanah air, akibat politik ‘divide et impera’ dari si-penjajah, namun ‘understanding’ atau hubungan batin sebetulnya sudah ada dan dirasai benar. Tidak saja karena seluruh rakyat dikuasai oleh satu kekuasaan kolonial dan karena memikul penderitaan sama, namun sudah pernah bangsa yang merdeka dan berdaulat penuh. Kebesaran Sriwidjaja dan Majapahit belum lenyap dari peringatan rakyat.3 …to achieve unity for the whole country, [rectifying disunity] caused by the politics of ‘divide et impera’ from the colonisers, although ‘understanding’ or spiritual relations in fact already exist and are genuinely felt. [This is] not only because the whole people were ruled by a single colonial power and have endured the same sufferings, although they once formed a nation which was independent and fully sovereign. The 2

Constitution 1945, Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, Department of Information, Jakarta (an official English publication by the Department of Information R.I.). 3 Ki Hadjar Dewanatara, Dari Kebangunan Nasional sampai Proklamasi Kemerdekann, p. 11. Author’s translation.

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greatness of Sriwijaya and Majapahit has not yet vanished from the memory of the people.

The stress on puncak puncak kebudayaan was based on eagerness to unify the country, as stipulated by the constitution, with an ‘understanding’ that a spiritual relationship had already existed and been perceived because the greatness of ancient supra-regional kingdoms had never been forgotten by the Indonesian people. The need to identify cultural apexes might also have been a psychological response to an inferiority complex vis-à-vis the Dutch, which can also be detected in Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s famous essay “Als ik eens Nederlander was” 4 in De Express newspaper of Bandung, of which he was co-editor with Douwes Dekker / Setiabudhi, before the founding of the Indische Partij in 1912. Despite being a protagonist of nationalism, as the son of the Yogyakarta Paku Alam court, Ki Hadjar Dewantara could never fully divorce himself from his Javanese perspective. He naturally won supporters from the ranks of Javanese feudal society, but not from the nationalists outside the Javanese court regions. As far as he was concerned the ‘apexes’ were always connected to the great heritage of Javanese culture, nurtured by the feudal rulers of Java. In 1946, the second Minister of Education, Soewandi, appointed the Committee of Investigation into Education, which consisted of fifty members from various groups and some educational experts. Ki Hadjar Dewantara chaired the committee, and it evaluated the whole educational system of Indonesia. The next two ministers of education, Ali

4

The article was a satire about the centenary celebration liberation of the Netherlands that criticised the Netherlands in unliberating Indonesia, while celebrating their own liberation.

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Sastroamidjojo and Ki Mangunsarkoro, oversaw the drafting of the Law of Basic Education, which was intended to serve the need of developing the country.5 Other nationalists of Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s generation also contributed to the formation of the notion of national culture. For instance, Dr.Wahidin, one of the initiators of Budi Utomo, was an expert exponent of Javanese culture, played gamelan and was also a competent dalang / wayang-puppet player. He remained culturally Javanese, although he was well versed in Western sciences and was admired by Western cultural experts. His son, Abdullah, and his grandchildren, Sudjono Abdullah, Basuki Abdullah and Trijata Abdullah, became important Indonesian painters. H. O. S. Tjokroaminoto, a Javanese aristocrat, who graduated from OSVIA (school for local administrators), transformed the SDI (Sarekat Dagang Islam / Islam Trade Association) into the SI (Sarekat Islam / Islam Association). Like Ki Hadjar Dewantara, he became active in the education field through the educational body of the SI. KRT Radjiman Wedyoningrat, a STOVIA man, and one of the Budi Utomo leaders, became chairman of the BPKI around the time of Independence. He was related to Dr. Wahidin, also a Budi Utomo dignitary. His mother was from Gorontalo (Sulawesi) and his father was a native of Yogyakarta. He came from a Javanese family, which was very much involved in language, wayang theatre and gamelan music. He was a medical doctor deeply interested in Javanese spiritual life. His background and interests reveal that he was a combination of a Javanese and a non-Javanese, a traditionalist and a westernist, belonging to the family of nationalist reformers, a common kind of

5

Ki Hadjar Dewantara, Dari Kebangunan Nasional sampai Proklamasi Kemerdekann, p. 136.

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background for Indonesian leaders up to the present, a characteristic that would endure almost one century. Another Taman Siswa advocate, known as Pak Said, explained his view of teaching at the Taman Siswa as told by Asrul Sani when they met in 1950:

Orang yang mengajar diri sendiri, kemudian mengajar anak-anaknya supaya belajar mengajar diri sendiri. Orang ini ialah Pak Said dari Taman Siswa. Pak Said ialah manusia Indonesia yang membentuk manusia Indonesia supaya menjadi manusia Indonesia. Dibawah pimpinannya, dididik lebih dari 2.000 anak-anak Indonesia, ya manusia Indonesia, bukan pegawai Indonesia.6 A person who taught himself, then taught his children to learn how to teach themselves. That person is Pak Said from the Taman Siswa. Pak Said is an Indonesian who formed Indonesians to become Indonesians. Under his guidance, he has taught more than 2,000 Indonesian children, yes Indonesian people, and not Indonesian bureaucrats.

Referring to the situation of teachers at that time Pak Said further told Asrul Sani: Guru gurunya terlampau banyak bersifat pegawai. Sehingga guru yang sebenarnya kurang. Perhubungan guru dengan murid kurang bebas. Jarak antara murid dan guru masih terlalu jauh. Biarpun dalam saat saat terakhir ini banyak terdapat perubahan, tetapi perubahan ini belum cukup ... Hububngan antara murid dan guru di sekolah pemerintah masih kurang … Kami dapat mengatakan ‘Taman Siswa, ialah kepunyaan rakyat Indonesia.’ Dan kepada anak anak kami, kami katakan ‘Sekolah ini kepunyaanmu.’ Perkataan ini menimbulkan tanggung jawab murid-murid terhadap perguruannya. Lagipula bagaimana pun perguruan swasta harus ada. Karena dengan perguruan swasta orang dapat lakukan eksperiman.7 Teachers are acting too much like bureaucrats. So much so, that the real teachers were lacking. The relationship between a teacher and a pupil has too little freedom. The distance between teacher and pupil is too great. Although there have been many changes lately, these changes are still insufficient ... The relationship between teacher and pupil in children in public schools is not close enough … We can say ‘Taman Siswa belongs 6

Asrul Sani, “Pak Said dan Taman Siswa- dan Pak Said”, in Surat Surat Kepercayaan, (Jakarta, Pustaka Jaya, 1997) p. 591. Author’s translation. 7 Ibid, pp. 595,596. Author’s translation.

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to the Indonesian people’. And to our children we say ‘this is your school’. These words make the pupils feel responsible for their own education. In any case, there must always be private schools. Because in private education people can experiment.

Last but not least is Ir. Sukarno, also called the Great Leader of the Revolution and many other honourable epithets, the first president of Indonesia. At the commemoration of the National Awakening Day on 20 May, 1952, he made a speech called “Setialah Kepada Sumbermu!” (Be loyal to your source) to give support to a collective statement made by parties and organisations on that same commemoration day four years earlier, on 20 May, 1948, in Yogyakarta. Sukarno said that he was very pleased and grateful that, in the collective statement, the organisation had decided to agree to undertake national development in the fields of social development, the economy and culture for the whole population.8 On that occasion Sukarno went on to advise that the ideas of the nationalist founding fathers formulated since the national awakening should become the source of inspiration for national development, and could be brought to the “greater ocean” of the great nation, and contribute to the formation of a peaceful country, to the social welfare of the nation, and to human happiness. It was as the flowing of the river to the ocean and in this way, loyal to its source. One of Sukarno’s many inspiring sayings was: Being a teacher in an epoch of awakening I daresay that all our educational institutions, be they Taman Siswa, or Muhammadiyah,or Nahdatul Ulama, or the Perguruan Rakyat / People’s Education here and there, or any other institution whatsoever, are actually nothing less than reflections of our own society. All the fundamental traits of our society are reflected in these institutions. You cannot teach what you want, what you know; you can only teach what you are-thus: the nation teaches itself. A nation teaches in itself, only what is contained in its own soul! In reality, the teacher is more important than the political leader, the journalist than 8

Ki Hadjar Dewantara, Dari Kebangunan Nasional sampai Proklamasi Kemerdekaan, pp. 176, 191, 196.

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the social welfare officer, the irrigation engineer, the chairman of the trade union and the co-operative, or indeed the professor-even though he be a professor lecturing on the ‘awakening’ or the ‘renaissance’ of the East. He is more important, because as an Apostle of Awakening, he moulds the Man of Awakening.9 While culture failed to be included as a significant issue in the constitution, it did surface in the views of the cabinet ministers. Education was perceived to be one of the means of the development of the people, and the ministers concerned paid great attention to the issue. With the debate of the Polemik Kebudayaan and the cultural congresses of the early Independence period (see further below “The Continuing Cultural Debate”), the Indonesian cultural elite gave credence to the government’s involvement in culture since the beginning of the 20th century and indirectly helped culture to become one of the offices under the Ministry of Education after independence. It can be said that during the Sukarno period there was clearly a deep intervention in regional culture, such as in the ‘packaging’ of a regional dance to became national dance, (see further in the next part of this chapter and chapter 4 on the Serampang Duabelas) and sending performing arts to international fairs such as the New York World’s Fair of 1964. Compared to the Sukarno era, cultural policy during the Suharto period was more systematically implemented in the national development plan of the REPELITAs (Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun / Five Years Development Plan- see further in this chapter under “Cultural Strategies”). The New Order government under Suharto implemented programmes that focused on strengthening national pride and preventing the development of divisive attitudes inherent in the legacies of the past such as feudalistic values, foreign influence, excessive

9

Sukarno. Under The Banner of the Revolution, Vol. 1, of the translated version of Dibawah Bendera Revolusi, pp. 581-589.

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attachment to regionality, and exclusive attitudes. 10 The office of Director General of Culture fell under the Minister of Education and Culture, and was to become significant in the policies for culture. From independence and through the revolutionary years, the government struggled from 1945 to 1949 to establish a republic formed under a unitary system. Ki Hadjar Dewantara was Minister of Education from August 1945 to November 1945. From November 1945 to August 1949 the post of Minister of Education was held by four ministers from various parties. In a short period of six months, the structure of the Indonesian government changed to a federal system, only to return again to the unitary system, which later developed into a Guided Democracy system that continued up to the development of the New Order and the New Indonesia government of the new millennium. Under the rule of President Sukarno, Prof. Dr. Prijono became Indonesia’s longest serving Minister for Education, from March 1957 to March 1966. During this period many cultural missions were sent abroad, particularly to socialist countries. Thereafter under the Kabinet Dwikora (1966 – 1967) the Ministry became part of the Coordinating Ministers of Social Welfare, and the Minister of Education and Culture was subsumed in this body.11 In the revolutionary years immediately after the proclamation of independence, culture came under education in a unit called the Jawatan Kebudayaan (the Office of Culture). Later, culture was raised to the same level as education in the Ministry of Education and Culture. From 1962 to 1966, culture was combined with Basic Education. 10

Translated abstract from Kebijakan Kebudayaan di Masa Orde Baru, Kerjasama LIPI dengan Ford Foundation, Jakarta 2001. “Pendahuluan” pp. 4, 5. 11 Informasi Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1986.

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In 1967, there were further changes, and culture became the responsibility of the Directorate General of Education and Culture. When Mashuri was Minister of Education and Culture from June 1968 to March 1973, he established a Directorate General of Culture. The first Director General was a person with a solid perception of culture, Ida Bagus Mantra. One of Mantra’s priorities was to promote Balinese culture in the national perspective. One of his many merits in cultural development was the establishment of cultural centres (Taman Budaya) in every province, including the founding the first one in Denpasar. He was followed as Director General by Haryati Soebadio, who used the authority of the office to restore cultural monuments and promote national performing arts in the PELITA (Five Year National Development Planning). A later Director General of Culture, Edi Sedyawati, implemented other significant policies to promote culture and the arts beyond the confines of national aspirations to a level of multicultural international interaction. Thus for many years the position of Director General of Culture was one of the most significant administrators involved in culture. Admittedly there were also a few low profilers who occupied the position of Director General of Culture, such as Pangeran Puger, who left the cultural functions up to various subordinates. On the meaning of culture in general and national culture in the context of national development in Indonesia, Koentjaraningrat12 was of the opinion that in the case of national culture, developments are more focused on culture in its limited meaning, resulting in repercussions in the development of arts. However on the other hand, scientists in social studies give culture a wider meaning, including all the ideas, activities and products of people which are acquired through the process of education. 12

Koentjaraningrat, Kebudayaan Mentalitas dan Pembangunan, (Jakarta, Gramedia, 1981) p. 108.

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Between these two meanings which are so different, the notion of national culture as a government activity can easily become confused. In various micro-studies on the cultural policy during the New Order period 13 Secara umum studi-studi mikro tersebut menunjukkan betapa kebijakan digulirkan secara kaku dan keras di level paling bawah yang langsung berhadapan dengan komunitas pendukung kebudayaan daerah. Ketegangan budaya maupun social selalu mewarnai dan menjadi corak paling menonjol perjumpaan kebijakan itu oleh kelompok-kelompok masyarakat diberbagai daerah. In general these micro studies show the extent to which policies have been crudely and harshly implemented at the lowest levels which directly interface with the communities which maintain their local cultures. When societies in various regions confront these policies, cultural as well as social tensions always emerge and appear as a most prominent characteristic.

As can be expected with any endeavour as complex and politically sensitive as national culture, future Indonesian governments will continue to re-structure the administrative apparatus concerned with culture to meet the demands for decentralisation and reformation. It is also anticipated that such a transition will give the regional artistic cultures better opportunities for development. In 2001 the function of culture was merged with tourism and is now led by a Minister of State / Menteri Negara, who has a coordinating function in the policies of the regions.

2. The Continuing Cultural Debate The cultural debate of the pre-Independence period, the Polemik Kebudayaan of the 1930s, was part of a broader question about the future direction of Indonesian culture.

13

Kebijakan Kebudayaan di masa Orde Baru. Research report (Jakarta, LIPI & Ford Foundation, 2001) p. 7. Author’s translation.

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After the achievement of independence, the old debate continued, developed with a new formulation. Claire Holt wrote: After the attainment of Independence, the extreme nationalists clung for guidance to the philosophy of the state. For them it was no longer a matter of “East “and “West”. Instead of discussing the culture of the East they now focused narrowly on “Indonesianism”. They used ‘Sukarno’s Five Principles’ of the state, the Pancasila and later his other formulations, as the guidelines for cultural discourse … All criticism, subjective as it may be, must be based nevertheless on nationalism and Indonesianism … to promote nationalism in the arts.14

A “National Culture” conference was held even amid the revolutionary and diplomatic struggle against the Dutch. It took place in Malang (East Java) in 1948. Little documentation on this conference has survived. Later references to it do not regard its achievements as especially significant, but Keith Foulcher considered that its resolution on independence was a pre-condition for a healthy Indonesian culture.15 The debate of the 1930s continued, and under continuous bombardment by fresh questions and problems, it took on new impetus after independence. For instance, Soedjatmoko wrote an unpublished article in answer to a series of articles by Prof. Soepomo in the magazine Mimbar Indonesia, Pada pintu gerbang zaman baru (At the front gate of modern times, 10 January, 1948) and Pertemuan antara Barat dan Timur (Meeting between West and East, 13 March, 1948). Soedjatmoko was a recognised expert in various fields, and a Ramon Magsaysay award winner in 1978. During the revolutionary years, he became chief editor of the magazine Siasat (1947-1950) and a member of the Indonesian delegation to the UNO (1947-1951). In 1948, he wrote Over Ware en Onware Culturele Probleemstellingen (“Real and Unreal Cultural Problems”), 14

Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuity and Change, p. 214. Dokumen(1)KongresNasional Pertama Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat, in Foulcher Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts,.footnote 32, p. 15.

15

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in which he expressed the thought that besides being a political liberation in a wider sense, revolution becomes a cultural self-affirmation of a nation. He wrote: Thus we see that nationalism, far from being only a negative beginning, provided new points of view on life and the world, and therefore it created the basis for a new perspective on life and the world. In short we are confronted at this moment with a completely new cultural situation … The lack of authenticity among the Indonesian youth during the last decades of the Dutch occupation, and thus their cultural weakness, plus the cultural falsification into which we were more or less forced during the Japanese occupation, brought a new realisation of the unbreakable relation between culture and freedom … The revolution, however, has greater significance. It also signified a discontinuity caused by the a-historical view of life, the mystical way of life, in various stages and forms controlled us again, the bearer of which accepted the world and the dealings with world with limited plus but firm reservation … The cultural solution might be founded in a convergence between traditional Eastern thinking and the contemporary trends of West Europe, as was expressed by Prof. Soepomo.16

Soedjatmoko did not try to adduce a solution for this issue, and instead stated the problem openly in order to pave the way for a solution to be found. Soedjatmoko’s statement can be interpreted to mean that he did not agree with a West and East synthesis in national culture. Rather, he suggested that national culture must emerge as a mature aspiration from the experiences of the Indonesian people themselves. The difference between the extremists and the moderates strengthened when a second “Indonesian culture” conference took place in Jakarta between 5 and 7 August 1950. It was held shortly before the Independence Day anniversary and less than one year after the transfer of sovereignty from the Dutch. The theme of the conference was “National Culture and Foreign Influence” and it was intended to provide a forum for the Indonesian reaction to the “Cultural Accord” between Indonesia and the Netherlands.

16

“Over Ware en Onware Culturele Probleemstellingen”, Algemeen Secretarie, agenda 17905, AOKW, Arsip Nasional RI. Author’s translation from Dutch. See original text in Appendix 3 p.448 – 458.

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Part of the Round Table Agreement in The Hague, which founded the Institution of Cultural Co-operation (STICUSA / Stichting Culturele Samenwerking) states: The terms of the agreement between Indonesia and the Dutch, were that both countries would undertake specific measures for the promotion of each other’s culture in their own territory. They agreed to the free circulation of people and materials related to cultural affairs and the provision of educational facilities and personnel for this purpose. The agreement also guaranteed the continued existence of institutions promoting each country’s culture within the territory of the other. It appears that the prime function of the agreement was to safeguard a continuing Dutch cultural presence in independent Indonesia.17

It was this awareness that prompted the specific issue at stake in the second conference at Jakarta, under the designation “foreign influence”. As Foulcher points out: reports suggested that the conference failed to attract either widespread interest or a lively debate, but it functioned as a forum for the pursuance of the issues of the 1930’s Polemik Kebudayaan in the changed political circumstances of independence.18

In the second cultural conference held 5-7 August 1950, three position papers (praeadvies) were put to the participants. Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana and Ki Hadjar Dewantara each presented a paper in favour of the Polemik Kebudayaan. The younger generation writer and painter, Trisno Sumadjo, produced the third one. In his position paper, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana argued that since the transfer of sovereignty from the Dutch, Indonesia should now rid itself of an inferiority complex towards its former coloniser and take an objective attitude to the cultural needs of Indonesia, free from resentment and recrimination. He suggested that:

17

The STICUSA (Stichting Culturele Samenwerking / Institution for Cultural Co-operation), founded in 1949 at the round table conference between the Netherlands and Indonesian and ended with West Irian dispute, because of the degeneration in the relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia in 1956, as cited in Keith Foulcher, Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts, p.15. 18 Keith Foulcher, Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts, pp. 15-16.

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The inherited link with the Netherlands meant both a channel to the international world and access to the main body of knowledge about their own culture. He called for the recognition of the practical benefits to be obtained through cultural agreement with Holland and expressed his conviction that “in culture, there can be no enmity, only the further development of humankind”.19 Ki Hadjar Dewantara, on the other hand, questioned whether the links with the Netherlands were actually the best channel available to Indonesia in its search for cultural exchange. As Foulcher explains: Rejecting Takdir’s view that the Netherlands embodied a channel for international cultural influence, he urged a more independent attitude towards cultural exchange. For example, he suggested that it was time for Indonesia to begin expanding its cultural links with other Asian nations, such as India. Like other colonized peoples, Indonesians had been isolated under the Dutch from their own Asian neighbours, looking directly to Europe, rather than to Asia, in their search for modern culture. Furthermore … Ki Hadjar suggested that by adopting the accord as it stood, Indonesia would be submitting itself to a form of national censorship, which would be to the detriment of the Indonesian people itself, not only in terms of cultural affairs, but also in the area of politics and economics … He unambiguously declared the cultural agreement to be a diplomatic failure of the Indonesian delegation at The Hague, and urged the adoption of moves to encourage the Indonesian government to review its ratification of the accord.20 Trisno Sumardjo, for his part, clearly supported Ki Hadjar Dewantara. Trisno Sumardjo’s radical stance against the incursion of American cultural influence can also be seen in his article Dari Dekadensi ke Daya Kreatif “(From Decadence to Creative Power)”, in which he said that the American film arts were shallow and brimming with decadent immorality; so insidious was this cultural interloper that many were unaware how this decadence could slowly penetrate into a society that for centuries had been dominated by animism, feudalism and colonialism. Trisno Sumardjo wrote

19

From Pujangga Baru, no.1 vol.XII July 1950 p. 7-20, cited in Keith Foulcher,Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts, pp. 16-17. 20 Ibid.

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Mematahkan dekadensi inipun salah satu kewajiban primer bagi seniman … Pesona Revolusi membawa kita suatu psychology-massa dimana orang-orang yang hanya berbakat sedikit, bahkan tak berbakat sekalipun, dianjung-anjung serta beroleh penghargaan yang jauh melebihi kecakapannya … Pada ketika itu habislah cita-citanya yang lebih luhur … Marilah kita akui bahwa menteri-menteri kita kurang cakap, pegawai-pegawai kita steril dan seniman-seniman banyak gelandangan … Pada pokoknya setiap manusia adalah gurunya sendiri, sedangkan pendidikan yang paling luas ialah keadaan sekitarnya … Sebuah kemerdekaan sejati tidak bersemayam didalam undang-undang tapi dalam hati dan jiwa kita … Marilah kita berjejak saja ditanah padat: manusia kreatif tidak sedikit macamnya. Pemuda-pemuda proklamasi adalah kreatif. Tentara kita sedari 1945 sampai akhir agresi asing adalah kreatif, Petani dan rakyat umumnya dengan sumbangan pada perjuangan adalah kreatif … Dokter yang hanya mau mengobati orang kaya tidak kreatif, pemimpin yang tidak bercita-cita kerakyatan tidak kreatif … Kita harapkan dari setiap warga Negara, terutama kaum pemimpin (termasuk pemerintah), ahli pikir serta seniman menjalan sesuai pasal pasal yang berlaku … Kita harapkan dari pemerintah yang mengaku dirinya pemerintah kerakyatan, bahwa dia mesti bercita-cita mengembangkan tenaga-tenaga kreatif itu seluas-luasnya. One of the primary duties of artists is to smash this decadence … The spell of the revolution brings us a mass psychology in which people with little talent or no talent at all are honoured far above their ability … At that moment our nobler ideals are gone … Let’s admit that our ministers are not yet that skilful, our officials are sterile and many of our artists are aimless. Fundamentally each person is his/her own teacher, whereas the broadest education is their surroundings … True independence is not in the laws, but in our heart and mind … Let us set foot on solid ground: creative people are not limited to a few types. The revolutionary youth are creative. Our troops from 1945 until the end of the Aggression were creative, the farmers and the general populace with their contributions to the struggle are creative … Doctors who only want to treat the rich are not creative; leaders who do not share the people’s aspirations are not creative … We expect from every citizen, in particular the leadership (including the government) the thinkers and the artists to act in conformity with applicable regulations … We expect of a government which claims to be the people’s government that it will aspire to develop these creative energies as widely as possible.21

21

Trisno Sumardjo, “Dari Dekadensi Kedaya Kreatif”, Mimbar Indonesia, No.32, (1950), pp. 19-22. Author’s excerpted translation.

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A cynical view of the Congress came from Asrul Sani, an essayist and poet of the Angkatan ’45 (New Poets of ’45), who wrote in the magazine Siasat on 29 October 1950: Terlampau banyak pseudo dalam mempersoalkan kebudayaan di Indonesia. Kadang kadang orang mencoba menjadi sarjana dengan jalan meninggalkan segala unsur unsur militant dalam menghadapi pembangunan kebudayaan. Orang membikin konperensi kebudayaan tiga hari untuk dapat memutuskan apakah kita akan menolak kebudayaan asing ataukah menerimanya dengan dada terbuka. Mengapa orang tidak bikin konperensi untuk memutuskan apakah kita hari Senin akan bernapas dengan satu sebelah kiri atau dengan keduanya … Akhirnya kita menjadi yakin bahwa perkataan kebudayaan dijadikan orang alasan untuk menimbulkan kantor baru, karena adanya pegawai yang belum dapat kedudukan. Apakah ini ada hubungannya dengan sifat jujur yang harus ada pada bangsa yang revolusioner.22 There is too much “pseudo” in the cultural debate in Indonesia. Sometimes people try to become graduates by discarding all militant elements in confronting cultural development. People hold a three-day conference to decide whether reject foreign culture or accept it with an ‘open heart’. Why not hold a conference to decide whether we can still breathe on Monday with the left nostril or with both … Finally we are sure that the word ‘culture’ is used as a rationalization for building a new office as there are still many officials who have no positions. Has this any connection with honesty, which a revolutionary nation must have?

Asrul Sani was the literary man, who with other poets, Chairil Anwar and Rivai Apin, published in 1950 a collective article, Tiga Menguak Takdir (The Three who Broach Fate), against Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana and the Pujangga Baru (New Poets) of the 1930s. In addition to being one of the founders of the ATNI / Theatre school in the 1950s and later, one of the initiators of the 1967 Jakarta Arts Council, Sani was an acknowledged film-maker and cultural expert. Asrul Sani’s position became, in fact, more radical than Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana in the Polemik Kebudayaan, as Sani became more cosmopolitan, and paradoxically more nationalistic. In constructing a new basis for the notion of culture, he ignored the line used to separate West, and warned that such 22

Asrul Sani, Surat Surat Kepercayaan, pp. 603, 604. Author’s translation.

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arguments become ‘artificial’ and stereotyped in their determination to justify ideological positions. His arguments can be said to be more intellectually focused, free of political structural ties or obligations to reify primordial societies. In his article Surat Surat Kepercayaan Gelanggang (Gelanggang letters of Credence) on 18 February 1950, Sani provides the original source of the concept of the Angkatan 45 world view in which Abdullah 23 states that: Asrul pun menjadikan dirinya sebagai ahli waris dari kebudayaan dunia … Ke-Indonesia-an kita adalah ke-Indonesia-an yang belum pernah ditemui dalam sejarah kita sendiri. Kita adalah tragedi dan kemenangan. Asrul also turns himself into the heir of world culture … Our Indonesianness is an Indonesianness that has never been found in our own history. We are the tragedy and the victory.

Extreme nationalists, on the other hand, argued for strong state guidance and pointed to the Preamble to the Constitution of 1945. This is the Pancasila, the Five Principles of the State, together with other guidelines for cultural discourse expounded in presidential speeches. Claire Holt24 recollected that President Sukarno probably diagnosed and voiced the greatest need of young Indonesia in an acute stage of cultural transition, when in 1959 he launched the concept of kepribadian nasional (national personality or identity) as the central principle for state policies. The assertion of the Indonesian state identity was the mainspring of the President’s international policies. Internally, the whole cultural debate, including the problems besetting the field of national culture and the products through the arts in particular, revolved around this point. Thus, national identity became a necessity not only for the ‘young’ people, but also for the centre that saw the unity of the Republic 23 24

Taufik Abdullah “Kata Pengantar”, in Asrul Sani, Surat Surat Kepercayaan, p. xxiii. Author’s translation. Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuity and Change, p. 214.

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threatened by resentment about the ethnic composition of Sukarno’s regime in the heyday of his Guided Democracy. The effort to create a sense of national identity was related to the programmes of the government for promoting Indonesian nationalism. The Indonesian nationalist movement had created the Indonesian nation. However, according to Leo Suryadinata25: The sense of an Indonesian national identity is by no means clear, although the blue-print is there. The national language, the national institutions, the national boundaries, the national symbols and even the name of the nation-state emerged during the course of the movement.

Even the ‘national dance’ was born as a consequence of the president’s national identity campaign in 1959, which itself emerged, in part, to counter American cultural influence, particularly the popularity of ‘rock and roll‘ in the 1950s. The Serampang Duabelas national dance spread throughout Indonesia like wildfire, but slowly faded from sight during a healthier period for cultural development (see further in Chapter 3). National songs also contributed to the campaign. Some were already being sung, for instance the national anthem Indonesia Raya, and the Tanah Tumpah Darahku by Cornel Simanjuntak. 26 Other songs were composed following the Sumpah Pemuda launching of Indonesia Raya by Wage Rudolf Supratman, and were popularised among schoolchildren during the Japanese occupation. Theatrical contributions to national identity flowed from many sources; the Maya Group of Usmar Ismail and his friends promoted the National Theatre’s use of the technique of Western theatre to facilitate the performance of new Indonesian plays. It can be said that an artistic culture inspired by nationalist ambience came into being in the pre-

25 26

Leo Suryadinata, Interpreting Indonesian Politics, pp. 86-87. Marwati D. Pusponegoro et al., ed., Sejarah Nasional Indonesia, p. 65.

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Independence period as a natural consequence of the nationalistic mood, which desired to give voice to the new aspirations for political independence. However artificial the works were in the beginning, this failing can be considered a normal concomitant of maturation. It took several decades before artists were free to create art not for the sake of politically influenced aspirations, but to satisfy their artistic aspirations as artists, moulding nationalistic ideas into creative works in various artistic media.

3. War of Ideologies during the 1950s and the 1960s While the debate on Indonesian cultural trends in the new nation was still lively, the temperature of the political situation had risen even higher. The revolutionary turbulence gradually subsided after 1950, although there were secessionist attempts in several regions of the country including Sumatra, and Sulawesi. The already simmering ideological differences between the various political parties now came into the open. Countless new organisations were created. Urban centres, and especially Jakarta, were filled with those seeking new opportunities just as millions of children now attended primary and secondary schools. They, the masses, represented not only a vastly expanded literate population, but also a layer of self-confident alert young people with a common language. Indonesia was now exposed to influences from all parts of the world. The young nation was open to such a variety of influences and pressures that the country could not work out its own destiny in peace and a period of social change at its own pace. The differences of opinion between various different parties created a battleground of ideologies which surfaced again in August 1950 in a “National Culture”

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conference in independent Indonesia. The number of cultural organisations swelled in the 1950s, primarily due to the subsidy offered to cultural agencies, such as the BMKN (Badan Musyawarah Kebudayaan Nasional / Council on National Culture) in 1952. The Council consisted of both representations of organisations and of individuals. At its inception, it consisted of around 120 associations in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, including cultural and educational organisations like the Taman Siswa, and the colleges for the arts. LEKRA (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat / People’s Culture Organization) was more tightly organised than the BMKN, with a very concrete albeit distinctly Communist-oriented action programme. Although the goals and programmes of the BMKN were all geared to the development of culture of the nation, with a few exceptions (for example, the literary field), its aims rarely resulted in a concrete, detailed and systematic programme of action. Nevertheless, the biennial cultural congresses organized by the BMKN provided the principal forums for the continuing debate on the prevailing condition and future of Indonesian culture. Ultimately, each organisation established a reputation for its own effectiveness: LEKRA was able to maintain art centres and art studios in all the provinces, whereas BMKN could only directly sponsor the art classes which were conducted in 1957 at the Balai Budaya (Cultural Hall) in Jakarta. So the BMKN lingered on, but its activities were virtually paralysed. Financial and organisational problems contributed to its decline. While LEKRA was initially a member association of BMKN, it soon became its worst enemy.27 On the threshold of the 1960s certain drastic political changes occurred. In mid1959 the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) formed the LKN (Lembaga Kebudayaan 27

Claire Holt, Art in Indonesia: Continuity and Change, p. 246

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Nasional / Institute for National Culture) in a bid to seize cultural leadership. The guidelines for the development of the arts came from President Sukarno’s speech delivered on Independence Day, 17 August 1959. The political manifesto MANIPOLUSDEK, as it was known, contained the general outline of state policy. The USDEK, as it later became known, was a shortened form of MANIPOL-USDEK and contained within the five letters of its name, the graphic representation of the five basic doctrines of the newly recast state policy: ‘U’ for UUD ’45 / the 1945 Constitution; ‘S’ for Sosialism Indonesia (Indonesian Socialism); ‘D’ for Demokrasi Terpimpin (Guided Democracy); ‘E’ Economi Pancasila, and ‘K’ for Kepribadian Nasional (National Identity). This last one, Kepribadian Nasional (National Identity) became important for the future development of the arts. Other political parties recognised the need to found cultural organisations as the call to develop a national identity began to spread. The left-wing socialist party (MURBA), as well as the conservative Islamic party NU (Nahdatul Ulama) formed cultural arms of the political organisation.28 Quite apart from the rise of various cultural organisations, art colleges were established in several strategic centres: for instance the School of Fine Arts at the Bandung Technological Institute in 1947, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta in 1950. These were followed by performing arts academies in 1963 the Dance Academy / Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia (ASTI) of Yogyakarta and the Academy of Karawitan / Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia (ASKI) in Solo (1961), followed in 1967 the Dance Academy in Denpasar. The government promotion of the arts was channelled through the cultural office / Jawatan Kebudayaan of the Ministry of Education. The cultural office had branches in 28

Ibid., p. 248.

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all the provincial capitals. Some provinces and municipalities had their own cultural offices, including Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Government subsidies to art associations funded through the cultural office contributed to the proliferation of associations in every field - not least in painting and dance. In fact, Government financial support sometimes prompted existing associations to split up into separate organisations, each of them claiming its own subsidy. However important, economic considerations were not the only cause of the multiplication of associations; factionalism based on political and ideological grounds, the clustering of ethnic groups, professional interests, the personal rivalries or ambitions of potential leaders, all played a role too. The Indonesian government offered some fellowships for international cultural exchange, and also approved fellowships granted to Indonesian artists by foreign governments or private institutions. Finally, the State, in the person of President Sukarno, provided a powerful stimulus to artists. In the absence of a national gallery at that period, the presidential palaces functioned as substitutes, although the collections were not accessible to the public at large. The performing arts also enjoyed the patronage of the presidential palace. A great display of regional dances was held there annually to celebrate Independence Day on 17 August. From time to time, these dances were performed at the palace for guests. This provides ample evidence of direct and indirect financial support given by the Indonesian Government for the study and practice of the arts in the 1950s.29 Just as the pre-Independence debate of the Polemik Kebudayaan in the 1930s informed the later cultural discussions, the increasingly turbulent political debates of the 1950s brought new ideas to the cultural sphere. It was especially after the MANIPOL29

Ibid. pp. 208 – 209.

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USDEK presidential speech in 1959, that a war of ideologies broke out between cultural experts, intellectuals, artists and journalists. It was the time when “politics as commander” (politik menjadi panglima) reigned during the Old Order period. Culture was also swayed by politics and became the means to accomplish political objectives. Taufik Ismail and D.S. Moeljanto noted that under Sukarno the arts and culture became symbols to influence masses. Every major political party including the PNI (Indonesian Nationalist Party), the PKI (Indonesia Communist Party), the NU, and the PARTINDO (Indonesian Party) had their own cultural organization, a war of ideology between the communists and their opponents ensued. Sukarno favoured the leftist group through his ideology of NASAKOM (Nationalism, Communism, and Religion). In response to the Communists support for MANIPOL-USDEK, the opponents launched the Manifes Kebudayaan (Cultural Manifesto) on 17 August 1963. Sukarno soon expelled the Cultural Manifesto supporters. 30 The war came to a climax in the October Revolution of 1965, and a reverse process continued until the end of the twentieth century. The cultural debate matured as organizations and individuals moved to formalise their positions through their own publications. One such opposing organization began in 19 November 1946 as an organization called Gelanggang Seniman Merdeka, was founded by Chairil Anwar, Asrul Sani, Rivai Apin, Mochtar Apin, M. Balfas, Baharudin, and Henk Ngantung, who all believed that the struggle for Indonesia should be fought on cultural as well as political terms. These ideas were published through the Gelanggang cultural edition in the weekly magazine Siasat since March 1948. By 1950, LEKRA had also begun to publish its

30

Parni Hadi, “Pengantar Penerbit”, in D.S.Moeljanto & Taufik Ismail, Prahara Budaya, (Jakarta, Mizan & Republika, 1995) pp. 9-12. Author’s translation.

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position in the magazine Zaman Baru and continued to do so until Lentera, became the LEKRA newsletter. One highly charged situation in the ‘war of ideologies’ erupted between the left oriented groups such as the LEKRA with their Lentera and the non-leftist oriented Gelanggang Seniman Merdeka. The Gelanggang Seniman Merdeka became critical after Lentera reported how, on 4 March, 1963, a meeting had taken place in support of Bung Karno’s idea that the lives of Indonesians must change if National Revolution was to be properly completed. The non-leftist group also reacted strongly against a group of artists who had held a formal forum for the arts in support of Bung Karno’s position. A furious debate ensued that ended in violence. Needless to say, this incident demonstrates how strongly a political background coloured activities in the arts.31 Elements of cultural debates of increasingly political nature can be traced back to the BMKN cultural congress held in Bandung in July 1960. During the congress, LEKRA urged BMKN to formally accept the MANIPOL-USDEK doctrine, as it had never heard the BMKN endorse this doctrine previously in public. The request was interpreted as a political move to influence the course of the BMKN congress and was rebuffed. In another incident during this congress, BMKN’s attempt to award annual literary prizes to three LEKRA members was thwarted when the recipients could not be found. Incidents of this type continued in 1962. In an edition of Lentera, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and S. Roekiah accused the novelist Hamka of plagiarism in his book Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijk. His friends H.B.Jassin, Anas Makruf, Ali Audah, Asrul Sani, and Usmar Ismail debated this matter, while Hamka himself remained silent. On 2 November of the same year, MANIPOL-USDEK became a hot topic for 31

Ibid. pp. 31 – 32.

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discussion during a meeting of the Indonesian National Theatre Consultative Body in Yogyakarta, and in a move much regretted by the organisers, four theatre organisations abruptly left the meeting in protest. In another incident, Sastra, the non-leftist journal run by H.B.Jassin, wanted to give an award, but this was challenged by Motinggo Boesje, a leftist, in the Sunday edition of ‘Bintang Timur”, a leftist newspaper, who appointed other candidates instead. Many interpreted the ban imposed on American films in 1964 from the “Boycott Action Committee on Imperialistic Films of the USA”, as a clear show of supported for LEKRA.32 The war of ideologies disseminated in 1964-65 when many anti-communists or “Manikebuis” were arrested and jailed. The slogan which expressed the sentiment of the times was “the culture of the time is always the culture of the dominant class” (Kebudayaan daripada zaman adalah selalu kebudayaan kelas yang berkuasa).33 The cultural turbulence in the years just before (and probably just after) 1965 was stirred up by the struggle to define national identity, and consequently politics played a dominant role in art development; the close relationship has persisted in Indonesia even after several changes of political regimes. The abortive coup of 1965 marks a watershed in Indonesian political history. In its aftermath came the liquidation of the PKI, the fall of Sukarno and the rise of Suharto. This was the beginning of the era of the “New Order”, characterised by the predominance of the military. Suharto’s New Order brought a certain degree of stability to the country, but the process through which this was achieved was often questionable in the extreme. Its most important achievement was that it was able to produce and execute a long-range national

32 33

Ibid. p. 53; Keith Foulcher, Social Commitment in Literature and the Arts, p. 126. D.S.Moeljanto and Taufik Ismail, Prahara Budaya, p.58.

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development plan which lasted for more than twenty-five years. Moreover, it indisputably breathed life into the growth of culture and the arts. However, it ultimately failed to provide the spiritual strength that was needed to survive when a national economic crisis arose in 1997.

4. Cultural Strategies of the New Order The New Order government formally laid down the national development plan after 1966, even though attempts in this direction had already been made before that. It seemed a well-thought-out plan and was widely proclaimed in all the media. Ali Moertopo, a former minister of information explained that the REPELITA (Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun – Five-Year Development Plan) had taken into consideration certain basic socio-political basic factors. He emphasized the role of education in building cultural continuity which would form the core of national integration.34

The objective of the Indonesian National Development Plan was the achievement of a just and prosperous society based on Pancasila and imbued with material and spiritual equity as the sole ideology, strengthened on 22 March 1978 through the MPR (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat/People’s Consultative Assembly) resolution on the “Guide regarding Appreciation and Application of Pancasila” (Pedoman Penghayatan dan Pengamalan Pancasila-P4) as the compass for Indonesian people. The implementation of the plan would be supported by the notion of the Trilogi Pembangunan (trilogy of development), which consisted of an even distribution of the fruits of development in order to achieve social justice, a moderate degree of economic development and a national stability that was healthy and dynamic.35

34 35

Ali Moertopo, Strategi Pembangunan Nasional (Jakartak, CSIS, 1981), pp. 33-44, 65-67. Marwati D. Pusponegoro et.al. Sejarah Nasional Indonesia, p. 440.

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Confronted by an overall view of the stagnation of nation-building efforts in the past, the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) resolved to make economic development the priority over all other development efforts. However, economic development alone does not automatically ensure improvement in the standard of living or provide a more equitable distribution of social justice. Development in all fields must be coordinated, and must be effective enough to give direction and support to economic development. In line with the principle of a balanced lifestyle, the government decreed that there should also be a balance between economic development, and socio-cultural development as they are integrated into the overall national development.36 The first Repelita (Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun / Five-Year Plan) was introduced in 1968, and included a long-term plan of five successive Repelita with economic growth and development as their major goals. Long-term development was to be carried out in stages according to specific priorities, its principal goal being ever increasing improvement in living conditions for the majority of the society. The purpose of development included the task of making Indonesians aware of the necessity of building a better world through making people self-reliant and self-assertive in order that they might be able to improve their way of life and attain the strength of character needed to take their destiny into their own hands. The implementation of Repelita I was considered to be a success and the budget was increased more than four and a half-fold in Repelita II. The budget for education, national culture and youth guidance took approximately 10 percent of the Repelita budget and was divided between the 17 sectors of the Plan. The sectors were; agriculture and irrigation, regional and rural development, and finally communications and tourism. Up 36

The Five Year Development Plan, (Republic of Indonesia, Department of Information, 1974) pp. 22-23.

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to Repelita III, education was perceived to be one crucial means of achieving economic development and the nation experienced an increasing demand for education, especially among the urban population. Consequently the government invested a significant amount of money in infra-structure; new schools were built for rapidly growing student enrolments, textbooks were rewritten, and a great number of new teachers were employed. Despite rapid growth, the standard of education remained a problem. Looming particularly large was the problem of equal opportunity. These issues were the main problems facing education during the first fifteen years and arguably also plagued the final ten years of the twenty-five year long-term planning of national development implementation. 37 During Repelita IV the government set to work to implement programmes on the national culture as stipulated in the constitution. This policy was further upgraded in 1984 and 1989 to support the following: local languages in the traditional and contemporary arts such as literature, theatre, dance, music, fine arts, crafts; traditional and national social organisations, including ethnic, national, and any new cultures that contributed to creative expression to reinforce communities and support national solidarity; and the spiritual realm of traditional medicine, cognitive ethnic education and religions.38 Considering the broad sweep of its aim, Repelita IV marked a significant accomplishment of the cultural sub-sector of the national development plan. The cultural sub-sector was the sector covering education, the younger generation and belief in the One Supreme God, with national culture and it was allocated a budget amounting to 14 percent of the Repelita IV budget. (The cultural sub-sector was the second largest after

37 38

Ibid. pp. 170-171; Leo Suryadinata, Interpreting Indonesian Politics, p. 119. Koentjaraningrat, Masalah Kesukubangsaan dan Integrasi Nasional, pp.29-30.

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mining and energy, which was allocated 15 percent of the total budget for the eighteen sectors). The financial prediction of Repelita IV was rather optimistic since the new profit-sharing agreement with foreign oil companies had cut government revenue derived from oil in 1979 to 61.5 percent. Nevertheless, Pertamina (the National Oil Company) which had suffered a crisis during the previous Repelita, but had gradually clawed its way back.39 The preamble to the Repelita IV sub-sector describes a vision of national culture and belief in One Almighty God. It focused on efforts to devise supportive cultural and social conditions based on Pancasila, the five principles of the national philosophy, part of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution consisting of Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (belief in an all-embracing God), Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab (Righteous and Moral Humanity), Persatuan Indonesia (the Unity of Indonesia), Kerakyatan yang dipimpin oleh Hikmah Kebijaksanaan dalam Permusyawaratan/Perwakilan (democracy wisely guided and led by close contact with the people through consultation), Keadilan Sosial bagi Seluruh Rakyat Indonesia (social justice for the whole Indonesian people). 40 Inspired by national development principles, the implementation of the national cultural development plan was based on the principle of cultural survival as a means to achieve technological progress. Second in order of precedence was the principle that the national culture should be equitably enjoyed by every member of the community. This was followed by the principle of the advancement of civilisation, culture and unity for the enrichment of the national culture as a vehicle to encourage human integrity.

39

Indonesia Develops: Repelita IV, (Republic of Indonesia, Department of Information, 1984) p. 22 – 23 and Leo Suryadinata, Interpreting Indonesian Politics, p.123. 40 Taken from the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, by Ministry of Information RI. Garda, Jakarta.

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Some activities undertaken as a consequence of Repelita III had included efforts to preserve and utilise archaeological and historical sites as well as artefacts in museums. Repelita IV added new efforts for the protection and running of archaeological sites in order to arouse national pride and to give the national culture character. In Repelita III, efforts to develop art and culture had been promoted by the foundation of regional cultural centres. Guidelines for the improvement of the quality of art were promulgated and various traditional and non-traditional arts were disseminated more widely. During Repelita IV, the arts were evenly developed, a move which was directed towards supporting the growth of artistic creativity to the highest level. Efforts to promote language, literature and libraries had been realised most concretely during the standardisation of the Indonesian language under Repelita III. By the implementation of Repelita IV, additional attention was paid to molding the Indonesian language to function as a dynamic element of culture and a supporting factor in the effort to develop science and technology. A cultural inventory was carried out during the Repelita II by means of recording the expressions and forms of regional cultures as part of the national culture. In Repelita IV, Indonesian cultural values reflecting the noblest national characteristics were continuously fostered, developed and applied so as to promote a fuller understanding and a conscious putting into practice of Pancasila.41 The concept of a national culture, as constituted in 1945 and implemented in modern Indonesian life in 1979, is still relatively young. According to Hooker and Dick: it requires time for such a blend to be formed and then to gain acceptance as the ‘official’ form of Indonesian culture. Even when the concept of an 41

Repelita IV, pp. 116- 119

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overarching national culture is accepted, it may be felt to lack the depth of tradition that nourishes many of the regional cultures.42

The principle of equality in implementation was hard to follow as there were obstructions at every turn. The unhappy truth was that most of the human and material resources necessary for their removal were not yet available.

5. New Provision for the Arts Since the beginning of national development, and indeed even before independence, a close relationship existed between educational development and cultural development in the arts. At a parliamentary hearing in 1975, the government explained that: “The national culture has been developed to strengthen the national identity, national pride and national unity.”43 The institutionalisation of national culture in the arts was put into practice in the implementation of the National Development Plan through a steady stream of activities in the arts. By far the most important element of the plan was the institutions offering training in the arts. Some such arts schools had already been established before the plan was officially promulgated. These included the School of Fine Arts at the Technological Institute (ITB) in Bandung (1947), Academy of Fine Arts (ASTI) in Yogyakarta (1950), the Music Conservatorium (KOKAR) in Bali (1960) and the Dance Conservatorium in Yogyakarta (1961). The establishment of arts centres in strategic places throughout the country was another significant aspect of the process of institutionalisation that had been

42

Virginia M.Hooker and Howard Dick “Introduction”, in Virginia Matheson Hooker, ed. Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia, (Singapore, Oxford University Press., 1995), p. 4. 43 “Masalah pendidikan/kebudayaan dan agama” Jawaban/penjelasan Pemerintah didepan Komisi DPR-RI, 1975”, in Pusponegoro, Sejarah Nasional Indonesia, p. 503.

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initiated earlier in the general design of the policy on arts in Repelita I. The first were the Taman Ismail Marzuki / TIM- Pusat Kesenian Jakarta (1968) and the Taman Budaya Denpasar-Bali (1969). Linking educational development to cultural development in the National Development Plan, Dody Tisna Amidjaja, former Director General for Higher Education explained the implementation of the policy of Indonesian education in the arts, which was divided into two sections: formal and non-formal education. Formal education was divided into vocational secondary level schools and higher education at tertiary level. The non-formal education in the arts (provided by the arts centres and arts organisations) assumes many forms prompted by the relevant intensity of interest in the regions, which are home to the traditional arts concerned. It was hoped that this strategy will give the ethnic groups in the regions the opportunity to revitalise their own traditional art forms.44 The Directorate General of Higher Education issued general guidelines on the higher education in the arts in 1977 in which it established two tracks of study: academic study and vocational study. This was followed by the founding of the consortium of the arts as one of the consortia to oversee the different levels and genres of arts education.45 When they were first established, the curriculum of the arts schools was based on a simple course structure that was categorised into a progression from courses on basic general knowledge, through knowledge and theories of the arts, and finally major courses on specific art fields with a small portion on elective courses which were up to the student to choose. The major courses on specific art forms covered around 50 percent to 70 percent of all credits, and mainly focused on practical courses, while the remainder of 44

D.A.Tisna Amidjaja., “Pendidikan Kesenian di Alam Indonesia yang sedang membangun”, Buku Lustrum IV, (IKJ-LPKJ, Jakarta, 1990). 45 Edi Sedyawati, in a personal interview on 9 August 2000 in Jakarta.

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the course was spread across the spectrum from basic general knowledge, such as national language, religion and state moral edification to theories on arts such as the philosophy of art, art history, and so forth. The Programme Studies for artists following vocational courses as their major study would be practical courses providing 70 percent of the credits. In academic studies related to the arts, practical courses might cover just a little more than 50 percent. The government supplied guidance on basic general knowledge to the school in drawing up its support courses and it also had a say in what was taught by a particular department or study programme in the particular field of art. In the development of studies, the government played an even more significant role in curriculum development, paying special attention to the credit requirements in the regulation of the courses. The management of art education, in particular for the higher level, was covered under the following laws and regulations: -

-

-

Undang Undang R.I. No. 2, 1989, 27 Maret 1989, tentang Sistem Pendidikan Nasional / the Law on National Education. Peraturan Pemerintah R.I. No. 30, 1990, 10 Juli 1990 tentang Pendidikan Tinggi/ Government Regulation on Higher Education Keputusan Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan R.I. no. 056/U/1994, 19 Maret 1994, tentang Pedoman Penyusunan Kurikulum Pendidikan Tinggi dan Penilaian Hasil Belajar Mahasiswa / Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture on the Guidance of Curriculum Development and the Assessment of Students Keputusan Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan no. 0312/P1994, 30 November 1994, tentang Kurikulum yang Berlaku Secara Nasional Program Sarjana Ilmu Seni / Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture Decision on the National Curriculum of the Degree Programme in the Art. Keputusan Direktur Jenderal Pendidikan Tinggi no. 124/DIKTI/Kep/1984, 9 Oktober 1984 tentang Program Studi pada Pendidikan Tinggi / Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture decision on the study programme for Higher Education.

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In short, the government kept a very tight rein on the colleges that operated under its authority. The same can be said about the government’s involvement with various other arts organisations, institutions and centres in society, but it has to be said that these had a chance to be more liberal in their approach. When the national development plan of the Repelita was launched in 1969, the establishment of arts centres lent support to the already existing art schools. The latest upgraded regulation on education was issued during the most recent Pelita as Government Regulation No. 60 of 1999 on higher / tertiary education in the national education system, consisting of education at academies, professional/vocational higher education, polytechnics, colleges (sekolah tinggi), institutes and universities. These regulations provided a main point of reference for private universities coordinated by the KOPERTIS (Koordinator Perguruan Tinggi Swasta), an organisational unit of the department of education and culture. They set out the national curriculum for each study programme, backed up by the operational curriculum of the particular study programme of the school. The new regulation established a series of fusion institutions; the merger of the conservatorium of music and dance became the Sekolah Menengah Kesenian Indonesian-SMKI (Secondary School for the Arts) in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Padang, Aceh, Medan, Bandung, Ceribon, Surabaya, Goa- South Sulawesi, and Tenggarong- East Kalimantan; the merger of academies of arts became Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia-STSI (College of the Arts) in Solo, Denpasar, Bandung, and Padang Panjang; the merger of the academies of dance, music and fine arts into Institut Seni Indonesia- ISI (Indonesian Institute for the Arts) in Yogyakarta functions as a government body, the only nongovernment body being the Institut Kesenian Jakarta – IKJ (Jakarta Institute of the Arts).

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The formulation of the names for the new institutes warrants a little scrutiny. The Jakarta Institute of the Arts, in bearing the label of ‘Jakarta’ and not ‘Indonesia’, follows a trend in the performing arts that does not focus on a particular ethnic art of the region. By doing so the school has tried to fill the demands for an Indonesian artistic expression. Its objective is to be able to distribute its graduates all over Indonesia in various fields of the arts: the performing arts, the visual arts and design, cinematography, and the art of multi-media recording. The use of Jakarta in the name indicates only that the subsidy comes from the government of Jakarta, and not the central government. Conversely, the content of the curricula for the arts school in Yogyakarta, Solo, Denpasar, Bandung, and Padang Panjang, reflects in particular the traditional arts of the region. As government schools the predicate ‘Indonesia’ is in contrast to the school in Jakarta which was very much ‘Indonesian’ by nature, but does not bear the name ‘Indonesia’. This sends the unequivocal message that the name ‘Indonesia’ is only for an institution sponsored by the government, while the non-government schools, although subsidised by the government, bear the name of the region only. Covertly it might be understood that culturally speaking, Jakarta is identical to Indonesia.

6. The Jakarta Art Council and the Art Centres The New Order introduced also a new framework for the artistic revitalisation of the life of the nation. Following the tragedy of 1965, a group of culturally prominent individuals, backed by the new ruling government, began work to encourage artistic development in the state capital of Jakarta. The expectation was that as the capital, as Jakarta became more urban and cosmopolitan, it would be able to support and nourish a

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healthier artistic life and diverse artistic community. The original consultants consisted of a number of artists and experts in the arts. Trisno Sumardjo, Asrul Sani, Gajus Siagian, Mochtar Lubis, Goenawan Mohamad, Arief Budiman, Usmar Ismail, Arifin C. Noer, and Rudy Pirngadie to name a few, laboured to establish a new fresh environment for the arts after the political catastrophe which ushered in the New Order period. This notion matched the goal of the then new Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin who promoted Jakarta’s need for an art centre to anchor the rehabilitation of the city and revitalisation of the nation since the beginning of his governorship in 1967.46 The Governor founded the Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta / DKJ) on 3rd July 1968 to help accomplish this goal. Chairman Trisno Sumadjo presided over the inaugural council consisting of Umar Kayam, Arief Budiman, Gajus Siagian, and D.Djajaskusuma. One of the Council’s main projects was the creation of the Jakarta Art Centre Taman Ismail Marzuki which was officially inaugurated on 10 November 1968. The Arts Council of Jakarta constituted the pinnacle of the arts administration for the region of Jakarta, and is charged with the management of the Taman Ismail Marzuki. 47 At the inauguration of Taman Ismail Marzuki Governor Ali Sadikin asserted that investment in the arts would yield works of value for cultural life, as compared with other forms of investment which yielded results in terms of money.48 On another occasion, the governor said that the aspiration behind the Jakarta Arts Centre was the desire to build the city of Jakarta into cultural centre of the nation, 46

Bisri Effendy, “Birokrasi Seni dan problem Ketergantungan” in Kebijakan Kebudayaan Di Masa Orde Baru, (Jakarta, Pusat Penelitian dan Pengembangan Kemayarakatan dan Kebudayaan-LIPI & the Ford Foundation. Jakarta, 2001) p.678. 47 Taman Ismail Marzuki. (Jakarta: DKJ / Cipta, 1974) pp. 63,64. 48 Ibid. p. 76. Translation by Ny. Sorjotjondro as printed in publication.

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mirroring Paris, Vienna, or Berlin in Europe. 49 Later, Ali Sadikin allayed fears of government interference by stating that the regional government was only providing facilities but would not intervene directly in artistic activities in the capital. He added a rider urging that the old ways when art was used for political interest should be discarded.50 Trisno Sumardjo as first Chairman of the Jakarta Art Council on its first inauguration said: The Jakarta Art Centre is a realisation of a great dream which was cherished for as long as 20 years, that became a reality which has gone beyond the dream itself. Now the utilisation of this infrastructure constitutes a challenge for creativity of our nation to build our culture embracing an attitude of individual self-denial to achieve greater national prestige. We hope that people will visit this place in the same way as they visit a good friend to exchange views.51 Originally, Council members served for a term of three years and were selected from various fields of the arts: cinematography, the visual arts, literature, dance, music, and theatre. Subsequently, the election of members of the Jakarta Art Council was conducted by the Akademi Jakarta. The Akademi Jakarta is an honorary arts organisation established in 1970. Its inaugural ten members were prominent elder Indonesians in the field of arts and culture such as Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (writer), Moh.Said (teacher), Popo Iskandar (painter), Mochtar Lubis (writer), Soedjatmoko (writer), H.B.Jasin (writer), Asrul Sani (theatre-film writer), D. Djajakusuma (theater-film), and Rusli (painter). Besides electing the Jakarta Art Council the Akademi Jakarta was responsible to provide advice to the Governor of Jakarta on the arts in a wider sense than the DKJ and provide art awards to Indonesian artists. The establishment of both Jakarta Art Centre and the the

49

Berita Yudha, 19 March 1977. Harian Kami May 1968 as quoted in Virgina M.Hooker, ed. Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia, p.246. 51 Taman Ismail Marzuki, pp. 77, 78. 50

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Jakarta Arts Council (Dewan Kesenian Jakarta-DKJ) and its components stands as testimony to the successful working relationship forged between artists as citizens and Ali Sadikin as the governor after the purge of the left-wing communists in 1965. The idea of a national cultural venue had been discussed prior to the political turmoil of 1965, but the concept was not implemented until after 1965. The existence of this centre was a sign of official government backing for the mainstream of Indonesian culture, which would dominate the artistic life of the nation.52 Another Project of DKJ, the Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian Jakarta- LPKJ (Jakarta Arts Education Body), was launched in 1970. In compliance with the requirements of the education regulation, it became the Institut Kesenian Jakarta- IKJ (Jakarta Intitute of the Arts in the 1980s). The Taman Ismail Marzuki, the Jakarta Arts Centre and its component the LPKJIKJ grew to become the barometer of the contemporary arts, not only in Jakarta itself but across Indonesia. Unlike the other arts centres the identity of TIM was caught up in a free-floating artistic community. New artistic expressions in the arts poured out in abundance at the flourishing new centre and its affiliated organization. The DKJ put on numerous activities at TIM including daily routine performances and special festivals. It was the first of its kind, and it also sparked interest in national culture. Its example was followed by other regions, which desired to build up the arts. In 1989, the Governor of Jakarta, Wijogo Atmodarminto, felt that another fundraising component was needed in the Jakarta Art Centre to assist the Governor in meeting the financial and administrative responsibilities for the development of the arts at the centre. However, the establishment of this new department created a problem among 52

Virginia M.Hooker, ed. Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia, pp.245, 246.

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the various artists, programmers, educators, managers, and fund-raisers. The duplication of work already being done within the existing components like the DKJ, LPKJ / IKJ, TIM, AJ was unavoidable. Competition between working units, which were loosely related caused disturbances that hampered developments. The Jakarta Art Centre – TIM, the DKJ and the IKJ were considered to constitute a great challenge to the artist’s potential and the achievement of Governor Ali Sadikin goes beyond the creation of the physical buildings. The achievement underscores the importance of culture in the progress of a city and in national development. Umar Kayam53argues that despite criticism from opponents, DKJ has become the bona fide mediator of cultural migrants and has matured in its role within the framework of the national developments in the arts. Its artistic success was provided by the artists themselves. The financial viability – at least for the first twenty–five years of national development – was maintained by the city government. In spite of the high priority given to the economy in the national development policies, the government of Jakarta invariably considered financing the art centre to be an important task. DKJ’s task of development of the arts as mentioned in the several decrees of the Governor of Jakarta in the inauguration and establishment of chosen members of DKJ initially in 1968, was in striking a balance in fostering the arts between the dichotomy of creative arts and entertaining arts. In 1973 it was balancing the dichotomy between the contemporary arts and traditional arts, and in 1991, without mentioning a dichotomy, the

53

Umar Kayam, Seni, Tradisi, Masyarakat, (Jakarta, Sinar Harapan, 1978) p. 80.

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DKJ was given the task to develop Indonesian arts incorporated into the culture of the nation.54 The first decade is remembered as a golden era because of the generous support of the government, then riding in a financially high position. However, this generous policy was forced to undergo changes, mainly because the financial burden became too heavy. The support from the city government was gradually reduced, but the efforts of the artists through the DKJ never faltered, despite the setbacks. With the status of the advisor for the arts programming to the Governor of Jakarta, the DKJ enjoys certain advantages and is not bound by bureaucratic tentacles. The management of the arts is characterised by a liberal decision-making process. However, the DKJ has been criticised as a big spender, notwithstanding the fact that the environment provided has been a fertile ground for artistic expression. Despite the criticism, it continues to inspire and advise local and central government. Work relations among artists at the DKJ have generally created a feeling of solidarity, although the managerial aspect has always been precarious. In the 1990s there was a shift in the attitude of arts management; development in the arts was viewed as an impossible task for a non-government organization to undertake. The working Art Centre was wellschooled in receiving money from the government, but did not have the initiative or the skills to raise it from other sources. So the Art Centre became host to bureaucrats from the local government who were initially sent to assist the artists in management, but later became agents of interference.

54

Mukadimah/Pendahuluan Surat Keputuisan Gubernur KDKI Jakarta tentang Pembentukan Dewan Kesenian Jakarta (Introduction to the Governor of Jakarta’s Decree on the establishment of the DKJ), 17 June 1968 No.Ib/3/2/19/1968, No.D-III-6.13/2/35/73, and No.148 th.1991 of 1 February 199. See original text of the Introduction in the Appendix 3 p. 459

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The arts infrastructure in a capital like Jakarta tends to grow faster than the resources available. In the beginning, it seemed that the Art Centre was an ‘oasis’ for creative works, but, as it celebrated its first decade, financial problems grew critical. Discontent smouldered and artistic expression again became a forum for the liberation struggle. According to Jakob Sumardjo, a theatre expert, who grew discontented with the situation at TIM: Discussions at TIM became a slaughterhouse in a struggle against the intellectual arrogance of the TIM groups. This indicated that it was moving away from the gaze of the community.55

The infrastructure of the arts in Jakarta changed inexorably with the decline of TIM. Other art centres, such as the Art Market (Pasar Seni), Indonesian Miniature Park (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah-TMII-Taman Mini), Teater Utan Kayu and others emerged on the scene (see further in Chapter 3). In the regions, the Taman Budaya which were established to function as the art centres for their specific areas, are in a better position than TIM, in particular, in Denpasar, Solo, and Yogyakarta. TIM, with its aging infrastructure and increasingly inadequate funding, has not been able to cope with the situation. Art Centres as venues for artistic performances were established under different regulations depending on the sponsor organisations. For example, the Directorate General of Culture, local governments such as the Jakarta government mentioned above in the establishment of Taman Ismail Marzuki, or private foundations could create their own art centres. In 1994, the Department of Internal Affairs issued a decree for the establishment of arts councils in the regions under its coordination. The arts councils are organisations 55

Jakob Sumardjo, “Dialektika Sastera Indonesia”, cited in Hooker, ed. Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia, p. 250.

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incorporated in the arts centres, which are established and maintained by the local governments. The Directorate General of Culture kept a direct say in matters through the foundation of the Taman Budaya (Art Centre system). A report of the Director General of 1983 stated that the Taman Budaya policy, as a function of the Central Government with a particular responsibility for arts development, could be established in every province. In 1983 Taman Budaya art centres had been established in 13 provincial capitals.56 The establishment of the art centres as auxiliaries of the already existing art schools and colleges marked another new ‘chapter’ in the life of Indonesian art. The establishment of the Taman Ismail Marzuki / TIM- Jakarta Arts Centre marked a high point in the New Order cultural life.57 In the ensuing years up to the 1990s, additional ones were established, such as in Medan, Pekanbaru, Ujung Pandang (Makassar), and Jambi.

7. Cultural Festivals Artistic activity was developed by the authorities of the country to lend lustre to celebrations which encourage the masses to support nationalistic celebrations, like the commemoration of National Awakening Day on 20 May or the Youth Oath on 28 October, and Islamic celebrations like the Art of the Recitation of the Holy Quran (MTQ), and the Istiqlal Festival (see further in Chapter 3). National Festivals have become significant programmes for supporting formation of National Culture during the New Order Period. Festivals in the form of traditional carnival displays are a forum of heritage entertainment with potential to create nostalgic 56

Report of the National Working Meeting of the Directorate General for Culture of the Department of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia in 1983. 57 Claire Holt, “Indonesia Revisited” cited in Hooker, ed. Culture & Society in New Order Indonesia, p.245.

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longing for the golden past of a people. Rulers are in much favour of such festivals because they enhance people’s lives, and act as a safety valve, releasing tension and obscuring unpleasant reality. Performing arts showcases in festivals emerged as an exhibition of cultural wealth after the achievement of Independence. The ethnic diversity of the performing arts at that time became a symbol of the united culture of the nation. This was consciously encouraged. Festivals began during Independence Day celebrations, but there were festivities honouring high-ranking state guests and celebrating other significant national events. They usually took place in the capital of the state. The festivals were meant to depict the best image of the cultural wealth of each region by presenting ethnic arts. However there have been significant fluctuations in the quality of artistic presentation. Moreover the issue of uniqueness was overshadowed by feelings of ambivalence. Some of these performances could be highly sophisticated, and each local performance must have its own characteristics. In the national context, these festivals were ratified in the Repelita IV during the 1980s. The situation had diverged somewhat from the time preceding the implementation of the REPELITA. In the 1950s, after the Proclamation of Independence, Javanese and Balinese dances invariably occupied a prominent place during the festivals besides other dances such as Minangkabau, Palembang, South Sulawesi etc. Some regions were not represented on these occasions, as their dances were not yet acknowledged as worthy

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artistic representations, in particular the Betawi from Jakarta. According to Claire Holt,58 during the 1950s, although the arts were stimulated by government’s activities through the shows at presidential palaces, festivals, etc. poverty remained among a large number of artists and they had to earn their living from small salaried work or private activities awaiting ‘calls’ to practice the performing arts. After the establishment of the arts schools and art centres in some regions, artistic expression showed a marked improvement. Each ethnicity has its own traditional ceremonially or ritually scheduled festivals, like the Balinese odalan, the Javanese garebeg, and the Dayak erau, and relating these events to national occasions could offer a wide opportunity to depict the variety of ethnic cultures. When economic development was stable and national security accomplished to a certain degree, it was imperative to find a wide range of entertainment to compliment a variety of events. Festivals presenting a national panorama began in Jakarta, initially to provide entertainment to pad out celebrations at the presidential palace or at other events. In the 1970s came a parting of the ways and such activities were no longer linked to national events; or presidential, cultural, or entertainment venues, but to an annual program of the new the Jakarta Art Council. Initially the traditional arts had priority in the programming, while modern westernised arts such as classical music and ballet were the responsibility of individuals or private groups, and found their principal support in the big cities like Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, and Medan. Generally speaking, the festivals were presented as an exhibition. However, the inevitable development of competition within the events led organisers to institute a qualification process, particularly when the festival was a government project subject to 58

Ibid. p. 209.

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evaluation. Festival professionals introduced an assessment method based on artistic presentation, performance ability in dance, rhythmical sense, emotional expression and cultural absorption. The Festival of Dance in 1972 organised by the Jakarta Arts Council was the first festival specifically convened for various ethnic dances. This type of festival spread throughout Indonesia as various governmental agencies adopted the strategy to promote and to evaluate such efforts all over the country. The festivals did not consider the background and development of the arts in the regions. It was a haphazard system as the personal interest of the assessors most of whom were bureaucrats often with blurred artistic perspectives. Organizers ignored the fact that festivals had to be more than simply forums of display, but had to incorporate educational objectives in order to foster the particular needs of the regions. The election of the ten best performers became common practice at the festivals organised by the government. The festivals were organised annually, alternately on dance, music and theatre. They were usually held in Jakarta for the practical reason that facilities for stage productions were available. Occasionally, Bandung, Yogyakarta, or Denpasar would get the opportunity to host these large competitions, as they were well provided with facilities at the art schools and arts centres. The regions of Jakarta, West Java / Bandung, Central Java / Solo, Yogyakarta, East Java, and Bali / Denpasar would usually fill the best ten places. The other four or more would intermittently come from West Sumatra / Minangkabau, Aceh, Jambi, Riau, South Sulawesi, South Kalimantan, Lombok / Nusa Tenggara Barat or Irian Jaya. Some

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of the regions consistently failed in these competitions; Nusa Tenggara Timur, Maluku, and Sulawesi Tenggara never stood a chance of gaining a place in the top ten. The government during Pelita III in the 1980s appointed judges or assessors from a wide range of performing arts experts, usually originating from various ethnic groups. These experts then gave advice to the government and were also involved in the planning of a feasible new assessment method and other improvements designed to develop better artistic potential in the weaker regions. These experts were often lecturers at the art schools. However, the regions with no art schools and other arts institution were then always in a bad situation. In the end some better results occurred based on artistic potential and not on ethnic preference. Results based on artistic potential improved but unfortunately the overall results remained mostly low and the outcome exacerbated the unsatisfactory cultural perspective of the regions. Regular judges of the festivals, who were drawn from recognized artists of various regions, used the festivals as a kind of forum for professional development; colleagues from across the nation could meet and discuss everything from education techniques to artistic experiences. The opportunities created by the festivals were substantial; however issues relevant to structural policymaking were too often neglected to the point where discontent surfaced.59

8. Dissent through the Arts. Students, who were instrumental in overthrowing the Old Order, had little time to rest on their laurels. Many later became the most outspoken critics of the New Order. The

59

Documentation from the Festival 1995 at Balai Sidang Jakarta, see in Appendix: program, list of Jurors, list of participants pp.443- 447; pictures of dances pp.414 - 419; and p. 420 of Festival 1984

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political situation seemed to be mirrored in the arts. Social protests were reflected in the films, theatre and literature, and through music and the dance as well. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the most important writer of the Old Order period, was imprisoned by the New Order regime. Unhappily, the repressive and authoritarian regime left very few openings for critics; or one might say that criticism was stifled on behalf of political concerns of the moment.60 Cultural discontent and social protest with a strong political flavour, were, for example in works presented by the performing arts. TIM hosted increasingly vocal theatre pieces and so-called cultural orations as the unpopularity of the New Order slowly surfaced in the face of economic crisis, but with its deepest roots in the politics of cultural disparity. Since the beginning of the New Order era, poets such as W.S.Rendra, playwright Nano Riantarno, and some of Arifin C. Noer plays had come under fire. In 1973, W.S.Rendra’s play about a Latin American political situation called The Mastodon and the Condor was banned. The play was performed at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta after an understanding had been reached between Rendra and the military authorities in Yogyakarta. The play was approved in Yogyakarta, Semarang and later in Jakarta. Nevertheless Rendra and his group, the Bengkel Teater, had difficulties in Yogyakarta again with other plays like Oedipus and Lysistrata. Surprisingly, both plays were performed without restriction in Jakarta despite the fact that Rendra’s plays were

60

Bisri Effendy, Kebijakan Kebudayaan dimasa Orde Baru, p. 671.

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always subjected to the control of the authorities. Saini KM,61 a theatre expert, draws attention to the way Rendra used social political issues as a starting point. Arifin C.Noer aroused protest from another sector, the Islamic religious leaders, with his play Orkes Madun, in 1974. Up to 1998, some plays were banned at TIM for religious reasons, but most of the prohibitions were politically motivated. Suksesi by Teater Koma at TIM in 1990, Opera Kecoa at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in 1990 and Sam Pek Eng Tay in Medan 1989 were all banned and the latter because it had a so-called exclusive Chinese background story. Ratna Sarumpaet’s Marsinah caused another memorable controversy. The play was based on a true story of a woman worker in East Java who was killed just because she was against the ruling power. Although banned outside the capital in 1997 and 1998, it was staged at TIM in Jakarta.62 In general any obvious expression of social or political discontent, however conveyed, was forbidden. Before performances, the DKJ had to obtain a permission to perform from the authorities, particularly when prohibited artists were involved. It was difficult for the DKJ to face fellow artists, while it had to work with a hidden blacklist from the authorities bearing the names of these considered suspects. Forbidden works whether good or bad always attracted public attention. This upset the equilibrium of artistic evaluation. The DKJ did its best to strike a balance between artistic freedom and maintaining a partnership with the government for the sake of the secure development of artistic expression and their funding.

9. Commentaries on Various Cultural Issues

61 62

Saini KM, Teater Modern Indonesia dan beberapa permasalahannya, pp. 41, 48. Sources: newspaper clippings of the Documentation Centre of the DKJ, translated by author.

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Cultural orations presented at TIM since 1971 during Independence Day commemorations have often been used to launch important ideas to the nation. They were the work of intellectuals from academia, the government sector, nationalists, economists and technocrats. One of the speakers was the late Umar Kayam, a writer with a doctorate from Cornell, Director General for Radio, TV and Film in 1966-69, chairman of Jakarta Arts Council and Jakarta Institute of the Arts in 1969-1972, Director of the Centre for Cultural Studies of the University of Gajah Mada, to name but a few of his functions. In 1989, he delivered a speech entitled “The Liberation of Our Cultures” (Pembebasan Budaya-Budaya Kita). He spoke of two trends in the great transformation process in Indonesian culture: the transformation pulling ethnic cultures into the cultural order of the nation state and, on the other hand, the transformation of traditional agrarian culture into the industrial cultural order. Another notable critic to use the TIM rostrum was the critic, author and former Minister of Economy and Trade, Kwik Kian Gie. His 1993 talk “Culture, Economic Life and Business” (Kebudayaan, Kehidupan Ekonomi dan Bisnis), summarised various practices in Japan, China and Europe. He presented the case for a strong relationship between economy and business under state law. Culture and philosophical values undoubtedly influence and are influenced by the economic reality of the world, he argued. Progress and gaining greater added value, and a greater national prosperity is also a matter of culture, he claimed this is not simply a matter of the science of economics and business. The economy will never flourish if it is not effectively mediated by cultural values.

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Mochtar Pabottingi, a political observer from South Sulawesi in 1994, discussed “Culture and Auto Centricity”, saying that Dutch colonisation caused the death of the trading ethos inherent in ancestral Indonesian cultures. Economic integration of the islands, which had existed for centuries, disintegrated when the area was gradually transformed into a Dutch-oriented economy. Following colonial rule all the processes of culture developed by the ancestors were distorted, Pabottingi claimed. Further he stressed that a culture which does not have the potential to explore, does not have the potential to accumulate capital, so people became alienated from the artistic subsystems of their traditional culture by the dynamics of colonial economic policies. He argued that underdevelopment in culture could be directly associated with the shortcomings of the government, in particular the practices resorted to by the colonial government to keep the people subservient and afterwards those espoused by the Indonesian themselves. Pabottingi

further

said

that

the

reason

for

economic

and

political

underdevelopment does not come from the underdevelopment of culture, and by no means the sub-culture of the Javanese. He said that a wise nation is a nation in which competitive energy always strengthens culture, where culture in its widest sense and politics in its narrowest sense together must pour themselves fully into guaranteeing the existence of the nation. He concluded that culture must itself serve the nation, and the nation serves culture.63 Mochtar Pabottingi’s view of the non-responsibility of Javanese is in direct conflict with ideas expressed by Leo Suryadinata64 and Virginia Matheson Hooker65 (and others), who argue that the problem of ethnic revival during the New Order period was 63

Agus R. Sarjono, ed., Pembebasan Budaya-budaya Kita, pp.72-83, 126-133, 136-144. Leo Suryadinata, Interpreting Indonesian Politics, p.181. 65 Virginia M. Hooker, ed., Culture and Society in New Order Indonesia, p.5. 64

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indeed triggered by the dominance of Javanese culture. But yet it can be argued that ethnic revival in reaction to Javanese cultural dominance in the New Order was a kind of cultural nationalism which preceded and accompanied the formation of nation-states. There has been a tendency to regard cultural nationalism as just a cover up for political nationalism when normal political activity was not possible … scholars … have tended to regard these movements as essentially regressive products of otherworldly romantics, belonging to declining or oppositionist social group, which had little capacity to direct social change … There are two distinctive and sometimes competing types of nationalism: a political nationalism that has as its aim autonomous state institutions; and a cultural nationalism that seeks a moral regeneration of the community. Although the latter looks backward, it is not regressive; rather it puts forward a mobile view of history that evokes a golden age of achievement as a critique of the present, with the hope of propelling community to ever higher stages of development … At times of crisis generated by the modernisation process the cultural nationalist could play the role of moral innovator proposing alternative indigenous models of progress.66

Alongside these views about culture pertaining to the last decade of the New Order regime, two other views offer important insights into the role of cultural development. Mattulada was born in South Sulawesi and educated at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta. In 1993, Mattulada spoke about “Cultural Decentralisation in National Development” at the Art Council’s Convention in Ujung Pandang (Makassar). He discussed the arts of Indonesia, and wondered whether the nature of diversity was realised by the people themselves. The solution to the constant struggle to create national unity, he argued, is found in understanding the differences between people. Differences are more clearly seen through the arts, and therefore it is through the arts that the real meaning of this diversity can best understood. In developing the arts in the context of

66

John Hutchinson, Modern Nationalism, pp. 40, 41.

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cultural development, people must remain aware of and do their utmost to retain this nature of diversity in national development. Abdurrahman Wahid,67 a cultural spokesman and a spiritual and political leader of the NU party, spoke on the same occasion on the same topic as Mattullada. Once cultural pluralism has been realised, Abdurrahman Wahid argued, then this pluralistic nature should be maintained in order to avoid stagnation caused by centralisation. Decentralization of cultural development is essential to realising a vibrant and pluralistic healthy Indonesian culture. Bureaucratic arrogance of the cultural officials had to be eschewed. The search for cultural identity, from the handing over of high technology to the preservation of the great Asmat and other cultures in Irian Jaya, must be pursued unremittingly. There must be an underscoring of creative cultural development to intensify a feeling of solidarity among Indonesians as a nation, with equal status for all people, regardless of ethnic, religious, cultural social status. It is imperative to embrace a kaleidoscope of cultural expressions in order to create a solid culture for the nation. The discontent refused to dissipate even after such radical comments. What was happening to national integration? The creed of national culture development struggled to come to terms with the centralising force of national integration in Jakarta.

67

DKJ Documentation. Diskusi Musyawarah Dewan Kesenian Seluruh Indonesia, Ujung Pandang, 31 October 1992.

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Chapter 4 THE INTERCULTURAL ROLE OF JAKARTA

This chapter consists of a case study of the intercultural role of Jakarta, taking into consideration some significant benchmarks of the Dutch colonial Batavia, which includes Chinese cultural impact. One such benchmark is the phenomenon of the Betawi cultural setting. Another is represented by a collage of nationalistic expression in the arts. These are seen in lagu-lagu nasional / national songs, komedi stambul and bangsawan (Eurasian popular theatre musicals), and the Serampang Duabelas (national dance). Finally, we need to consider contemporary artistic developments at TIM Jakarta Art Centre, the popular Taman Mini (Indonesian Miniature Park), the contemporary fringe, nationalistic mass spectacles, and the globalization of the arts.

1. Background to the roots Jakarta, one of the most cosmopolitan cities of Indonesia, has existed for more than five centuries. Its role during the nationalist movements before Independence, and later as the capital of Indonesia, has been significant in stimulating the formation of a national culture. It has also played a crucial role in the development of Indonesian ethnic arts, because of its centralised position as the capital of a government that considered ethnic diversity an important asset. Many people prefer to rate other places, such as Yogyakarta and Bali, more highly than Jakarta as cultural centres of Indonesia. The latter are thought to be in a better position to serve the cultural image of the nation. Leaving this objection aside and

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approaching the history of Jakarta in its cultural context might provide a wider perspective for understanding intercultural relations in general and in particular an alternative approach to the rise of a national culture. The urban ambience of Jakarta provided an environment in which a new culture, called Betawi, came into existence. A significant aspect of Jakarta’s identity often avoided by anti-colonial cultural commentators is the fact those 350 years of Dutch colonisation of Jakarta was a factor in cultural development. When Jakarta became the capital of independent Indonesia, the city was in an advantageous position to function as the centre of important cultural development. In a sense colonialism was a form of globalization in adapting cultural development to a global outlook.1 It was the place where all the indigenous arts of the nation were brought together in prestigious festivals to mark various national events, and contributed to forming the cultural image of the country. As the nucleus of political activity since Independence, the city has become a centre of popular cultural development, and it has proved that it is more susceptible to change and innovations than the other regions of Indonesia. This made Jakarta very well suited as the environment for the dynamics of the newly emerging culture, supporting the development of national culture, and it has progressed beyond that context to become a location for wider interaction between global cultures. The most important role of Jakarta at present is as the only “Indonesian city”. It is primarily in the metropolitan melting pot of Jakarta that Indonesia has developed and shown its creativity in the post-Revolution years. The energy has come from the immense influx of fortune seekers, especially from Java but also from the other islands into a capital where so much power and wealth are concentrated. Contemporary Indonesian also reflects the peculiar personality of Jakarta, its sense of solidarity, vis-à-vis the 1

Shinji Yamashita, “Introduction”, Globalization in Southeast Asia: Local, National and Transnational Perspectives, (New York, Berghahn Books, 2003) p. 7.

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provinces and the brutal, commercial, power-oriented and cynical character of its everyday life.2

The cultural history of Jakarta has developed through intercultural interaction, incorporating what at present is known as multiculturalism.3 It’s past and present depict a process of hybrid development from different cultures, from every point of the compass where different native-indigenous and foreign elements have come to interact and produce something new. This hybrid nature led to the formation of a “melting pot” of interaction to use Lance Castle’s phrase, between various peoples century after century.4 Colonialism allowed the hybrid ambience to flourish for its own convenience. Once colonialism was removed and the full weight of westernisation was felt in Jakarta, this multicultural ambience brought about the rise of a new culture. Since Jakarta has become the centre of national life, cultural interplay has become even more complex. Conversely, local ambience in the outlying regions became an anachronism cast aside by rising national interest. Before ethnic identification became an important source of political strength in Indonesia and Jakarta, Jakarta embraced, absorbed and digested intercultural relations in more than three centuries of colonial rule. Independence created opportunities for new forms of cultural development.

2

Benedict Anderson, Language and Power: Exploring Political Cutlures in Indonesia, (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1990) p. 142. 3 Multiculturalism, at present, stands for a wide range of social articulations, ideas, and practices that appeared after the sixties in cultural studies in the U.S.A, Canada and the U.K. against 19th century monoculturalism, as arguments of identity and differences in a new approach of political and pedagogical theoretical structure; David Theo Goldberg, ed., “Introduction”, Multiculturalism: A Critical Reader (UK, Blackwell, 1998) pp. 1 – 3. 4 Lance Castle in “The Ethnic Profile of Djakarta” introduced the phrase “melting pot” for Djakarta, in Indonesia, Vol.3, April 1966, p.153.

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One significant force has emerged since the National Awakening movement at the beginning of the 20th century: the concept of nation building through national culture. It grew out of the realisation of the necessity of including culture in nation building, especially as the means to provide roots to ethnic identification, typically through the introduction of the regional heritages to the national agenda. Similarly, the external influences have continuously contributed new ways of artistic expression and cultural development since Independence. However, the policy to emphasize nation building was intentionally developed to strengthen the existence of ethnic culture, and to help minimise destructive global forces. The recognition of Betawi culture several decades after Independence occurred during the rapid progress of urbanisation of Jakarta, which corresponds to “the globalisation of the local and the localisation of the global”.5 Jakarta as the ‘gateway’ to development and progress provides a prime example for this issue. After all, it is where modernisation started and so it was in Jakarta that the necessity was most strongly felt for a solid commitment to cultural heritage and ethnic roots. In this context, it is essential to consider the one controversial issue of the relationship between religious convictions and the origins of urban Jakarta. A religiously inspired group tried to impose the idea that the origin of Jakarta should be traced back to Fatahillah. He was a Pasai-born man (Pasai is where the first Muslim kingdom in Indonesia, Samudra Pasai originated), and a powerful figure in the Muslim kingdom of Demak, in Central Java, who defeated the Portuguese in the 16th century battle at Sunda

5

Peter Nas, “Introduction”, Global, National and Local Perspectives in Indonesia, BKI 154: 2 , 1998, p. 198.

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Kelapa, an ancient harbour in the region of Jakarta. Fatahillah then became connected with the holy figure of Sunan Gunung Jati of Ceribon, West Java. The stress on the role of Fatahillah was intended to counteract the image of a primarily westernised cultural development, which began later in the 17th century and was seen to fall short on validity, particularly among the Muslim people later recognised as Betawi. The campaign for the recognition of the Betawi ethnic group should be seen as an attempt to give legitimate, uniquely ethnic roots to Jakarta. Islamic cultural development became a significant trend in the nationalist scheme, and later became a controversial issue in the hegemonic cultural controversy concerning Jakarta. Interaction of different cultures, both within Indonesia and abroad, has propelled Betawi culture to become part of the more complex issue of post-war multicultural development. However, conventional historical research has pointed out that the sociocultural environment that made it possible for the Betawi to evolve originated only much later than the recognised formation of other ethnic groups in Indonesia (See Lance Castle’s and Abdurrahman Surjomihardjo’s quotations below). Apart from the arguments for the acknowledgement of the role of Fatahillah in Jakarta’s foundation, a simple geographical factor also plays an important role. ‘Ancient Jakarta’ or Sunda Kelapa, as part of West Java, was already part and parcel of the culture of the local coastal people, who are indigenous Sundanese, and have cultural roots reaching back to prehistory.

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The Betawi 6 were first recognised as an ethnic group in the census of 1930. 7 Lance Castle described them as the indigenous “Batavians”. They were the largest ethnic group in the city at the time of the census. Surjomihadjo8 wrote: The mobility of this population group of Jakarta had been going on for more than four hundred years. The people originated from different nations; hence their ethnicity had changed from their original identity to a new ethnicity, the Betawi.9

The rise of such a culture as the Betawi, it brings to mind Terence Turner’s statement: As the conjunctural force ... favouring the development of political recognition and social valuation of sub-cultural identities gather momentum, the prospect is for the steady proliferation of new cultural identities along the increasing assertion of the existing ones … this increasingly takes on the character of a meta-cultural framework bringing into being a meta-cultural network of forces, institutions, values and policies which fosters and reinforces the proliferation of cultural groups, identities, and issues in the public domain.10

The prominence of multiculturalism in the origin of Betawi can be related to the importance of “nationalism and changing concepts of ethnicity” postulated by Asrul Sani and discussed in Chapter 2. Emerging from the colonial milieu to become the indigenous art of Jakarta after Independence, Betawi culture also participated in mainstream development of art in Indonesia in general. Before addressing the issues of the evolution of art in historical and modern Jakarta, it would be wise to look back to its roots during colonial times. 6

Husni Thamrin in 1923 named this group the ‘Kaum Betawi’, whom he represented in the Volksraad. Lance Castle, “The Ethnic Profile of Jakarta”, Indonesia, p. 153. 8 Abdurrahman Surjomihardjo, “Golongan Penduduk Jakarta”, in Husein Widjaja, ed. Seni Budaya Betawi, (Jakarta, Dinas Kebudayaan, DKI,1976) p. 27. Author’s excerpted translation. 9 Abdurrahman Surjomihardjo, “Golongan Penduduk Jakarta”, in Husein Widjaja, ed. Seni Budaya Betawi, (Jakarta, Dinas Kebudayaan, DKI,1976) p. 27. Author’s excerpted translation. 10 Terence Turner, “Anthropology and Culturalism” in Goldberg, Multiculturalism: A Critical Reader, p.423. 7

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2. The Colonial Setting Understanding the colonial setting of 17th century Jakarta is essential to the history of Indonesia, and has particular relevance to contemporary arguments regarding cultural identity. The headquarters of Dutch rule in the archipelago was called “Batavia”. However after Independence, Soekanto, an Indonesian historian, suggested that it be named Jakarta. Soekanto’s suggestion was based on the story of Fatahillah, who as commander-in-chief of the Sultan of Demak on the north coast of Java, first gave the location the name Djajakarta (Jayakarta), or the victorious city, after he defeated the Portuguese at Sunda Kelapa, a small harbour of the kingdom of Pajajaran, in the 16th century.11 After Independence the name of the city was changed to Djakarta or Jakarta (in the new Indonesian spelling), as this was considered to be a more suitable name for the capital of independent Indonesia. The origin of Jakarta, if based on Fatahillah’s victory, was on 22 Juni 1527 according to Soekanto. The change of name from Sunda Kelapa to Jayakarta still remains a controversial issue, especially among historians who question the validity of sources used by Soekanto.12 During the 17th century, the name Jayakarta was also attached to Pangeran Jayakarta, the prince who ruled the area as a vassal of the sultan of Banten.

11

J. de Barros in Decada (1777), named it ‘Xacatara’, as noted by Adolf Heuken, Sumber-sumber Asli Sejarah Jakarta, (Jakarta, Cipta Loka Caraka, 1999) p. 77. 12 Ibid., pp. 61-62.

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Dutch Batavia presented a new kind of cultural development. Jean Taylor 13 described how the social world of Batavia appeared as an entity of the colonial society, which grew as a colonial culture evolved in response to the distance of the settlement from Europe and the tendency over time for a greater distinction between the European and the Eurasian or Mestizo components of colonial society to develop. Indonesian society of the 20th century was affected by the colonial culture and economic power of the Dutch especially after the large growth spurt in the archipelago in the 19th century. Colonial culture combined elements of the cultural legacies of Europe and Asia. It was the medium through which Dutch and Indonesians came to know each other and interact, before Indonesian nationalism spread and brought an end to the rule of the Netherlands.14 Abdurrachman Surjomihardjo15 noted that from the VOC era until the end of the 18th century, Dutch officials formed the top echelon of the colonial society. Beneath them were the so-called ‘free people’ or burgers consisting of the Mardijkers, Christians from Portuguese India, the Papangers from the Philippines, plus those Japanese, Africans and Indonesians, who were Christians by religion. The next levels down were the Chinese, Arabs, and people from various parts of India. After them came the Malays and the nonChristian people – the majority of them Balinese – from other islands of Indonesia. Later they included “indigenous” Muslims, who mostly came to be called the Betawi people. The majority were ex-slaves who had converted to Christianity and had been enlisted as VOC soldiers, like Mardijkers, Papangers, Asian Christians, and Chinese. In the 19th 13

Jean G. Taylor, The Social World of Batavia: Europeans and Eurasians in Dutch Asia (Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1989). 14 Ibid. pp. xx, xxi. 15 Abdurrachman Surjomihardjo, “Golongan penduduk Jakarta” in Husein Widjaja, ed. Seni Budaya Betawi, p.30.

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century most Mardijkers and Papangers were accorded the same level as “indigenous” people. In the early the 20th century, three population groups were recognised by law: Europeans, Foreign Oriental (Chinese, Arab, and Indian), and Inlanders / Indigenous. As early as the 18th century, the colonial records of the Bataviaasche Plakaatboeken noted that Governor-General Valkenier owned 15 slaves who were engaged professionally as musicians playing instruments like the flute, the drum, the triangle and the Turkish tambour. Interestingly the records also note that in honouring local authorities like sultans and bupatis, the Governors-General presented them with musical instruments like violins, and trumpets (Batavia’s resolution of 2 October, 1731, and of 24 December, 1731). It was also in the 18th century that the Portuguese Mardijkers introduced the kroncong music. About one century later the Papangers, who were colonial military migrants with strong links to the Mardijkers, developed a musical play called the Tanjidor, which was later adopted as a Betawi traditional art. 16 In 1807 Governor J. Siberg authorised the performing of the ronggeng and tandak at indigenous wedding parties and at traditional ceremonies to mark the rice planting, sedekah bumi. In 1809 Daendels, the next Governor, issued a regulation re-instating the ronggeng dance school in the kraton of the sultan of Cirebon. The kraton had allowed it fall into disuse as they were unable to pay the cost of maintaining it. Because of the waning power of the kraton of Cirebon and the withdrawal of patronage, many indigenous art groups were forced to find a living in the western part of the sultanate, to a place closer to the more prosperous Batavia. Gradually this folk art intermingled with that

16

Julianti Parani, “Tontonan dan Hiburan di Batavia & Ommelanden,” MSI Seminar, (Jakarta, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, 1987).

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of the other indigenous people of Batavia and made its contribution to Betawi traditional arts in the shape of the Topeng Betawi, which evolved from this merging some decades later.17 Patrons like Thomas Stamford Raffles, the English lieutenant general of Java 1812 - 1816, had 77 slaves, of whom nine were musicians. Another patron during the reestablishment of Dutch rule in the 19th century was a rich Mardijker named Agustijn Michiels, whose slaves entertained him, and his guests on his Citeureup plantation near Bogor. They performed a hybrid kind of music and dance, which got some influence from Western European chamber and military soiree music to indigenous local wayang, topeng and gamelan. After Michiels’ sudden death, his family withdrew the patronage, a move which led to the diffusion of these arts as popular street entertainment in Batavia.18 The Batavia City Playhouse, the Stads Schouwburg (now the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta) was established or renovated by the Dutch Governor General Van der Capellen at the place where his predecessor, Raffles, had a wooden theatre. It functioned as the main centre of entertainment for European society and was situated in the former well-todo Dutch quarter of Weltevreden. The entertainment venue for Batavia, prior to this playhouse, was the Herberg en Logement (Public Guesthouse) located in present-day Chinatown, according to F.de Haan (1922).19 During that period (18th – 19th centuries), many kinds of entertainment could be enjoyed by the citizens of Batavia. They included sung poetry and the telling of scandalous stories, a genre similar to the European troubadours. Raffles moved the entertainment centre to Weltevreden, near the present Pasar Baru. Having been rebuilt, 17

Ibid. Ibid. 19 Ibid. 18

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the performing arts had a decent setting in which to present better standard artistic works. The Stads Schouwburg, as it was then called, hosted groups from Europe playing Shakespeare, Moliere, Verdi and other famous classics. It marked a new beginning for performing arts of an urban Westernised nature in Batavia. To a certain extent, it also exerted an influence on the development of local, indigenous, and traditional performing arts as the indigenous local rulers who were often invited to attend these shows went away with ideas which they then introduced to their own entertainment.20 The ambience of cultural diversity characterising Batavia, was an unintended forerunner for the notion of “Unity in Diversity,” which later became a motto of the Indonesian nation. However, Joel Kahn21 argued that the dichotomy of the notion, by contrast, was compromised at the birth of the nation, when it was linked by the “accident” of colonial boundaries. Consequently, according to Kahn, in the birth of the nation implicitly carries the idea that Indonesian nationalism has come to be seen as the establishment of intercultural relations. This argument was implying that the process of the intercultural relations of Indonesian multiculturalism is as much a construction representing Indonesian diversity, in the sense that it required the creation of cultural boundaries because its existence was in fact vague. The Indonesian scholar Koentjaraningrat commented that: This is the essence of the problem of acculturation in developing excolonial countries such as Indonesia, where the nation still faces the problem of giving a new spiritual meaning and content to its national unity22.

20

Ibid. Joel S.Kahn, “Culturalising the Indonesian Uplands”, in Tania Li, ed., Transforming Indonesia Uplands, (Singapore, ISEAS, 1999) p.79. 22 Koentjaraningrat, Anthropology in Indonesia: A Bibliographic Review, p.174. 21

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This was but one source of the intercultural interaction of the history of Jakarta. Other elements of the kaleidoscope of that heterogeneous city made their contribution as well.

3. The ‘Foreign’ Chinese Impact. The influence from foreign culture during colonial times was by no means purely a Western phenomenon. Inspiration also came principally from the Arabs, Indians, and Chinese. The extent of Chinese influence in Indonesian cultural life has always been a subject of dispute. Even today the Indonesian reformation movement gives the impression that the position of the Chinese element in Indonesian life still remains unstable and sensitive. During the New Order the government propagated a slogan Masalah Cina / ‘the Chinese problem’. This was subsumed in a government programme for the assimilation of the Chinese in Indonesian society. This is undoubtedly a distant echo of the Dutch colonial matter expressed in the phrase the Chineesche Kwestie, the Chinese question. This was given concrete form in 1900 as the colonial government adopted the policy issued after the Tiong Hoa Hwee Koan was established in Batavia to initiate a progressive movement among the Chinese peranakan. The immediate consequence of its foundation was the rise of Chinese schools everywhere in the colony. It was similar to the embryonic nationalist movement that later appeared in such guises as the Budi Utomo, Sarekat Islam, and the Indische Partij.23

23

Mona Lohanda, “Masalah Cina dalam Perjalanan Sejarah Indonesia”, in Andreas Pardede et. al., ed., Antara Prasangka dan Realita: Telaah Kritis Wacana Anti Cina di Indonesia, (Jakarta, Pustaka Inspirasi, 2002) pp. 49-50.

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Pramoedya Ananta Toer 24 called the Chinese orang asing yang tidak asing (foreigners who are not foreign). With these words Pramoedya admits that the Chinese are foreigners who have become so familiar to Indonesians that they are no longer foreigners. Indonesian contact with the Chinese began as early as in the 5th century. Early reference to it can be found in the records of the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien and the Kashmiri pilgrim, Gunavarman. 25 During the Sriwijaya and Majapahit eras there were friendly relations with China. When Islam entered Indonesia, this did not happen completely outside the sphere of the Chinese. In particular there were connections with the Wali Songo (Nine Apostles), still traceable in old places outside Batavia, like Gresik, East Java, just as remnants of Chinese culture can be still seen in wayang plays in several Chinese temples. In the Chinese quarter in Cirebon, West Java, the tomb of the Wali Songo, Sunan Gunung Jati, displays strong Chinese links. Jakarta during the Dutch colonial era saw population growth of permanent Chinese inhabitants. Records of the VOC period note that in 1641 Governor General Van Diemen gave consent for a group to play Chinese wayang and to collect funds for the Chinese Hospital in Batavia. This was neither a European nor an indigenous artistic expression, and it is interesting to remark that this kind of performing art was the earliest of its kind recorded in Batavia, as can be found in the Bataviaasche Plakaatboeken The term wayang mentioned in the early Dutch records in relation to this Chinese theatre should be clarified. Wayang is a local native term, derived from Old Javanese meaning shadow or image. It was used to indicate an ancient theatrical play mentioned in

24 25

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Hoakiau di Indonesia, (Jakarta, Garda Budaya, 1998-reprint of 1960). O.W.Wolters, Early Indonesian Commerce, (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1967) p.35.

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the Hindu-Javanese inscriptions since the 9th century.26 It is assumed that this Chinese wayang from this 17th century Dutch-Indies period might have been the kind of puppet theatre developed under the name of wayang Po-Tee-Hi. Moreover, many consider that wayang Po-Tee-Hi, which bears a strong resemblance to the indigenous wayang golek, had been influenced by the South Chinese Po-Tee-Hi theatre, the play whereby the puppets used linen bags as gloves. Other Chinese theatrical plays also toured the overseas Chinese communities in Batavia. They usually consisted of koenthauw, or martial arts, involving acrobatic plays with plenty of swordplay, the clown play and a Chinese orchestra with singing. This kind of theatrical play was very similar to what later became known as Chinese opera. These touring groups from China were very flexible. If there was no theatre, they played in an open field or in the street under a tent, or once in a while in the courtyard of a Chinese temple. They came from different regions of China and spoke their regional dialects in the play. Therefore the Tio-Tjioe-Pan, the Kong-Foe Pan, and the Shanghai-Pan were readily distinguishable from one another. Each troupe played different musical instruments and used different the kinds of players. In the Tio-Tjioe-Pan, for instance, there were a good many girls and boys. This is most unusual, because in ancient China women were not allowed to play in the theatre, all the roles being played by male transvestites. 27 In the 18th century the Chinese Captain of Batavia, Nie Hoe Kong, was the close friend of Governor-General Van Imhoff. Nie promoted the popularity of a new mixed

26

Soedarsono, Wayang Wong: The State Drama in the Court of Yogyakarta, (Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada University Press, 1990) p. 3. 27 Moerman, In en Om de Chineesche Kamp: Handboek H.C. Kweekschool, (Batavia, Meester Cornelis 1929) pp.225-226.

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musical orchestration, consisting of Chinese instruments, like the sukong, hosiang, tehian, gihian, and kongahian, mostly known as the er hu instruments, accompanied by percussion. The performance would also include instruments from the gamelan such as the suling, the kecrek, the kromong, and the gambang. Nie was not fond of gamelan music but longed for the music from his original home, China. This kind of musical expression became known as the gambang kromong and was adopted by the Betawi people as their traditional music. It accompanied the lenong, or traditional theatrical plays, which always featured the cokek dance. Cokek may be a derivation from the Hokkien word Tjio Kek, which means singer.28 Some believe that the lenong theatre itself might derive from Chinese drama of the traditional Kuan Han-tjing. New popular theatrical entertainment, which developed in the urban environments of the Archipelago had also been infiltrated by various local, native flavours. Examples include the Surabaya komedi stambul and the bangsawan of Malay Peninsular. The gambang kromong and the cokek dance contain what is considered a traditional Betawi dance known as sipadmo. Fortunately, the author was able to obtain information from a cokek dancer known as “Meme Krawang” (Mother Krawang) who died in her 80th year in the 1990s. The name Sipadmo does not sound Betawi, as most people would guess, but comes from the name of the Chinese song Si Pat Mo. According to Pramoedya Ananta Toer, it means the 18 Caresses, which can clearly be traced in Meme Krawang Cokek dance vocabulary.29

28 29

Julianti Parani, “Tontonan dan Hiburan di Batavia & Ommelanden”, Seminar MSI. Pramudya Ananta Toer, Hoakiau di Indonesia, p. 201.

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Chinese arts were usually performed during celebrations held at Chinese New Year or on its celebration of the 15th night, the Capgome and to some extent the Autumn Moon festival. Usually the Malays joined in the merry carnivals that enlivened the boulevards of Batavia from Glodok, Chinatown to such peripheral locations as Tanah Abang, Palmerah and Meester Cornelis, which lie in the west, south and eastern parts of present-day Jakarta. The carnival was animated by music and dancing with theatrical plays like the tanjidor and gambang kromong musical plays, cokek dance, wayang Sinpe, and Si-Pat-Moh. The travelling street carnival looked like a folk celebration with liangliong (the dragon effigy), barongsai (the lion dance) and the cungge. Children were important participants in this celebration. They played characters from Chinese mythology or stories from the Malay literature, Bayan Budiman in the wayang Sinpe. More recently, grown–ups sometimes wore costumes from the Douglas Fairbanks’ prewar popular film “The “Mask of Zorro” when they joined in the carnival. Before the 1950s, these celebrations were a very popular and widespread Overseas Chinese event, in which the population in general participated. Because of security reasons the Governor of Jakarta prohibited them in 1950.30 This prohibition was never really understood by the public, but it might have been related to the political situation near Jakarta at that time: the then DII / TII separatist movements of Karto Soewirjo from West Java were gaining ground and were endangering the capital. Other factors such as the political dislike for a growing Chinese element in popular entertainment also cannot be discounted.

30

James Danandjaja, “Perayaan Imlek dan Pesta Cap Gomeh .Suatu FolklorBetawi yang kini sudah punah” in Jali Jali, July 1996, pp. 34-35. This security was against the possibility of people disguised as players who were members of Darul Islam, a prohibited organization during Sukarno’s rule.

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With the development of the formal Dutch-Chinese schools in colonial Indonesia in the first decade of the 20th century, the peranakan (overseas born Chinese of mixed descent) had acquired some knowledge of Dutch and also of Malay. The variety of Malay that has become the Indonesian national language was very important in these theatrical presentations. It also flourished in the context of the development of peranakan literature. The golden era of peranakan literature can be said to have been the 1920s and 1930s. The writer Kwee Tek Hoay produced some plays, like Allah yang palsoe. Satoe lakon komedi dalem anam bagian (The False god, a comedy in six acts) in 1919, Korbannya Kong-Ek, toneelstuk dalem ampat bagian (The Sacrifice of Kong-Ek, a play in four acts) in 1926, and Boenga Roos dari Tji- kembang (The Rose Flower from Tjikembang) in 1927.31 This now defunct theatrical genre made a definite contribution to the development of modern Indonesian theatre. Recently this type of theatre has attracted the interest of academics, and has been revitalised by the playgroup of the Faculty of Cultural Studies of the University of Indonesia, who performed the Bunga Roos dari Tjikembang to a limited audience at the Dutch Cultural centre in Jakarta in the 1990s. Despite such valiant efforts, its development stagnated as it failed to compete with modern Indonesian drama, such as Teater Koma, which used in some of the plays a blending of Betawi-styled, contemporary concept Westernised theatre. Jakob Sumardjo, Indonesian theatre critic, said that: It was also a matter of national awakening, when Kwee Tek Hoay and Lauw Giok Lan introduced the idea that the Indo-Tionghoa and those Bumiputra intellectuals should pay attention to cultured theatrical plays other than the entertainment-oriented Komedi Stambul, the Bangsawan, 31

Leo Suryadinata, The Culture of the Chinese Minority, (Singapore, Times Books International, 1998) p.206.

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and others of their kind. Since the 1920s both had translated and written original plays in Malay based on the concepts of European theatre, which paved the way for the rise of Indonesian modern theatre.32

Batavia was not the only place where the Chinese lived and influenced the course of history.33 Chinese settlements and their economic role have been indispensable to the growth of Indonesia. Simultaneously, traces of cultural interaction have become part and parcel of the cultural heritage of Indonesia, evidence of which can be found in food, dress, batik craft, the arts and sundry other aspects of life. Interest in the arts was not motivated merely by economic and industrial considerations. For instance, the close proximity of some ethnic Chinese in Central Java to Javanese culture, in both court and everyday art, also awakened interest in Javanese art forms. Some peranakan Chinese became very adept in the courtly cultures of Central Java, gaining an understanding of Javanese philosophy, music and dance. Others have been attracted to the modern Indonesian arts or to Westernised arts, or have made their contribution by becoming collectors of art works. Yet others are now modern fashion designers and artists, drawing their inspiration from many cultures. Although this foreign influence is still a controversial topic in Indonesian life, the most significant product of the intercultural relations it fostered in the history of Jakarta was the rise of the Betawi arts.

32

Jakob Sumardjo, Perkembangan Teater dan Sastra Drama Indonesia, pp. 111, 113. Author’s translation. Mary Sommers, “The Chinese in Indonesia”, in Lyn Pan, ed., Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas, (Singapore, Landmark Bookshop / Archipelago Press, 1998) pp.152-154.

33

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4. The Ethnic Setting of the Betawi The Betawi identity was only really acknowledged as an integral part of the ethnic culture of the Jakarta region in the 1970s. The presence of Betawi ethnicity can also be seen as the development of an art, which is rooted in the main cultural development of Jakarta and has emerged to become an ethnic art. It did not appear in the particular sense of a peripheral cultural stream but should be seen more as an ethnic need elicited by the urban growth of Jakarta, although rooted in peripheral culture. Empirical studies of ethnic relations since the 1990s have been concerned with defining ethnicity: The definition of ethnicity … would include all these ‘kinds’ of groups, no matter how different they are to other respects. Surely, these are respects of politics (gain and loss in interaction) as well as meaning (social identities, belongings) in the ethnic relations produced by urban minorities, indigenous peoples, proto-nations and the component groups of plural societies alike. Despite the great variations … represented by the respective kinds of groups, the term ethnicity may, in other words, meaningfully be used as a common denominator for them 34

In pursuing this cultural evolution, it is impossible to ignore the relationship between ethnic identity and language. A study of this has given some further clarification to the rise of the Betawi people. Muhadjir, Professor of Linguistics from the University of Indonesia has said that the Betawi language began as a dialect of the Malay Betawi,and eventually replaced the old lingua franca of Creole Portuguese. As Malay began its transformation into modern Indonesian, Malay Betawi was demoted to the status of a non-standard dialect. Bahasa Indonesia became the yardstick by which language criteria were measured. The standard dialect became a formal language for writing, speeches, education, and the non-standard dialect assumed the role of a colloquial for use in daily 34

Thomas H. Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives, p. 14.

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conversation. In the 1975 Seminar on the Politics of National Language there was a discussion of the process by which the Betawi language became a variation of substandard Indonesian.35 At present Betawi is one of the strongest influences on the Indonesian language … The influence of Betawi is spreading to other regions by increasingly important means of newspaper, magazines, radio, and movies as well as movements of individuals to and from Jakarta … Research by Wallace (Social Correlates of Phonological differences in Malay, in Nusa 3, 1976) concluded that Betawi language has developed in Modern Jakarta Malay, spoken by modern and elite Betawi people and Traditional Jakarta Malay, spoken by the older generation of Betawi people.36

The ethnic groups of Indonesia are called suku or suku bangsa (part of a nation). More recently the word ‘ethnic [group]’ (etnik) was adopted into Indonesian language. The term “ethnic” was first applied to the Betawi people in 1976 after the meeting of the Working Group on the revitalisation of Betawi Culture (Pra-Lokakarya Penggalian dan Pengemgangan Seni-Budaya Betawi).37 Historically they have called themselves the orang Betawi (Betawi people). Saidi who quoted Sastradarmo, wrote that in 1865 they were designated by the term orang Selam (Islamic people), but by the 20th century this term had fallen out of use and the term orang Betawi had become official. Earlier still, they had been categorised as orang Melayu (Malays). The Arabs call them orang Melayu up to the present.38 Given the enormously important role a language can play in establishing the identity of any people, the recognition of the Malay used by the Betawi as a separate 35

Muhadjir, “Pembinaan Bahasa Betawi” in Jali Jali , nomer perdana tahun kesatu, July 1987. Yasmin Z. Shahab, “Sociolinguistic Aspects of Ethnic Identity”, in Jali Jali, No.4, July 1990. 37 Pralokakarya Penggalian dan Pengembangan Seni-Budaya Betawi (Jakarta, Dinas Kebudayaan DKI, 1976). 38 Ridwan Saidi, in Profil Orang Betawi: Asal muasal,Kebudayaan dan Adat Istiadatnya; citing R. A. Sastradarmo, “Kawatonan Ing Nagari Batawi” from S.Z. Hadisutjipto’s book, Sekitar 200 Tahun Sejarah Jakarta 1750- 1945, (Jakarta, Gunara Kata, 1997) p. 14. 36

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language was an acknowledgement of the status of this ethnic group as the indigenous people of the city. Firman Muntaco, a regular columnist in the newspaper Berita Minggu from 1957 to 1965, wrote the “Gambang Djakarte” stories about humorous account of the daily life of the Betawi in Jakarta. They proved to be a milestone on the road to formal recognition of the language. These stories became so popular that the colloquial speech became trendy and spread, not only in Jakarta, but all over Indonesia, in particular through artists such as the popular singer and film star, Benyamin. The popularisation of the lenong theatre, the Betawi traditional folk theatre was also a significant factor. Chairil Anwar, the most popular poet of the 1945 Generation, had already used some Betawi expressions.39 Much earlier Raden Aryo Sastradarmo, a traveller from Surakarta, had identified another profile of the orang Betawi in 1865 and left the account of a trip to Betawi in his book Kawontenan Ing Nagari Betawi. He considered the Betawi people to be a group of Malay-speaking people, called the Selam (Islamic) people. In a perceptive observation, he recognised a resemblance to the Chinese way of greeting each other, eating at a table in a certain way, and not sitting cross-legged on a mat as the Javanese did. The Javanese living in Batavia at that time also ate this way as was the custom in his homeland. As the Javanese customs waned, the term Selam people was also extended to them. Chinese people, who lived in a Muslim village, made friends with the Betawi people and it was the custom of the groups to work together. This way they learned martial arts, and became acquainted, albeit somewhat superficially with the Chinese language, in particular in the system of counting. While considering the Chinese to be astute at doing 39

Ibid, p. 16.

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business, they were not afraid of the Chinese but they did fear the Dutch police, whom they called ‘Tuan Sekaut” (from the Dutch word ‘schout’ or ‘sheriff’ in English).40 Independence had other consequences for the recognition of the Betawi ethnic community. One has emerged as the result through the study of language. In the eyes of most linguistic experts, the Betawi language is, in fact, a Malay dialect, and is therefore closely related to Indonesian. In the Seminar of the Indonesian National Language in 1975, the relationship between the Indonesian language as the national language and the bahasa daerah (ethnic languages) like Sundanese, Javanese, Balinese and Buginese was discussed. Bahasa Betawi and Bahasa Indonesia are both considered Malay dialects. While Bahasa Indonesia became the Bahasa Nasional, the Bahasa Betawi has not achieved the status of a full-blooded bahasa daerah, but remains as a dialect of Malay. Although official recognition has been lacking, Bahasa Betawi has been popularised nation-wide through the radio, television, and films. Inevitably this has led to some popular expressions from Betawi being adopted into the Indonesian language. Looking at the study of language used in the different literary arts, a codification of the Betawi language is essential to make a proper assessment of the depth of its penetration.41

5. The Rise of the Betawi Arts The traditional performing arts of the Betawi people continued to evolve after Independence. Since the 1980s, though, the situation has changed through the creative process of the inculcation of expressions of the performing arts, which would seem to fit

40 41

Ibid. Muhadjir, “Pembinaan Bahasa Betawi”, Jali Jali, p. 7.

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the notion of the ‘invention of tradition’. 42 What has happened has not been pure invention as its roots can be found in 19th century Batavia. It might be better to categorise it as the ‘revitalising’ or ‘re-awakening’ of traditional culture. The use of the word ‘invention’ is too radical in view of the wealth of evidence for some traditional forms identified by European writers and scholars, who described folk performing arts in Batavia. Two of the earliest descriptions given by Ritter and Hardouin in their books of 1854 and 1872, “Tonelen uit het leven, karakterschetsen en klederdrachten van Java bewoners” (Scenes from the Lives, Character Sketches and Costumes of the inhabitants of Java) that mentions a Klein Maskerspel (“Minor Mask” play as an alternative play to the so-called “Major Mask” and the Wayang play). Later L. Serrurir43 also referred to this Klein Maskerspel in his work on the wayang purwa in 1896. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p.421 for 19th century Klein Maskerspel) The expert on Javanese classical literature Theodore Pigeaud wrote a comprehensive account of the popular performing arts of Java and mentioned the Klein Maskerspel (minor mask play) in the Batavia Ommelanden as street performances. In contrast to the Groot Maskerspel (major mask play), it was categorised as performances pertaining to the courts of Cirebon, a city on the north coast of West Java. He also mentioned a popular performance called Bantjivertoning (transvestite dance performance), executed by two men in women’s clothing, accompanied by instruments including violin, a drum, and a harmonium, the last originating from India. The Dutch called it a draaiorgel (barrel organ) play, accompanied by sung pantun (Malay quatrains). This was

42

Eric Hobsbawn & Terence Ranger, The Invention of Tradition, (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1989). Initially developed in the context of England and it was later applied to India and Africa. 43 L. Serier, De Wayang Poerwa. Eene ethnologische studie, (Leiden, Brill, 1896).

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followed by a play. Jaap Kunst44 the famous ethnomusicologist, mentioned a wayangan cokek dance accompanied by gambang kromong instruments, and a lenggo dance accompanied by various instruments, of which one was a Chinese moon guitar, played by Chinese peranakans; another was a rebana, a kind of Indonesian tambourine. In the early 19th century, Raffles (History of Java, 1817) mentioned ronggeng, a popular dance performed all over Java, giving precise references. The ronggeng dance is mentioned in the Dutch colonial archives of the Cirebon district kept in the National Archives of Jakarta, in two documents, i.e. “Herstelling van de School voor Ronggeng te Cheribon” (Restoration of the School for Ronggeng in Cheribon) - 19 February, 1809 and “Reglement voor de Tandak of Ronggeng Scholen en publieke vermakelijkheden te Cheribon” (Regulation on the Tandak or Ronggeng Schools and Public entertainment in Cheribon) 30 April, 1809, issued during the administration of Governor-General Daendels. These were probably the ronggeng schools of the courts of Cirebon, which the court could not afford to upkeep, and for which the financial obligations were taken over by the colonial Government. This is documentary evidence that the ronggeng dance of West Java was a court dance, but probably became a popular dance that was embraced by the Betawi later.45 (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p.420 - below, p.421- below, the ronggeng in Topeng Betawi) Augustijn Michiels (1769-1833), the last Mardijker, had several ronggeng dancers working as entertainers. He was also known as Majoor Jantje of the Papangers, a ‘colonial Dutch soldier’, who liked the native arts and donated generously to many performing arts

44

Jaap Kunst, Music in Java: Its History, Its Theory, Its Technique, Ernst L.Heins, ed., (The Hague, Nijhoff, 1973). 45 Julianti Parani, “Lenggang Betawi”, Jali Jali, July 1987.

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groups up until his death. However, his heirs did not share this interest, and disbanded all the popular artists, leaving them to fend for themselves.46 Through personal observation in the 1970s, some remnants of what was described by those writers could be observed transmogrified into the topeng Betawi, a derivation from the so called klein maskerspel (or the topeng babakan known in Ceribon). Also still to be seen were the cokek dance of the gambang kromong and the lenong theatre, both of which have a Chinese peranakan origin and the samra, an offspring of the so-called bantjivertoning, which has a Malay-Arab origin. The origin of the lenggo dance is puzzling. Based on the playing of the rebanas and nature of the songs, it seems likely that it is related to a blenggo dance accompanied by rebana biang instruments (big tambourines without the bells). The dance is unique and is most probably derived from the kembangan (flowering patterns) of the pencak silat (martial arts), which could have adopted from the Chinese and afterwards filled out with elements of local culture.47 A survey in the 1980s showed both some increase and also some decrease or stagnation in the number of Betawi performing arts groups in Jakarta and its environs. There was an obvious increase of the lenong theatre groups, to around 500, while in the previous decade only around 100 was noted. The topeng Betawi groups increased from 6 to 13 groups. Then there was a big increase in the number of the gambang kromong groups, with the groups of cokek dancers growing from 13 to 58. The tanjidor groups had increased from zero to four groups. The rebana biang and the samrah remained approximately the same. The samrah, which is usually combined with a tonil (a kind of

46 47

Ibid. Julianti Parani, “Seni Tari Betawi”, in Husein Wijaya, ed., Seni Budaya Betawi.

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Malay play, a term derived from the Dutch toneel / play), remained the same in number. There were two kinds of storytelling theatre in Betawi; the sahibul hikayat, Arab-Malay in origin, telling stories like the “Thousand and One Nights”; the gambang rancak storytelling accompanied by the gambang kromong musical instruments of Chinese origin tells the story of the same type as the bangsawan love stories. The wayang sumedar and the wayang senggol were forerunners of the lenong, which flourished in the 1930s only to vanish after World War II. The Malay dermuluk was popular in the 1930s, but disappeared by the 1980s.48 (See Appendix 2, Pictures, pp. 424 - 425 for various Betawi performing arts) The dermuluk and bangsawan still flourish in Palembang, Jambi, Riau, and other regions in Sumatra. A similar genre, the mamanda was popular in Kalimantan. Certain remarkable personalities known by the writer during her research in the 1970s were pioneers of the Betawi performing arts. For the topeng Betawi, the major champions were Mak (mother) Kinang and her husband Pak (father) Jiun. Mak Kinang passed away in the 1980s and was predeceased by her husband, Pak Jiun. In colonial Batavia, they were the major stars of the famous annual bazaar, Pasar Gambir or Market Festival at Gambir, a month-long celebration of the Queen’s birthday. Now, members of their family have assumed the responsibility of preserving the heritage of the topeng Betawi. Some are now elderly, like Mak Ba’ih and Mak Benih (see Appendix 2. Pictures, 48

Muhadjir, et.al. ed., Peta Seni Budaya Betawi (Map on the Betawi Arts), (Jakarta, Dinas Kebudayaan DKI, 1986). Besides research such as Muhadjir’s ‘Mapping of Betawi Arts’, another significant contribution was made in 1990 – 1992 through the research and publication sponsored jointly by the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies of the Smithsonian Institute, and the Masyarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indonesia/ Indonesian Performing Arts Society, funded also by a grant from the Ford Foundation with the series editor, Philip Yampolsky, a recorded music series of Indonesia which included the Betawi Music in volume 5. A similar documentation series of Traditional Music of the Archipelago, produced by the Government through the Directorate General for Culture and issued Vol. 1 in 1997, other institutions conducting these documentations as the Yayasan Lontar in Jakarta.

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p. 424- left), who both danced recently at The Elderly Dance Performance at the Jakarta Arts Centre in 1996. Mak Manih, who also passed away recently, gave lectures at the Jakarta Institute of Arts in the 1980s. Other elderly people like Mak Na’ih, Limah, Nori, Pak Bokir, Pak Kisam and Pak Kacrit teach their village groups in the vicinity of Jakarta. At the moment, a group of young adults in their 20s are moving quickly through various opportunities offered by workshops, educational training, performances, as they embark on careers as dancers and choreographers. They participate in all kinds of festivals, international and local. For other kinds of performing arts such as the Arab-Malay samrah, the pioneer was the late Pak Harun. His family continues his performance group. For the blenggorebana biang, the pioneer was the late Pak Haji Sa’abah from Ciganjur-Pasar Minggu. His work is now carried on by his friends and family. (These artists were also known by the author during her research). The lenong theatre and the cokek dance have an interesting history and are good examples of an art form containing elements from Indo - European, Chinese, Peninsular Malay, and the island and coastal regions of Sumatra and Kalimantan/Borneo. Related genres that preceded or appeared about the same time as the lenong, were, for instance, komedi stambul, bangsawan, wayang cina, wayang sumedar, wayang senggol, dermuluk, mamanda, to name but a few. These were local theatrical creations inspired by Western theatre as well as local, popular forms in an urban and commercialised setting. The popular komedi stambul of the big cities of Java like Surabaya, and Batavia flourished from the last decade of the 19th century as so-called Eurasian theatre and presented, for instance, Shakespearean plays in local versions. A kind of theatre which

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originated from Penang, known as the bangsawan derived much of its inspiration from stories like the famous “Thousand and One Nights” and also displayed Hindustani influences, derived from so called wayang parsi. In Batavia wayang parsi was known as wayang bombay, but all traces of this genre have been erased, except nostalgic photos of the Dutch East Indies period as in Oude Aanzichten in Batavia (1950). The most significant exponent of the cokek dance of the gambang kromong was the late Meme Krawang, who had a fascinating life. She was born in China, and later moved to Jakarta where she experienced the Japanese occupation, and later returned to China. She came back again to Jakarta and experienced the ethnic revival and national arts development following Independence. 49 Considering the background of the cokek dance, in particular the “Si Pad Mo” (the 18 caresses) accompanied by the gambang kromong music, it is not surprising to discover that the lenong theatre, which shares these two might have also a Chinese origin, despite the fact that people have often chosen to forget this because of racial tensions. Nevertheless, the artistic environment has respected this background and ensured that the art form has survived through education.50 (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 436 – below left – Meme Krawang / right front in Si Pad Mo, p. 422 – Top - Cokek dancers from colonial times) The lenong theatre has such a unique background and it is much favoured by the politicians in search of an example of an indigenous art. It has counterparts in the greater Malay traditional theatres in several regions of the Malay cultural environment, as well as

49

Information obtain during research of the author. Julianti Parani, “Tari Betawi. Profil Etnik dari Estetika kekinian”, commissioned paper for the Cultural Office of Jakarta., 1998.

50

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hybrid theatre in other places of Southeast Asia.51 In Jakarta, its pioneers, the star Bu Sitti, and her late husband, made lenong popular, aided and abetted by other leading lights of stars like Nasrin, Toha, and Anen. These were the star lenong actors who filled Taman Ismail Marzuki with full-house audiences in the 1970s.

6. The Coming-of-Age of the Betawi Perfoming Arts The Betawi contemporary performing arts scene is not only populated by Betawi people, but has also attracted and absorbed some of the talented young people from throughout Indonesia who made Jakarta their home after Independence. Through the development of both formal and non-formal education in the art they made themselves familiar with the Betawi arts and have produced excellent contemporary creative dances. Some of them have been accepted as traditional dancers to be presented on various official occasions, such as festivals and Independence Day celebrations. During early Independence Day celebrations, Jakarta was not represented in the traditional dance exhibition. While Java has the bedoyo and serimpi, and Bali has the legong and baris, Jakarta was considered devoid of any indigenous traditional dances. Then during the anniversary celebration of the founding of Jakarta in 1973, a choreographer from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts and a member of the Arts Council (the writer of this dissertation) caused a surprise to the spectators. She produced a creative theatrical dance based on Betawi popular expression combining cokek and the gambang kromong in the Plesiran dance. (See Appendix 2. Pictures p. 423 top.) It

51

For more information, see Ninuk Kleden-Probonegoro, Teater Lenong Betawi: Studi Perbandingan Diakronik, (Jakarta, Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 1996) and Tan Sooi Beng. Bangsawan: A Social and Stylistic History of Popular Malay Opera, (Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University Press, 1993).

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attracted the attention of the Governor and other important personalities while exposing them to what the Betawi culture of Jakarta-based indigenous art form. Funds were made available for research, seminars, competition and workshops on the Betawi traditional performing arts. A decade later, the Betawi traditional dance could be proudly paraded with those of other regions on the anniversary of Independence and at various festivals. Similarly, in the field of music the famous kroncong genre became an essential requirement in national radio competitions, and the gambang kromong was recognised as part of the traditional musical heritage. Betawi lenong and topeng actors and actresses became favourites on television programme, appearing in theatrical presentations and comic intermezzos. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, pp. 423, 424, 425.) The cultural status of the Betawi people was recognised and the city of Jakarta proudly embraced this artistic tradition. This was an important achievement in the last two decades of the 20th century. Initially friction appeared between the uneducated and educated artists, but as training and development was implemented among the lesseducated, the disparity in artistic status has been minimised. Opportunities are still wideranging in a city like Jakarta. In addition to the abundance of conventional cultural opportunities for the new media in Jakarta itself, various programmes of national and international cultural dissemination were able to accommodate this art form, until the severe economic crisis of the late 1990s, which affected all of the performing arts. The revitalisation or the so-called “invention of tradition” concept of Hobsbawn and Ranger has proved a beneficial tool by which to clarify the process of the rising cultural status of an ethnic group. However, there is always the underlying danger, that it

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could become superficial. The real and the superficial52 expression of the performing arts should be identified and kept apart as different. The expressive works, which have real traditional value and the entertaining “show-business” variety, must be evaluated separately. Arts and entertainment in a cosmopolitan environment such as Jakarta, where political manoeuvres and nationalist cultural expression are intermingled are bound to become ambiguous. The majority is inclined to mix anything simply for physical pleasure and economic benefit. On the other hand, genuinely good artistic work should be given a more suitable status, whether in the context of heritage preservation or as contemporary works of art in the national or multi-national global context. Modernisation through the contemporary arts in the case of historical Jakarta was not merely motivated by Western colonialism as many might think. In many ways the colonial ambience also contributed to the continuity of tradition and heightened consciousness of it among Southeast Asians.53 It is the result of some centuries of the interaction of intercultural relation between ethnic groups, religions, and nations, especially where education has given rise to new ideas such as nationalism. At the time when nationalism was in its infancy and acknowledgement of the arts had not yet generally developed, the urban ambience of the intercultural stream mixture began to encourage artistic appreciation from the popular culture sector. It was the collage of popular cultural entertainment expression that caused a branching off which eventually led to a better and a higher status of artistic qualification.

52

It is the difference between “community based” and “entertainment-business based” dances. Shahrudin Maaruf, “Tradition and Modernization among Malays of Southeast Asia”, in Yong Mun Cheong, ed., Asian Traditions and Modernizations, (Singapore, Times Academic, 1992) p. 254.

53

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7. Collage of Nationalist Expression in the Arts The nationalist movement that began in the first half of the 20th century and centred on the colonial capital of Batavia was more than a political movement; it infiltrated and affected a plethora of the activities of the Indonesian people, particularly those who lived in the cities. The developments in education and progress in literature mainly boosted this, which were both encouraged by the rise of mass communications media. Unlike politics, which spread through an intellectual environment, the arts were not able to reach the same heights in the beginning. As nationalist influences that reached the performing arts, they evolved through the rise of popular entertainment and kitsch ingredient exposures. It needed time to be able to arrive at a more solid and mature artistic expression. Jakarta indeed provided the environment where this melting-pot production could flourish. It is not common to look at popular arts as a forum of support for the political activities of nationalist movement. New research in this field has opened new perspectives on this question. In studying popular art in Southeast Asia, Craig Lockhart argues that popular art, as a popular culture for mass society, was a product of 19th century upheavals, in the wake of urbanisation, commercialisation and standardisation. This has expanded exponentially since the invention of the mass media of communications technology.54 Betawi performing arts rose with the acknowledgement of the Betawi people during the early days of the nationalist movement in colonial Batavia. At the same time entertainment in the form of popular theatre was likewise emerging in the urban environment the theatre was destined to become one of the more intellectual

54

Craig A. Lockhard, Dance of Life: Popular Music and Politics in Southeast Asia, (Honolulu, University of Hawaii,1998) pp. 2, 3.

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entertainments that had its root in the popular Eurasian entertainment of the komedi stamboel. Komedi stamboel was a kind of popular theatre using mixed languages and a variety of theatrical concepts and it benefited enormously from the launch of the Malay language of the National Awakening. At the end of the 19th century, the language of komedi stamboel still contained Dutch as a product of the new development of urban society in Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and other colonial cities. The popular development of the komedi stamboel, in turn, influenced a new movement in the theatre, known in the beginning as the tonil Melayu modern (Modern Malay theatre). It was introduced by early exponents such as August Mahieu, with his “Opera a la Mahieu” and later on continued by T.D. Thio Jr. and Willy Klimanov alias Piedro, a Russian born in Penang, with his dardanella group. 55 In this popular theatrical genre lay the germ of Indonesian film which also influenced the traditional theatres, in a mixture of music, songs and dance. This prompted the rise of popular theatre groups such as the earlier mentioned dardanella, the Miss Riboet Orion and others. According to Boen Oemarjati56 : This kind of Malay tonil did not contribute an ‘artistic theatre’ to the emerging Indonesian culture and moreover the colonial elite considered it as a low class form of entertainment. Willy Klimanoff /Piedro with his dardanella group made a structural change to bring the Malay tonil closer to Western theatre production.

The modern form of theatre in Indonesia has enriched and revitalised traditional theatres like dermuluk, mananda, bangsawan, lenong, randai, and the ardja in the local regions of 55

According to Matthew I.Cohen’s study, the inspiration for translating this theatre into Malay using European actors and European songs seems to have been Yap Goan Thay’s or someone close to him in Surabaya’s Chinese community He was the owner of the company and exerted significant influence until he was bought out by Mahieu in 1894; Cohen, “On the Origin of the Komedie Stamboel, Popular Culture, Colonial Society and the Parsi Theatre Movement”,. pp. 329, 330. 56 Cited in Ellen Rafferty, “Introduction”, Putu Wijaya in Performance, (Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1989) pp.10-11.

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various ethnicity, including Singapore and Malaysia. The upshot is that these theatres became more varied; intertwining local cultural elements in their presentation in the 1930s and a taste for them grew among the urban people. Arguments still rage about whether these theatres in the various regions were influenced by the komedi stambul or vice-versa, but the thrust of this argument was intended to give more prestige quality to the traditional theatres which slowly were vanishing. The decade of the 1930s was a high mark in Indonesian cultural history. First in 1938, there was the great debate between the Indonesian poets of the Pujangga Baru and Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana and Sanusi Pane, supporters of the Polemik Kebudayaan. They also marked a moment of opening up to the world. Koentajaraningrat writes: Notwithstanding the indication that the arguments about “East” and “West” had become a topic of interest only to literati and a few others, they created controversy, misunderstandings and misconceptions about their own culture on the part of Indonesians.57

Apart from such debates among intellectuals and nationalists during the 1930s, missions to the West made the process of cultural development more complex. The idea of the globalisation of the locals and the localisation of the global postulated by Peter J.M.Nas was somehow realised.58 Local artistic cultures met international trends and artistic works became globally oriented. While these arts encountered international society, those that had already been absorbed into the global trend found new ways of expression in the local cultures by which to enrich themselves. What happened in the mainstream of cultural Jakarta also became fruitful in the globalisation of other regions. This began when a cultural mission from Peliatan, Bali

57 58

Koentjaraningrat, Anthropology in Indonesia: A Bibliographic Review, p.173. Peter Nas, Global, National and Local Perspectives in Indonesia, p. 189.

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attended the Colonial Exhibition in Paris in 1931 and attracted the interest of modern European theatre experts, who adopted Balinese traditional theatre as a source of inspiration for modern European theatre. In particular, it was Artonin Artaud, the avantgarde theatre writer, famous for his idea of the theatre of cruelty, who considered the Balinese theatre to be the best example of non-verbal theatre expression.59 These kinds of new theatrical expressions have flourished since the 1970s, and influenced some dramatists in Jakarta like Putu Wijaya and also spread to other parts of Indonesia through the programmes of the art centres. Also significant to the arts were the Indonesian students of colonial period who either had to stay in Europe to study or to make a living, or had been exiled from Indonesia for political reasons. Ki Hadjar Dewantara, the Father of Indonesian National Education, and one of the founders of the banned Indische Partij, immersed himself in artistic activities during this exile. He performed Indonesian dances in the Netherlands under the auspices of the Indische Vereeniging. (See in Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 411 left) In the 1930s a number of organisations for the arts were founded by Indonesian students in the Netherlands, including the Student Vereeniging ter bevordering van Indonesische Kunst and the Tjahja Timoe” of the Kaoem Moeda Indonesia, including a performing arts course in the Netherlands and Southern France, led by a member of the Yogyakarta royal house, Raden Jodjana. Jodjana had been in the Netherlands since 1915 where he studied agriculture, though he was in fact more interested in developing the performing arts. One outlet was through the art activities of the Indische Vereeniging. He was more interested in creating dances with a Javanese flavour and ran his own school while actively performing his creations in Western Europe and the USA. While in the 59

Artonin Artaud, The Theatre and its Double, (New York, Grove, 1958).

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Netherlands, Jodjana worked tirelessly to promote Indonesian performing arts through his creations.60 (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p.411, right) It is fair to say that he was the pioneer of modern dance in the trend of the American pioneers of the late 19th century, like Isadora Duncan and, later, Ruth St. Denis, who were of Jodjana’s generation. His experience as an initiator in that field was of untold significance to Indonesian dance for the future generations. Regrettably, he himself could not contribute directly to that process at home as he remained and died in the Netherlands.61 Another exponent was Dewi Dja, the East Javanese star of dardanella, and Piedro’s komedi stamboel popular urban theatre. In 1935, she changed the name of the group to “The Royal Balinese Dancers”, while promoting Indonesia on a world tour. It went first to Singapore, where it established a temporary base and then it set off to China, Burma, India and the Middle East, Greece, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands in 1938 and to New York in 1939. Dewi Dja undertook many cultural tours around the USA and Canada until her return to Indonesia in 1959. Later she went back to the USA several times. She and her group performed dances, which were in an entertaining, more simplified style, promoting, in a sense, Indonesian culture to the international world. These became instrumental to the aims of the nationalist movement through a less intellectual forum than the Taman Siswa and the Polemik Kebudayaan. She could reach

60

Harry Poeze, In het Land van de Overheerser.Indonesiers 1600-1951, VKI 100, 1986, pp. 109, 277. When the author visited the Netherlands in 1970 – 1971, she tried to contact several times Jodjana who lived in Amsterdam through phone, and came to know that Jodjana was staying in Southern France for his health. Later on she got the news from friends who knew Jodjana that he had died.

61

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out to the common people through entertainment.62 (See Appendix 2. Pictures, pp. 412, 441, 442) These were some of the cultural activities which contribute to a dynamic argument for the arts moved by and also inspiring National Awakening as part of the modern history of Indonesia. 63 These developments supported the rise of the new performing arts, which were stimulated by popular entertainment media, intellectuals, and intercultural exchange with the world. The most significant benchmark in the nationalist artistic development came after the achievement of Independence. However, the proclamation of Independence did not spell immediate utopia in the cultural realm. In fact it ushered in years of revolution and political turmoil. The course towards a settled life for the new nation encountered numerous obstacles for a number of years. Cultural activities, in particular the performing arts, had difficulty surviving in those troubled years. Some of the arts created at that time were highly coloured by revolutionary emotion and, were of their very nature, anti-Western. Many individuals expressed radical feelings in their opposition to Dutch colonialism and were impatient for change. The literary, visual, theatrical and musical artistic expressions were excellent vehicles for communicating this kind of expression. Revolutionary work appeared in poetry, short stories, novels, and some plays. These compositions meant to awaken the nationalist spirit of the young nation and sung by the revolutionary masses which appeared in abundance became known as the lagu nasional (nationalist songs) after Independence.

62

Ramadhan KH, Gelombang Hidupku: Dewi Dja Dari Dardanella, (Jakarta, Sinar Harapan, 1982) pp. 8, 123-175,318. 63 Julianti Parani, “Sejarah Kesenian Modern. Dinamika Argumentatif dari Kebangkitan Nasional”, Seminar MSI, (Jakarta, Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, 1990).

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This new artistic expression of nationalism in songs followed the wake of the creation of Indonesia Raya (the national anthem). One such composer was the famous Ismail Marzuki (1917-1958), whose name the Jakarta Arts Centre (Taman Ismail Marzuki) honours because he was a native of Jakarta. His compositions are a mixture of entertainment imbued with the patriotism of his generation. They range from romantic keroncong, seriosa (a kind of Indonesian lieder or ballad) to Hawaiian-inspired pieces inciting patriotic, revolutionary and nationalist aspirations. Some of his favourite songs are Rayuan Pulau Kelapa (1944), Indonesia Tanah Pusaka (1945), and Halo Halo Bandung (1946). He composed literally hundreds of songs. Rayuan Pulau Kelapa, his most popular song, was composed in 1944 during the Japanese occupation to instil a love for the motherland. He wrote the lyrics himself too. They run as follows: Tanah airku Indonesia My Homeland Indonesia Negeri elok amat ku cinta Beautiful country that I love so much Tanah tumpah darahku yang mulia The noble land which is my birthplace Yang ku puja sepanjang masa That I will worship forever Tanah airku aman dan makmur My country that is safe and prosperous Coconut Isle of great fertility Pulau Kelapa nan amat subur Pulau Melati pujaan bangsa The jasmine Island praised by its people Sejak dulu kala Since ancient time Melambai-lambai nyiur di pantai Coconut palms waving on the beach Berbisik bisik raja klana Whispering to the wanderer king Memuja pulau nan indah perma Worship the wondrously beautiful island Tanah airku Indonesia My homeland Indonesia

Another song lyric, Halo Halo Bandung was composed in 1946 after he had fled the “Bandung Sea of Fire” incident in the course of revolution. This incident took place when the Dutch army, led by Westerling attacked Bandung during which the

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revolutionary youth burnt down South Bandung as a strategy to prevent the Dutch from occupying the city. The words are as follows: Halo Halo Bandung, Ibu kota Pariangan Halo Halo Bandung, Kota Kenang-kenangan Telah lama beta tidak berjumpa dengan kau Sekarang telah menjadi lautan api, Mari bung rebut kembali

Hallo Bandung, capital of Pariangan Hallo Bandung, city of memories It’s been long time since we met Now it has become a sea of fire Come comrade lets seize it back.64

It was also the time when new theatrical pieces with revolutionary themes were written to incite strong nationalistic feeling. By contrast, in the field of dance, traditional pieces still reigned supreme. They were nurtured by various patrons, including indigenous and nationalist leaders, who were proud of their long and vital heritage. One explanation was that a number of the artists in this field were still limited. The education and intellectual maturity needed to develop a nationalist genre had not yet developed. The breaking away from the Western aspirations in the arts was a prologue to other activities, which had already been strongly supported by the Japanese during their occupation in 1942-1945. A. Teeuw considers that some of the artists who worked during this occupation promoted collaboration because of the solidarity of the Great Asian Idea. In this period of dependency, some cultural organisations were established in the framework of that solidarity, which benefited various artists. Some writers, who later became drama writers and cinematographers like Usmar Ismail (who made his first play and performed with the group Maya) paved the way for a new modern Indonesian theatre and a side career of Usmar Ismail and some of his contemporaries, play-writers as well as actors were lured away from the theatres to the more spectacular world of the movies. He became one of its pioneers, and later became one of the most outstanding Indonesian film producers.65

64

Dinas Kebudayaan DKI Jakarta & IKJ., Ismail Marzuki Komponis Pejuang, (Jakarta, 1997). Author’s translation. 65 A. Teeuw, Modern Indonesian Literature I, (Leiden, KITLV Translation Series 10, 1967), p. 110.

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A group of intellectuals, including D. Djajakusuma, Surjo Sumanto, Rosihan Anwar, and Abu Hanifah supported the Maya Group, founded on 24 May, 1944. This group were the forerunners of the ATNI (Akademi Teater Nasional Indonesia) Indonesian National Theatre Academy founded in Jakarta on 10 September, 1955, by D. Djajakusuma, Usmar Ismail and Asrul Sani. The Academy was important to dramatists and cineastes like Teguh Karya, Wahyu Sihombing, Tatiek Malyati, and Sukarno M. Noor. The rise of this Indonesian modern theatre was related to the previous entertaining theatre of komedi stamboel, dardanella and the Miss Riboet entertainment show. Some of the artists improved their capabilities for patriotic and more serious intellectual plays due to the progress of the development of the Indonesian language and literature.66

This kind of theatre then developed into: contemporary theatre that adopted an Indonesian character inspired by the process of acculturation through direct or indirect social intercourse between the people of Indonesia and other nations, and also because of the setting of national standards in language, politics, economics, science and technology. Since then, dramatists have been inspired by national issues and faced a national audience.67

When referring to the revolutionary ambience that imbued the cultural image of the revolutionary years between the Japanese recapitulation and the officially sovereignty transfer from the Dutch to the Indonesians, 1945 to 1949, a scholar has said of the visual arts: It reflected the dawn of nationalist expression of the arts. It was an ambivalent time, with two states functioning in the archipelago of the infant Republic of Indonesia and the Netherlands Indies. This dualistic situation also caused dualistic aspirations in the arts, the Yogyakarta way and the Jakarta way, or the indigenous orientation and the Western orientation. Inevitably, the pre-war argument of the Polemik Kebudayaan rose again but with different nuances. One example was the argument 66 67

Jakob Sumardjo, Perkembangan Teater Modern dan Sastra Drama Indonesia, p.150. Author’s translation. Saini KM, Teater Modern Indonesia dan Beberapa Permasalahannya, p.6. Author’s translation.

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between S. Sudjojono and Trisno Sumardjo, both painters, intellectuals and writers. Another new trend was aroused due to social-political forces from Europe. In the later development some of Sudjojono’s pupils were encouraged to work on the basis of the socialistic realist requirements of the Russian point of view. Due to the influence of friends who sensed this threat, theses radical views were switched to the Indonesian- Javanese model.68

During the period of Constitutional Democracy between 1950 and 1959, movements in the arts were a continuation of the previous period. It was not possible to move away from the political trend that caused the debate between East and West to rage on but was also deliberately being steered to pave the way for Sukarno’s Guided Democracy. In the performing arts it was a period which saw the rise to popularity of many Indonesian ethnic regional arts, while some court arts carried on vaguely on behind the scenes. By the late 1950s, a scholar remarked that modern drama was dead: Playwrights had to look to regional performance tradition as a source of inspiration for the creation of new theatre styles that spoke to a broader public. In the late 1960s, playwrights began to use regional performance traditions, awakening public interest in modern drama. Rendra took a crucial step in the reshaping of Indonesian modern theatre when he began to experiment with elements from a number of Javanese traditions. Political changes have turned on the reverse in the New Order era. The use of elements from local forms would have become a respected strategy in the arts. This was due to a significant development happened in contemporary Indonesian theatre in particular and the performing arts in general with the establishment of the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts centre in Jakarta.69

Another significant comment on these cultural phenomena comes from Helena Spanjaard in her 1998 Leiden dissertation on ‘The Ideal of Modern Indonesian Painting Art’. She postulates that in the process of Indonesianization, the controversy between ‘Western

68

Helena Spanjaard, Het ideaal van een moderne Indonesische schilderkunst, pp.130, 132-134. Author’s translation. 69 A.Teeuw as cited in Rafferty, Putu Wijaya in Performance, p. 16.

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‘and ‘Eastern’ trends also happened in the Arts School in the revolutionary years in the early decades of Independence. This controversy began the process of creating an art becoming Indonesian by genre. This process was only able to mature much later on during 1965- 1995 as a ‘turning west to go east’ or ‘back to the roots’. In this period, it was expressed that the significant gap in nation building, between the ‘high’ and the ‘low’ art could be bridged indeed through the art education institutions themselves, which were established in several main centres such as Jakarta, Bandung, Yogjakarta, Solo and Denpasar.70

8. Serampang Duabelas ‘Tari Nasional’ A trend in which the arts tended to look to the West emerged as a natural consequence of the progress of the internationalizing thrust of development. However, the political direction adopted by the nation after the 1950s, changed course to become anti -Western, in particular anti-USA. Various artists from the West who specialised in light entertainment, dance and music and anything else stigmatised by the political leadership as “degrading” by nature, were banned from performing in Indonesia. It began with the famous Bill Haley film ‘Rock Around the Clock’ which showed in Indonesia in 1959, after which the whole rock and roll business was banned. Following the same line of thought the hula-hoop and the twist were considered imperialist and demoralising for the people. Certain hairstyles were also condemned.71 This was part of a move to abolish anything, which was considered not in line with national identity, especially the way

70

Helena Spanjaard, Het ideaal van een moderne Indonesische schilderkunst, pp.171- 182. Author’s translation. 71 Zaman Baru, December 1964 & Merdeka 2/1-’59, 14/1-’59, 11/3-’59, 19/5-’59.

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LEKRA defined it, and sought to avoid anything that could harm the unity ideal of the nation, as was described in Chapter 3. During a 1959 campaign, President Sukarno declared that he considered ‘rock and roll’ as “ ngak ngik ngok”— music that did not fit as a national character and so had to be banned. This exerted a damaging effect on the Indonesian performing arts as everybody was assiduously in search of an Indonesian identity in dance. This eventually created the so-called national dance, the Serampang Duabelas (12 patterns dance), which was supposed to satisfy the dance hunger of young people. Its purpose was to usurp ‘rock and roll’ dance and the ‘ngak ngik ngok’ music. In this season of political turmoil when the search for a national identity was at its height, a dance teacher named Sauti (Sayuti) Daulay who was also a government official during the Independence years in the Department of Education and Culture of the province of North Sumatra, choreographed a dance based on the Malay ronggeng, in coordination with another dance artists, Oka Odram. Then the simplified version of this Serampang Duabelas dance re-arranged by Sauti was introduced to the school children in the 1950s.72 In this creative gesture, Sauti shared the same aspiration as Tengku Rajih Anwar,73 the last crown prince of the Malay kraton of Serdang, who also promoted this kind of aesthetic feeling to accommodate the ambience of his kraton. This dance was disseminated as the new Indonesian social dance, and promoted as Tari Nasional (national dance) by Sauti’s pupils throughout Indonesia. It provided an

72

Jose Rizal Firdaus, choreographer from Medan, explanation in The Malay- Zapin Seminar, Singapore 1-2 Nov. 2001. 73 His relatives like T.Luckman Sinar, T. Nazly and T. Sita Syaritsa promoted Malay Performing arts in various arts institutions.

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approved social dance for the younger generation, after “rock and roll” was banned in 1959. Contemporaries considered Sauti’s experimentation in dance an effort to promote regional local dances to suit contemporary needs in the pious hope the dances would become popular. His dances were also featured in several films, which derived their titles from his dances for example Serampang Duabelas, and Tanjong Katong. He tried to modernise traditional Javanese dance motifs, and to set the Serampang Duabelas to jazz or other kinds of popular rhythms, but without success.74 Javanese artists from Surakarta recollect that the Serampang Duabelas was also accompanied by gamelan music. Another dimension of the Serampang Duabelas is related to the diaspora of Malay culture in the neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore where Serampang Duabelas took on a new lease of life and is thought to have laid down the basis of traditional Malay dances. Speaking on the history of Malay dance at the Lokakarya Tari Melau” (Malay Dance Working Meeting) of 1976 organised by the Jakarta Arts Council during the New Order period, Luckman Sinar said that: The Serampang Duabelas was inspired to follow the aspirations of the Malay language, which has become the Indonesian national language. That’s why the Serampang Duabelas was launched as the national dance of Indonesia.75

At the same Loka-karya Tari Melayu”, another Malay dance expert, Nazaruddin claimed that the Serampang Duabelas primed Indonesian society into a Malay culture “fever”, especially through the staging of national competitions in Jakarta in 1959, in Surabaya in 74

Zaman Baru, Desember 1964. Tengku Luckman Sinar, “ Sejarah Tari Melayu”, Lokakarya Tari Melayu, November 1976. Pesta Seni 1976, Dewan Kesenian Jakarta. Author’s translation.

75

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1960, and in Medan in 1963. Then it gradually faded from the scene, probably falling victim to the change in the political climate after 1965. The Loka-karya or workshop meeting of dance experts held in 1976 in the framework of the new arts infrastructure laid down by the Jakarta Arts Council discussed the reasons for the fading of this boom in the 1950s and the early 1960s. The comments avoided any outright mention of the political background, yet they did not deny the influence of political trends in the search for national identity. Indubitably it did awaken awareness of a new creative need in dance, in particular, and in performing arts, in general. Initially, the Serampang Duabelas was intended mainly for educational purposes, but later after it had being heavily dosed with nationalist ideas, it moved into the light entertainment arena where it became a performing art. As the dance was promoted in its simplified version it really lacked creditable artistic qualification. It could not cope with the demands of artistic integrity development, and the changing values in society, so it inexorably lost its meaning for the people. Other options of creative dances for the younger generation were launched in the national festivals or other performing art activities. When Indonesia entered the New Order at the end of the 1960s, new demands were made on the arts in general, including the performing arts. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 413)

9. Contemporary and Mainstream in the Arts Umar Kayam 76 once said that art needs patronage from “maecenas”. In the contemporary setting of Jakarta and in a wider context Indonesia, he expected that the

76

Umar Kayam, “Maecenas dan Jaringan Dewan Kesenian” panel discussion, Seni ,Tradisi ,Masyarakat, pp. 80, 81. Author’s translation.

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Dewan Kesenian Jakarta / Jakarta Art Council (DKJ)with its infrastructure, in particular the Taman Ismail Marzuki – Jakarta Art Centre should play a significant role as a ‘bonafide’ mediator to the ‘maecenas’ in explaining why the arts must always exist. In such a position, Kayam said, DKJ must work tirelessly to discuss with the artists about various possibilities and choices of creativity in the art. TIM programmes and activities became significant in this process, especially its annual celebrations held in November and December. Its first anniversary saw the usual sort of traditional performances, such as the Balinese Calon Arang and the Javanese Darmawijaya Timbul. It was still too early to produce worthy contemporary programmes of artistic works. On its second anniversary, the conventional traditional dances were still staged, but from other regions. However in 1970, in accordance with the Ramayana Festival that was located at Pandaan, East Java, Sardono W. Kusumo, at that time a rising young choreographer from Solo, and outstanding Prambanan Ramayana performer as well as a member of the Jakarta Arts Council, drew upon his classical Javanese background and allied it to his modern dance training in the US to create a new Ramayana version, called Samgita Panca Sona. The dance had its premiere in his home city Solo, and its national premiere in 1971 on the third anniversary of TIM in Jakarta. It was a stunningly creative and controversial dance piece, arousing the ire of traditionalists, but also causing a sensation among the younger generation. Then in June 1970 Huriah Adam, a choreographer, from Padang Panjang, West Sumatra, presented a surprising piece of dance drama, Malinkundang. This appealed not only to the Minangkabau but also to the general public. The dance was Minangkabau in style but its expression was different from the usual, traditional variety, being more

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liberated in its movement and danced mostly by non-Minangkabau dancers. They had recruited professional dancers from different genres, including Java, Bali exponents of traditional Malay culture, ballet dancers and modern dance experts whom the choreographer herself trained. It was a new type of dance expression, which required the preparation of dancers in a new way. Later, other new and exciting dance expressions appeared, which were not tied to the traditional ways but tried to explore new forms of artistic expression. For this reason the Arts School, Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian Jakarta / LPKJ, pilot project of the DKJ in 1970 and in 1980 became the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, was instrumental in preparing artists for this new way of expression. Contemporary arts consciously began in all fields of the arts during the 1974 TIM anniversary celebration. A big festival was organised, combining both traditional and contemporary arts. There were discussions on various matters concerning the arts in the morning, and performances in the evening. Artistic groups from the regions were also invited to take part. An exhibition of Indonesian painters was organised in conjunction with other parties like the central government and artistic non-government organisations. These included the museums and heritage centres such as the Gedung Kebangkitan National (National Awakening Building). A meeting of Indonesian literary experts was held which discussed the possibility of play-writing competition. This meeting was actually its second meeting following the first, which had been held two years earlier in 1972. The relatively new medium of cinematography was also given a chance and local works by young Indonesians were shown followed by a discussion. Last but not least,

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there was a Youth Theatre and a Youth Musical Composition Festival, with discussion about the compositions. Anniversary celebration of TIM through festivals continued in the years that followed. The 1970s are remembered as the golden years of the TIM Arts Centre. Later, problems began to emerge. Other competitive programmes with better funding from different central government agencies proliferated in response to the exciting ‘boom‘ in the arts. The TIM Silver Jubilee commemorative book is redolent with golden memories, with recollections of setbacks and feelings of hope from some of those who were involved. Contributors have been loyal supporters as artists and art lovers throughout its existence, as formal members of the DKJ / LPKJ / IKJ or as members of the greater family of the arts,77 such as on film by Marselli: Film at the TIM has to face the majority of activity outside its walls, directed by other organizations like the Dewan Film Nasional/ National Film Council. Pioneers, who should be credited in the programming, are Alam Surawidjaja and Wahyu Sihombing, both members of the Art Council for several periods. Alam was much credited through his movie; Nyi Ronggeng while he also did television work. Wahyu Sihombing began his career in theatre directing and then moved to film and television. The works that should be credited to both of them are the ‘Kine’ Club and the Mini Film Competition of the seventies, which were beneficial for promoting 8 and 16 mm films, important as means to appreciate filmmaking by the newcomers of the younger generation, not only from the Jakarta Institute but also from Bandung.78

Indonesian music, especially modern music, is something radically new, compared to traditional music genres. It is also frequently understood to have Western traits or to have originated from the West. Its historical origin as a form of Indonesian

77

25 Tahun TIM., (Jakarta, Yayasan Kesenian Jakarta-TIM, 1994). Marselli, “Film di lingkungan PKJ: Sebuah Catatan,” 25 Tahun TIM, p. 100. Author’s translation. Marselli is a graduate of the Jakarta Institute of the arts and also became a jury member for several National Film Festivals, he won fame as the director of the film Sri.

78

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music occurred during the period of National Awakening. It may have begun when Wage Rudolf Supratman composed the Indonesia Raya in 1928 as part of the campaign that the Indonesian Youth campaign of ‘one country, one nation and one language’. A little later, other composers like Cornel Simanjuntak also composed patriotic songs like Maju Tak Gentar (Onwards Do Not Tremble). Ismail Marzuki, the composer of Betawi origin, Kusbini who produced Bagimu Negeri (For you my Country), Indonesian music for children composed by Ibu Sud (Sridjah Nung Bintang) are precursors of modern music. More recently there has been experimental Indonesian music, such as the creative Pop Music, by Harry Rusli, Guruh Sukarnoputra, Chrisye and Eros Jarot. These have often filled the TIM Arts Centre. Even more daring are the experimental compositions like those of Frans Haryadi, Slamet Abdul Syukur, Suka Hardjana, and Titik Julham, whose footsteps have been followed by the composers of the younger generation. The work often contains a message, like Ully Sigar’s music of environmental awareness, and Leo Kristi’s music of nationalistic aspiration. Entertaining music like the nostalgic Kroncong Betawi, the sensual dangdut, and the melancholic music of Rhoma Irama’s religious messages have all drawn full-house audiences at TIM. Contemporary Indonesian music is offered through the Arts Week festival for younger composers. Over the years the Council’s main agenda has launched many celebrated composers.79 Initially the literary arts found it difficult to plot out a course suitable for promoting their cause in the arts centres. They tended to focus on three main activities: First, to serve the public by promoting creativity in literary works. Secondly, to motivate the younger generation for a wider range of writing 79

Suka Hardjana, Franki Raden, Victor Gannap, “Modern Indonesian Music”, Indonesian Heritage, Series Vol. 8: Performing Arts, (Singapore, Archipelago Press, 1998) pp.122, 126 – 128.

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in poetry, short stories, novels, essays and drama. Thirdly, to build a wide appreciation for literary arts in the society.80

Sal Murgiyanto is a dancer, dance critic, member of the Council for several periods, Ph D from NYU and an international promoter of dance through such activities as the Indonesian Dance Festivals, National Institute of the Arts, Taipei, World Dance Alliance-Asia Pacific Centre and so on. He explained that in executing its task the dance committee of the Council has been working together with the arts schools in Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Bandung, Padang Panjang and other places and with the cultural office of Jakarta in an effort to guide and act as monitor for dance groups, contemporary and traditional from a wide range of places such as Jakarta, Solo, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Bandung, Surabaya, Padang Panjang and Ujung Pandang, These efforts were brought into effect through the holding of Young Choreographers Festival Week, an event which was held directly after the TIM Intercultural Workshop of the seniors, featuring Sardono W.Kusumo and members of his generation such as Huriah Adam, I Wayan Diya, Farida Oetoyo and Julianti Parani.81 The effort to build an Indonesian theatre has been described in detail in the commemorative book by Pramana Padmodarmaja82, a theatre expert and practitioner as well as a film and television actor. He is also the former director of the TIM arts centre, and one of the initiators and leaders of the National Theatre Consulting Body in Yogya. He studied drama and theatre at the University of Hawaii and at the Kennedy Theatre in Honolulu. He paid particular attention to the role of the arts centres in promoting theatres

80

Slamet Sukirnanto, “25 Tahun Kegiatan Sastra” in 25 Tahun TIM, p.144. Author’s translation. Sal Murgiyanto, in Indonesian Heritage, pp. 116,118. 82 Pramana Padmodarmaya, “Perjuangan Membangun Teater Indonesia dan Masa Depannya” in 25 Tahun TIM, p.185 81

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in the three cities Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta in 1989, referring to Rendra’s Bengkel Teater, the BPTN (Badan Pembina Teater Nasional / National Theatre Consultative Body) from Yogyakarta, Jim Adhilimas & Teater Perintis of Bandung and Arifin C.Noer’s Teater Kecil - Jakarta which were stimulated through such activities as play-writing competitions and youth festivals from 1973 onwards,theatre festivals in Jakarta from 1984 onwards and other festivals, bolstered by symposiums and seminars which have offered guidance from such seniors experts as Asrul Sani, Teguh Karya, Tuti Indra Malaon, Arifin C.Noer, and Putu Wijaya. Ikranegara, a theatre exponent and a contemporary dramatist who is Balinese, commented, in the book 25 Tahun TIM (TIM Silver Jubilee Commemorative Book): TIM has been an inspiration that needs to develop further and always be adaptable to reality, while changes would come naturally but managing the art centre should become open and oriented to quality.83

Putu Wijaya is a dramatist who according to theatre expert, Saini K.M., is the closest Indonesian parallel to the French avant-garde Artonin Artaud. In the commemorative book Saini said: The art centre must contribute to giving a place to ‘new tradition’ that has come out of the apex of modern Indonesian arts to interact with the world. The new tradition is different than the past tradition, which is inclined to handcuff, while the new tradition is liberating and becomes the source for future development.84 A man of the theatre, the late Arifin C.Noer, was a TIM habitué and his theatre group Teater Kecil often performed there. He tried to communicate with the audience by working on its longing, dreams and worries.85 In the commemorative book, he said:

83

Ikranegara,“ Perjalanan Sebuah Cita-cita” in 25 Tahun TIM, p.224. Saini KM, Teater Modern Indonesia, p. 48 85 Ibid., p. 47. Author’s translation. 84

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there were very intimate and touching moments, as TIM was a garden or a forest where one could feel free like a kid running, moving, singing. One feels really at home, there.86

The new theatre of Indonesia has become concerned with issues affecting the nation and as an urban theatre has undergone various processes of acculturation. W.S. Rendra has exploited socio-political issues, paying special attention to the burden of the people since 1966. Arifin C. Noer depicts the little people from the big cities laying careful stress on the fact they are the majority of the city mass. Putu Wijaya uses sounds, movements and spectacles as theatrical media to arouse intellectual response and emotion. Many elements of traditional theatre have been borrowed by the interpreters of this kind of new theatre expression. In this move they are joined by their counterparts in Bandung, Jim Adhilimas and Suyatna Anirun. Probably the Balinese Putu Wijaya, with his new theatrical idioms, has been the closest to the avant-garde ideas of the French Artonin Artaud.87 Unsurprisingly, Indonesian contemporary theatre is different from the traditional theatre. According to Western theatre expert from USA, Frederick de Boer: In many developing countries an underlying tension exists between the respect for the venerable cultural traditions and a demand for new forms reflective of new experiences and expressing new meanings. An impressive body of theatrical works is carried out in cities on Java by several dramatists working in the aesthetic territory at the margin between local and universal concerns. Most notable among these artists are W.S.Rendra and Putu Wijaya. These men and their less well-known counterparts and colleagues have been engaged in the fascinating and sometimes frustrating task of creating a contemporary theatre for Indonesia. 88

86

Arifin C. Noer, “Taman Ismail Marzuki” in 25 Tahun TIM, p. 232. Author’s translation. Saini KM, Teater Modern Indonesia, pp. 41, 48. Author’s translation. 88 Frederick E. DeBoer, “Foreword” in Rafferty, ed., Putu Wijaya in Performance, (University of Wisconsin, Centre for Southeast Asian Studies Monograph no.5, 1989) p. VI. 87

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Times have changed since the 1990s, and so has the bureaucratic and business environment to support the arts financially. Programming at TIM is facing difficult times in the global economic crisis in particular after 1997. Surviving the arts will become a new agenda to move out from the chaos which is disrupting the country. However, in every region in Indonesia the arts activity and the work of their art councils are modelled on that of the DKJ, and despite the difficulties, they work together with local government cultural centres (Taman Budaya) and other agencies, and probably have not seen as many vicissitudes as at TIM. As the oldest, TIM with the DKJ has had more ups and downs on a road riddled with pitfalls. Notwithstanding these challenges, the artists needed DKJ especially in a fluctuating environment, in which they can be easily swept away and the arts can easily be uprooted in the wake of the fast social and economic development. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 437 - 440 of various traditional and contemporary performances at TIM-Jakarta Art Centre, p. 437 – centre- at STSI Denpasar, p. 438 –below corner left- at Riau Festival)

10. Performing Arts at Fringe As the Jakarta Arts Centre began to cede its position as an “oasis” catering to the needs of society at large, other centres sprang into existence. These included cultural village museums, art fairs or markets, living theatres in avant-garde social gatherings and showcases such as for tourism. While TIM languished at the end of the 1970s, other centres grew of which the most important was the Indonesian Miniature Park (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah / TMII- Taman Mini).

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The idea of the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and its establishment was closely related to Ibu Tien Suharto, the late wife of Indonesia’s second president, Suharto. The park is an open-air museum/exhibition of Indonesian culture situated near Jakarta. It covers a site measuring approximately 1350 by 580 metres89. For the common public, it is a pleasant picnic park in which to enjoy a day with the family. For traditional Indonesian artists, it is an alternative location in which to exhibit their crafts and artistic expressions. For critical politicians, it is an elicit waste of money. Pemberton considered it “as a turn to culture for renewed inspiration for General Suharto, after the cataclysmic events of 1965-66, which accompanied his rise of power.”90 Taman Mini was opened in 1975 in response to the wish of the First Lady, “to develop and deepen the love of the Indonesian people for their fatherland”. In the eyes of some, Taman Mini is a cultural museum of popular anthropological topics.91 Since 1998, it has accommodated a modern theatre, the Teater Tanah Airku. It seems that Taman Mini has stretched its wings and intends to go international. The “Unity in Diversity “ cultural identification of Taman Mini, which at its foundation symbolically unified the traditions of Indonesia, has embraced the modern and international features to foster tourism, and probably the business market for the performing arts. So far all plans are on hold as Indonesia is still engaged in a desperate search for political and economic stability. Falling under the aegis of the management of TMII, is a dance group called “Pelangi Nusantara”, which was founded in the 1970s by the head of the presidential 89

Michael Hitchcock, “Indonesia in Miniature” in Michael Hitchcock & Victor T.King , Images of MalayIndonesian Identity, (Singapore, Oxford University Press, 1997) pp. 227, 228. 90 John Pemberton, The Appearance of Order: A Politics of Culture in Colonial and Postcolonial Java (Ithaca, N.Y, Cornell University, 1989) p. 257. 91 Michael Hitchcock & Victor T.King,,eds. Images of Malay-Indonesian Identity, p.227.

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household. The intention was to develop the potential of dancers (especially beautiful dancers) and musicians / pangrawit, and mould them into a professional group suitable for entertaining heads of state, as well as appearing at other events in and out of the country. Its real origin lay in the former Directorate for the Art Development Office in the 1960s, but it was upgraded to the position of an elite group after the TMII provided it with a worthy home. The embryo unit in the government office became the dance laboratory of the Directorate for the Art for new young dancers and the ‘Pelangi Nusantara’. It performed at the palace in Jakarta and went on tour to Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali, and elsewhere.92 Governors in many regions also maintained their own private dance groups to provide entertainment. Another centre with a different perspective is the “Garden Dreams of Fun Fair” / Taman Bina Ria at Ancol beach on the northern side of Jakarta. The Pasar Seni or Art Fair originated in the Art Fair or Art Bazaar of the Fine Arts Department of the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) on their silver jubilee in 1972. This occasion aroused the enthusiasm of a great many people. One of them was Joop Ave, who was Director General of Tourism. He thought that this Art Fair would be even more efficacious if it could be held at a location outside ITB. The idea was presented to Governor Ali Sadikin of Jakarta, who instructed Ir. Ciputra (Director General of the Ancol Project) to provide a place for the Art Fair. Governor Ali Sadikin himself opened it in 1977. The Pasar Seni consists mainly of arts and handicrafts shops. In the beginning it had about 114 shops, joined later by a few hundreds more. It was eventually supplied with all public utilities. At the centre of the Arts Fair is the open air, ‘Arena’ theatre, where all kinds of cultural and light entertaining performances are staged. The Pasar Seni is not as big as the Taman 92

Information obtained from Sitti N.Kusumastuti, who was a member in that organization.

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Mini, but it is a more pleasant place to stroll around during the evening and it is far more easily accessible to the common people.93 After Tempo magazine was banned in 1996, friends of the Tempo magazine led by Goenawan Mohamad established the Galeri Lontar in the Utan Kayu area in the eastern part of Jakarta (later extended with a Teater Utan Kayu). The idea was born of the dream of several members of the Tempo staff to create a fine arts gallery in the vicinity of their new office. The leading lights of Tempo including Goenawan Mohamad and Fikri Jufri, have contributed enormously to the development of the Indonesian arts. Some of them have been members of the Jakarta Arts Council. They have also been very sympathetic to various traditional and experimental artists and art groups. Fikri Jufri once said that they feel an affinity with the arts, because they are a means of free expression which can contribute hugely to popular education. Goenawan Muhamad has said that he wants the place to become an alternative gallery, like the Galeri Cemiti in Yoyakarta and Studio R66 in Bandung, and not a commercial gallery. Speaking about the objectives of the centre Jim Supangkat said that: Understanding meanings has not only to do with appreciation in the sense of teaching, but also to promote understanding from not knowing to knowing. In understanding the Arts, one should make an effort to know reality. Arts are related to sensitivity and have the potential to roam the space where it is arranged by layers of reality which won’t come to the surface as reality, and is interesting to be searched.94

Galeri Lontar has also evolved as a forum for a discussion of the arts which are on display and for other matters. It also features a small bookshop and the Tempo coffee93

Simon Simorangkir, “Pasar Seni Ancol Sebagai Sarana Apresiasi Seni” (Jakarta: Ujian S1/ IKJ,1992) p.19-34. 94 Jim Supangkat, Wahana Seni Rupa STSI, edisi 08/X/1996, Bandung. Author’s translation.

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house. When Tempo was banned from publication, Goenawan Mohamad may have thought along these lines, as penned by Jim Supangkat: … as an alternative way to fight back, when asked by his fellow journalists. The freedom of the mass media can be stopped by official prohibition but there are yet other media that can be made effective and the arts are one of these possibilities, aren’t they? 95

Some celebrated artists have built small open-air theatres as annexes to their homes, like W.S. Rendra in Depok, a southern satellite town of Jakarta. Gusmiati Suid, the late Minangkabau choreographer was moved by the same aspiration as Rendra. Teguh Karya, a theatre writer and director, who switched to film and television, and Rae Sahetapy with his wife, Dewi Yull, both famous in theatre, film and television, have done the same with their own homes, in the centre of Jakarta itself. They have not become as popular among the younger generation as the Goenawan Mohamad Teater Utan Kayu, because they are not managed well enough to give regular performances and have to scratch around for financial support. Under the New Order government it became a tradition in Jakarta and the regional capitals to stage big, ceremonial mass showcases in the open air. Admittedly, such spectacles were not unknown under the Old Order. To celebrate nationalist events, people were expected to throng an open-air stage, such as a sports stadium or in front of the palace to hear President Sukarno orating for hours, and enthusiastically yell their approval. Performing arts were staged for VIP guests in the palace garden or in an auditorium. During the New Order in the 1970s, national ceremonial events were visualised as non-political, i.e. as performances of various traditional arts mixed with other entertainment. These ceremonies included Youth Day on 28 October, Heroes Day 95

Wahana Senirupa STSI, edisi 08/X/1996, Bandung p. 45-48

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on 10 November, National Education Day on 2 May, National Awakening Day on 20 May, the Independence Day on 17 August, the City Anniversary, the opening of trade fairs, sports events and so forth. During these ceremonies, audiences were treated to a spectacular show interlaced with fragments of national history. The audiences in an openair venue or a convention hall numbered tens of thousands. The President attended, as did members of the government and the diplomatic corps. This kind of nationalist showcase was also visually presented on sketchpads of billboards and ballyhoo exhibited on an open-air location, depicting fragments of national history or processes of national development under the auspices of the government. These billboards also featured pictures of important personalities, like the President and the First Lady and the minister concerned, functioning as a New Order sketchpad of Indonesian history.96 The themes depicted in these mass show cases were not restricted to nationalist events, but also advertised religious celebrations, like the festivals to promote the art of the recitation of the Quran through the Musabaqoh Tilawatil Quran, also known as the MTQ. This started as a national event held in cycles from one to several years, rotating between all the capitals of the provinces. It began in Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi in 1968, Bandung, West Java in 1969; Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan in 1970; and Medan, North Sumatra in 1971; and Jakarta in 1972. Since 1972 it has expanded into a development project of monumental proportions, incorporating cultural programmes featuring Islamic performing and visual arts exhibitions, discussions and the competition itself in several genres of the art of recitation. The most recent events were organised in Denpasar, Bali and in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

96

Jean-Luc Maurer, “A New Order Sketchpad of Indonesian History”, in Michael Hitchcock & Victor T. King, Images of Malay-Indonesian Identity, p,209.

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The stage was set for another big Islamic festival at the Istiqlal Mosque of Jakarta in 1994. This turned into a national showcase in all fields of Islamic religious art. On a smaller scale, a Buddhist festival has been held during the Waisak celebration at Borobudur during the 1990s. Christian groups have also managed to arrange events to suit their own particular needs, but on a much smaller scale and only occasionally.

11. Performing Arts towards Globalization Any artist in the world would consider it the highest achievement in his or her artistic life to go international. In Indonesia the feeling of prestige of going international was already evident in the early 1950s. In the first stage this occurred through exchanging artistic achievements in the framework of sharing friendship between nationalities, by individuals or through official cultural missions. Gradually boundaries between artistic groups with ethnic and national difference blurred and artists began to learn and borrow from each other. What happened then to the distinction derived from cultural uniqueness? When the Festival was announced, it gave priority to the theme of balancing traditional with the contemporary in featuring artists from throughout the world. Another interesting point of view is that of Nele Hertling, at present the director of the Hebbel Theatre in Berlin, in charge of various programmes of the performing arts throughout the world in Berlin: The performing art of today as a contemporary expression need to maintain their local character to be considered unique in the contemporary setting and not traditional where only the locals and traditionalists can understand or universal that somehow looks similar to each others.97

97

Talk at Goethe Institute Singapore, on “Performing Arts Today. Contemporary Practices in Europe and Asia”, 4 March 2000.

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It is widely acceptable to configure Indonesia’s heritage of festivals as sources for celebration. For a number of contemporary reasons there developed new festivals with special objectives up to international perspectives in the context of globalization the arts. This kind of festival has begun to be a regular occurrence in each region since the 1980s, its main purpose being to promote tourism. Every region in Indonesia now has festivals. The objectives are chiefly linked to seeing the arts as a commodity to increase tourism. Festivals designed to mainly encourage artistic quality are generally not yet in broad popular favour, except among certain small numbers of interested officials. Although the festivals at TIM were originally intended to promote quality in 1976, the Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin made no bones about his ambition to use them to boost tourism 98 . At that time tourism from abroad had not assumed the economic importance it later acquired, so promoting the arts had been mainly concerned with introducing them to the ordinary public, which probably included domestic tourists. The main focus was directed towards encouraging new works of art, which depicted the need to cross ethnic boundaries. This gave an incentive to the merging of different cultures to produce high quality performing artworks, not readily welcomed and requiring a new approach to appreciation. The problems from artistic issues to the cultural acceptance of ethnic groups were thoroughly discussed in meetings, symposiums, seminars, and workshops. Gradually the situation improved, and the artists felt more at ease working with different ethnic elements and also ventured to test themselves before audiences. Sophisticated new artworks are also organised through festivals, usually done by the government, or by arts organisations. In the past few decades, these festivals have been organised within the Jakarta Arts Centre, of which DKJ components, directly or 98

Governor of Jakarta speech at the closing of Festival of 1976, DKJ, Jakarta.

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indirectly are usually the initiators. These included the annual national festivals of the Directorate General for Culture, the Indonesian Dance Festival of the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, and the Art Summit Festivals of the Directorate General for Culture. The Indonesian Dance Festival, initiated by the Dance Department of the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, has attracted huge attention from the other arts institutions in Indonesia. More distinctive than the national festivals which were based on regional participation of the Indonesian country provinces, the other festivals were focussed on works of art based on a particular artist, individually or in a group such as organized in the Indonesian Dance Festival and the Arts Summit Festival. In 1995 during the commemoration year of the fiftieth anniversary of Indonesian Independence, the Directorate General for Culture organised the first Art Summit Indonesia for music and dance. It was to stimulate the fact that firstly there had been a number of Indonesian choreographers and composers had become known in international circles and, secondly, there was and still is a dominant problem of intercultural communication in the arts. The drive to find new forms of expression is always there at the centre of the creative field, within which artists work to find freedom. However, there are existing traditions in the environment of the contemporary artist, either directly confronting him or vaguely visible from a considerable distance, and this may tantalize him. In both situations the artist is often urged to deal with traditions, either through a conceptual or a technical dialogue. A discourse along that line was expected to come forth in the 1995 seminar and through the festivals. Whether that discourse had come to a more vivid delineation of the problem of multiculturalism in music and dance creation, it is up to the public to judge from the result of the performances and the seminar proceedings.99

The first Arts Summit in 1995 was considered a success, judging from what was written in the media in Jakarta and the coverage of performances in other cities such as 99

Edi Sedyawati, “Foreword”, in the Arts Summit 1995 International Seminar in Jakarta, p.5.

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Yogyakarta, Denpasar and Padang. This event showed that that the public has begun to understand and appreciate the contemporary performing arts. Generally speaking, the Art Summit fulfilled the expectations of the organisers and the public by bringing artists from Asia (Japan, India, and Indonesia), Europe (England, France, and Germany), Latin America (Argentina) and Africa (Ghana) to participate in a performing arts festival, presenting a high quality of contemporary multicultural artworks. The next Arts Summit began cheerfully its preparation in 1997, but was then afflicted by the Indonesian economic and political crisis. Despite the crisis the second Arts Summit did take place in September- October 1998. It was meant to act as a reminder of the spiritual enlightenment to be found in cultural expression in the midst of a material crisis. The message of the Director General of Culture, Prof. Dr. Edi Sedyawati, was: We do hope that performances as well discussions, either formal or informal encounters, will enrich our inner lives and hence provide a fertile soil of peace and tolerance.

The Minister of Education and Culture, Prof. Dr. Yuwono Sudarsono, said; A festival of this kind deserves support from the public at large, since it is a festival that lauds creativity in its sincere sense.100

Some critical comments in the press include those which argued that the Art Summit ’98 focused on a world concerned with social realism and on Indonesia going global. The majority of the performances were actually reflections of current social conditions in Indonesia and other countries. W.S.Rendra’s play Suku Naga and Putu Wijaya’s Ngeh had invited audiences to ponder a variety of social issues from daily cases to intensive social, economic and political matters of which many common people are not aware of 100

Art Summit Indonesia 1998, Program, pp. 4, 5.

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from a different perspective. The audience had been given an opportunity for selfcontemplation. In her choreography Api dalam Sekam (Fire in the Chaff), Gusmiati Suid warned people of the hidden threat to the country’s social order that might endanger their lives and the nation itself.101 Before the multiculturalism of the Arts Summit was launched as part of a globalization promotion, the idea of Indonesia going global had already started some time ago, while some Indonesian artists have been active on and off abroad. The chairman of the Indonesian Composers Association, Slamet Abdul Syukur, has observed that they are almost unknown in their own country, but are well respected in the international community. Putu Wijaya, the famous dramatic writer and art critic, said that: The shortage of basic commodities has dismayed society. Spending money on other than the basic needs is extravagant. But now is the right time to prove that the arts is one of the nation’s most valuable assets, and is not just for entertainment. The arts are meant to heal troubled souls and to enrich the people’s intellectual and emotional lives. The arts are a means to build the nation from the inside and the Art Summit Indonesia could provide the ailing Indonesian people with self-enrichment.102

When a nation is taken up with finding itself in the process of economic development, the arts are always marginalized. The arts remain constantly faithful in sounding a warning of the wrong- doings of the nation. Others stressed the predominance of this feeling while the nation was in distress. Another commentator said that the Art Summit Indonesia II 1998 was ‘spiritual consumption in the midst of an economic crisis.103 The Art Summit II attempted to address problems caused in the process of multiculturalism. The Jakarta press riposted by stressing that a city as culturally diverse

101

Rita Widiadana, in the Jakarta Post, 18 September 1998. As cited by Widiadana, Jakarta Post, 18 September 1998. 103 Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Surabaya Pos , 9 September 1998. 102

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as Jakarta is bound to be a melting-pot. However, in recent times the mixture appears to have curdled as it was swept by savage acts of ethnic violence. Before all this, Jakarta seemed to be the right venue at the right time for a discourse on multiculturalism, organised in conjunction with performances of the Art Summit II of 1998. There are many things to be learned from ASI II / 1998. It was interesting that the genres observed were not traditional, conventional, mainstream or popular. This is why ASI II 1998 veered away from generally accepted aesthetic criteria, but swept up the audience, urging it to think about complicated matters, which are difficult to pinpoint and understand. It persuaded the audiences to appreciate originality, innovation and creativity, and not be astonished by spectacle, virtuosity and visibility. Murgiyanto wrote that the conception of multiculturalism, discussed in the ASI II 1998, is beneficial to understanding the matter. There has been an abundance of fusion between the artists in their presentations, between different nations, different institutions and different groups. The co-operation between artists from foreign countries seems smoother than relations between localities in the country itself. The problem of multiculturalism in Indonesia has never been discussed openly, because up to this time it had always been considered a sensitive matter. These matters should be made transparent and laid bare to discussion, if the nation wants to progress to reach for a higher achievement in the arts.104 Preference for the kind of performing arts in Indonesia has still been on traditional expression. In some places, such as in Java and Bali, the performing arts in general have been developed earlier in history. They have become a high form of artistic expression with solid roots in the customs, rituals and other social activities often still pursued by 104

Sal Murgiyanto, Kompas, Jakarta 25 October 1998.

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various ethnic peoples of Indonesia. The founding of the TIM Jakarta Arts Centre in 1968 marked the beginning of a new era for the arts, not only for the city of Jakarta, but for the rest of Indonesia. The Arts Centre of Jakarta organised regular performances, in which the regions were able to take part as performers. These performances faced certain challenges. Many are rituals or locally oriented activities in their traditional contexts. Transposed to the Jakarta Arts Centre these ritual performances have to face, for the first time, a new technical and artistic environment in a proscenium theatre with stage lighting and other stage props. 105 Another challenge is the different cultural background of the audience. It is the transformation from an ethnic, rural environment to the multiconsumerism audience of a stage performance. This marked a new beginning in Indonesian culture that has been followed by other new developments in cultural life, in which the regions have had a chance to experience their own uniqueness. It has filled essential details in the progress of Indonesian people towards nationhood and other objectives. Ethnic and local diversity of plural artistic expression has become a shared experience in societal development, with all its problems of maturity and regeneration, degeneration and revitalisation. While ideals have proven to be beyond reach and political leaders have kept repeating them to shore up their personal interests, the cultural commitment to the people has become a vested interest for politicians. The keadilan sosial (social welfare) of the Pancasila as one of the five significant objectives preached by the nation’s founding fathers to foster national development for more than 30 years during the New Order period seemed to be reduced to a physical icon only. For that reason, alas, it seems that the contemporary development of the arts in the capital of Jakarta, where artistic 105

Sal Murgiyanto, “Introduction”, Ketika Cahaya Memudar, (Jakarta, 1993).

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aspirations have met with political enforcement and so somehow have given a bias for a better conscious forming to the artistic enlivenment for the nation. Had it not been persistently continued by a few good buds that scattered through-out Indonesia, including Jakarta itself, the performing arts in Indonesia would be a case that would have become as difficult as politics and economics in the present reformation process.

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Chapter 5 JAVANESE AND BALINESE PERFORMING ARTS PAR EXCELLENCE

This chapter discusses the status of Balinese and Javanese heritage and distinctive artistic development. Javanese and Balinese arts have played major roles in the nationalistic movement and the formation of national identity since Independence. This ethnic dominance may be better understood if we relate it to Haryati Soebadio’s 1 comment that Indonesia’s cultural diversity is not entirely a result of the impersonal operation of history and environmental determinism, but rather of Indonesia’s complex cultural make-up that can be said to be due both to natural conditions and to conscious human decisions. This situation has its background in the so-called plural or poly-ethnic societies that have often been described by writers such as by Eriksen: So called plural or polyethnic societies have often been described as deeply divided societies marked by perennial conflict and competition between discrete ethnic groups … at the cost of underestimating cooperation, identity formation along non-ethnic lines, and cultural integration … As a typical plural society … here, I [Eriksen] approach it [plural society] from a different perspective, focusing on shared meaning rather than group competition … nation may be depicted as identical with the ‘mosaic of cultures’ reified in the identity politics of the state … 2

A cultural dilemma which has its background in the political aspirations of Indonesia’s founding fathers became a bias after Independence, resulting in various misconceptions 1

Haryati Soebadio, “Indonesian Geographical and Cultural Diversity”, in Indonesian Heritage, Vol.I Ancient History, (Singapore, Archipelago Press, 1996) pp 8, 9. 2 Thomas H.Eriksen, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives, (London, Pluto Press, 1993) p. 116.

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during the implementation of cultural policy at the regional level, in particular during the New Order period.

1. Heritage Excellence and Diversity in National Culture It was through the shared experience of Dutch colonialism that Indonesians gradually became conscious of basic similarities. This sharing of togetherness has progressed to a national movement that culminated with Independence. Malayo-Polynesian speakers form the largest single group in Indonesia. Today they speak over 400 related languages.3 The majority of these Indonesians have since the 17th century professed Islam, which is often practiced alongside local indigenous beliefs, while an earlier layer of Hindu-Buddhist thought provides a further basis for cultural connectivity. In this configuration of diversity, the cultures of Java and Bali have played significant roles. Hildred Geertz 4 comments that of the two regions, Bali is the more traditional, for its indigenous social structure still functions today, while the Javanese peasants are what might be called ‘post-traditional’ due the combined impact of Islam and colonialism, are interesting in this context. In focusing attention on the ancient and indigenous cultures of Indonesia, one should bear in mind John Miksic’s comments: The time spanned by the records of human activity in Indonesia is unparalleled: it covers the entire range of human existence, beginning over one million years ago through the intermediate periods from the introduction of agriculture and village life to the age of sophisticated maritime trade which by the 12th century affected the lives of most Indonesians … It is the world’s largest archipelago, whose cultures have

3

Junus M. Melalatoa, Ensiklopedia suku bangsa Indonesia, (Jakarta, Cipta Adi Pusaka- Dept. P & K, 1995). 4 Hildred Geertz, Indonesian Cultures and Communities, (Connecticut, HRAF, 1963) p. 7.

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evolved along parallel but separate tracks in an adaptive relationship with the resources available in each geographic unit of each island.5

The most complicated issue is how Javanese culture formed from an ancient indigenous culture, which became the foundation to which Hinduism, Islam, the Chinese and later European cultures contributed.6 In contrast, the distinctive character of Balinese culture was established by the late prehistoric period, pre-dating the influx of the historical cultural influences mentioned above. The knowledge provided by ancient archaeological monuments of early Indonesian history and indigenous culture may have inspired Article 32 of the Indonesian Constitution of 1945; the notion of puncak puncak kebudayaan or ‘cultural apexes’ of cultural inheritance had its origin with Ki Hadjar Dewantara and his colleagues. Edi Sedyawati clarifies this link, saying that: Indonesia’s cultural policy puts the formation of a national culture as a priority, while continuing to stress the need to conserve the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible … Unavoidably there is a predominance of Javanese and Balinese themes [of performing arts] …7

The cultures of Indonesia have strong historical roots in a variety of customs which can often be used to endorse or explain the significant roles of the Javanese and the Balinese in Indonesian culture. Are cultural survival and the maintenance of integrity of meanings across various cultural subsystems a matter of population density, environmental influences, or are they due to certain philosophical / spiritual notions?

5

“Land, People and History”, in John Miksic ed., Indonesian Heritage Vol.I Ancient History, p. 7. Willem F. Stutterheim, “Inleiding”, Cultuurgeschiedenis van Java in beeld, (Batavia: Java Insituut, 1926) p. III. 7 Edi Sedyawati, “A Panorama of Performing Arts”, in Indonesian Heritage, Vol. 8 Performing Arts p. 9. 6

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What about other regions of ‘Nusantara’? 8 To some extent the traditional formulation of ‘art as heritage’ appears to be the basis of regional identity, while the new national culture is a shared responsibility. The cultural dilemma in this issue is being able to make the distinction between real products of tradition and the creative or invented tradition of the contemporary arts. The arts, in particular the traditional arts, as questions and issues of culture, seem to touch a very basic core in society, in the ethnic, national and international environment. It is not unusual for the diversity of cultures to become a source of strength related to the conceptual formation of a nation such as Indonesia. However, the issue is, it would seem, caught up in the apparently paradoxical debate over “Bhineka Tunggal Ika”/ Unity in Diversity, a philosophical concept of ‘many ways to the same goal’. The paradox becomes apparent in particular where aspects of the cultural relation are put into a political aspiration of the independent nation. On the other hand, Joel Kahn considers this notion a “problem”: the cultural diversity of Indonesia has long been taken to be the “problem” for Indonesian nationalism, hindering the forging of some sort of imagined or artificial unity among a culturally disparate people. Kahn further views that the project of constructing or imagining an Indonesian nation is conceived in terms of overcoming preexisting primordial group loyalties, from historical, psychological and cultural perspective, are more real than the concept and reality of nation. Indonesian nationalism should be seen as the establishment of intercultural relations.9

8

Nusantara as another name for the Indonesian Archipelago originated from old Javanese literature of the pre-Majapahit period. The wod occurs in the Prasasti Penampihan, which recorded thirteenth-century expansion of the power of Singasari outside Java. The word meant the islands outside Java. Slamet Mulyana, Pemugaran Persada Sejarah Leluhur Majapahit, (Jakarta, Inti Idayu Press, 1983) p.92. 9 Joel Kahn, “Culturalising the Indonesian Upland”, in Li, ed., Transforming the Indonesian Upland, p. 80.

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This is especially true when the ‘unity’ and ‘diversity’ are of equal importance in the process of national development, whereby ambiguity arises during the implementation, as one concept becomes more dominant than the other whether by ‘mistake’, oversight, or intention. The New Order policy concerning ethnicity was criticised in research reports conducted by the LIPI / Indonesian Science Institute in 2001 which charged that the State changed local institutions, social infrastructure, and local beliefs with the result that all local ‘power’ was marginalized. Ethnic [re]construction was not separated from the concepts of majority and minority, superiority and inferiority, domination and subordination. As a result, in ethnic [re]construction in Indonesia some religious – and/or ethnic-group[s] are considered dominant, whether in terms of population, social hierarchy, and/or the division of power and distribution of economic interests.10 The crisis of identity has indeed become a burden within the performing arts as widely practiced throughout Indonesia, especially when national development through the application of tourism becomes a commodity intended to strengthen the process of conserving, reforming and re-creating tradition through temple ceremonies, religious observances, musical attendance, dances and offerings. Different aspects of the arts become the main source. Furthermore, the process of identity creation should include the promotion and sharing of knowledge, belief, art, morality, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by humankind, continuously to be re-defined as a configuration of values, to be a historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols.

10

“Pendahuluan” Kebijakan Kebudayaan dimasa Orde Baru, p. 6 and Thung Ju Lan, “Kebijakan Etnisitas” in Kebijakan Kebudayaan dimasa Orde Baru, p. 537.

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Diversity as a basis on which to form unity can be easily counteracted by the need to see diversity as a means for separate existence. The notion of diversity was easily manipulated by national or colonial politicians in the past, whereby during colonialism people had to face the creation of a basically ‘imagined’ unity that afterwards became a problem. This imagined unity became problematic when the common enemy was removed. The construction of a nation was not always easy when political and economic stability was not yet established. Would it for the sake of the national unity, for example, then be necessary to provide a more complete elaboration of the ancient connections between Java and Bali to the ‘Nusantara’ regions? This issue needs further discussion before a satisfying answer can be found.

2. Cultural Connections between Java and Bali The cultural heritages of Java and Bali have always attracted great attention, not only from the founding fathers, but also from outsiders. Foreigners are attracted to Bali for its ritual exoticism and to Java for court ambience, cultural life and Javanese dominance of political matters. Vickers wrote on the preference for Javanese and Balinese culture among Indonesia’s founding fathers that Sukarno’s aim of a genuinely Indonesian culture, blending elements of tradition, modernity and abstracted general principles from the different cultures, was based on the belief that Javanese culture was a kind of father culture and Balinese culture a kind of mother culture.11 Java had an earlier counterpart in the Sumatran kingdom of Sriwijaya, which had a wide impact on Southeast Asia, although Sriwijaya left no monuments. While contact

11

Adrian Vickers, Bali. A Paradise Created, (Singapore, Periplus Editions, 1990) p.180.

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may have been established with India in late prehistory, 12 Bali remained practically unaltered by this contact until the 10th - 11th century. Boon stresses that Balinese culture must not be looked at only in terms of Hindu influence; Bali appeared also to interact with Polynesian culture.13 The literary epics Ramayana and Mahabharata were introduced to Indonesia in the first millennium AD. Themes from these works found their way into the sung heritage, including the shadow play and other performing arts. The tembang stanzas still remain popular in traditional ceremonies held in many areas, and have influenced vernaculars in the cultures of Palembang, the Sundanese, Madura, Bali, and Lombok.14 While Bali is in many ways similar to Java, there are fundamental differences between the two major cultural areas. The famous anthropologist Clifford Geertz characterized the essential difference between them in the phrase “What is philosophy in Java, is theatre in Bali.” 15 Bali was politically connected with Java when the eldest son of a ruler of 10th century Bali, Airlangga, married the daughter of Darmawangsa, a Javanese king. After a struggle to save his father-in-law’s kingdom, Airlangga was installed as king of east Java. His younger brother became Bali’s ruler in 1022 until 1025.16 While much of Java became Islamized in the 16th century, most of Bali remained Hindu. The Bali-Aga, “mountain Balinese”, or Bali-Mula, “original Balinese”, still live in places such as Tenganan, Pegrinsingan at Karangasem, and Trunyan. This last group 12

I Wayan Ardika, “Bali dalam Sentuhan Budaya Global pada Awal abad Masehi”, in I Wayan Ardika & I Made Sutaba, Dinamika Kebudayaan Bali, (Denpasar, Upada Sasatra, 1996) p.62. 13 James Boon, “The Birth of Bali” ,in Indonesia No.22, October 1976, p. 12. 14 Bernard Arps, “Singing Literature”, Indonesian Heritage Vol.I Ancient History, pp. 136-137. 15 Clifford Geertz, Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology, (USA, Basic Books, 1983) p. 62. 16 Endang Sri Hardiati, “Bali in the Middle Classic Period”, in Indonesian Heritage Vol 1 Ancient History, p 106.

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prefers to be called ‘Bali Turunan’, as they believe that their ancestors descended (turun) from the sky. Their culture has embraced relatively minor Hindu influences, a factor due to the remoteness of the villages and the perception that their ancestors strongly resisted foreign domination. 17 “Proper Peasants” in their own eyes, the Bali-Aga groups were disdainfully regarded by those who came later, seen as boorish mountain folk who spoke archaic dialects and cared neither for priest nor holy water nor cremation. Bali-Aga groups are sometimes thought to be “non-Javanized Hindu-Balinese”, or “pre-Majapahit” given that the influence of Hinduism, both of Majapahit and pre-Majapahit, was much less marked in the island’s isolated regions. Evidence of pre-Majapahit Javanese cultural influences in Bali according to I Made Bandem was also found in the record of a masked dance (‘Topeng Pajegan’ / ‘Sidhakarya’), which at present is the oldest record found. It dates to the copper plate charter, Prasati Bebetin, about AD 896, which was inscribed during the reign of King Ugrasena of Bedulu. The charter lists masked dancers (partapukan) along with other court artists, servants, and functionaries. The charter is inscribed in the Old Javanese language. Unfortunately nothing of the nature of the dance performed by these ancient peoples is known. Other early descriptive accounts are given in the considerably later Panji stories, such as the Malat and Wangbang Wedaya, and concern the cultural expression of dance forms which sound quite similar to the theatres of Gambuh.18 Clifford Geertz called the Balinese political system a “Theatre State” on the eve of Dutch colonization:

17

James Danandjaja, “The Trunyanese: The People who Descended from the Sky”, in Haryati Soebadio & Carine du Marchie Sarvaas, Dynamics of Indonesia History, p. 43. 18 I Made Bandem & Frederick De Boer, Kaja and Kelod: Balinese dance in transition, p.45.

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The expressive nature of the Balinese state was apparent through the whole of its known history, for it was always pointed not toward tyranny …, and not even very methodically towards government …, but rather towards spectacle, toward ceremony, towards the public dramatization of the ruling obsessions of Balinese culture: social inequality and status pride.19

Geertz considers one of the first fallacies perhaps popularised by Raffles in his famous book ‘The History of Java’ to be the misconception of Bali as a ‘museum’ in which the culture of pre-colonial inner Indonesia has been preserved intact. There is no reason to believe that Bali, because of its isolation from the mainstream of Indonesian development, or by strange good fortune, has been spared ongoing history.20 Dispelling this assumption would allow us to consider Bali from its own cultural perspective and not as a continuation of Javanese Majapahit. In the hinterland of Java, the culture of the Tengger people, whom Edi Sedyawati21 has described as original Javanese, has also attracted the attention of scholars from the time of Raffles. As descendants of Majapahit culture, living in the ‘highlands’ and out of the cultural development trends of the Javanese, the relationship between Tengger culture and Balinese culture needs deeper exploration, thus Sedyawati .

3. Javanese Classics in the Performing Arts Javanese artistic expression for centuries has given the impression of possessing a wide variety of heritage forms, and has progressed in a similar way in contemporary arts as well. Javanese cultural complexity evolved forms of greater perceived sophistication in

19

Clifford Geertz, Negara: Theatre State in Nineteenth-Century Bali (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1980) p.13. 20 Ibid., p. 7. 21 Edi Sedyawati, “Masyarakat Tengger dan Kebudayaanya” in Kumpulan Makalah (1993-1995) Direktur Jenderal Kebudayaan, (Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan 1995/1996).

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pre-historic times. Notwithstanding the rich folk arts which the Javanese inherited, the epitome of Javanese cultural heritage is normally described by Javanese and non-Javanese alike as those arts patronised by royalty and, in particular, the performing arts of musical gamelan, theatrical wayang and the bedoyo and srimpi dances. Clifford Geertz understands the central ideas in terms of which the Javanese reflection has proceeded, and which thus defined its boundaries of the Javanese sense of what a person is: The central ideas of which this reflection proceeded, … were arranged into two sets of contrasts between “inside” and “outside” and one between “refined” and “vulgar” … together they formed a distinctive conception of the self, which the Javanese perceived one and another and, themselves. The “inside/outside” words, batin and lahir … refer on the one hand to the felt realm of human experience and behaviour … Batin, the “inside” word …, to the emotional life of human beings taken generally … lahir … refers to that part of human life which … behaviorists limit themselves to studying- external actions, movements, postures, speech- again conceived as its essence in-variant from one individual to the next. These two sets of phenomena - inward feelings and outward actions - are then regarded not as functions of one another, but as independent realms of being to be put in proper order independently. It is in connection with this ‘proper ordering’ that the contrast between alus, the word meaning “ pure, refined, polished, exquisite, ethereal, subtle, civilized, smooth,” and kasar, the word meaning “impolite, rough, uncivilized, coarse, insensitive, vulgar” comes into play.22 The philosophical background has also brought the spiritual idea into the physical forms of the Javanese art, in particular the court dances and the performing arts in general. Primarily, it is in the theatre art of the wayang; Budiardjo23 expresses that the richness of Javanese culture is manifested in a form of art but gives the individual an outlet for his psychological conflict and on the other hand is a kind of education in manner, morality and philosophy.

22

Clifford Geertz, Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology, pp. 60, 61. Boediardjo, “Wayang: A Reflection of the Aspiration of the Javanese”, in Haryati Soebadio & Carine A. du Marchie Sarvas , Dynamics of Indonesian History, p. 99.

23

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The art of the central Javanese court, however, has set standards of artistic excellence at least in the so-called ‘Negarigung’ (court region) itself and the eastern part, the ‘Mancanegari’ region, and has therefore a unifying effect upon the large variety of forms of those areas.24 It was probably the notion of this unifying impact on a wider perspective aspired to by some of the nationalist leaders, which then become the issue of critics as a ‘democratisation’, or of the liberation of the culture from feudal strings. It would be interesting to look into some historical factors and take into consideration an opinion, developed in the dissertation of Jennifer Lindsay: An evolutionary approach to art forms … applied to Javanese cultural forms, this shaped another structuralist opposition, folk art against court art … done by Pigeaud … This concept of the duality relationship of Javanese court and folk art placed the court art in an ambiguous position. The court arts were described as exclusive to the courts, and on a higher level of development than folk art, yet could always be related to the more primitive types of performances in the villages … Furthermore, babad references to celebration held within the Yogyakarta kraton in the early nineteenth century indicate that the cultural life of this court was at this time much more varied, and much more open to interaction with village artists than a stereotyped image of the ‘courts’ based on their colonial identity suggest … The image of court art was part of the Dutch image of the Central Javanese courts in the early twentieth century.25 Dating the origin of the Javanese court arts is difficult. Was it during the 9th century Prambanan relief period, the beginning of new Mataram kingdom in the 16th century, or the wider context in the late 19th century? Was this development motivated by Dutch colonial interest, and then to which distinctive nature of Javanese courts? This might be interesting to see in the context of development of the arts in further studies.

24

Koentjaraningrat, Javanese Culture, (Singapore, ISEAS / Oxford University, 1985) p. 202. Jennifer Lindsay, Klasik Kitsch or Contemporary: A Study of the Javanese Performing Arts. (Unpublished Ph D thesis, University of Sydney, 1985), pp. 12 – 14. 25

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In comparing to other regions Bali and in Central Java were allowed to remain in existence due to the political strategy of the Dutch colonial system, and since Independence some royal houses have been designed as historical heritages to be preserved with support from the state. The Balinese royal houses provided support and patronage to the traditional performing arts as a means of supporting their status. But it was the rituals of the people as part of religion that, in fact, made it possible to maintain their role up to the present. In Central Java, rituals were also used as a means of maintaining tradition, and the rulers of the kratons have been their major support through patronage and funding, but some have laid down aesthetics in the performing arts and introduced certain genres that have become status symbols of power. It was the intellectual development in general that formed the basis of national education that found its roots on Java, due in particular to the colonial interest that had its drawbacks and benefits. In particular the population density of Central Java must have been one of the reasons that the region could offer a rich variety of performing arts, from tradition to contemporary, from folk to court and from ritual to secular. The Javanese cultural images of santri / priyayi as social roles of traders and gentry, sophisticated urban, and abangan peasantry cultures, combined with the contemporary expressions, are still vivid. Probably one could not deny that in variety and qualification, they were in position to dominate the formation of Indonesian national culture; a fact that often can be misused and misperceived by the Javanese and also by people of other ethnicities in Indonesia. This has been a disadvantage not only in cultural situations but also, in particular, in politics. According to the political idea of equality, the Javanese should be willing to release their

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personal ethnic interest to the others, so as to be able to fulfil the justification of unity in the ideal Independence of Indonesia, which is good but not easy to execute. One of the ignored conceptions in the historical perspective of the Javanese culture is the continuous influence of foreign culture. Sumarsam writes: The key for understanding performing arts culture in Java lies in its historical perspective. One of the characteristic features of Javanese history is the continuous exposure of the Javanese people to foreign culture and ideas. In essence, contact with foreign cultures stimulates the development of Javanese culture. Viewed this way, from the Java of the fourteenth century to the present, one cannot properly speak of a single culture; one can properly speak only of cultural pluralism. Within any of Java’s historical periods, we always have to be aware of its plural character because of the existence of different ethnic groups (Javanese, Europeans, Eurasians, Chinese Arabs, Malays).26

Central to the traditional Javanese world-view and to the Mataram system of kingship, was the old Hindu-Buddhist notion that the state was viewed as an image of the divine realm and the authority of the gods justified the authority of the king. When Islamisation began, at least by the 16th century, the early Mataram rulers discouraged the open identification of man and God, and in principle recognised no distinction between sacred and temporal authority. The exception was an attempt made by Mataram’s most powerful ruler, Panembahan Ingalogo, who is known as Sultan Agung, in placing the king as the sole medium between God and man and as God’s spokesman, giving his will divine sanction. Dutch interference in the affairs of Mataram began at the end of the reign of Amangkurat I (1645-1677) when the state simply disintegrated through dissension at court and from rebellious vassals, and ended in 1755 with a partition of what was left of the realm, through the Treaty of Giyanti. The division of Mataram was initially viewed by

26

Sumarsam, “Gamelan”, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1995) p. 2.

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the Javanese elite as a temporary expedient, one that had been adopted frequently in the past, but in the years after 1755 they gradually came to the bitter realisation that the division would probably be permanent. However, the idea of restoration never fully died out. In the early 20th century, the ex-Mataram region of Surakarta and Yogyakarta occupied a region in Central Java that was referred to by the Dutch as the ‘Vorstenlanden’ (the land of the Princes). The ‘Vorstenlanden’ / Principalities were organised into residencies as part of the territory of the Netherlands East Indies. They had a somewhat ambiguous status as self-governing semi-autonomous kingdoms, the by-products of Dutch-Javanese relations. They were the detritus of the once powerful empire of Mataram, which had once covered most of the island of Java. The permanent division of the Mataram kingdom into two major and two minor courts led each of these courts to search for a special identity in court customs, rituals and artistic expression. These courts were intense rivals, especially the Kasunanan of Surakarta and the Kasultanan of Yogyakarta, so that each found it necessary to distinguish many aspects of its life from that of the other, ranging from attire to the style of the performing arts. There were notable distinctions in style between the Yogyakarta and Surakarta courts in dress, dance, gamelan, dance drama and the wayang. Because of a lack of evidence, it is difficult to document the process of development of these styles; hence this is still a subject of discussion.27

27

George D. Larson, Prelude to Revolution: Palaces and Politics in Surakarta, (VKI 124, 1987) pp. 1-2.

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In giving more thought to the issues of the Dutch scholar, Pigeaud, 28 who identified the 18th and 19th century as the renaissance of classical Javanese literature, the subjects of this renewed literature were now drawn not only from Hindu-Javanese culture, but also from Islamic culture, or from a culture that showed a combination of both. Would it then become a basic argument to relate this kind of literature to its impact on the development of the various genres of Javanese performing arts? It was in this period that court poets revived pre-Islamic literature, like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana Hindu-Javanese epics, into the modern Javanese language, as Ronggowarsita wrote the monumental work Serat Pustaka Raja, which was based on the Mahabharata. Subsequently, Ronggowarsita (court poet of Surakarta during the 19th century) adopted western modes of literary expressions to enrich the Javanese literature of that period, while other artists’ works became important sources of inspiration for the court dalang who created and performed wayang stories based on them. Ronggowarsita is also important to the tradition in that he was a self-conscious revivalist, making his own studies of Old Javanese literature in ‘Jaman Edan’ (Age of Madness), perhaps in a search for an ancient source of strength. But self-consciously reviving the old meant juxtaposing it with the present and thus distancing the old in a way that backhandedly foreshadowed the work of his great successor, Purbatjaraka, the linguist and Javanese culture expert, who was born a century later. 29 One of Ronggowarsita’s writings, ‘Jaka Lodhang’, contains future images of a better time, which some critics

28

Theodore G. Pigeaud. Literature of Java. Vol. I , cited by M.C.Ricklefs, Jogjakarta Under The Mangkubumi (Kuala Lumpur, Oxford University Press, 1974) p. 175, as stated in Soedarsono, Wayang Wong.The State Ritual Dance in the Court of Yogyakarta, p.92. 29 Benedict Anderson, Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia, p. 213.

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interpret to mean an independent Indonesia.30 Although seemingly absurd for his time, at least he was forecasting the feeling of a needed reality. The dramatic structure of the wayang story of the middle of the 19th century did not greatly differ from today’s wayang lakon. The gending accompaniment then was also similar to the present. 31 The firstmentioned ruler created social life, economy and culture at the kraton (palace-court) city. He allowed new Chinese immigrants to stay at the city, who mixed with Peranakans and built up a cultural interaction that produced a variety of heritages, including the ChineseJavanese wayang, besides the kraton’s culture.32 Sumarsam (a native of Surakarta) claims that wayang wong originated in Surakarta, created by Mangkunegara I (1575-1790); this has been part of a long debate between the scholars concerned. 33 Others believe that wayang wong originated in Majapahit. Some sources claim that the kraton of Mataram also created performing arts including wayang topeng, bedhaya, srimpi, and lawung. Sultan Hamengkubuwana I may have created the wayang wong to strengthen his legitimacy as the ruler of Mataram. It was significant for performing arts development that all the Sultans of the Yogyakarta Kraton were dancers. Sultan Hamengkubuwana I used to dance with his son, the Crown Prince, as his partner. The most favourable development of the wayang wong occurred during the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwana VII, and was accompanied by the spread of the court dance outside the kraton walls, in particular after Independence during the reign of the next Sultan. Conditions in the Mangkunegara Kraton of Surakarta were different, where the wayang wong spread among 30

Kamajaya (K. Partokusumo), Lima Karya Pujangga Ronggowarsita, (Jakarta, Balai Pustaka,1991) p.18. Sumarsam, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, p. 113. 32 S. Soelarto & S. Ilmi, Wayang Cina-Jawa di Yogyakarta, (Jakarta, Proyek Media Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan, 1980/1981) p. 1. 33 Sumarsam, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, p. 55. 31

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the common people by the end of the 19th century. It became public entertainment performed by groups, such as the Sriwedari, and the Semarang Ngesti Pandawa with the Jakarta Bharata.34 Another significant aspect of the Surakarta Kraton is that in general it was more open to Western influence than the court at Yogyakarta.35 Worthy of mention in the context of Javanese cultural resource development of Surakarta is that in 1918 the Museum Mangkunegara was founded as one of earliest museums established in Indonesia after the 18th century foundation of the National Museum in Jakarta, followed in 1890 by the founding of the Museum Library Radya Pustaka. The collection of the Museum Mangkunegara collection was due to the interest and effort of Prince Adipati Ario Mangku Negara VII and could be cited as a Javanese ‘renaissance’ in the arts and crafts, founded shortly after the ‘National Awakening’ through Budi Utomo’s activities; Mangkunegara took part also in this cultural movement following his return from the Netherlands in 1915.36 On the other hand, in Yogyakarta, the Dutch ‘Java Instituut’ founded the Sono Budoyo Museum in 1935 and after Independence incorporated a Museum Perjuangan / struggle, while the Yogyakarta Kraton itself has been a point of interest since colonial times and has been a museum since Independence. The Japanese occupation and the revolutionary years were experienced differently by the two court regions of Surakarta and Yogyakarta. This was naturally reflected in the development of the arts, in particular the court arts. There was a strong decline in the courts of Solo due to the conduct of the court people themselves during the Japanese

34

Ibid. p. 39. Willem F. Stutterheim, Cultuurgeschiedenis van Java in Beeld, p. 121, figure 171 36 Willwm F. Stutterheim, De Oudheden-collectie van Mangkoenagoro VII te Soerakarta, Djawa Extra ,1937, p. 5. 35

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occupation and the revolutionary years. Despite this continued decline, all was not yet lost for the court arts, as most arts activities moved to places outside the kratons, following the activities of kraton politicians.37 On the other hand at the kraton of Yogyakarta during the Japanese occupation, Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX moved the kraton’s arts activities outside the kraton by founding a new organization headed by one of its princes, Pujakusuma. During the revolutionary years, artistic activity in the kraton was stopped and concentrated outside at this new establishment at the Dalem Purwadiningratan. In this development the ‘Among Beksa’ group was founded in 1950 to fill the court artistic facilities of the kraton where the famous court dancer, choreographer and teacher Soemardjono, later known as Rama Sasmitadipura, found more freedom in developing his potential.38 He was an important figure and with his artistic organization, became instrumental in fostering the Yogya court dance before the art school / ASTI-ISI came into existence. In the court culture, performances of music and dance-theatre were essential parts of exciting court occasions, not only as devotional practices and entertainment. These performances also had a political function – to make the ruler’s subjects faithful servants. In any event, to the extent of artistic purposes providing enjoyment and devotion to either god or ruler, it became an important part of religious and secular activities.39 The ‘apex’ notion launched by Dewantara during the Indonesian National Awakening that became the puncak puncak kebudayaan / cultural highpoints of article 32 elucidation of the 1945 Constitution was deeply rooted in the Javanese cultural

37

George D.Larson, Prelude to Revolution, p.185. Tim Redaksi Joan Suyenaga et al., Rama Sas. Pribadi, Idealism dan Tekadnya, (Bandung, MSPI & Yayasan Pamulangan Beksa Sasamita Mardawa, 1999) pp. 11, 45. 39 Sumarsam, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, pp. 238 – 239. 38

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development stage. Sumarsam has the opinion that Dewantara used the respect of Europeans for Javanese art as his strongest argument for the cultural equality of the Javanese. However, in the discussion of gamelan, Dewantara used western culture merely to justify Javanese arts as high art. So Dewantara was convinced that this art would help the nation to feel superior. At this period it is very important to pay attention to the instruction in gamelan for the youth. Subsequently, gamelan and its relationship with national ideologies continued to be important issues aiming Indonesian nationalists. Then Dewantara proposed to define Indonesian national culture as the peak or high points and the essences of all valuable cultures in the archipelago, either the old ones or the new creations- those that have national spirit 40

Dewantara’s notion met some resistance and arguments from various sectors, among his nationalist friends and also from within the Javanese kraton circle. His past colleague from the ‘Indische Partij’, the Javanese-Indonesian nationalist Tjipto Mangunkusumo disdained the elevation of Javanese court culture. Moreover, nonJavanese nationalists were also strong opponents of this idea; for instance Tan Malaka, a Minangkabau, whose rantau / travel experience led him to become a prominent Indonesian nationalist and leader of the Indonesian Communist Party. 41 Also Sutan Syahrir, a Minangkabau Indonesian nationalist and Socialist Party leader, Prime Minister during the Revolutionary years, was an opponent, as expressed in his writing ‘Indonesische Overpeinzingen’. Lindsay notes that:

40 41

Ibid, pp. 116 – 117. Sumarsam, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, p. 118.

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In many ways, Dewantara’s approach to the revival and promulgation of Javanese art was similar to that of Suryodiningrat and Krida Beksa Wirama. Dewantara also looked to the art forms of the Javanese court as the highest example of Javanese expression.42

In the famous cultural debate (polemik kebudayaan) of the 30s, Dewantara’s idea including the arts, i.e. Javanese arts, in the general education system gave reason for high debate where the arguments for and against were very complex. Yet according to Lindsay, Dewantara also wrote in a stringent tone, condemning the whole of the 19th century as devoid of culture, true Javanese culture having ended with the fall of the Mataram kingdom and the beginning of Dutch control in the 18th century.43 One blessing for Dewantara was that after Independence, he became the first Minister of Education and was called “father of national education”. While his ideas became the national guide stipulated in the Constitution, the debate still went on with other new re-interpretations. Lindsay writes: As the national movement acquired momentum, Javanese identity could no longer be equated with national identity … An emerging sense of being Indonesian as a supra-regional identity led to the questioning of the role of regional cultures (to which category Javanese culture was now relegated) should play in forming an Indonesian culture.44

In the argument for the formation of the Constitution, it was noted that some Javanese nationalists felt strongly that the courtly Javanese arts would be appropriate as the most nationalistic one, but the general diversity of Indonesia led to opposition from other Javanese and non-Javanese nationalists. Thus Sumarsam concludes that the notion of a single Indonesian culture seemed out of the question. “Multiform in the past, it would

42

Jennifer Lindsay, Klasik Kitsch or Contemporary: A Study of the Javanese Performing Arts, pp. 16, 20. Ibid., p. 23, quoted Ki Hadjar Dewantara, “Asosiasi Timur dan Barat” (1929), in Karya 4. 44 Ibid., p. 25. 43

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seem also to have to be multiform in the present”.45 (See in Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 426 on classical Javanese dances of colonial times-top picture and during a performance at TIM in the 1970s).

4. Javanese Contemporary Significance in Performing Arts The development of Javanese performing arts in the principalities of the old ‘Vorstenlanden’ could be said to flourish as the consequence of new strategic policies in the culture of the Indonesian Government. The secondary school for the performing arts, the first of its kind, was established in 1961, as Konservatori Tari Indonesia (Indonesian Dance Conservatory) and later on in 1963 the school was upgraded to ASTI (Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia / Dance Academy of Indonesia) in Yogyakarta. The Academy of Karawitan (traditional music), ASKI (Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia) was established in Solo, later changed to STSI (Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia/College of the Arts), as happened in other places like Denpasar in Bali, Bandung in West Java, and Padang Panjang in West Sumatra. ASTI (Dance Academy) of Yogyakarta fused with other academies in the fields of the arts in that city, to become ISI (Indonesian Institute of the Arts) with the new issued regulation for Higher Education in 1984 In the beginning, teachers and lecturers at these Institutions were recruited from the court schools or arts educational units, until gradually these positions were filled up by graduates of the Universities of Social Sciences and overseas graduates. A non-government institution known as the ASDRAFI (Akademi Seni Drama dan Film Indonesia-the Indonesian Academy of Drama and Film) founded in Yogyakarta in

45

Sumarsam, Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java, p. 242, and mentioned also by Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, (New York, Basic Books, 1973) p. 246.

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1950, was instrumental in fostering the modern theatre of Indonesia, and should be considered as a pioneering institution as well. Though it was short-lived, it produced vital exponents in this field. These institutions, including the regional ‘Taman Budaya’ (Garden of Culture) produced pioneers in artistic development. Other important organisations were the nongovernment Councils of the Arts in every region, which followed the example of the Jakarta Art Council and the Art Centre. The new generation became pioneers in various fields of the cultural development of the nation. The Javanese priyayi in the beginning of the 20th century through the Budi Utomo, then to the Pujangga Baru consisting of a handful of persistent motivators originating from different parts of the country, up to the so-called ‘avant-garde’ in the Indonesian arts, originated not only from various regions but also from various fields of the arts. They all wanted to progress as individuals and also as contributors to the collective life of the nation. They all came from a certain region and a certain ethnic group but have gone beyond that boundary to identify with a nation or, in some cases see themselves as citizens of the world. Some remained the same, while others progress. Progress has made some of them restless; on one hand, they are inevitably committed to their roots, but on the other hand, they wanted progress. As a result, artists may produce valuable new works of art, but are still uncertain about the destiny of their careers and their lives. A creative ambience is reflected in their work and in their reasoning of culture, not only in Bali and Java but also elsewhere. Most of them are related to the arts schools as lecturers.

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In the Javanese context, the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo are the core of creativity. In the court traditions, Yogyakarta and Solo remain separate in their development. The two court styles are taught separately in the art schools. Attempts at artistic presentation in combining elements of those styles happened during the Ramayana full-length dance drama performances of the 1960s. It was performed regularly for some time as a tourist attraction during the full moon of the dry season (May-October) at the Open Air theatre at Prambanan temple in Central Java. It became a certain benchmark in the development of Javanese dancers as this artistic ambience groomed dance artists like Sardono W. Kusumo, Sal Murgyanto, Sentot Sudiharto, etc to become pioneers of contemporary Indonesian dance through the intercultural workshop at the Jakarta Art Centre (Taman Ismail Marzuki / TIM) in the 1970s. Some other important exponents of the contemporary performing arts come from these cities too. This can be traced in the regional context of the nationalistic movement. In modern theatre, there is for instance, W. S. Rendra with his Bengkel Teater, who came from Yogyakarta and began his early career in this city before moving to Jakarta in the 1970s. The theatre group Sanggar Bambu, Antasari, and Sriwijaya were established by Rendra’s protégé of the 1960s. Later the theatre group Teater Alam was founded by one of his former actors. A typical modern theatre in Yogyakarta is the Teater Dinasti, which was changed from Teater Alam, Teater Jeprik and Teater Gandrik. These outstanding groups regularly appeared at Theatre Festivals throughout Indonesia, while performing regularly in their hometowns. Yogyakarta is known as a place where pioneers of modern development in dance were born. One of those is Bagong Kussudiardjo, connected to Tejokusumo and the Krida

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Beksa Wirama school, who has an educational institution known as the Padepokan & Pusat Latihan Tari / Training Centre for Dance. There is also Wisnu Wardhana, a choreographer, and a performing arts expert, another exponent with a similar development trend. (Appendix 2, p.437 below, Bagong K.’ choreography Semar) For Bagong Kussudiardjo, a contemporary choreographer with his own style, although traditional arts have always been a part of his life he did not stay with the traditional arts, regarding change as necessary for progress.46 This Yogyakarta born allround artist (dance, music, theatre and fine arts) and an ASEAN award winning artist runs his own Padepokan at Kasihan village in Bantul outside of Yogjakarta and the PLT. He educates artists from short-term courses lasting a few months, to courses that run for several years. He attracted student artists not only from Indonesia but also from the ASEAN region to study at his school. The drawback of Bagong Kussudiardjo’s exceptional short term educational training forum based in the surrounding of strong Javanese background, is that it creates instant artists of a still immature artistic nature. When their choreographies are displayed in their own local cultural environment outside Java, the locals might consider them to be a threatening process of Javanization, and often dislike them. However, with further artistic guidance and development, those works could become more rooted in the local ethnic cultures or provide new hybrid contemporary works. One of Java’s finest dancers, Sardono W. Kusumo, made his debut as a Prambanan Ramayana dancer in the 1960s, and later on developed as a choreographer and a pioneer of innovative, often controversial theatrical works, and a major figure in the Jakarta art scene. Born in Solo he moved in the 1970s to Jakarta, where he strengthened 46

Merdeka , 27 September 1995.

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the Jakarta Institute of the Arts. Since 1994, he has gone back to his hometown again, as he says to Marc Perlman47 “to make it natural for him to turn towards his roots”. Perlman describes Solo as a flourishing place, with modern arts development in various fields of the performing arts, which astonish every foreigner with its richness, its mastery of flexibility in the musical performing arts, while he feels at home in the majestic as well as flirtatious mood of the tradition.48 Due to his wide experience, Sardono was also a pioneer and a source of inspiration in developing contemporary Indonesian dances among the younger generation. This can be seen in the contemporary theatre that emerged in Solo as the modern theatre group, Teater Gapit, established in 1981, preceded by one year by the Tera (Teater Surakarta) and the Gedag Gedig. One could say that the experimentation in the modernisation of the performing arts has moved much further at present in Solo than it has at the centre in Jakarta. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 428 of classical Javanese dances on stage at TIMJakarta Art Centre).

5. Balinese Culture and Historical Background Progressive contemporary Balinese, when asked about their culture’s ability to maintain its integrity, characterize this culture’s quality as the result of a long period of constructive interaction with foreign culture. Through long experience with intercultural relations, first with India and later with the West, the Balinese learned how to maintain a well-integrated indigenous artistic culture with a unique ability to absorb and localize external art forms. Cornelis Houtman passed Bali in 1597. The Dutch made a complete 47

Marc Perlman, “The Traditional Javanese Performing Arts in the Twilight of the New Order”, in Indonesia 68, October 1999, p. 13. 48 Ibid., p. 15.

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map of Bali in 1598. Nevertheless throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the Dutch paid little attention to Bali. They did however establish “cunning” treaties, thereby securing Bali without military intervention.49 The national awakening movement in Bali, which coincided with a return to selfrule along traditional lines, led to change, socially, politically and economically. By the late 1930s, nationalist Indonesian thought had grown stronger and the spread of this consciousness in Bali was largely a consequence of contact with Java, both through education and through a small but important group of Javanese civil servants posted in Bali. With the establishment of the Taman Siswa school system in Bali after 1933, young people who were unable to travel to Java had access to non-government, nationalist-oriented education. The Taman Siswa network also forged links between the nationalist movements on Java and Bali through the National Revolution and beyond. Personal friendships and networks that developed through the other schools formed a strong basis for the nationalist consciousness in Bali. The Japanese occupation became increasingly intrusive in the field of culture and education as the war progressed. Like the Dutch before them, the Japanese made efforts to encourage Balinese culture, awarding prizes and praise to outstanding artists in various fields. Where the Dutch aimed to preserve Balinese culture and society from outside influences, the Japanese spoke openly of improving and reviving Balinese culture, so that it might be put to work on behalf of Greater Asia. A certain clumsiness was evident in the effort of the Japanese to make use of Balinese cultural traditions to pursue wartime objectives. In 1944 they struck upon the idea of using Balinese theatre to convey useful political 49

Michael Picard, Bali: Cutural Tourism and Touristic Culture, (Singapore, Archipelago Press, 1996) p.19.

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messages to the population. Twenty “experienced theatre folk” were assembled in Singaraja. After developing a repertoire, they toured the island performing in dozens of district town, accompanied not by a Balinese gamelan, but by the Japanese military musical corps.50

In the first decade of Indonesian independence, Bali was still experiencing political conflicts as the consequence of social unrest, in particular the contentious religious issue of whether Indonesia should become an Islamic or a secular state. However it was eventually resolved in Bali’s favour, particularly as Sukarno, President of the Republic Indonesia (himself half Balinese) also had an intense personal interest in the political situation in Bali. He toured the island at least twice a year, speaking to crowds and meeting with the pemuda (youth) leaders, often accompanied by important ministers and state visitors, such as Nehru, Ho Chi Minh, and Khrushchev. Sukarno’s popularity in Bali had a variety of sources. One important factor is the connection through his mother who was Balinese, and he appealed to the Balinese as sharing their culture and tradition as wong Majapahit, descendants of the last Hindu kingdom in Java.51 Hence, in 1960, Bali became an official province of Indonesia. The capital of the province was moved from Singaraja (North Bali), with a mixed population long open to outside contact, to Denpasar (the former capital of one of the ancient south Balinese kingdoms). The province of Bali was divided into eight districts (kabupaten), Tabanan, Badung, Gianyar, Klungkung, Bangli, Karangasam, Buleleng and Jembrana, the preIndependence kingdoms of Bali.

50

Geoffrey Robinson, The Dark Side of Paradise: Political Violence in Bali, (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1995) p.83. 51 Ibid., p. 186.

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During the 1960s, when economic depression combined with political controversy between various parties, the Indonesian governing elite including the Balinese themselves considered promoting Bali as a commodity. Due to the depression, this implementation of this notion was postponed. Indonesian Independence first opened Bali to one new tourist clientele-the Indonesian governing elite. Sukarno adopted the island as his favourite retreat and made it a hospitality stopover for his distinguished guests. Nevertheless it remained still limited and it still tended to discourage visitors. Not until the New Order appeared, did the government begin to develop Bali’s tourism potential in a systematic manner; in particular, after Ngurah Rai International Airport was inaugurated and the Bali Beach Hotel opened in 1966. The National Development’s First Five Years Plan (Repelita) of 1969-1970 emphasized the importance of tourism as a factor of economic development for Indonesia.52

The Balinese fundamentally ambiguous nature is expressed in their philosophical views such as their spatial premise of the Kaja and Kelod axis. The Kaja direction leads towards the sacred and the divine, and the Kelod towards the demonic, the chthonic, evil. The middle world alone is the secular space, uncharged with special spiritual forces. The progression in life is from the sacred to the demonic by way of the secular.53 The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead claimed that Bali seems to have learned from a couple of thousands of years of foreign influences just how to use and how to ignore those influences. Accustomed to an alien aristocracy, successive waves of Hinduism, Buddhism and so on, they let what is alien flow over their head.54 A Balinese, Nyoman Tusan, an artist, art critic, and retired government official, said that there have been a lot of comments, in particular from foreigners, on the drawbacks of tourism in Bali. As a Balinese himself, he argues that life in Bali has not been altered by tourism. One significant problem is that the Balinese are often open 52

Michael Picard, Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture, pp. 40 – 43. I Made Bandem & Frederich DeBoer, Kaja and Kelod: Balinese Dance in Transition,. pp. vii – viii. 54 Cited in Michael Picard, Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture, p.92 (footnote). This was in a 1936 Letter of Margaret Mead, while later in 1977 she condemned it as ‘a lost paradise’, in Picard, Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture, p. 35. 53

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hearted in receiving any influence from outside, but simultaneously fanatic concerning their tradition.55 Nyoman Tusan can be contrasted with the French Picard on Balinese identity: Balinese culture is the product of a dialogical interaction between the Balinese and their different interlocutors; tourists and the tourism industry, certainly, but also the artists, orientalist and anthropologists, who contributed to the composition of Bali’s tourist image, as well as the Dutch officials who worked relentlessly to fashion Balinese society, to what they believed it to be – now emulated in this process by their Indonesian and Balinese successors. As this confrontation with significant ‘Others’ made the Balinese conscious of their cultural identity, it also obliged them to elucidate what it meant to be Balinese in terms that were to nonBalinese … So it is that the Balinese – or at least the spokesmen of the native intelligentsia – have come to define themselves in terms which they call ‘Balinese culture’, which they like to represent as a tree in which the roots are religion, the trunk is the traditional customary order, and the fruits are the work of art. If the roots remain firmly implanted, they assure us, the trunk will remain strong and the tree will bear beautiful fruits.56

Central government policy opened Bali for tourism and government organizations were established during the 1970s. Then Ngurah Rai airport was expanded, luxury hotels were built at the Sanur Bali Beach, and the arts were promoted as commodities through developing infrastructures while giving support to the artists through loans etc. Development was stalled when the Old Order fell, but resumed during the New Order period through the Bali Tourism Development Master Plan, assisted by foreign aid and adopted in the first Repelita, but designed to come to term in 1985. 57 Through the following Repelitas, tourism formed an important part of national development, it became part of the interest of foreign investment founded with the IGGI, the World Bank/ IBRD and the IMF as early as 1966 and the United Nation considerations about tourism projects, 55

I Nyoman Tusan interview with author at Denpasar, April 1999, abstracted translation of the talk by the author, see abridged of original text interview in the Appendix 1.8 56 Michael Picard, Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture, p. 199. 57 Ibid., pp. 44 – 45.

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which were laid down in the conference of Rome in 1961. The Master Plan adopted by Presidential Decree and ratified also by the provincial assembly, tourism became the second economic priority after agriculture in Bali. This concept was expanded in 1978 by the Directorate General of Tourism when the ten provinces were identified as “Tourists Destination”. In 1989 the government intensified its promotional efforts starting with the launching of a Tourism Awareness Campaign aimed at making Indonesia conscious of the benefits of tourism for the country and encouraging to show visitors of the “Seven Charms of Tourism: peacefulness, orderliness, cleanliness, vibrancy, beauty, hospitality, and happy memories’. The goal of this campaign was to prepare the population to work towards the success of the Visit Indonesian Year in 1991 and visit Indonesia Decade from 1993 - 2000.58 One should realize that the subsequent development of performing arts could not have occurred if the cultural ambience in the past had not paved the way for this evolution. It must have taken root in pre-colonial times, when the Bali-Aga, the Hindu-Balinese rituals, the village societies and the court life of the Balinese emerged. In view of the dynamic development of contemporary arts, the Balinese consider it necessary to take concrete steps in developing the cultural heritage. These steps separated the performing arts into three classifications, which were laid down through a consensus reached during a Seminar in 1971 59 as the wali (sacred), the bebali (ceremonial) and the bali-balihan

58 59

Ibid., pp. 48 – 56. Seminar held in Denpasar as the Proyek Pemeliharaaan dan Pengambungan Kebudayaan Bali.

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(secular) arts. The wali category60 of Balinese arts belongs to the most sacred realm, and all appear to be of indigenous origin. Some of the arts are associated with the ancient Bali-Aga villages, where many old traditions and practices have been maintained, while others are found in villages throughout the island, such as the Brutuk from the Bali-Aga Trunyan village and the Sang hyang trance-dances which form important part of different sacred rituals. The rejang dance and the Baris Gede of the odalan temple festival are performances that are given for the gods, with the gabor, pendet, baris pendet constituting a three part temple dance involving prayers and offerings. The second category, the bebali, is also connected with temple festivals (odalan) and other religious occasions, but on a lower level of sanctity. They are dramatic, with narrative elements that may be understood as entertainment for the gods and are meant to entertain both divine and human spectators. Old accounts revealed that the Balinese courts were enthusiastic patrons of the arts. One of the oldest recorded arts is the courtly dancedrama gambuh, preserved by a continuous performing tradition that goes back at least 400 years. Aspects of style and ideals of the Majapahit courtier were preserved in the gambuh. Balinese gambuh influenced later forms of dance-drama like the topeng, wayang wong, arja, legong, etc. In addition, gambuh is the point of origin for much modern Balinese music, especially the drumming pattern that is an essential point of much contact between the dancer and the accompanying gamelan in every type of dance that developed later. The gambuh story is associated with the life of the mediaeval Javanese court, which

60

Some of the Wali dances are the Sanghyang Dedari to ward off disease and impending disasters or evil, Rejang celebration or to ward off epidemics in the village, Baris Gede on temple festivals celebrations etc.

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derived from the romantic poem Malat’s tales of the adventures of a prince, Panji Inu Kertapati, and his destined wife, princess Candra Kirana. During the colonial period, it was reported by Walter Spies61 that during the 1920s and 30s gambuh declined and was performed rarely, in only a very few villages. It was believed that its decline was due to the rise of new dance forms in the early 20th century. However, it revived in the 1980s, due to the guidance of several governmental projects in the arts, and the activities of the performing arts institute in particular. The third category is the secular performing art classed as bali-balihan, presented in a temporary theatre set up in a public square or street, in a bale banjar (ward association hall), a wantilan (arena for cock fighting) or even a permanent theatre building with modern theatrical equipment. These are joged forms, such as janger, kecak, cak, the kakebyaran, the newly created/invented traditional dances, and the contemporary dances. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 429 on Gambuh of Walter Spies period: top, and Shakespeare’s Macbeth Gambuh at Singapore Art Festival June 2001)

6. Role of the Arts School in Bali Colonial ambience and the encounter with several European arts centres made it possible to develop new creative works. Government policy in realising the establishment of a basic foundation for preserving tradition and developing creativity through formal institutions, is demonstrated by the establishment of the Art School in 1961 and the Art Centre in 1969 in Denpasar in 1960. A significant benchmark for the arts was the opening of the Conservatory of Karawitan [KOKAR] in Denpasar in 1961 as a secondary level education. It was followed 61

Walter Spies & Beryl de Zoete, Dance and Drama in Bali, p.134.

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by the opening of the ASTI / Dance Academy in 1967, renamed the STSI/College of the Arts in 1988, where students could learn music, dance and theatre of traditional kinds. STSI was founded with the intention of preserving the traditional arts through a formal curriculum and preparing skilled human resources in the arts in Bali. Prior to the existence of the formal education of KOKAR, regeneration came in a natural way. Clans of families are divided into certain professions. Formerly it was almost a closed system, acknowledge by custom, but at present with the opening of public education and professional development, it is breaking down. To a certain extent within village boundaries it is still maintained. A child learned to dance or play music just by following the everyday cultural ceremonies of his village, with other neighbourhood children of the same clan or while performing obligations in the temple, like cleaning, helping the elders with daily offerings etc. He had the opportunity to show his talents in the appointed field at some important ceremonies where his artistic talent would appear and he would be acknowledged by the community and represent the village or clan organization / club as a performer. With the establishment of the KOKAR and with every prominent teacher and instructor connected to this institution, then after elementary school children can enter the KOKAR for formal education in the performing arts while still conducting works to the village and the temple. The education allowed them to follow a higher one at ASTI or STSI. Due to cultural agreements with international bodies they can get scholarships to study abroad, mostly for Master’s and PhD. degrees in the USA. It is quite easy for the educational body of the government to get scholarships from foreign institutions through the National Development Plan of Indonesia, which promoted

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the humans resources development of cultural activities, in particular during the New Order. Beside KOKAR, another organization was also established in 1961 under the initiative of Anak Agung Made Djelantik.62 He is the son of the last king of Karangasem, and is also a medical doctor and an art connoisseur. His interest was due to the involvement of his daughter Trisna, who was a competent legong dancer with the Sekeha (music and dance club) in Peliatan. It became the consultative council for Balinese arts and culture known as the LISTIBYA to advise the Government of Bali and groups of artists in all matters relevant to the preservation of the values of arts in Bali, which was supported by the Director of KOKAR. Before graduate exponents of the art school played a role in the art development of Bali, LISTIBYA became the authoritative apparatus to monitor the Balinese art development, and was very much respected in the beginning, though feared later on. This kind of consultative organization for the preservation of traditional custom and culture (Lembaga Adat dan Budaya Dearah) as non-government bodies subsidized by the provincial governors, became common in the other regions. In some cases they became useful organizations before other art organizations such as the art school, art centres, etc. came to exist. But later on there developed an overlap with the functions of new governmental or non-governmental organizations, and so they became just status organizations in the regions consisting of respected honourable elderly members of the community or authoritative censors in preserving the traditions, and also monitored the contemporary art of the younger generation.

62

Anak Agung Made Djelantik, The Birthmark: Memoirs of a Balinese Prince, (Singapore, Periplus Editions. 1997).

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The first Director of the KOKAR, I Gusti Bagus Ngurah Panji, 63 whose father was an official of land measurement under the colonial government, came from Singaraja, and received his education from the colonial HIS and the MULO. He entered the Japanese school and, after Independence, joined the revolutionary underground when connections were cut from Java through the Dutch NIT / East Indonesia State. After Bali was liberated he went to a teacher’s college and continued his studies in 1957 at the newly founded teachers’ school in Singaraja. When the KOKAR was established in 1961, he was appointed Head by the former Director General of Culture, Ida Bagus Mantra, who later became Governor of Bali.64 Pak Panji had experienced many moments of historical and artistic importance in Singaraja in the pre-Independence period. He confesses that he is only a dancer for ritual purposes, while his grandfather was the expert in the dance of the clan, which has specifically trained professional dancers from generation to generation. At present, while retired from official duty, he conducts rituals at the local temple. Singaraja, the capital of the province of Buleleng in the North of Bali, which became a Dutch residential post in 1908, marked the beginning of a cultural “renaissance” of the Balinese.

7. Balinese Initial Creativity and Development Many new gamelan compositions and dance forms were founded in North Bali. Kebyar music inspired the famous Kebyar Duduk dance and the other so called kakebyaran dances. Its source was the Legong, a dance believed to have originated in the 19th century, and which may be developed from the sacred temple dance Sang Hyang 63

I Gusti Bagus Ngurah Panji, interview at Singaraja April 1999, authors abstracted translation, see abridged transcription in Appendix 1.4 64 Ibid.

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Dedari and distilled from the old traditional gambuh theater. It was believed that the pure legong was founded in North Bali as the Kebyar Legong, but its inspiration was competitive pride. It originated from two villages in North Bali, Bungkulan and Jagaraga. Bungkulan contributed a new musical idea – Palawakia in which a virtuoso performer alternately sang and played the trompong musical instrument. Jagaraga contributed the Kebyar Legong, which is changed into a dance performed by two girls dressed in men’s clothing, who interpreted the music of the accompanying gamelan orchestra in a pure dance medium without a plot story. The modern kebyar grew out of a combination of the forms originated by those two groups, which became the new musical idea that swept quickly over the entire island of Bali and beyond.65 Initially the kebyar was much liked by Western artists and scholars who visited Bali during its rise in 1920-1940 because of all the Indonesian styles: Of all Indonesian music styles, kebiar was the only one that came close to Western time concepts as it carried a steep dramatic curve and was built on centonization, not on the filling and dividing of a given space of time, a neo-classical general Western affinity for dynamic processes … [However, a musicologist of that time] Colin McPhee, recognized the fundamental esthetical difference … he linked the structural essence of kebiar – its restless, irregular phrasing, its rejection of traditional structures in favour of outbursts of individual creativism – to the social and political changes among the Balinese.66

Later on this musicologist seems to have had the opinion that the kebyar was ruinous for the traditional gamelan genres through the melting down and recasting of gong kettles and gangsa keys and he painted a very pessimistic image of the future of the Balinese musical tradition. On the other hand another musicologist and painter, Walter Spies, saw the

65

I Made Bandem, Kaja and Kelod: Balinese Dance in Transition, p.74. Tilman Seebass, “Change in the Balinese Musical Life”, in Vickers, Being Modern In Bali: Being Modern in Bali, p.87. 66

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situation as a chance for innovation, which subconsciously reflected his expressionist philosophy.67 In 1915, the Regent of Buleleng noted in his diary that he heard for the first time about this new, startling style of composition during a gamelan competition in North Bali. It seemed that around this time too, a young topeng jauk dancer, I Nyoman Mario from Tabanan must have seen this new play of the trompong and the kebyar that inspired him to create the famous Kebyar Duduk dance. It was presented for the first time in 1925.68 The kebyar musical style is florid, complex, dynamic, and highly embellished, played at blinding speed with sudden violent shifts of tempo and volume, so that it sounds much more energetic than the older forms of gamelan music. It was believed that the musical expression of the kebyar, which came into existence in North Bali, might have gained inspiration from western music, introduced by Dutch military music corps, who came from Java to Bali after the Dutch occupied Singaraja. However the creative genius of the Balinese made the kebyar into a musical expression that has gone beyond the military corps music. 69 A great deal of new dance compositions are evidently motivated by Mario’s Kebyar Duduk from 1925 beyond Independence during the KOKAR period and its successors, the ASTI (Dance Academy) and the STSI (College of the Arts). Some of those talented pioneers are I Nyoman Kaler, a legong dance teacher of Klandis-Badung, who created the Panji Semirang in 1933, Margapati in 1942 and Wiranata in 1943, etc. These paved the way for a popular new style, which is known as the kakebyaran dance or 67

Ibid., p. 86 Beryl de Zoete, Dance and Drama in Bali (1938 edition), p.218 and I Made Bandem, Kaja and Kelod: Balinese Dance in Transition, p.74. 69 I Wayan Dibia, “Gong Pliatan Ubud di Paris nun tahun 1931” in Latta Mahusadi STSI Denpasar, 15/6 , 1996. 68

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the kebyar bebancihan (neuter kebyar). It was no longer restricted to male performers as female dancers went along to do the kakebyaran. I Gede Manik, a later choreographer from Singaraja, in 1950 revised the Kebyar Legong as Teruna Jaya. The Tenun (weaving) dance was created in 1957 by I Nyoman Ridet and I Wayan Likes, while the new generation of the Arts School creates, for instance Manuk Rawa of I Wayan Dibia in 1981. (Appendix 2. p.438 centre, Dibia’s choreography) These new compositions caused through interaction with western culture began from the pre-Independence period of the nationalistic movement. One source of influence is Walter Spies who, along with an American dancer, Katherine Mershon, had been responsible for working with the Balinese in selecting the trance chants and movement of the sang hyang sacred temple dance, to create the Kecak or Monkey dance, which tells the Ramayana story in a new way. These creative efforts were produced by an astonishing ensemble, partly influenced by these Europeans. However it would be impossible to come to such a creative product without the great baris dancer, Limbak, who was responsible for the most famous group of kecak or cak of North Bedoeloe and who is still considered its main inspiration. The creative force was of purely Balinese inspiration.70 The Kecak and another version of it, the Cak, was created as a secular performing art dance, derived from the sacred Sang Hyang temple dance. During the 1931 Colonial Exhibition tour to Paris it presented dances from Ubud and Peliatan / Gianyar led by Cokorde Gede Sukawati, which were danced before wildly enthusiastic audiences, including the French dramatist Artonin Artaud. The Legong, Kebyar, Kecak and other already known repertoires of that time were on the programme.

70

Beryl de Zoete, Dance and Drama in Bali (1938 edition), p. 83, and J. Coast. “Introduction”, Dancing out of Bali, (London, Faber, 1953).

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But then the performances given in the Bois de Vincennes were hailed not as “art” but as ‘sacred rites”, according to the comments in the Parisian press report of the time.71

However in March 1992 at the prestigious Opera de Paris, Balinese dance as the “Ballets of Bali” attested to the recognition of it as an art form of the highest order, worthy of being displayed in the temples of European culture. Thus, one should ascribe the shift in the labelling of Balinese dance from “ rite” to “art” more to a changing perspective on exotic cultural expression in Western discourses about the Orient than to any actual changes in Balinese dance proper: as the program issued by the Opera de Paris was the Balinese still in its most authentic form, and not considered as the degenerating shows routinely performed for tourist purposes. Furthermore the leaders of the troupe appeared to share the Parisian opinion about the artistic achievement of the dances, while evincing a similar concern about the risks that commercialisation was entailing of their arts. So they were making use of well-established Western categories by differentiating the performances in terms of distinct contexts-ritual, artistic, and commercial, as categories that was not closed systems but rather porous registers.72

Balinese performing arts tours to the West have been successful and have attracted wide public attention. An important tour to Europe and America took place a few years after Independence. It was organized in 1952 by a British man, John Coast and led by Anak Agung Gede Mandra, prince of Peliatan. The repertoire included also dances as the Legong, Kebyar Duduk and a dance newly created for this tour, by I Mario, the Oleg Tamulilingan (Bumble-Bees). The creativity of the Balinese people in the field of performing arts is not limited to transforming ritual dance for the stage or to coping with tourism development. It has 71

Michael Picard, “Dance And Drama in Bali”, in Vickers, Being Modern In Bali: Image and Changes, p. 115. 72 Ibid., p. 116.

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extended also to other forms in the process of Indonesian cultural development in global context. This began when Balinese performing arts were developed through institutions, outside the village society context, with nationalistic aims at their core in the Taman Budaya (Art Centre) situated in Denpasar. It began as a government project of 1969 as a follow-up of the 1945 Constitution and the Master Plan of the National Course (Garis Besar Haluan Negara / GBHN) to discover, develop and preserve cultural values of the nation and to strengthen the spirit of unity. The launching of the Taman Budaya had a particular objective for the Province of Bali: to preserve and develop local culture and to adopt beneficial influences from foreign culture. In 1978, the project became an established organization to serve the public with routine arts programs. The Taman Budaya was further developed in its organisation in 1991, so as to obtain a proportional technical freedom in conducting its task. The Taman Budaya of Denpasar consists of three sections: a sacred place, a temple, a semi-public library, and a Kecak Mandala stage for regular kecak performances. A permanent exhibition building, connected to a workshop, a sculptor’s studio, a display building for showing prize-winning fine arts, and a public display place with an open theatre and a closed theatre.73 Aside from its routine program, there is an annual Bali Arts Festival, established in 1979. The Governor of Bali, Ida Bagus Oka in the welcome speech of the 1998 Festival said that: This festival is maintained as a forum for both cultural preservation and development, which serves as an opportunity to introduce to international audiences Indonesian arts and culture in the interest of mutual understanding. The festival is not only the property of the Balinese people, but of Indonesian society as a whole, as it involves cultural missions from diverse parts of Indonesia, and even from abroad. This is believed to 73

Taman Budaya Propinsi Bali Brochure, of the Directorate General for Culture-Department of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia.

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further the preservation and creative development of the arts in Bali. More importantly, it is to stimulate the cultural and artistic potential of Balinese living in rural areas. 74

KOKAR’s contribution to performing arts development can be seen in the Ramayana in a new dance form, a dance drama (sendratari-seni drama tari), which was created by I Wayan Berata, a teacher at KOKAR, in 1965. The Ramayana story was already the theme of various Balinese traditional dances and plays, like the wayang kulit, wayang wong, arja, kecak and cak, legong kraton, and formerly in the topeng and baris, but never in its complete format story, just versions of specific segments of the story. In 1967, I Nyoman Kaler made another dance drama of the new trend. The Balinese expert, I.G.B.N. Panji, admitted that it was a new creation, inspired by the Javanese-Ramayana performed at Prambanan. The KOKAR choreographers worked together with a Javanese expert, and a retired KOKAR director said that it is supposed to develop creativity to support the Indonesian wish of holding high the national culture. With this new creation, Bali could take part in the International Ramayana Festival of 1971 at Pandaan in East Java as one of the representatives from Indonesia. From this time onwards, the sendratari Ramayana was accepted as a Balinese traditional dance alongside the others, as well as older, traditional dances.75 Another popular theatre using vernacular Balinese, established in 1966, the Drama Gong was created by Anak Gede Raka Payadna, another artist from KOKAR, combining elements from the gong kebyar, the sendratari (a new concept based on westernised dance-drama), and the traditional arja with modern drama (sandiwara). According to a

74

Ida Bagus Oka ,Welcome speech at the Bali Arts Festival of 1998 (Denpasar Taman Budaya collection). I Nyoman Djayus, Sendratari Ramayana di Kokar Bali, (ASTI Denpasar thesis, 1975).& I.G.N.B. Panji’s interview with author in April 1999.

75

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theatre expert from the USA, comparing them with other innovative works of the postIndependence period, the sendratari Ramayana and the Drama Gong have won widespread favour on the island. The most important of these two new genres created during the 1960s, are closely associated with Indonesia’s “New Order”. In their formative years both new genres received strong encouragement and support from the central Indonesian government in Jakarta and/or the provincial government in Denpasar. Today these forms of performing art, little-known outside Indonesia, maybe considered to be among the most important types of live theatre in Bali as far as the entertainment of Balinese audiences is concerned. Both have achieved widespread acceptance by general public. Neither of them, perhaps incidentally, has exerted any discernable influence on the theatrical practice of artists from other cultures.76 Balinese cultural dynamics have been given to people, in particular westerners who came to know the culture in changing images from the ‘last’ paradise to the ‘lost’ paradise or the ‘rebirth’ of paradise. The next part, it will discuss how the Balinese have created this image for the selves.

8. The New Generation of Performing Arts in Bali One of the important exponents of this new generation of artistic leaders of the STSI Denpasar, I Wayan Dibia began his career as a child in the village of Singapadu, learning the gamelan, though his family comes from the dance profession. Later on, his fate turned him back to the dance profession. After finishing elementary school, he felt attracted to the education offered at KOKAR, while seeing the students playing at his village. He took part in the KOKAR course and continued to the ASTI to became one of the first graduates. Then he continued to the ISI Yogjakarta and went on to complete his Master and PhD. degrees in the USA, while making acquaintance with the modern dance 76

Fredrik E.DeBoer, “Two Modern Balinese Theatre Genres: Sendratari and Drama Gong”, Adrian Vickers, Being Modern In Bali: Image and Changes, p.159.

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of America and all its components. As one of the important leaders of the arts institution, a choreographer and composer himself, he is of the opinion that at present the Balinese artists have to face two kinds of worlds: traditional Bali, which is tied by interest of custom and religion; and on modern Bali which is dominated by tourism. He comments that the Balinese artists, in particular the village artists, do not yet fully realise the difference. Despite the booming of tourism in the 1990s, the artists are still poor, while every day in Bali there are 4 to 6 barong performances, at least 4 kecak or cak performances, 2 to 4 sanghyang fire dances, and dozens of gong kebyar performances every night. This we can read in the mass media, as the hotels manipulate the artists. The artists get low pay, while the hotels and the tourist mediators (calo) are getting more. The artists perform dances in hotels, as if they were performing in the village, the whole night without time constraints. He indicated that artists are practicing arts for tourism with an attitude as in their village, ngayah a social task for their own society. For tourism performances, the artists must count the cost-benefit and consider the art as a commodity. It is time now to organize an art association that will consider a minimum and maximum payment for the artist. Dibia hopes that in the future Balinese art workers will get a better life that will give them sufficient income.77 His friend, I Made Bandem, another important exponent, had almost the same educational background. He is the former Head of STSI, and at present the Chancellor of ISI (Institute of Arts of Indonesia) in Yogyakarta, and he has published many learned books on Balinese dance at local, national and international level.

77

I Wayan Dibia, “Berkesenian diantara Dua Dunia”, Wreta Cita, Majalah Kampus STSI Denpasar 1Februari 1994 and interview with author at STSI Denpasar April 1999, see Appendix 1.2

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Another exponent and one of the present leading figures of the STSI Denpasar, I Wayan Rai, received his Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Baltimore University. He entered KOKAR as a student in 1972. Prior to that, his ambition was to become a medical doctor, but he failed because of lack of financial backing. During his childhood in his hometown, Ubud, he was a great admirer of Agung Gede Manik, the gong kebyar expert from Singaraja, who was teaching in Ubud at that time. He was also an ardent admirer of Arie Smit, the Dutch painter in Ubud. While in America he obtained his Master’s degree at San Diego University and his Ph.D. at Baltimore under the supervision of the famous American ethnomusicologist, Prof. Mantle Hood. Wayan Rai further explains that his thesis for the doctoral degree is a composition to commemorate the death of John Gage, inspired by the composition named “433”, which Rai interpreted as four minutes and 33 seconds. His objective in the arts is to become an expert in gamelan playing, gamelan talks, and also in creating its music. Rooted in traditional music, he would like to relate it with the cosmos and its symbols, and find balance in all the contradictory matters. If he were glad, then he would think of the time when he was not. When he is suffering, he would think of the time when he is not; he likes foreign international food but loves to go to the village market and relax eating in the warung, at the side of the street. He confesses that as an intellectual he likes to fit in everywhere.78 One of Wayan Rai’s latest publications, based on research, is about the Balinese Gamelan Gong Beri and the Baris Cina. The gamelan Gong Beri, particularly in Renon, started at least in the 8th century, as inscribed in the Blancong inscription. Over a period of time, the tradition surrounding it has developed through cultural contact between Bali and

78

I Wayan, Rai, interview with author at STSI Denpasar April 1999, see Appendix 1.10

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other cultures. This ensemble is used to accompany a ceremonial dance called Baris Cina, a type of Balinese sacred dance suggestive of Chinese influence.79 I Nyoman Catra, an ardent practitioner of Balinese performing arts, and presently one of the leaders of STSI, came from Mengwi where his parents are exponents of music. Nyaman Catra recollects that the arts in his village are mostly ritual arts. During childhood, between playing gamelan to accompany the pendet prayer dance at the village temple and performing many Barong plays from real, sacred ones, he entered KOKAR, and participated at the Pandaan Ramayana International Festival, representing Bali in the Hanoman role. He continued at ASTI, and then was sent to New York to join Judy Taymor at La Mama in a famous Theatre play of Balinese influence in 1980. In 1982 Nyoman became a curriculum consultant in the Balinese dance at the Wesleyan University in the USA. He believes that while tourism has entered Bali, there are some advantages. For instance, in his village, in former times when an instrument of the gamelan was broken, it would take some time to be replaced. But after the 1980s, with so many performances for tourism, not only can a broken instrument be easily bought, but also a whole set may be bought. He argues that artists must not be business oriented and take everything for granted. What is needed is an increase in art appreciation; in particular performances at the hotels are degrading the artists. The payment is low and the attitudes of the managers are not polite. What is worse is that the artists get less than the tourist agents or guides who usually gets a certain percentage of the commission money. He argues that it would be better to take the tourists to see performances and ways of life in the particular environments. Performances for tourist purposes must be controlled, and not follow the tastes of the tourist themselves. He regrets that some people connect STSI with 79

I Wayan Rai, Balinese Gamelan Gong Beri, (Denpasar, Prasasti, 1998) p.10.

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the bad effect of tourist performances. STSI is just a place to study for five years, and then the graduate must go back to his society. At last Nyoman Catra realised that the dance is not yet as appreciated as for instance, the fine arts. In the fine arts, it is the individual artist, who gets the credit, while in dance it is a collective art.80 A rising Indonesian composer, and one of the leaders of STSI Denpasar, Komang Astita came from Denpasar itself. His parents saw the Puputan (mass suicide of a royal family as a protest against Dutch colonization). He entered KOKAR in 1970, and participated in the 1979 Jakarta Arts Council Young Composer’s Week. In 1981 he went to San Diego University to get a Master’s degree. His elders thought he was becoming revolutionary and too progressive/modern in music composition, seeing Balinese culture as having its own gradual evolutionary movement. Komang Astita considers that in fact, development in Balinese gamelan has always been going on, from old to new and back to old again, or to become a bigger ensemble. Evolution and revolution happens only in the academic environment. There is an on going argument about the gong kebyar. There is an ongoing argument concerning the gong kebyar. While it is still developing, there is an inclination to standardize it. Interaction with foreign elements is still going on. He finds it strange that foreigners would like Bali to stay traditional, while they are doing all the new works, and would not allow the Balinese to do modern works as if they were not able to do such works. He stresses that in America, for instance, Michael Spencer and the former Oakland Sekar Jaya groups have made new music based on gamelan, also in the Netherlands and Japan. This development is still active not only abroad, but also in Bali itself. Since the Bali Arts Festival of 1979, when the traditional meet the contemporary music, for example at the festivals in Jakarta, these activities 80

I Nyoman Catra, interview with author at STSI Denpasar, April 1999, see Appendix 1.5

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cannot be separated from the Indonesian music development. In 1997, Komang Astita made a composition for the Swedish Ballet group, gamelan music combined with midi instruments. Outside of Indonesia it has been a success, but is not yet in Bali. He still likes a lot of traditional music, while mood playing with midi electronic is just experimental to obtain new sound effects, not to overthrow tradition. Astita further confirms that tradition is still something alive, not an” ivory tower”. Contemporary Balinese music has a limited audience as yet, and still needs to be promoted for future development. In Bali, contemporary artists dig into tradition so as to be able to pick it up; on the other hand the Balinese have not lost their tradition. There is reconstruction, also incidental mood to create intentionally the contemporary expression of music. In the idea of “invention of tradition”, the Balinese went back to their tradition to find it. The Balinese tradition was never lost, unlike in the West, where they really have lost certain traditions. They in fact create something new and connect it to tradition, thus the strong views of Astita. Astita stressed that one should not talk about the “cultural apex” / puncak puncak kebudayaan anymore, because that is artificial. As heritage, it should be preserved in the context of the cultural life of Indonesia. If it is a government project related to political policies, then it can be accepted. But do not force it onto artistic creativity. 81 Another progressive 1992 graduate of STSI, a younger generation of the abovementioned artists, a composer from the Kaliungu village of Denpasar, I Wayan Yudhana, has a different view. Wayan Yudhana deplores the fact that after Independence cultural politics creates generalizations. In Balinese history there was the period of Batu Renggong, and before that Udayana was considered as “apex” of the past. He put forward 81

I Nyoman Komang Astita, interview with author at STSI Denpasar, April 1999, sse Appendix 1.7

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that those were the works of great individuals, but in the present the artists should have more progress but create ‘tragedy’ instead. He recollects that in the past, Balinese have been able to use the cross culture process to develop the arts. It seems that at present, the Balinese are only able to become servants, in spite of the vast development in science and knowledge. Yudhana further said that the Balinese of the past were clever in playing with the differences. Is he questioning the Balinese of the present? Most Balinese just repeat the same legong and all the Balinese now only know the barong, because the contemporary Balinese dare not create something new. Aesthetic depth has not been increased. He appeals to the Balinese not to fear losing their heritage. The condition at present is not better than the past. What is not suitable for the society will die by itself and will be change by the new generation. Nothing is permanent. Rituals will undergo changes according to needs. He thinks that in the preservation and conservation of arts, the Balinese should be honest and should not overdo matters.82 A Balinese layman in art but an experienced tourist manager of Bali, Ariani has the opinion that the Balinese are rather slow to progress and face obstacles due to the fact that the change from ritual to secular since the rise of tourism in 1955 has become a burden. While it is a necessity to move towards secular tourism, they cannot really give up ritual obligations. On the other hand, the Balinese art exponents (mostly from the South) who already have higher education and are learned individuals, are becoming arrogant, considering the opinion of others to be unnecessary, thus giving rise to an argument between North and South. There is another view, too, that Balinese culture has become defensive and fanatic and that the outside is prevented from entering, though 82

I Wayan Yudhana, interview with author at STSI Denpasar, April 1999, see Appendix 1.9

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changes are needed. The Balinese must also admit that change is a part of enduring. In fact, the Balinese artists really want to become creative, but some of them are embarrassed, not daring enough, but on one hand hiding their feelings, while on the other scolding the others who are willing to change.83 A young dancer from Peliatan provides an interesting insight into the working of the dance academy. Anom’s relatives are all in traditional dance. Anom’s mother accompanied John Coast to America in 1950s (see Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 436 – right below). Anom’s mother, Agung posed at her home in Peliatan 1999) Today Anom works for a tourist office. She graduated from KOKAR, but did not continue on to ASTI. She felt constrained at the latter institute, because they were teaching traditional dances, which are different than the style from her village. 84 An exponent of the Art Centre / Taman Budaya Denpasar, I Nyoman Nekanaya, for the past three years, has complained about difficulty in maintaining the Arts Centre in the first year of existence. He considers that his staff has a good knowledge of the Balinese arts, but knows nothing about arts management. He has to upgrade himself in that field so as to run the Centre, by studying management and marketing while applying it to the arts.85 The new generation of performing artists in Bali is a varied group, and it represents the condition not only of present Bali, but also throughout the local regions of Indonesia. Bali is somewhat fortunate in the persistent integrity of its cultural heritage, which can also be said of Java, in particular Central Java in the palaces of Yogyakarta and Solo. Although connected in their heritage, the Balinese are certainly different from the 83

Interview with author at a hotel at Sanur Beach, April 1999, see Appendix 1.1 Interview with author at a hotel in Sanur beach, April 1999, see Appendix 1.1 85 Interview with author at Taman Budaya/Art Centre in Denpasar, April 1999, see Appendix 1.6 84

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Javanese and also a lot of others, who are mostly barely conscious of their cultural heritage: The Bali art performed in the courts is basically a folk art although royalty invites regularly the artists to perform in their courts, as after the performance the artists return to their respective villages. In Java, on the other hand, court art is based on the court, and a wide gap separates court from the folk art.86 According to Djelantik87 the continuing demand for art in Bali lies in the dominant role of religion in the everyday life, in particular for dance and music that still dominate in the religious-related activities of the people. Concern was voiced by numerous Balinese artists, who believed that their efforts in search of an Indonesian identity have not found enough recognition among the general public, in particular at the national level. Balinese artists in particular are warned by Vickers:88 The image of Bali and Balinese tradition, which is maintained today represents different things to the various participants in Balinese culture. The main threat to that culture is not the image itself, but that those concerned might forget just how varied and diverse are the historical forces which have formed that image. In the court areas of Yogyakarta and Solo, the idea of an “apex” grew in a different way than in Bali. What consequences are there for the cultures that have these strong heritages, such as the Javanese, in the process of adapting to the national culture? Due to the power of politics, one would be inclined to expect that national culture would affect all ethnic cultures, including the Balinese and the Javanese. However, these cultures were in a better position to dominate the cultural scene. The possession of an artistic living environment in the past has become a significant factor allowing contemporary

86

Koentjaraningrat, Javanese Culture, p. 228, note 172. Anak Agung Made Djelantik, Balinese Paintings, (Singapore, Oxford University Press, 1985) p. 228. 88 Adrian Vickers, Bali. A Paradise Created, p. 213. 87

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artistic culture to flourish. For many others this artistic environment has not been possible due to a variety of reasons, mainly connected with the politics of fostering art development.

9. The Question of Cultural Dominance Modern theatrical performances and the contemporary performing arts in general indeed share a vital common quality: they are a channel for representation and discussion of ideas and issues. They mobilize elements of regional cultural tradition so as to reflect perceived key contemporary issues, frequently in conflict with dominant, official interpretations but highly meaningful and evocative for youthful audiences. In this sense, their cultural traditions remain relevant and important to these young people.89 One could say that the notions of Dewantara prior to Independence summarize what’s happened in the arts up to the end of this millennium, in spite of the debate and arguments that surrounded it. He was clever and had a sharp eye in giving motivated cultural “consumption” so that the Indonesian people could move on culturally and progress through debate. On the other hand, the reformation era [1998 - present] has exposed hidden aspirations created by the tension between the Javanese and the non-Javanese, which were contributing factors to the collapse of the Suharto regime. It resulted in the flaming protest of several regions to gain political autonomy or complete Independence from the central government, fuelled by feelings of Javanese dominance. Berbagai analisis cultural atas Orde Baru mneyimpulkan bahwa paham Jawa, khususnya paham kekuasaannya, memberikan andil cukup besar 89

Barbara Hatley, “Constructions of Tradition in New Order Indonesian Theatre”, in Hooker & Dick, Culture and Society in New Order, p. 66.

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bagi terbangunnya struktur kekuasaan Orde Baru yang otoritarian … Akar kultur Jawa yang cenderung kontradiktif dengan upaya demokratisasi dan kebebasan antara lain adalah mistifikasi dan estetika politik …Dalam rentang sejarah perjuangan kemerdekaan, nasionalisme menjadi satu kata yang hangat diperdebatkan. Nasionalisme, yang semula menjadi saluran pencarian solusi dari kolonialism, keterbelekangan, dan kemiskinan, justru menjadi masalah itu sendiri … Dalam keseluruh budaya itu, Jawa menjadi diri sebagai pusat dan tinggi atau adiluhung dan yang lain sebagai pinggiran. Rupanya, dari sinilah proses Jawanisasi dalam tingkah laku politik sebagai estetifikasi kehidupan politik … Dengan demikian, sebenarnya pokok persoalan adalah bagaimana mengembalikan kekuasaan kepada rakyat. Various cultural analyses of the New Order conclude that Javanese ideas, especially of power, had a major influence on the construction of the authoritarian power structure of the New Order. …The roots of Javanese culture which tend to conflict with the efforts of democratization and freedom include mystification and political aesthetics … In the course of the history of the independence struggle, Nationalism, which was originally a channel for the search for the solution to colonialism, backwardness, and poverty, itself became the problem … In that entirety of culture, Java saw itself central and an apex or glorious and the others as marginal. It seems that from here there began the process of Javanization in political behaviour as the aesthetification of political life…Thus the real subject of the question is how to return power to the people.90

The antagonistic feeling of the non-Javanese towards the Javanese was against the ethnic group itself. According to Perlman, it was towards the way the country was ruled, not by the concept of a nation founded on the rule of law, but by the concept of a nation of culture.91 This feeling was against the Suharto regime that manipulated Javanese traditional culture to support the New Order’s power and distorted the real meaning of culture. Many Javanese themselves dislike this attitude, but according to their character dare not show

90

Ahmad Suaedy, “Menggugat Jawa”, Basis No. 9-10 , Sept.-Oct 1999, a commentary on a discussion about Franz Magnis-Suseno’ recent writing Etika Jawa, organized by Institut Studi Arus Informasi / Institute to the Study of Information Flow at Teater Utan Kayu in Jakarta. Author’s summarized translation. 91 Marc Perlman, “The Traditional Javanese Performing Arts in the Twilight of the New Order: Two Letters from Solo, Indonesia Vol. 68, October 1999, p. 24

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this antagonistic attitude. However this kind of agitation is evident in the book of a daring exponent, Soebadio Sastrosatomo’s Politik Dosomuko Rezim Orde Baru (The Ten Faces of Politics of the New Order Regime).92 It was banned during Suharto’s time but later released after the reformasi: Soebadio Sastrosatomo’s blistering attack on the New Order, Politik Dosomuko Rezim Orde Baru, associates Suharto with Dasamuka (Rahwana), the enemy of Rama in the Ramayana story, literally meaning the ‘ten faced’, a symbol of pure evil, expressing the depth of hatred for the Regime … The ten faced Dasamuka represents the total concentration of power behind an appearance of democracy. The nominal Independence of the New Order’s executive, legislative and judiciary branches merely disguises the fact that many faces are controlled by a single brain.

The antagonistic attitude of Javanese people was shown in the city of Solo during the May 1998 demonstration after the downfall of Suharto. Solo was burning with emotion, exactly like Jakarta. And the proud explanation from a talk with a pedicab driver, who says that the Solonese considered themselves to be better than Yogya (there were no riots in Yogya), because all the clever and evil characters are in Solo-after all. That is where the Kraton (court) is.93

The misuse of Javanese culture by the authorities was condemned by some Javanese people themselves. In the cultural expression of the arts there was also the uneasy competitive feeling against the ‘better-developed’ arts of the Javanese and the Balinese. It was difficult for the ‘lesser ones’ to perceive that the best artistic expression is what comes from one’s own heart through one’s own experience, deriving from ones own cultural heritage. That the ‘destiny’ of artistic expression depends solely on the efforts of the artists themselves and the condition of disparity in artistic expression might be a unique value in itself and not something to be graded according to a simple standard of 92 93

Ibid., p. 25. Ibid., p. 21.

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higher and lesser. The condition of disparity in the evaluation of the arts has to be perceived through the uniqueness of a cultural product. This uneasy feeling of the artists themselves has to be overcome through creative and collaborative effort, and not through the ambivalence of politics. Cultural resonance of the national media in television news broadcasting, in particular the use of an appropriate cultural code, became the means to enforce hierarchy of the value of national development to an idealised classical Javanese society and culture. Nevertheless, this biased work has already been articulated by various critical voices, and an encoding/decoding communications model was inscribed in the newly- formal parallels between the indigenous traditions valued by others, contemporary practices, and social relations.94 Some felt shocked by what happened in Jakarta, at least by its official, ‘Javanized’, ways such as hierarchy, command and authoritarianism, the mantras of government and the hypocrisy of official statements. Instead of expressing the voice of Indonesia from the capital, one will find everything that should be disliked and that must be left behind, the new type of Java that is acted out by a class of privilege politicians and bureaucrats who compete with each other for status, prestige, and publicity.95 As a cultural process, the dynamism of Javanese and Balinese societies with the metropolitan society of Jakarta may be appreciated for having significantly shaped the country’s destiny while on the other hand not overlooking the significant rural heritages

94

Philip Kitley, “New Order Television Rituals”, in Hitchcock & King, Images of Malay-Indonesian Heritage, p. 256. 95 Niels Mulder, Inside Indonesian Society: Cultural Change in Java, (Amsterdam, Pepin Press, 1996) pp. 155, 156.

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of the Nusantara that persist in festivals and other national symbols, as well as in performing arts ranging from the traditional to the contemporary.

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Chapter 6 LOCAL ROOTS AND THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: PERFORMING ARTS IN THE OUTER ISLANDS

This chapter describes performing arts development among the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the Bugis of South Sulawesi, the Malays of Riau, and various ethnic groups in the province of Jambi. These areas were chosen as samples because it was felt that they represent a wide range of geographic and cultural variation in Indonesia’s “outer islands”. The objective of this description is to provide an image of the impact of the cultural policies of the National Development Plan or the Repelita concerning arts programming. This will then serve as a basis for comparison with the “inner islands”, Java and Bali.

1. The Management of Diversity In the early Independence period, ethnic diversity in the performing arts was considered an invaluable part of the cultural wealth of the nation. Examples of this diversity were usually exhibited on occasions of national celebrations and festivals. For a time during New Order period a regular programme of performances based on the Pelita / National Development Plan was held. The conduct of the programme highlighted a paradox in the government’s performing arts policy. The image of Indonesia’s general cultural wealth which these programmes were meant to project was contradicted by the presentations of some regions which created the image of a static, fossilized ethnic culture. If the performances were assessed, these assessments often neglected the

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consideration that the traditional performing arts are often in fragile condition, an easy target for a gradual fading away in a time of transition. This complicates assessment immeasurably; as the baseline from which performing arts of different ethnic groups are compared cannot be the same as the criteria used to render judgments on artistic or aesthetic quality, especially when comparing regions which have maintained the core values of their arts. In regions where such values are discounted and meanings are neglected by formal institutions, the preservation and development of performing arts were left to the informal sector. Performing arts in such conditions cannot be preserved intact, unlike visual art, because performing arts depend on constant acts of recreation. Left to themselves, traditional performing arts will deteriorate and become extinct when they are no longer supported by their traditional resources, and these have largely vanished. Traditional life-crisis rituals which were important in many outer islands a generation ago are no longer celebrated, and thus the dances and other arts associated with them are in many cases already irretrievably lost. The art of traditional dance can be preserved and its quality maintained when enlightened institutions exist in the communities themselves or through the development of applicable educational means. There can be no stronger case than this for pleading for support for colleges for the arts and other relevant embryonic institutions, which contribute to the preservation and development of the arts. Given such circumstances the result of preservation efforts will depend on how management of these cultural resources is implemented in the face of the increasingly prevalent support of ethnic diversity in Indonesia’s outer islands, in which orthodox resistance, bureaucratic deviation, and environmental complexities as well as individual personalities play a role.

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In hindsight, the objective of developing performing arts at the national level was too ambitious to succeed in all fields. The lesson learned is that cultural policy should take into account both the traditional context and the inevitable development towards modernity. Such development can easily be assailed by ambiguity as some ethnic groups are simply not ready yet for this big transition and consequently were unable to cope with the national agenda pressed by the Pelita. In the more cosmopolitan cities like Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Solo, Bandung, or Denpasar, where potential resources exist, with the national agenda structured in recognized institutions, and the people are more openminded, this problem can be minimized. In some other areas, particularly those outside of Java, the persistence of versatile artists and the presence of art institutions have placed some regions in the position of being able to face the challenge of reconciling the conflicting demands of preservation of tradition and encouraging innovation in the arts, while others have remained behind or outside the mainstream, not only failing to come up to scratch in the national festivals but also in seeking opportunities to produce worthy new artwork. In the outer islands, old societies which supported the arts are rapidly being transformed into new societies, so that traditional arts are becoming outmoded, as rituals and other traditional means of significant support for their existence have gone out of practice and as people are uprooted from their traditional environments. The new environments for performing arts development caused the rise of new kinds of patronage, which entered during both the late colonial and independence periods and brought various new influences. The changes, especially those for which central government policies are responsible, have not been universally accepted by the people in the outer

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island regions. While abandoning traditional ways of life, people have not yet been able to mature in the new environments. As a result, the traditional performing arts were dragged into various new developments, but never succeeded in resolving the confusion and ambiguity caused by the desire to perpetuate the best aspects of the past art forms while simultaneously encouraging artists to develop new variations. During the Old Order, efforts to revitalise the ethnic arts were more focused on the purpose of strengthening national identity rather than paying attention to regional cultures as a means to enhance the pride of the Indonesian people in their own cultural heritage. In this period, President Sukarno tended to be swayed by some communist doctrines (as indicated in his speech on NASAKOM / Nationalism Agama, Komunisme – Nationalism, Religion, Communism) and consequently he was more interested in developing ethnic folk dances than court dances. He had a preference for dances with proletarian themes like the harvest and popular vocations like planting rice, plucking tea, catching fish, and forestry work, or alternately he sponsored elaborate festivities relating to socialist ideals. In the New Order, one of the main tasks laid down in the Repelita / National Development Plan was the development of revitalisation and promotion programmes to support national development to create national stability as a foundation for economic development. Cultural progress was to lend vibrancy to the economic sector. Cultural resource management policies were to be partly implemented by government, partly by the private sector.

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Thus during the New Order various new opportunities to practice performing art spread throughout the hinterlands. This policy should have brought progress. However, according to a recent research report on the cultural policy of the New Order: Modernisasi sangat berkepentingan dengan kecepatan waktu, sehingga situasi ini telah mendorong tampilnya potongan-potongan tari tradisional yang lepas dari konteksnya. Situasi ini salah satu gejala munculnya seni popular atau seni massa, yang bersamaan dengan itu muncul pula bentuk baru yang bersifat eksperimental… Gagasan“kenasionaan” muncul dengan pergerakan kemerdekaan yang dimotori oleh para nasionalis. Ternyata gagasan ini berpengaruh pada seni tari antara lain, penembusan secara sengaja atas batas-batas kesukuan (etnik, penyederhanaan tari-tari tradisional yang sudah mapan, dan ramuan unsur-unsur tari berbagai daerah di Indonesia.1

Modernization is much concerned with speeding up time, and this situation has encouraged the abbreviation of traditional dances which have been separated from their context. This situation is one sign of the appearance of popular or mass art, simultaneously with which appeared new forms of experimental nature… The “nationalist” concept appeared in connection with the independence movement driven by the nationalists. It appears that this concept influenced the art of dance materialized by, inter alia, intentional breakthroughs across ethnic boundaries, simplification of well-established traditional dances, and the admixture of dance elements of several regions of Indonesia.

Another factor which became significant during the New Order was a new form of patronage for the performing arts. Patronage, practiced initially by the ruler of the central government, was taken over by the Governors, Bupati etc. and other rulers of the regions which continued to practice what had been common in the Javanese model of royal patronage of the arts. The formation of a Javanese court-style entourage of performing artists became a widespread practice among rulers of the regions, serving as a status attribute during the New Order period. Cultural festivals were initially organised as

1

M.S.Isre, “Kesenian Tradisional Nusa Tengara Timur Hidup dalam Arus Modernisasi”, in Kebijakan Kebudayaan di Masa Orde Baru., pp. 847, 848.

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a showcase for the ethnic heritages of all the regions of Indonesia. Sometimes the dances presented were selected according to the personal preference of the rulers. This choice of managing ethnic diversity through art festivals was intended to promote cultural education. Judging at national festivals was a coordinated task performed by a committee of cultural experts from various regions. Provinces were also allowed to conduct their own festivals. If provincial or regional festivals were connected with the national festivals, then these followed the same judging rules, Otherwise the regions were entitled to organise and evaluate their festivals according to their own needs. The main stumbling block which the introduction of a contest-like element into the cultural festivals created was that it became necessary to assess the quality of the performances. Official evaluation methods were prepared by a committee of representative experts from various regions of the country. It was a depressing experience for this committee to discover that the results of the evaluation were not satisfactory because they always yielded the same results. The more developed regions always won and the less developed regions always lost. Rather than stimulating development, the lack of competition threatened to foster artistic stagnation. The failure of this policy was not attributable to any one cause. A number of causes could be pinpointed including the lack of potential artists in some regions, dearth of educational programmes in the arts, and breakdowns of planning and implementation. Nevertheless in the last national festival during the New Order Period, on the fiftieth anniversary of Independence celebration in 1995, some regions in the outer islands were surprisingly able to present good work of performing arts such as Irian Jaya / Papua, Lampung, and Jambi. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p 414 – 419 )

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It has to be admitted that planning for the implementing of policies of arts programming in other regions outside Java was seriously flawed, but people went ahead and organised festivals in the outer provinces. In the outer island regions without proper facilities for the arts and where the arts occupied a low regard among the local people, the problems were an unhappy mixture of a lack of artistic and managerial potential, for which it is difficult to apportion blame, but in which it is clear that the central authorities were weighed in the balance and found wanting. Artistic activities in the outer regions were very likely to be dependent on the personal likings of rulers or their spouses, who normally preferred light entertainment. Professional education had not yet been introduced. Artists were appointed to be heads of regional performing arts groups, who were trained by instructors who were close to or liked by him or her. Artistic qualification depended on a provincial ruling class which had no background knowledge of or interest in cultural heritage such as is typical of Java and Bali. The result was that artistic standards became conservative or declined. Despite the establishment of institutions such as art schools, art centres and art councils, the attitude of Javanese courtly model was not abandoned, but remained in practice to a certain degree. However, some persistent artistic exponents did resist this implacable system of personal patronage, thereby sowing the seeds of artistic growth as a future task for the reformation era. The experience of the various regions of the outer islands is highly diverse. In the rest of this chapter, selected case studies will be presented in order to demonstrate the differing response of performing arts communities and cultures on the island of Sumatra (western Indonesia) and Sulawesi (eastern Indonesia) to changing socio-economic

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conditions and efforts by the central government to steer artistic development in Indonesia in certain directions.

2. Minangkabau Heritage and Historical Background The province of West Sumatra, the land of the Minangkabau, called Ranah Minankabau or Alam Minangkabau, is a worthy spiritual heir to a long tradition linked to the kingdoms/sultanates of Sriwijaya, Majapahit, Malaka, and Riau-Lingga-Johor as well as to other groups of Southeast Asian people even farther afield. The legendary origin of the word “Minangkabau”2 continues to be associated with outsmarting the much stronger Javanese. This stereotype constituted a problem for Indonesian nation-building. During Sukarno’s regime (1950 – 1965) the Minangkabau, together with South Sulawesi and Aceh, were involved in separatist movements against incorporation into Indonesia. Another cultural schism in West Sumatra was highlighted by the bloody nineteenth-century Paderi War between the Kaum Putih / Kaum Muda (White / Youth Group) who espoused moderate progressive Islam against the Wahabi conservative Islam of the Kaum Hitam / Kaum Tua (Black / Elder Group). Prior to the National Awakening at the end of the nineteenth century, there was already a Minangkabau modernist movement. The pioneers of this group later joined the politico-economic movement of National Awakening, which included organisations such

2

Derived from the Tambo Alam Minangkabau, the story tells about a Javanese Majapahit ship coming to Bukit Gombak – West Sumatra. The captain owned a buffalo with long strong horns. He challenged the leaders of the land in a buffalo fight. The leaders chose an unweaned baby buffalo and did not feed it for one day before the contest. They put the sign “Minang” (win) on a sharp iron horn-shaped tool yield above its head. The next morning when the buffaloes faced each other, the baby one hungrily went under the other bigger buffalo mistaken its testicles an udder and so killed the big one with its sharp artificial horns. The name ‘Minangkabau” means “victorious buffalo” to the people of West Sumatra. M.D.Mansoer et al, Sejarah Minangkabau, (Jakarta, Bhratara, 1970) p.59.

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as Sarekat Islam and the educational Muhammadiyah. Later similar sentiments led to the “Jong Sumatra Bond” of Mohammad Hatta in Padang.3 What was happening among urban Minangkabau at the time of the National Awakening was very much related to events in Java, in particular Jakarta. Taufik Abdullah considers that the progress and rise of Islamic modernism coincided with a period of economic change in Minangkabau, which was triggered by a number of factors. As communications were facilitated, political leaders in towns were increasingly influenced by political activities in Java. Educational centres and schools like the Madrasah in Padang Panjang emerged. One exponent of nationalism, Mohamad Syafei (1897 – 1969), was actually born in West Kalimantan and attended the Sekolah Raja in Bukittinggi from 1908 until his graduation in 1914. Later he served as the first teacher at the Batavia Kartini School, participated actively in the Budi Utomo, and later joined the Indische Partij as its chief promoter in the Outer Islands. In 1922, he travelled to Holland and Europe, and on his return home, he opened a school, the Indonesische Nederlandsche School (INS) in Kayutanam, a small town between Padang and Padang Panjang, as a protest against an educational system that he believed was basically uncreative. He argued that education should emphasise the harmony of intelligence, skills and arts, and so encourage self-confidence.4 Referring to Sjafei’s contribution to education, M.D. Mansoer states that: Sjafei taught the young people of Indonesia to develop their own particular capacities according to their talents. They were supported with skills, modern knowledge. Their talents were nursed and developed so as to be able to become independent as small traders, architects, artists, poets, painters, dramatists, etc. In the process of social and political change of 3

Ibid., p. 178. Taufik Abdullah, Schools and Politics: The Kaum Muda movement in West Sumatra (1927-1933), (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1971) pp. 127, 176. 4

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the Minangkabau, INS graduates contributed their efforts and minds as independent educators, without the benefit of salaries from the colonial government offices.5 Many INS graduates became artists in different fields, who were pioneers in helping and encouraging the present generation. Examples are the painter and journalist of the revolutionary period, the late Mara Karma; the initiator of modern abstract painting; lecturer of Jakarta Institute of the Arts, Nashar; and the novelist and cultural expert, Navis. In the performing arts, a leading figure was the dancer-choreographer, Huriah Adam, born in Padang Panjang in 1931, who then went to the arts school in Yogyakarta and in 1968, settled down in Jakarta to become an important exponent of Minangkabau dance development.6 Another was Syaugi Bustami, a noted dance pioneer famed for his Tari Tempurung during National Day celebration at President Sukarno’s palace, who spent his last years as dance teacher in Sarawak, Malaysia. Kahn argued that Minangkabau development was part of the response to modernism, an indigenous phenomenon which had not escaped the notice of some Dutch intellectuals. The shift of Dutch colonial discourse from a more or less liberal evolutionism to cultural relativism or historicism perhaps represented this new attitude most clearly. Doubtless, the first modernists on Sumatra West Coast were the “coastal” aristocrats and “native officials” who, in the last years of the nineteenth century, formed a number of European-style organizations and began to publish a European-style newspaper. These early Sumatran modernists took an interest in the world outside the colony, and began propagating a notion of kemajuan (progress). There is no doubt that religious developments were responsible for expanding its scope, as well as

5

M.D. Mansoer , Sejarah Minangkabau, p. 197. Author’s translation. Huriah Adam participated in the early days of the TIM intercultural Workshop in the early 1970s and was also instrumental in the establishment of the Dance Department of IKJ while teaching at the ASKI in Padang Panjang. 6

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generating conflicts that revolved around the proper role of Minangkabau Adat in a future society of Minangkabau.7

3. The Role of the Arts in Minangkabau The Minangkabau have a highly developed verbal culture, manifest in historical legends, myths, epics, and stories. 8 The development of the Minangkabau arts is inextricably linked to their adat, the foundation of their cultural life. Minangkabau culture provided a perfect framework for the inculcation of a strong respect for adat in the communal men’s houses in the villages where males slept together, the surau, which provided a gelanggang / laga-laga / pamedanan, a place to practice silat (martial art) and other skills and practices, like the arts. The process of teaching and learning at the surau only ended when the males left their homeland (merantau), or became penghulu (spiritual leaders) or pemangku adat (customary leaders) The traditional performing arts of Minangkabau are folk arts, notwithstanding the existence of royalty at Pagaruyung or the trend of going out to rantau (transmigration). The “permainan anak negari” (folk play) is replete with the adat istiadat (traditional customs). There is no strict rule in maintaining the arts. The arts are considered ‘clothing’ that must wear out someday and are subject to changes. The idea that change should be implemented is enshrined in the proverb pandai berkisar di tikar yang sehelai, pandai bergerak ditanah sebingkah (knowing how to roll over on a single mat, knowing how to travel on a small plot of land) meaning that every man must be able to exploit all things as creatively as possible; only the wise and clever man is able to execute this wisdom.9

7

Joel Kahn, “Culturalising the Indonesian Uplands”, in Li, Transforming Indonesia Uplands, p. 82. Lynn Thomas, Change and Continuity in Minangkabau, (Ohio University, 1983) p. 2. 9 Chaerul Harun, Kesenian Randai di Minangkabau, (Jakarta, Dept. P & K) p. 42. 8

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Traditional Minangkabau performing arts are differentiated between two types: those based on the martial arts but functioning as a recreation and an occupation, and those which function as ceremonials for ritualization. Geographical divisions should be taken into consideration as another source of variation. There is quite a difference between the darek (upland) and pesisir (coastal) types of Minangkabau performing arts. The darek type is called the alam takambang style, using pentatonic musical instruments such as the ‘saluang’ (a husky, low toned bamboo flute) while the pesisir type has musical instruments such as the flute or the bansi tuned to a heptatonic scale. Pesisir performing arts have been enriched by influence from the Malay, Chinese, Arab / Parsi and Portuguese cultures. One of the dances which is today considered a classic is the Alang Suntiang Panghulu (eagle emblem of the penghulu), performances of which require the consent of a spiritual leader. This non-theatrical dance was first acknowledged in public during the 1956 Bukittinggi cultural show held to grace the Adat (custom) Congress of Sumatra.10 Another theatrical development of importance is the randai. In its original form, it is called bakaba, from the Minang word Kaba denoting an oral epic of traditional literature in the tambo and hikayat genre recounting history and legends. Originally, it was performed as a play in versions termed basijobang, and later picked up influences from the Dutch tonil plays especially the komidi bangsawan, a situation which was observed in the 1930s. It underwent more changes when it was transferred to the randai theatre, including choreographed movements of the silat / martial arts as entr’actes. It presents historical stories, legends and other educational materials to youngsters. Typical of its

10

Ibid., and A Navis, Alam Takambang Jadi Guru, (Jakarta, Grafiti Press, 1984) and Julianti Parani, Asean Traditional Dance-Indonesia.

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presentation is the circle dance in silat movements at every interval between sections of the dramatic play. It is usually performed as popular entertainment after harvest and during weddings and other such occasions. Formerly, it took several days to a week to complete a story, but at present, it is shortened to conform to the limits of a theatre play, between three to four hours at most. The place of performance has also been changed from a field (usually a rice-field after harvest) to a normal stage.11 Many forums exist in Minangkabau society in which topics of interest to the group are discussed in public and consensus is sought. The Minangkabau image of themselves includes a strong emphasis on participation in debates on social and political issues. Thus, the Minangkabau have also played a prominent role alongside their colleagues from Java since the National Awakening. Mohammad Hatta, the first vice president, shaped political development and economic life. Sutan Syahrir was also an important figure in the prelude to Indonesian political life. West Sumatrans played a significant role in the cultural argument about literary development before Independence (see Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 430 – top- Minangkabau dance at Padang Lawas / Bukittingi, and below at TIM-Jakarta Art Centre).

4. Arts Education in West Sumatra When Ki Hadjar Dewantara established the Taman Siswa in Java, Mohamad Syafei was busy forming the INS in Kayutanam, Sumatra, based on the same idea but adapted to the needs of Minangkabau people, showing a special concern for building independent vocations among the younger generation.

11

Chaerul Harun, Kesenian Randai di Minangkabau, p. 57.

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The INS Kayutanam had a wide impact. Its graduates of the Japanese occupation period contributed to other regions of Sumatra. One example is in Gayo, Aceh, where the graduates Ali Djauhari and Ali Hasan A.S. established schools. After Independence, they were broken up and integrated into the existing formal education system in obedience to educational regulations. Once this had been done, lessons in the arts were eliminated from the curriculum. Many former students simply continued to deploy their talents in arts education informally through private organisations or through workshop groups, until they were incorporated into artistic organisations of the regional arts Centre in Medan during the 1980s.12 The arts centre was unable to remain active during the 1990s because of lack of support, in particular from the local government, though the arts council still continues to conduct activities of a rather low-key sort. After Independence, not only Bali, Yogyakarta, and Solo had schools for the arts; arts schools were also established in West Sumatra and Gayo, in the form of the KOKAR (karawitan conservatories) and another kind of institution that later became the SMKI ( Sekolah Menengah Kesenian Indonesia /Secondary School for the Arts) at Padang, West Sumatra. ASKI (Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia)/Indonesian Academy for the Arts was also established at Padang Panjang, and it has recently become the STSI (Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia / College of the Arts). When an educational forum was established under the Repelita plan, the chance presented itself to link this artistic human resource with the INS Kayutanam alumni. When the arts school was established in the first part of the 1970s, the role of INS Kayutanam declined and a magnificent opportunity was lost.

12

M.A.Hassan et al, Kesenian Gayo dan Perkembangannya, (Jakarta, Balai Pustaka, 1980) p. 75.

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Graduates from ASKI Padang Panjang work today as teachers or artists in Aceh, Medan, Pekanbaru, Jambi, Bengkulu, Palembang and Lampung. Some of them have studied in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Solo, and Denpasar, and some have pursued their education in the USA, Europe and Australia. Their talents can match those of the graduate-artists from the more famous schools in Java. West Sumatra always won one of the top ten prizes alongside Java, Bali and Jakarta, in national arts festivals. Pioneers in Minangkabau performing arts have arisen from a variety of backgrounds. Among them was the late Rashid Manggis.13 He was a writer and the first director of KOKAR, who befriended Osman Gumanti, a dancer and film star known in pre-war Malaya and Singapore, who worked with the Makyong star of Kelantan, Malaysia, Katijah Awang. The late Bustanul Adam, a musician and a graduate from the Netherlands, was the eldest of the musical Adam family of Padang Panjang. His sister, the late Huriah Adam, choreographed many new traditional Minang dances like Malinkundang (a popular legend), and the payung (umbrella) dance. One of her excellent works is the barabah dance, a complicated choreography based on the pencak silat (martial arts) of Minangkabau as portrayed in their traditional dances tan bentan, adau adau, alang suntiang panghulu. With many other dancers from a wide range of Indonesian ethnic peoples of her generation, she participated in the intercultural workshop in the first years of the TIM cultural centre in Jakarta. Syaugi Bustami, a journalist and brother of the film star, the late Bus Bustami, presented Minangkabau dances, like the tempurung (coconut shell) dance during Independence Day celebration at Sukarno’s palace.14

13 14

Interviewed during a research trip by LPKJ / IKJ (Jakarta art school) to West Sumatra in 1977. Information obtained from personal acquaintance with the individuals cited.

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The new generation of Minangkabau dancers has been integrated into the mainstream of the arts in Jakarta, which waxed strong in the 1970s in the wake of the founding of Taman Ismail Marzuki, and so exerted a marked influence in the Indonesian dance scene, creating all kinds of new dances performed not only all over Indonesia but at various important international festivals. Central figures are Tom Ibnur, his older colleague Gusmiati Suid, and her son, Boi Sakti. They are examples of the creative achievements of Minangkabau artists beyond their regional culture. The reason for the success of Minangkabau performing artists might be found in their dynamic attitude which springs from their versatile and open-minded character. This might have its roots in their matrilineal kinship system which later co-existed peacefully with Islam, and later opened up to westernised intellectual development. It can also be attributed to their philosophy of rantau (migration) in combination with the idea of ‘Alam Takambang jadi Guru’ (nature becomes teacher). This offers guidance for a way of life to people confronted by the forces of nature and facing various challenges thrown up by changes. Openness to experience has been the best teacher in their lives.

5. Historical Background of Bugis Struggle South Sulawesi is the homeland of the Bugis, a seafaring people who were islamized by Malays from Melaka in the late sixteenth century15 and Minangkabau from West Sumatra in the seventeenth century.16 These influences demonstrate the significance of the Bugis’ connection with other parts of Southeast Asia.

15

Long before the kings of Makassar became Muslims, the ruler of Gowa (Tunijallo 1599-1590) encouraged Malay merchants from Malaka to establish their mosque at the centre Manallekana. Anthony Reid, Charting the Shape of early Southeast Asia, p. 119. 16 Hamka, Adat Minangkabau Menghadapi Revolusi, (Jakarta, Firma Tekad, 1963) p. 31.

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The Bugis had regular maritime trade to the Philippines in particular to the Sulu Sultanate of Mindanao in the eighteenth century or before that already, according to James F Warren17 which disturbed the Dutch monopoly in the Archipelago, as the Bugis were clever enough to evade the severe Dutch laws and regulations. The Bugis were also involved in the trade of Filipino slaves (one group became the Papangers in Batavia), and may have worked together with the Illanun, one of the ethnic groups under the Sulu Sultanate, who were called the “Mangindanao” by the shore-dwellers of Sulawesi but considered to be pirates in the Bugis homeland.18 When they became part of Indonesia, their integration had implications that challenged other arguments about the cultural life of the nation. They were very swift to show their support for challenging the political unity of the new state. South Sulawesi was one of the first parts of the new Republic to face separatist movements in the 1950s along with Aceh and West Java. The background to this separatist movement is that throughout their history the Bugis 19 have maintained a strong sense of liberty well buttressed by their supremacy mentioned in the fourteenth-century Nagarakertagama of Majapahit, and by their role as seafarers who roamed the seas as far as Northern Australia and the mainland of Southeast Asia. As Malay power was eclipsed with the fall of Malacca in the sixteenth century, the Bugis spread their wings to become migrants and rulers in the Riau Islands, West Kalimantan, and the Malay Peninsula. Despite the stigma of having collaborated with the Dutch against Makassar in the seventeenth century, their kingdom, Bone, was one of the 17

James F.Warren, The Sulu Zone, (Singapore, Singapore University Press, 1981) pp. 12 – 14. Christian Pelras, The Bugis, (Oxford, Blackwell, 1996) pp. 309 – 311. 19 The Nagarakertagama, a Javanese poem dated 1365, names as one of Majapahit’s tributaries Luwu, an ancient Bugis kingdom. The Bugis narrative epic I La Galigo and other manuscripts also include references to Majapahit. Christian Pelras, The Bugis, pp. 57, 66. 18

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last in the archipelago to be conquered by the Dutch after many wars in the nineteenth century, finally succumbing in 1905. When the National Awakening movement was stirring in Java, nationalist propaganda appeared and local branches of Java-based political and religious movements were created in Sulawesi. Ichlasul Amal 20 wrote that the goals of one of the most influential of such organisations, the Muhammadiyah, were educational and social, and most of its leaders were active nationalists, many of whom later played important roles in the fight for independence. The Japanese occupation did not bring many changes. After the proclamation of independence in Jakarta and the intervention of the Dutch and the Allies, South Sulawesi was part of the short-lived Negara Indonesia Timur (East Indonesia State) which lapsed with the re-introduction by Sukarno of the unitary state in 1950. The link forged between South Sulawesi and West Sumatra in the early years of Independence lay in the fact that in both regions, ethnic issues were at stake in their integration of the new Indonesian state. These regions were fairly representative of the large number of areas in which regional challenges to central authority were made in the period 1950-1965. Both of them played significant roles during the revolutionary years of early independence between 1945-1949, when Islam was an important element in political aspirations and in the perception of community identity notwithstanding the major contrasts between different ethnicities and regions. Together West Sumatra and South Sulawesi represent a good deal of the political, social and economic variation of the Outer

20

Ichlasul Amal, Regional and Central Government in Indonesian Politics, (Yogyakarta, Gadjah Mada University) p. 197.

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Islands. In short, they are roughly representative of the group of areas in which there were rebellions and revolts in the 1950s.21 Pelras22 wrote that like the Minangkabau, the Bugis were influenced by a Wahabiinspired religious programme. Some nobles were won over to another more radical form of Islam and branches were set up in Sulawesi of the mystic Sufi brotherhood (the Khalwatiyah) which is more egalitarian than that introduced in the seventeenth century by Sheikh Yusuf. Modernism in Islam produced another trend of an egalitarian character but quite opposed to the mysticism of the Khalwatiyah and the other brotherhoods in 1917. In South Sulawesi it quickly gained momentum after its establishment there in 1926. Within a short period, branches of the Java-based Muhammadiyah movement were set up throughout the regions. Pelras23 wrote further that administrative ‘rationalisation’ was enforced by colonial rule in South Sulawesi, which meant that the local aristocracy retained some power to run the area albeit on a different basis from that which they enjoyed before 1905. Autonomous territories, which were created as swapraja after Independence, survived until 1960, under the leadership of traditional aristocrats. However, the political power of nobility based on feudal and “pagan” beliefs had been reduced by this time to virtually nil by the modern Islamic movements. Many of the collections of regalia and aristocratic mansions had been destroyed and many of their bissu24 (transvestite priests who played significant roles in the

21

Ibid., p.197. Christian Pelras, The Bugis, pp. 288 – 289. 23 Ibid., p. 286. 24 The word Bissu might derive from the Sanskrit word Biksu, a term for Buddhist monks, and might point to some Tantric influence in pre-Islamic terms (Pelras, The Bugis, p. 71). In Buginese Bikku means holy man. 22

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traditional rituals and ceremonies 25 ) were killed. Aristocratic families themselves, abandoned by many of their followers and deprived of their traditional sources of income, had taken refuge in the cities. In 1960, an Indonesian government decree put an end to these remnants of past times in Sulawesi and elsewhere in the Republic, transforming the swapraja into kabupaten (administrative district), kecamatan (sub-district) and desa (village). Thus, the centuries-old rule of the descendants of the traditional rulers was eliminated. Perhaps even more important is the development of Indonesian nationalist sentiment among the people themselves, who although remaining strongly attached to their Bugis identity, have also developed an unquestionable national feeling of being Indonesians. 26 With the decline of traditional patronage, many courts were abandoned by artists who declined to practise the arts, especially the performing arts, until better times were to appear in the wake of the return of more favourable conditions for political and artistic appreciation. A formal educational vehicle which appeared in 1876 was the first Western-type school in South Sulawesi. This was followed by several more schools of the Hollandsch Inlandsche School / Dutch native school type in 1920. In a few private secular schools, the same spirit was to be found as in the Java-based Taman Siswa. After independence, higher degree education was launched at the University of Hasanuddin in Makassar in 1954, followed by the Teacher Training College and an Academic Institute of Islamic Studies.

25

H.J. Friedericy, “De standen bij de Boeginezen.” Gedenkboek van de Nederlandsche deelneming aan de Internationale Koloniale, BKI 90, (1933), p. 496. 26 Christian Pelras, The Bugis, p. 287.

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6. Arts Education in South Sulawesi In 1970, a Konservatori Tari, a secondary school specialising in dance, was established in Ujung Pandang. Under the new deal for the arts included in Repelita IV, in 1980 it became a school for arts in general, in the SMKI (Sekolah Menengah Kesenian Indonesia) style and moved to the town of Sungguminasa in the traditional surroundings of the palace of Goa. This establishment is crucial because traditional performing arts, which were extant in villages and courts long before Independence, had deteriorated under the political constraints of separatism in the first decades of Independence. Some Bugis dances were documented by Claire Holt27 including the Makassar lenggo of Malay origin; the Akkarena Si’ru; the Kondo Boleng from Wajo; the Pakarena Bura’ne’; the ladies’ Bugis Pajoge; the Mangibing; the Wandu (Transvestite) Pajoge; the Mappuka from Wajo, the Luwu ladies’ Pajaga; the male Pajaga (Sore) and the Pajaga To Welado dance of the shamanistic Bissu. It has proven possible to restore these dances both in original social context and also in the contemporary arts setting through revitalisation programmes sponsored by the government during the Repelita. The success of their revival can be largely attributed to arts groups or institutions, and the graduates from the arts schools or other academic institutions of the university. The question of cultural identity after Independence is a complex issue in South Sulawesi. It is both explicitly and implicitly part of people’s sense of identity ranging from local identity (village, administrative district), sub-ethnic identity to ethnic group identity, provincial identity, island identity and national identity. 27

Claire Holt, Dance Quest in Celebes, (Paris, Les Achives de la Dance, 1939) pp. 107-109.

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At present the ethnic groups of South Sulawesi consists of the Bugis, the Makassar, the Mandar, and the Toraja. The Bugis and the Makassar, according to Raymond Kennedy, 28 can be considered one ethnic group, but Hamid Abdullah 29 and Mattulada30 both wrote that they are different ethnic groups although they have a lot of similarities. The Mandar as an ethnic group have a problem because the people who live in the northernmost part of the region, Mamuju, do not like to call themselves Mandar but prefer to be called Mamuju. The Toraja live in the mountainous area of the northern part of South Sulawesi. A small social group, the Toala, are “Veddoid” descendants.31

7. Arts in South Sulawesi after Independence When security and peace were restored in South Sulawesi after the 1950s, people had more time to participate in and enjoy performing arts. When Indonesia became independent, court arts initially were frowned upon as being feudal. In the 1950s the Mangsara cultural organisation was formed by some former courtiers led by Fachruddin Daeng Romo to revitalise traditional dances. The group created a simplified version of one of the traditional dances, the pakarena, so it could be learned more easily by the younger generation. This simplified version was adopted by dance groups outside South Sulawesi and was featured in various performances abroad.32 According to Halilintar Latief, a scholar from South Sulawesi, at the same time that the pakarena dance was elevated to the ‘national’ level, in the villages of 28

Bibliography of Indonesian Peoples and Cultures (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1945). Manusia Bugis – Makassar / The People of Bugis-Makassar, (Jakarta, Inti Idayu, 1983). 30 “Manusia dan Kebudayaan Bugis-Makassar” (The Bugis-Makassar People and Culture), Antropologi Indonesia No. 48, XV Januari-April 1991. 31 Junus M. Melalatoa, Ensiklopedi Suku Bangsa di Indonesia, Vol. I, p.184, Vol. II, pp.500, 511, 849, 878. 32 Halilintar Lathief, “Seni Tari Makassar: Dari Istana ke Rakyat”, in Seminar Kesenian Melayu Sedunia, (Yayasan Warisan Johor , 4-7 October 2001). 29

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South Sulawesi the dance was taken over by the Anrongguru Pakarena (maestros of the Pakarena) to be disseminated among their own families. At this time the dance was reduced to the status of a village dance practised by the families of the Anrongguru during village celebrations and only rarely in the houses of the court people.33 Another scholar is of the opinion that as a component of growing significance in the contemporary world of performing arts in Indonesia, South Sulawesi has undergone the same changes in aesthetic forms and meanings as other major regions of Indonesia. One of the important changes stems from the efforts of the (educated) artists themselves. The regional Festivals at the Somba Opu Fortress in the vicinity of the capital of Ujung Pandang since 1993 have become important in reviving performing arts activities, although still with conflicting meanings for the different people involved, but rituals in the village with many performing arts activities are more interesting encounters, which are spirited, spontaneous and unpretentious, serving a need far more crucial to the community than the mild tourist entertainment. …. Mostly the educated elite feels pressure for conformity to national or certain dominated aesthetic norms unevenly, far less by villagers. What is shared is a renewed sense of power in a narrowly defined local culture of performance traditions and new cultural venues. Though national pressures are considerable, the internal dynamism begs further scholarly attention.34

With the arrival of the new scholars and practitioners in the arts, many of the dances once abandoned were restored in the 1980s by the graduates of the universities and the arts schools, and by the artists themselves. These dances are taught by old women of the anrongguru group, living in villages like Goa, Kampili, Malino, Takalar, Jeneponto, Banteang and Selayar, or re-created on the basis of old manuscripts.

33 34

Ibid. Richard Sutton, “Performing Arts and Cultural Politics in South Sulawesi”, BKI 151, (1995) p. 697.

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One of these important anrongguru is Mak (Mother or Madam) Coppong Daeng Rannu, now around seventy-eight years old, a dancer of the old classical pakarena, of whom only a few are left. She lives with her family in a small village in the vicinity of Goa and works daily in the fields, planting rice, long beans, and cassava, as well as breeding livestock. She danced at the court of the twenty-ninth sultan of Goa, before World War II. In the 1950s, she was not able to dance, as the puritanical DII / TII (Islamic separatist) movements prohibited people from dancing. In the past decade, she has been able to dance the pakarena again and has travelled to Jakarta, Solo and elsewhere to teach. She feels that, at present, the people in South Sulawesi do not appreciate it. The new generation of Indonesian people considers it dull, not dynamic enough and so therefore no longer interesting. Generally speaking, that is the public opinion about any dance which is solemn, majestic and minimalist in movement, but yet possesses a strong sense of spirituality that can only be felt and appreciated by people with a highly developed sense of artistic feeling. To people like Mak Coppong, dance is a precious jewel embodying lasting truth. According to one journalist one should feel fortunate to have inherited such a dance from the past, and feel really honoured to be able to experience this wonderful feeling by seeing Mak Coppong dance the pakarena at such an advanced age.35 The Bugis and other ethnic groups in South Sulawesi have not been seriously affected by the economic turmoil assailing Indonesia since 1997. Yusuf Kala, 36 a Buginese business leader, Minister of Trade in the Abdurrahman Wahid cabinet, and Vice President of President Susilo Bambang Yudhono Government, stated, “the crisis is a

35 36

Ardus M. Sawega, Kompas, 8 Dec. 1998. Taken from a published interview in Asia Inc. magazine, Hong Kong, April 1999.

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Java crisis not an Indonesian crisis”. In South Sulawesi currently 60 percent of the local economy comprising agriculture, mining and fishing products is paid in US dollars, whereas in Java the proportion is only about 20 percent. This economic uplift should motivate the arts, especially traditional performing arts. With the arts schools, arts centres and arts councils supported by such exponents of the arts as Ida Yusuf who has a small theatrette in her own house to give regular shows for foreign tourists and domestic audiences as well, and Halilintar Latief, a graduate scholar from the arts school in Yogyakarta who scouts around the country to locate and revitalise village artists, South Sulawesi has the necessary cultural resources that should be given extra support by the formal sector in the management of the programmes. What is significant in the seafaring nature of the Bugis with a cultural background as old as their historical texts of the Sure Galigo, I la Galigo, and Lontara local chronicles, they did not bring along these heritage culture on their Diaspora (only their code of maritime law37), but left this obligation to the people in their original homeland while they made themselves comfortable in their new homes, and just kept the nostalgic memory of their cultural origin at a distance. Most of their descendants in countries such as Malaysia and Singapore just remember that they are of Bugis origin, sometimes from Riau or West Kalimantan, but have now shifted their identity to Malay. (See Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 431 –top- Pakarena taken in the 1930s from Claire Holt book, below Pakarena at the Sultan palace museum Goa- South Sulawesi 1997, p. 436 –centre leftelderly dancer Coppong Daeng Rannu).

37

Cristian Pelras, The Bugis, p. 266. Thomas S. Raffles translated “The Maritime Code of the Malays” from the Malaka Code which having some slight modification, been adopted by several of the ancient and powerful states on the island of Celebes, JMBRAS SB 3: July 1879, p. 62.

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8. The Malay Culture Commitment of Riau Another significant case study is that offered by the province of Riau, because this culture has a wider relationship beyond the boundaries of that region. In the context of Alessandra Iyer’s issue of ‘cultural recycling’ between the Asian regions in the earliest part Hindu migration, “Malay” becomes a significant sample of what might have been happening at a much later stage. The majority of people who live in Riau are Malays; however the context of Malay has gone beyond that region. The word “Malay” is controversial. According to the widely accepted definition, Malay is the name for a certain social group scattered throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. There is also a view stating that Malays form one of the ethnic groups in the Archipelago. Another group claims that each group that has spread in the Archipelago can be an ethnic group by itself. Various ethnic groups in Indonesia and also outside Indonesia speak Malay or a certain dialect of Malay and some of them have developed their own language and are not called Malay.38 Historically the sultanate of Malaka and the sultanate of Lingga and Riau are the areas where Malay culture formed. This culture included strong emphasis on language and literature; through political efforts the language then became the carrier, of what Maier called …yet another set of ideas and values to become ‘bahasa Indonesia’ launched by the ‘Sumpah Pemuda / Youth Oath of the Indonesian nationalistic movement and ‘bahasa Malaysia’ at its independence. The Indonesian nationalists and political leaders of Jakarta have made the ‘bahasa Indonesia’, which originally was the language of communication in the Archipelago into a language of culture, the national culture.39 Leonard Y.Andaya on a number of recent writings on Malayness: While most scholars would agree that ethnicity is constantly being reconstructed in the face of changing circumstances, there is less support 38

Junus M. Melalatoa, Ensiklopedi Suku Bangsa di Indonesia, p.544. Henk Maier, “We are Playing Relatives: Riau the Cradle of Reality and Hybridity”, in C. Chou, Riau in Transition, BKI 153, 4e Afl, (1997) pp. 688, 690. 39

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for the idea of an ‘essential’ core that defines a group. Yet popular belief in a primordial core persists and often is the primary stimulus for group action.40 On the context of where and how ‘Melayu’ ethnicity may have evolved, Andaya41 further comments that the heart of the issue is not to provide definitive answers, but to sketch the historical environment which produced the conditions for a specifically ‘Melayu’ awareness. Analogous to this debate on the origins and significance of the term “Malay” is a discussion which took place in the context of the performing arts in Indonesia, when Malay culture became a focus of attention. The question was raised in a Jakarta Arts Council Lokakarya / workshop and discussion on Malay dance in 1976. In accommodating the need for a point of orientation for Malay dance development in Indonesia during that period, it was resolved that the Malay dance which emerged from the East Coast of Sumatra founded on Serampang Duabelas (see Chapter 4) in the 1950s might be the best indication of the direction in which one should seek an origin. Six provinces situated on the east coast of Sumatra (Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Palembang and Lampung), all acknowledge Malay culture as part of their identity. However, in the wider regional context, Malay culture also touches the interests of neighbouring countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, and Thailand). The phenomenon of designating a particular performance as a “national dance” indicates the vital connection in Indonesian culture as a whole between cultural identity and dance as well as the interconnectedness of the Southeast Asian maritime region. 40

Leonard Y. Andaya, “The Search for the ‘Origin’ of Melayu” , in Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 32 (3), (Singapore, Nationa University of Singapore, 2001) p. 315. 41 Ibid., p. 316.

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To find out how this idea of the origin of Malay dance evolved, we must go back to the 1950s when certain dances were developed by artists from Medan using certain fundamental technical movements based on traditional Malay dance. This opened the way for new Malay dances to be created by a new generation of choreographers.42

9. Riau Political Evolution and Social Development What makes the province of Riau distinctive is its dichotomy: there is a Riau daratan (mainland), which comprises the watersheds of four important rivers, the Rokan, the Kampar, the Siak, and the Inderagiri, and Riau kepulauan (archipelago) made up of more than three thousand small islands, many uninhabited, that stretch from the Straits of Malaka across the South China Sea to Kalimantan/Borneo.43 Although Riau was separated from Central Sumatra Province in 1958, it was only in the 1990s that it changed dramatically, in particular due to the development programmes introduced into the so-called Triangle Growth which links Singapore, Johor and Riau into SIJORI. The purpose of this economic link has been to open up new possibilities for higher levels of co-operation. The latest political transformation in Indonesian decentralisation may split Riau into more than one province in view of the strategic economic role that the region has in globalisation. The process of globalisation which has had an extra impact on Riau by connecting the region with Singapore, Malaysia and the other Southeast Asian countries is not a new phenomenon. The current forces of globalisation there are just part of a continuous historical process that began centuries ago in Sriwijaya. The difference lies in the rate and

42 43

Pesta Seni 1976, “Rumusan Lokakarya Tari Melayu”, Dewan Kesenian Jakarta. Barbara Andaya Watson, “Recreating a Vision”, in Chou, Riau in Transition, p. 483.

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scale of the changes that the inhabitants of Riau and their habitats have experienced. Riau is not just a place name for an unchanging geographical reality, but a reference to different political realities shaped by different powers. A succinct history would read something like this: from 1677 to 1683 Riau was part of Sultan Ibrahim’s ruling dynasty descended from Malaka; in 1708 to 1716 Riau agreed to Sultan Abd al-Jalil’s promotion from the rank of bendahara (treasurer) to sultan; from 1719 to 1722 Raja Kecil of Siak, who claimed to be a descendant of the Minangkabau royalty of Pagaruyung, was a pretender to the throne, claiming to be a descendant of Sultan Abd al-Jalil’s Malaka dynasty; from 1722 to 1787, Riau was part of the coalition between the Bugis conquerors and the descendants of the bendahara’s dynasty of Johor; from 1787 to 1795, Riau was a Dutch colony; from 1795 to 1804, Riau was a territory defined by the rivalry between the Bugis and the bendahara dynasty; and from 1804 to 1819 Riau saw the re-instatement of the Bugis resulting in a geographical division of the kingdom into the ‘Bugis Riau’ and the Temenggung Bulang. In 1819, Riau was at the convergence of internal fission and external ambitions resulting in the fragmentation of the sultanate and the rise of Singapore as a British colony. From 1824 to 1911, Riau endured the gnawing away of the sultanate, a process that had begun with the territorial division of Riau and Lingga in 1804. From 1911 to 1942, Riau was a Dutch colony again and from 1942 to 1945, was occupied by Japanese. From 1945 to 1958 Riau was part of the province of Sumatra Tengah (Central Sumatra) of independent Indonesia.44 This transformation process might indeed have become a motor for economic development, but it remains to be seen whether the people of Riau will seize the 44

Ibid., pp. 483-494.

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opportunity offered by this boost, despite their historical connection. Two scholars concluded that ambitions to remap Riau in this wider regional development programme of globalisation in order to increase its competitive edge in the global market economy cannot co-exist with the rural subsistence of people who do not have a sustainable livelihood in terms of their physical, social and cultural well-being.45

10. Malay Cultural Definitions in the Post-Independence Period Rapid economic development has prompted some Malay intellectuals to articulate a concern for cultural and ethnic specificity in the search for local definitions of identity. Some have suggested that it may be found among Riau’s ‘suku asli’ (indigenous people) groups of small forest-based and aquatic societies that retain strong economic and cultural links to the territories and natural environments that they have occupied for generations.46

Al Azhar considers that its economic boom has robbed it of a different kind of wealth, and that today the Malays of Riau are not the leading actors in all the changes that are being brought about in their own land. The Malays who were bred in the cities and towns of Riau started to question themselves in a search for their identity, in particular since the 1960s: There is a feeling that everything around them has no Malayness. The capital of the province, Pekanbaru, and the political power and the bureaucracy, are made to toe the line that is determined by the central government. The markets and the harbour have become filled with newcomers. In the field of the performing arts, certain dance forms such as the jogets, zapin, Serampang Duabelas etc. have been fading. It was

45

Vivienne Wee & Cynthia Chou, “Continuity and Discontinuity in the Multiple Realties of Riau”, in Cynthia Chou & Will Derks, eds Riau in Transition, p. 528. 46 Ashley Turner, “Cultural Survival: Identity and the Performing Arts of Kampar’s Suku Petalangan”, in Chou, Riau in Transition, p. 669.

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considered that to develop Malayness in the arts was “membangkit batang terendam”, to bring a submerged tree trunk to the surface.47

Notwithstanding the gloomy opinions of the international academic experts and of Indonesians themselves, it would be wide off the mark to get the same impression of the development of the arts in Malay-Riau, despite the degeneration of authentic counterparts in other parts of Indonesia.48 The formal sectors of government and non-government organizations in Riau were not behind the promotion of the arts during the New Order period. Besides the regular national programmes introduced into every region, Riau and its sub-regions have always taken part in festivals, workshops and other educational and promotional activities that have become regular events all over Indonesia. In the capital of Pekanbaru in Riau itself, like in the other capitals of the provinces, there is a central government-established Taman Budaya (arts centre), now more than ten years old. In the capital there is also the Dang Merdu Arts run by the provincial Government with the Arts Councils of Riau and the sub-regions, which also have regular programmes fully supported by their respective local governments.49 In comparison with other regions in Sumatra like West Sumatra, Jambi, Lampung and Medan, Riau is generally known among artistic organisations as a place where funds for artistic activities are not a problem, because Riau is rich in resources, such as oil. Nevertheless, it has never really excelled on the national performing arts scene, or at the international forums. This might be because artistic potential has never been really 47

Al Azhar, “Malayness in Riau”, in Chou, Riau in Transition, p. 768. Data obtained during research trips to Riau between 1993 to 1999. 49 Under the new decentralisation regulation, these two art centres have now been incorporated into one organisation, which is located in the former MTQ compound in the vicinity of Pekanbaru, where an arts school was established in 2001. 48

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seriously pursued in the programs of local or central government. One of the reasons might be that the arts school was established much later here than in other regions. Other institutions such as Pusat Kajian Melayu (Centre for Malay Studies) were established in the universities in Pekanbaru and in Tanjung Pinang / Pulau Bintan at the beginning of the 1980s. In the 1950s Serampang Duabelas, eventually to be proclaimed the “Tari Nasional”, spreading throughout Indonesia, also exerted influence on the performing arts of Riau, in particular on dances that were performed by men only, such as the zapin. The Serampang Duabelas introduced female dancers as partners of the male dancers in the 1950s. This engendered a change in perception towards the female dancers, wiping out the convention imposed by conservative Muslim religious restriction that females should not appear in public. It was then accepted that females could take part in the dances, such as the zapin, which had been taboo to them. After the Jakarta Arts Council conducted a Malay Dance Workshop in 1976, the Malay performing arts promotion was followed by similar programmes run by the central and local government and also by the Lembaga Pengembangan Kesenian Melayu (Malay Arts Development Foundation) of nongovernmental organisation in Jakarta. Malay music ensembles known as orkes melayu were the forerunners of the major challenge to the popularity of Indonesian popular music in a national form as dangdut. While extremely popular with a large part of the public, this music is rejected by Malay traditionalists for being sexually suggestive. Tracing the roots of dangdut, Craig Lockard wrote: It is a media-generated, acculturated modern music, which appeared on the Indonesian popular music scene in the 1960s as a fusion between Malay

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ensemble music (orkes melayu), Indian film music popular at that time, and Western pop. Early on, the style was associated with a social dance, the joget, especially important at public folk dances and festivals.50

Several government policies issued under the New Order have been accused of harming particular traditional arts of the Nusantara, which had achieved glory in the past. One case is the makyong traditional theatre of Riau. A recent academic study51 examined the revitalisation programme for this run by of the government and drew attention to the bureaucratic involvement through the performing arts committee: In commenting on the roles of the government officials concerned, and the way rehearsals were organised during the revitalisation process. It has allowed outsiders as so-called consultants from the government bureaucratic circle in Jakarta to interfere with the arts and upset the indigenous artists themselves by giving the form of wrong consultation, which was manifested in accepting wrong criteria in making the evaluation of performing arts at national levels.

These are the results of the improper implementation of government arts development programmes, which affected not only the makyong of Riau but all Indonesia. Bureaucrats who did not understand the way the traditional arts should be treated but got on with the job just for the sake of implementing cultural development for national purposes, were the culprits. The value of the heritage was not preserved, but moulded through implementing Western theatrical styles without thoughtful, solid consideration. The main difference in effecting a revitalisation program to preserve and develop creativity by leading it into new paths of expression has not been understood, and to make matters worse, the approach adopted was implemented rigidly without research and inbuilt venues for feedback and renegotiation of methodology. 50

Lockhard, Dance of Life: Popular Music and Politics in Southeast Asia, p. 94. Prudentia M.S.S. in her dissertation “MakYong Hakekat dan Proses Penciptaan Kelisanan” at Universitas of Indonesia 14-8-2000; reported in Kompas, 15 August 2000. Author’s translation.

51

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In the wider Malay culture context, relations were worked out in October 1998 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, by organising Festival Zapin Nusantara which drew participants from seven regions in Indonesia, including two from Riau, Pekanbaru and Tanjung Pinang, which joined representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, and five regions in Malaysia itself. A Malay dance expert from Sumatra was invited to train Malay dancers in Singapore and Johor Bahru in 1999 and it seems that regional coordination will continue and develop in the future.52 Many of the traditional forms of Malay theatre are still performed and preserved, although it must be admitted that this traditional theatre is now no longer in its authentic form which could still be admired in the form of makyong in the 1970s. Besides the confusion caused by bureaucratic misconceptions, many of the stars have passed away. The situation is exacerbated because the regeneration plan seems to have not been successful. Some Malay folk performances, like bangsawan, dermuluk, mendu and mamanda are still very much alive in different coastal Malay communities in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Some have caused dilemmas, because their artistic condition needs to be developed. For this reason, there is a need to develop better access to education for the artists themselves and for other experts in these fields. In general, the supporting infrastructure is there, but the human resource developments still languish, artistically and economically. Moreover the political infrastructure is not stable and it cannot be denied that the arts have low priority, just at a crucial juncture when more artistic forms and aspirations, in particular the traditional ones, are dying out. Riau is significant to Indonesian politicians above all because the region is rich in natural resources; however its role in Malay culture is very much that of an also-ran. 52

Information from author’s personal observation through attendance at the festivals concerned.

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Malay culture is an important asset to other ‘Triangle” nations in the global context. Because of greater awareness of this significance in other Southeast Asian countries, the idea of Malay culture may not be lost at all; it may possibly be lost only in Riau, unless the people there take it upon themselves to save their own heritage in the context of the autonomy they have gained. Preserving the unique significance of the ambivalence of fluidity and ephemeral strength in the Malay culture will support a better understanding in the inexorable process of globalisation (see Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 432 – 433, 438 left-below, of Malay dances from various places).

11. Jambi: a Multi-Ethnic Province The history of Jambi, south of Riau, goes back to the ancient kingdoms of Sriwijaya and Malayu. Economic development in this province since independence has been less rapid than in some other regions of Indonesia. Population density here is low. According to the 2000 census, Indonesian citizens in Jambi number 2,405,378.53 Jambi’s population consists of 37.87 percent Malay, 27.64 percent Javanese, and 10.56 percent Kerinci, 5.47 percent Minangkabau, 3.47 percent Banjarese, 2.62 percent Sundanese, 2.59 percent Buginese, and others small groups together comprising less than 1 percent of the population of Jambi.54 Jambi lacks a single dominant ethnic group or cultural identity; it has no specific ‘icon’ which can be used to represent the province on the nation’s cultural map. This could be seen as a point of interest, but given the simplistic and superficial nature of the official cultural policies which seek to establish a single cultural identity which can easily

53 54

Leo Suryadinata et al, Indonesia’s Population, p.9, table 1.2.1; p.17, table 1. 2. 8. Ibid., p.17, table 1. 2. 8.

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be brought out to represent each province, Jambi instead is perceived as a “problem area”. In a search for a single cultural strand to represent the province, the local authorities have tried their best to conform to the demands of the centre. Certain representations of traditional performing arts in particular and the interpretation of culture in general have been recollected, revitalised, re-created or re-invented to fill the need for performances at public celebrations, thus giving rise to “invented tradition” in the sense of Hobsbawn and Ranger.55

12. Ethnic Groups of Jambi Autochthonous ethnic groups of Jambi include the Kerinci, the Kubu, the Jambi Malay, the Batin, the Penghulu, and the Suku Pindah. These have been joined by others from outside Sumatra. In the ideology of cultural diversity, every culture should contribute to regional development. How should the quest of these peoples be undertaken? How they become a unit in Jambi is important in creating this identity. In the process of searching for identity, Idris Djakfar 56 stressed the significant long tradition of Kerinci culture strongly marked by language and matrilineal kinship. The Kerinci people live in the eastern Bukit Barisan Mountains of Jambi province, in what at present is called Kerinci kabupaten (regency). The oldest migrants to the eastern part of Jambi were people from Kerinci: the Batin, who spread downwards from the Kerinci mountainous area as far as Muara Tembesi. They are divided into two groups; one still strongly tied to the Kerinci tradition, and a second which has discarded that relationship, and has adopted the customs of the other local people of Jambi such as the Batin.

55 56

Eric Hobsbawn and Terence Ranger, “Introduction”, in The Invention of Tradition. Idris Djakfar of the University of Jambi, interview in Jambi 1-3- 1999, see Appendix 1.11

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Watson 57 emphasizes that Kerinci has maintained a separate cultural identity despite its location on the southern border of Minangkabau territory, but cannot be described as falling within the scope of Minangkabau, notwithstanding historical evidence of Minangkabau migration into the area. Sources from Minangkabau itself describe the Islamisation of Kerinci, following religious instruction preserved as pusaka / heirlooms and theological ideas which have been interwoven with magic and superstition. Kerinci Muslims find the ritual forms rather than the doctrines of Islam to be of specific appeal. Watson considers that at present, in a number of instances, it is clear that: The people of Kerinci have proved to be relatively unaffected by the different styles of learning from the outside world, taking what is worthwhile and rejecting the bad according to the touchstone of experience brought from the villages, a practice which has a long and tested historical tradition behind it.58

Kerinci culture has not succeeded in becoming the dominant cultural identity option for Jambi, though it is interesting because of its age and complex community relations. The former head of the village of Ampelu on the Tembesi, Batanghari region, Lukman Zakaria, is a significant promoter of culture in his region. He feels that cultural identities in Jambi are very unique. In understanding this identity, one must not be restricted to administrative borders created by the government, but to the dynamic mobility of the people of Jambi who historically interacted with each other to form a common interest in supporting the development of the Indonesian nation.59 Jambi Malay culture has an interesting relation to greater Malay culture. The principal homeland of the Jambi Malay people lies along the Batanghari, the second largest river in 57

C.W.Watson, “Islamization in Kerinci” and editor’s “Introduction” in Lynn Thomas & Franz von BendaBeckerman, ed., Change and Continuity in Minangkabau: Local, Regional and Historical Perspective on West Sumatra, (Athens, Ohio University, 1985) p. 8, 157, 165. 58 C.W.Watson, “Introduction”, Kinship, Property and Inheritance in Kerinci, (Canterbury, University of Kent, 1992) p. 6. 59 Lukman Zakaria, interview at Ampelu village on 1 March 1999, see Appendix 1.13

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Sumatra. One link to communities beyond Jambi, the Batanghari originates from deep in the hinterland at Tanjung Semelidu, on the borders of West Sumatra. The Malay sultanate of Jambi historically consisted of twelve small principalities known as the Bangsa XII.60 One legend which accounts for the complexity of cultural configuration of Jambi is that of a certain Putri Pinang Masak, daughter of the legendary king of Minangkabau’s Pagaruyung, who became queen of Muarasabak in the eastern part of the country, and married Datuk Paduka Berhala, the son of the sultan of Turkey. Putri Pinang and Datuk Paduka Berhala ruled a kingdom known as Ujung Jabung. They made it prosperous, so that the king of Java bestowed the title Putri Jambu (Jambu Pinang) on the queen whose capital lay at Ujung Jabung of the Jambe (Jambi) kingdom. One of their children, Orangkayo Hitam, the bravest and smartest, married the daughter of the sultan of Mataram, Java, Putri Ratu, and freed Jambi from vassalage to Mataram. They became the forebearers of Sultan Taha Safioedin, who fought the Dutch. The sultanate of Jambi became an official colony of the Netherlands Indies at the beginning of the twentieth century.61 Another element in Jambi’s ethnic composition is the Kubu, sometimes considered the aboriginal people of Jambi. They represent an interesting case in the study of cultural identity. At present, there are two Kubu cultural orientations: isolated life in the forest and life in villages mixed with other people. One school of thought argues that the Kubu might be Buddhist in origin, as some remnants of Buddhist culture can still be recognised 60

J. Tideman, Djambi, (Batavia, Batavia Kolonial Institut, Mededeling 42, 1938) pp. 29 – 66. The bangsa XII was founded when in the 16th century Orang Kayo Hitam, son of Putri Pinang and Datuk paduka Berhala became ruler of Jambi. Twelve anak radja settled along the Batanghari river from Muarasabak to the border of West Sumatra ; they were the direct subjects of the sultans of Jambi; 1. the 9 kalboe/kota, 2. Petajen, 3. Marasebo, 4. Jeboes Rajasari, 5. Airhitam, 6. Awin, 7. Penagen, 8. Miji, 9. Pinokawan-tengah, 10. Mestong, 11. Kebalen, 12. Pemajung. 61 Ibid., pp. 29 – 42.

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in various Kubu cultural activities, like the Besale mantra of their healing ceremony.62 Their case is strengthened by the presence of remains of Buddhist culture in the hinterland of Jambi at archaeological sites dating from the post-Sriwijaya period.63 On the basis of their language, some researchers such as Schebesta (1926) and O.Sandbukt (1984) consider the possibility that the Kubu are, in fact ancient Malays.64 In 1908, B. Hagen65 characterised them as the very prototype of simple nomads, who are modified Malays. Such ethnic groups as the Kubu, spread out through the Archipelago, are not categorised as “minority groups” as mentioned in the Elucidation of article 26 on ‘citizenship’ of the 1945 Constitution; included in that category are those of foreign citizenship

such

as

Chinese,

Arabs,

Indians,

or

Europeans.

According

to

Koentjaraningrat66 the Kubu belongs to the group of Indonesian populations categorised as “masyarakat terasing” / isolated communities. However the government sometimes avoids naming them ‘isolated’ because that term could be construed as having a negative connotation; a preferred term is. ‘masyarakat yang diupayakan berkembang’ / communities who should be helped to progress. Koentjaraningrat67 offered two alternative hypotheses for their isolated condition: they might be remainders of an ancient people in locations which never have contact with the outsiders; or they might have descended from their dominant neighbours but due to

62

Fachruddin Saudagar, interview in Jambi, 3 March 1999, see Appendix 1.12 John Miksic, “Classical Archaeology in Sumatra”, Indonesia No. 30, (1980) pp. 42 – 66. 64 P. Schebesta, “Kubu und Jakun als Protomalayen”, in Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft 1926, and Oyvind Sandbukt, “Kubu Conceptions of Reality”, in Asian Folklore Studies Vol.43, (Nagoya, Nanzan University, 1984) pp. 85 – 98. 65 B. Hagen, Die Orang Kubu Auf Sumatra, (Frankfurt-am-Main, Veroffentlichungen aus dem Stadtischen Volker-museum, Frankfurt-a-M.2., J.Baer & Co., 1908). 66 Koentjaraningrat &V.Simorangkir, Masyarakat Terasing di Indonesia, (Jakarta, Gramedia, 1993) p. 9. 67 Ibid., p.10. 63

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certain events became outcasts or fugitives who sought an isolated place. On this kind of ethnic group, Parsudi Suparlan68 wrote: Masyarakat Terasing yang ada di Indonesia secara spasial dan geografi terletak jauh dari pusat kemajuan dan perkembangan yang ada, begitu juga secara system berada di pinggir atau bersifat marginal, yaitu mereka secara de jure atau legal formal masuk ke dalam dan merupakan bagian dari sistem nasional Indonesia tetapi secara kenyataan atau de fakto mereka berada di pinggiran atau bahkan ada yang berada di luar jangkauan sistem nasional tersebut.

Isolated groups in Indonesia are spatially and geographically distant from existing centres of progress and development, and similarly they are systematically located in marginal places; de jure or legally and formally they are part of the Indonesian national system but in reality or de facto they are at the margins or even outside the reach of the national system. Idris Djakfar 69 said that, according to the Kubus’ own legend, they originated from Minangkabau, while Datuk Maliki, a Kubu chief, 70 claims descent from Palembang. Datuk Maliki’s father, a chief in the late 1940s, became Muslim, and in 1952, his father came out of the forest to build a house in a nearby village, because his father wanted to let the children go to school. Datuk Maliki has eleven brothers and sisters, but only two are still alive. Both brothers have come out of the forest, married women from Padang and raised their families as Muslims. As a chief of the Nyogan Kubu, Datuk Maliki is also a dukun / healer equipped with the knowledge to cure his people of all kind of illnesses. Most of his people have converted to Islam, but still live in the forest where they make a living as foragers and exchange forest products for daily necessities.

68

Pasudi Suparlan, “Pendahuluan”, Oran Sakai di Riau: Masyarakat Terasing Dalam Masyatakat Indonesia, (Jakarta, Yauasan Obor, 1995) p. 19. 69 Seminar dan Pentas Seni, Jambi, 22 – 25 February 1999 70 Datuk Maliki, interview at Nyogan village, 1 March 1999, see Appendix 1.14

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The Kubu admit that they do not own the forest; the government is the proprietor which allows them to look for products in the forest to trade. This is the concession that is given to the Kubu. They understand now that they have to get along with outside people, especially the government. Should they wish to move on to become settled agriculturalists, they can get land to plant oil palms and other crops.71 One source of cultural heritage that deserves to be studied in greater depth is the culture of the isolated Kubu. Fachrudin Saudagar72 is an expert of the Orang Dalam (as he calls the Kubu), with their specific Melangun culture. One significant point of argument is that the Orang Dalam (or “inside people”) might perpetuate some traits derived from contact with the pre-Islamic Buddhist culture espoused during the period of Srivijaya. One major mark of their cultural identity is the besale ritual tradition. The word besale is derived from sale / saleh, which means holy or going to a holy place, divine service, devotion, or mantra songs of mourning. Some other Kubu groups refer to this ritual as bermalim. A similar ceremony in Kerinci is called asyik, while at Tanjung Jabung among the East Malays it is known as the mandi di aek asin. (Before converting to Islam, the Malays had this tradition too).73 The oldest migrants in Jambi who shaped its cultural identity are of Minangkabau descent, cultural relatives of the Kerinci: the Batin, the Penghulu and the people from Tungkal. As mentioned before, the Batin are descendants of Kerinci people. Along tributaries of the Batanghari, the Batang Tembesi and the Batang Asai, they mixed with the original Jambi groups. During the sultanate period, they paid tribute to the sultan of Jambi, under a contract, and delivered this through a jenang, the sultan’s representative. 71

Ibid. Seminar dan Pentas Seni, Jambi, 22 -25 February 1999 73 Fachruddin Saudagar, Seminar dan Pentas Seni, Jambi 22 – 25 February 1999 72

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The Penghulu came later, approximately 500 years ago, from Minangkabau, attracted by gold. Usually they have settled among the Batin and Kerinci people, which is understandable because of their shared roots. They have adopted Batin customs. If they settle in Kerinci territory, they adapt to Kerinci customs. Among the old migrants from Minangkabau are those who live in Tungkal and come from Pariaman and Padang Panjang. Migrants from Johor, Bugis, Banjar, Palembang and the Orang Laut or Orang Bajau have also settled in this area. Around 300 years ago, the so-called Suku Pindah came from the Palembang area. They are probably descendants of the Rejang people who on linguistic evidence lived in Rupit and Rawas in South Sumatra, where they settled among the Batin and Malay groups in Pauh, Mandiangin, and at Muara Tembesi. Extensive immigration from other Asian countries and other Indonesian islands occurred during colonial times. This migration continued after Independence, especially from other places in Indonesia. Immigrants from other parts of Indonesia usually live in cities.

13. Jambi’s Performing Arts on the National Stage It might be decided arbitrarily that the roots of the cultural identity of Jambi lie with the Kubu, the Kerinci with their strong traditional adat system, or the vast Malay cultural ambience, interlaced with cultural influences from Minangkabau and Palembang. Performing arts showing the clear imprint of Islamic Malays are spread all over Jambi, particularly in the Batanghari and Tanjung Jabung areas. This Malay culture is not limited to the coastal areas, but reaches far into the centre of Jambi along the Batanghari

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into the Kubu, Batin, Penghulu and Suku Pindah lands. Despite the conventional perception that Malay culture is coastal and Islamic, the case in Jambi shows that it also thrived in the hinterland, mixed with non-Islamic elements and interacted with other groups. One of its features is the silat (martial art) performed as an opening and welcome dance. Then there are the kompangan rebana dance and music, and the dana sarah or dana dance, sometimes known as the zapin. The anggut dance is a highlight during the celebration of Maulud (the prophet’s Mohammed birthday) and has since become a secular presentation. The Abdul Muluk theatre, which is a kind of popular Malay bangsawan, still exists in different villages. The tauh, a popular community dance performed after working in the rice-fields or other village community work, at present is a social dance for the younger generation. Besides these, there are other traditional entertainment found all over Indonesia which are Islamic in nature, including the hadrah, the zikir / dikir, the gambus and so forth. Here and there, they incorporate local idiosyncrasies. The Malay entertainment dances, like the selendang mayang, the jeruk purut, the serampang laut and others are also a community activity, but their ages are difficult to guess. Some are old, while some are recent creations or “invented traditions”. In the village of Mandiangin Tuo of the Sarolangung Bangko, there are still some archaic dances of the Suku Pindah migrants from Palembang who mixed with the Batin group. Ayumanik, an elderly dancer, approximately sixty years old, teaches the gunjing dance to young girls. She herself still performs the kain kromong dance, charged with

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emotion and replete with elegant movements. She also sings beautiful old traditional songs. Even if the background of the Suku Pindah people were a complete mystery, the dances would instantly remind us of the tanggai dance from Palembang, from which the invented “traditional” dance Gending Sriwijaya is derived. This is composed of very elegant, slow and refined movements for female dancers. This is the usual traditional dance performed at marriages and other popular celebrations. It is the opposite of the silat, which functions as the opening dance. It is preserved in the village of Mandiangin Tuo, 74 which a visitor has to cross the Tembesi to reach, and where people live in beautiful, old-fashioned Malay traditional houses. Another background which has more to do with the ‘national context’ can be found behind the story of a respected elderly dancer of the same generation of Ayumanik from Mandiangin Tuo, Ibu Nuraini,75 who came from Payakumbuh, West Sumatra, where she received her education in Taman Siswa and continued on to a teachers’ college. During that period, she was active in different kinds of performing arts activities. During the Japanese occupation, theatre presentations were known as the 76tonil and Ibu Nuraini learned to play in these theatres while performing dances for adat occasions. During her last year at teachers’ college, she had to leave the area because of the so-called PRRI / Pemerintahan Revolusioner Republik Indonesia rebellion. She went to stay with relatives at Bangko-Jambi, and built up a new life. Later in Bangko, she had problems with the PKI (Communist Party). Nevertheless, she survived at Perentak village in Bangko. While she taught a public school; she had a side profession which she liked better, as a dance teacher 74 75

Author’s visit to the village in February 1999. Ibu Nuraini Rahman, interviewed in Jambi on 2 March 1999, see Appendix 1.15

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for children who wanted to learn the Minangkabau dances included the tari payung (umbrella dance), and the tari piring (plate dance). According to her story, the pesirah (nowadays the Lurah, head of the village) was pleased that she was teaching dances to children, and urged her to build up their traditional dances, as these had deteriorated since the 1930s, falling victim to strong, fanatical Islamic movements. Spurred on she studied the surviving traditional dances at Perentak. It turned out that one of her elderly relatives, Ibu Pinah, was a dancer. She learned the traditional dances and songs, like the tari kipas, and the tari skin. Through her experience fulfilling her obligations as a villager and helping with the harvesting of the rice-fields, she realised the origin of the tari kipas during the communal lunch break. She remembered that the rice-fields were ornamented with coloured flags, so that people from afar could see what was going on and come to see and lend a helping hand in the harvesting, so the work of the harvest could be finished faster. In the evening, there were other attractions, in particular for the younger generation, which were watched from afar by the older folks. Further on she recollected that the youngsters composed poems while singing and dancing with scarves, as this was also an occasion for courtship among young people. So she thought of the origin of the tauh dance, which is now vanishing, because more and more youngsters are leaving for the city, where they are influenced by urban culture and lose touch with, or even develop an aversion to the tauh. It was awful when she remembered that at one time fanatical ulama prohibited dance. As a religious Muslim Nuraini would not fight, but could not forget her love for dance. So, she went on teaching at home among her own relatives, until the situation changed and the bupati grew interested in supporting the teaching of dancing.

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In 1973, during the term of Governor Nur Atmadibrata, Nuraini was able to take her dances to the provincial capital where they were appreciated by officials. The kipas dance won particular acknowledgement as her creation and is now recognised as a Jambi dance to be presented on different occasions outside Jambi. Besides teaching in a formal school, she worked for the Department of Education and Culture as chief inspector of cultural affairs at the kabupaten Bangko office, a function she carried out until recently. She belongs to the Suku Penghulu which has mingled culturally with the other indigenous groups of Jambi in Bangko. At the age of sixty, she has re-created many traditional dances and dance drama, like the tari kipas (fan dance), the tari skin, the tari persembahan (welcome dance), the tari kain like the one from Mandiangin and the dance drama Putri Bungsu based on a popular legend from Perentak. At present, she finds it difficult to carry out her selfimposed task of teaching traditional dances in her villages, because the musicians live far away and need to take care of their rice-fields. If she asked the musicians to come to Bangko to accompany a dance, then if for instance the drummer might demand a large sum of money, because he has to leave money for his wife and children while away from home. This problem affects almost every cultural activity in the villages of Jambi. The arts, which traditionally were related to agrarian life, have become urban activities for entertaining guests of the governor, the bupati, and the like, or for promotional tours. Once in a while, there are tourist cultural performances or festivals, such as the annual government development exhibition festival. (see Appendix 2. Pictures, p. 434 performances at Jambi’s capital, Mandi Angin Tuo and

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Kerinci, p. 435 the Kubus, p. 436 –top left- elderly dancer Ayu Manik, -top right- elderly dancer Nuraini).

14. Jambi’s Achievements and Setbacks in the Art Development At the national level, Jambi has achieved rousing success. Jambi performers have appeared at the Presidential Palace for a special occasion, and won acclaim at the National Festival of Folk Dances in Jakarta in 1995, the Opening Ceremony of the Festival Istiqlal II 1995 in Jakarta, and the Opening and Closing of the National MTQ in 1997 in Jambi. Between 1998 and 2002, Kajanglako, a non-government organisation in Jambi, managed a gallery and theatre and gave regular courses in dance, music, theatre and the fine arts, and audio-visual exhibition for the youth in particular, but also for the general public. An enormous task awaits them if they decide to establish centres of arts and culture throughout Jambi, preferable in at least fifteen villages so as to guide the arts in co-ordination with existing government organisations. However, this development has stalled after a clash between the decisions makers of Kajanglako and Tom Ibnur, the leading artist, who was in particular responsible for the enormous progress in the arts of Jambi. The Kajanglako art centre made an important contribution in the short time of about three years under Tom Ibnur. This might seem a good beginning of a revitalisation process in which bureaucrats work together with professionals in the arts in Jambi. Besides efforts to encourage cultural development, the government has opened up ways to socialise the arts among the people through various revitalisation projects in the art centre

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of Kajanglako in Jambi, the capital of Jambi province.78 However, it remains to be seen how this will proceed in future. Recent developments in preparation for the decentralisation of government functions have created another shake-up in all fields of Indonesia, including arts development in Jambi. Reshuffling of organisations and officials has created new uncertainties and hence instabilities. It seems for instance from Nurain’s experience in Bangko- Jambi that the wellworn slogan from the Old Order period (Chapter 2), Politik menjadi Panglima (“politics takes command”) has affected the arts in Jambi and other places outside central Jakarta. The artists are not in a favourable position to free themselves of political apron strings. The most difficult problem for the artists of Jambi is to what kinds of identity constructions they should confine themselves to. Local political considerations will dominate attempts to achieve co-ordination between different ethnic groups. The artists have to keep the good relations with political leaders, otherwise it would be difficult for them to continue practising the arts

15. Summary: Similarities and Differences among the “Outer Islands” The Javanese and the Balinese, with their firmly established heritage in the performing arts, embraced modernity faster than expected after independence. They had more exposure to development through the presence of Dutch officials during colonisation. The Minangkabau in West Sumatra had to face the burden of political upheavals in the pre- and post-independence periods. Later they were motivated to achieve excellence by dynamic changes in Jakarta. The Bugis were also burdened with 78

Edi Sedyawati, “Mengangkat Seni Memadu Minat, Birokrasi & Keahlian”, Media Indonesia, 12-5-2000.

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many political movements in the transition to independence, yet they were able to excel in the last few decades of the twentieth century, blessed by the rise of young, educated artists. The Malays of Riau were initially overwhelmed by all kinds of discontent arising from the economic, social, and cultural disparity in their region; however regional government and cultural leaders now have more authority in the new decentralised system to work together with the individual competent experts so as to make Riau the future centre of Malay heritage and creativity.79 The case of Jambi would have become interesting had co-ordination between the bureaucrats and the professionals continued. The links between the Nusantara provinces in the context of national unity have become weak. If it becomes a matter of argument whether this quality of ‘unity’ is real, imagined, or real but has weakened, then it might be beneficial to quote Niels Mulder, who wrote just before the fall of the New Order that business, a bureaucratic state and an army destroyed the cement that glued the diversity together as a nation. People from these regions sometimes comment that in their eyes “Indonesian” in national rhetoric and policies equals ’Javanese’. Most people prefer to be called Bugis, Minangkabau, and Balinese, part Javanese, part Betawi, as their primary sense of identity, and Indonesian, secondary, if at all. None are too eager identifying themselves as the new breed “Indonesian”. In many contexts, people are assailed by feelings of apprehension about which ethnicity to identify with.80

79

Elmustian, “Dewan Kesenian Riau Mengugat Pusat, Mendongkrak Daerah” in Kebijakan Kebudayaan di Masa Orde Baru, (Jakarta, LIPI-Ford Foundation, 2001). 80 Niels Mulder, Inside Indonesian Society: Cultural Change in Java, pp. 156, 157.

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Chapter 7 THE REFORMULATION OF PERFORMING ARTS

This study has tried to analyse the historical development of the performing arts in Indonesia during the past 100 years (covering the late colonial period, the Japanese interregnum, and the post Independence period), focusing on the tension between the national and the regional levels by investigating some regional case studies. The discussion of this investigation was preceded by a review of concepts of national culture from the nationalist movement to post-Independence ethnic developments in the regions of Jakarta, Bali and Java, then moving on to the Minangkabau, Bugis, and Riau, and ending with Jambi. This is a limited sample, but an attempt has been made to depict as much as possible of the variety of socio-cultural conditions affecting performing arts practices in different time periods in a variety of places of Indonesia.

1. The Challenge of Reformulation A review of the concept of national culture policy as it applies to the performing arts in Indonesia leads to the conclusion that the performing arts were perceived as a significant concern by the nationalist movement in the first half of the 20th century. The nationalists’ cultural policy espoused social change including an equitable distribution of arts funding. This crucial feature held great potential for fostering greater political unity by appealing to people’s sense of primordial bonds in endorsing a new cultural authenticity, but this potential was wasted; national arts policy was gradually transformed

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by vested interests of the ruling class. This became even more marked with the implementation of the national development plan. The arts in Indonesia became a political device after Independence, entrapped by the wishes of national and local, political and military rulers. According to the Indonesian Council of Sciences,1 the administration of regional art during the New Order period had three aspects: control over political content, control over moral content, and elevation of artistic quality. Each government office had a dance group, even the military offices. They were prestigious status symbols for the presidential office and the governors of the provinces. These groups had opportunities to perform as so-called ‘valid’ representatives of the country’s culture, while non-government groups languished on the margins. Nevertheless, some artists from regional ethnic groups in search of inspiration could benefit from this entrapment and were able to launch a kind of renaissance of their artistic traditions. Foremost among them were the Javanese due to their political dominance, and the Balinese, who were held up as symbols of Indonesia’s ancient cultures. The Javanese have been especially prominent in retaining the integrity of their performing arts, while also achieving success in developing contemporary arts as they were privileged to enjoy most of the educational opportunities, both at home and abroad. The Balinese, who have succeeded in maintaining much of their ritual and art, were slow to move toward ‘modernity’, perhaps because on the national scene their art was considered more Balinese than Indonesian or “modern”. (See Chapter 5 on Anak Agung Made Djelantik’s views on Balinese Art) It can be said that they might have been the

1

LIPI, Kebijakan Kebudayaan di Masa Orde Baru, p. 6. Author’s excerpted translation.

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recipients of rather reluctant national acknowledgment, although internationally they are very much appreciated. Representatives of the Minangkabau were always looking for opportunities to excel, but the Malays might be considered to have lost their early prominence on the national cultural scene after the politically-endorsed popularity of the Serampang Duabelas as a national ‘social’ dance phenomenon faded. The Bugis and the potpourri of ethnic groups in Jambi by the end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century were in the ascendancy due to creative artists from their own regions and other Indonesian artists, who have an interest in those particular cultures. Although these new regional exponents are not numerous, it is possible that they will be able to persist and flourish in the future. Most other Indonesian ethnic groups are at the level of trying to re-create their traditions. Once in a while, they might get the chance to feature in the national stream, although they normally remain in the background. In fact, they tend to be promoted for the sake of the image of national equality. Independent Indonesia has supported the democratisation of the performing arts from the courts, enhancing these traditions as the public has gained wider access to the performances, especially after independence. Morgan and Sears raise the issue of the loss of authenticity of these “classical” art forms when traditions face choices between aesthetic modalities and new values generated by social change.2 Today, one can observe the rise of ‘new traditions’ as the centre of artistic life moves from the courts to the government-supported art academies.

2

Stephanie Morgan and Laurie Jo Sears, “Foreword”, Aesthetic Tradition and Cultural Transition in Java and Bali, (Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1984) p. XI.

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In the cultural transition of Indonesia the surviving court arts are undergoing a reshaping ostensibly in order to maintain a particular group identity based on artistic heritage. The challenge is to preserve a certain ethnic heritage in a formal and encroaching national sphere in order to harmonise changing values with long-standing artistic patterns.3 In general, it is the preserve of heritage to act as a centre of educational objectives whether through presenting performing arts as status symbols or raising them from an ethnic to a national context. This can be said about Javanese court arts and maybe also the Balinese arts to some extent. It remains to be seen how relations of other courts to their significant context in the regions will fulfil that consideration. The ethnic artistic role then becomes part of the cultural resource of the region. Many significant achievements will remain limited to the confines of regional culture. The Serampang Duabelas was launched ‘in name’ as a national dance notwithstanding its relatively close relationship to the Malay courts, and it circulated as a popular social dance for two partners notwithstanding the fact that it was initially not a performing art. Despite all the hype, its nature was still typically Malay. In order to gain a long-lasting shared expression, the performing arts in the ‘national’ context likely require a newly educated generation of artists who are aware of the necessity to develop and engender a dialogue with the traditional ethnic cultures. Accumulation or combination of elements of ethnic arts or its creative experimentation, are notions in the development to express national culture. These basic practices progress through several generations to form a more coherent context. The seeds of a synthesis planted through the implementation of Repelita have begun to slowly germinate,

3

Ibid., p. XII.

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overcoming various challenges that will also be understood, appreciated, and accepted by a more educated public. The influence of the nationalist movement on art exploded into a war of ideologies after the second decade of Independence. The New Order rebuilt and implemented arts programmes through the National Development Plan, running these parallel to economic and industrial development projects. However, the artistic communities did not foresee the heavy consequences of the political burden of these programmes; artificial products lauded as high achievements threatened to smother the aspirations to preserve traditional culture. So while nationhood might have been accomplished in the political sense, and halting economic progress has been made (albeit not equitably distributed), cultural development has remained the hardest struggle. [T]he critical concern with shoring up a cultural platform from which people could redirect structural change by the start of the 1980s was submerged by the ‘Third Wave’, the arrival of the information society (Toffler 1981); the possible outcome is that culture will once again become subordinate, this time to information technology. 4

2. The Paradox of Tradition and Modernity Art development in Indonesia has remained suspended between two poles from late colonialism to the post-Independence period. Umar Kayam5 signalled the opposition between various ethnic groups, both with one another and with the national in the 1930s ‘Cultural Debate’ on east and west. This debate is still latent but occasionally surfaces in terms of the opposition or compliment of the regional and central; authoritarian and democracy; decentralization and centralization; New Order and Reformation. Basically,

4 5

Ibid., p. 111. See in chapter 3 on Umar Kayam “Pembebasan budaya-budaya kita” (Liberation of our cultures).

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the paradox between tradition and modernity fuels the progressive development of art as a means of cultural survival. The distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art in European culture is not found in Southeast Asia, and in particular Indonesia. Day6 argues that this erroneous concept has nevertheless given rise to a dichotomy in the study of the arts of Indonesia’s regions where modernity was forcibly imposed or highly influenced through colonialism, and tradition in a ‘shell’, kept ‘alive’ by the local partners of colonial powers. However, among the smaller scale communities where kingship and court authority had little power, tradition is more connected to adat or the customs of the elders transmitted from generation to generation. Junus Melalatoa signalled that Indonesians have forgotten their adat, causing a ‘cultural crisis’ / krisis kebudayaan (see chapter 2). This did not only occur during the New Order, but long before Independence, in particular during the late 19th century through the “peculiarly intimate association” or “symbiosis” between the Javanese and the Dutch, the traditional and the modern.

3. Cultural Uplift through Political and Economic Shake-Down This dissertation set out to investigate the relationship between the arts and politics in Indonesia. Our analysis has shown that Indonesian national culture policy was intended to secure unity. National culture was initially incorporated into the political aspirations of the Independence movement and later was roped in, embellished with moral and social aspirations, to support National Development. These then also became

6

Tony Day, “How Modern was Modernity, How Traditional Tradition, in Nineteenth-Century Java?”, RIMA, p. 9.

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the roots of contemporary aspirations in the arts, producing hybridized performing arts formed by trans-culturisation phenomena, according to Taylor’s terms,7 which were more “attributable to changes of a socio-economic nature than to products of a purely artistic nature”. The history of the twentieth century efforts to create an Indonesian national culture summarized in this dissertation suggest that this goal seems to be impossible. In addition to the tension between national and local cultures, an economist reckons that Indonesian economic development, to which national culture is inextricably tied, has been both shaped and restricted during colonial times, and has not been able to break free since Independence. Under the New Order, both the national economy and culture fell deeper into the trap of foreign aid, from which cronies in the government received rich pickings.8 At the time of the separatist movements of the 1950s and the communistic ideology in the 1960s, friction between ethnic groups was not yet an issue of great significance. National representations in the performing arts appeared as experiments in nationalistic patriotic songs and through such creations as the Serampang Duabelas, the new Indonesian theatre, and the contemporary mass showcases of nationalistic messages. The regional arts became significant political assets. In this hybrid configuration, official preference was focused on ethnic performing arts, which were transposed to assume symbolic status at nationalist celebrations such as Independence Day, Hari Kebangkitan

7

DianaTaylor, “Transculturating.Transculturation”, in B. Marranca & G. Dasgupta, ed., Interculturalism and Performance, (New York, PAJ, 1991) p. 60. 8 Sritua Arief, “Ekonomi Kerakyatan”, in Indonesia Tanah Air Beta (Solo, Universitas Muhammadiyah, 2001) p. 294.

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Nasional / National Awakening Day, Peringatan Sumpah Pemuda / Youth Oath commemoration and the like. As we have seen, parallel with cultural trends in the West, traditional arts in Indonesia are now perceived from the perspective of the post-modern aesthetic of pluralism and marginalisation. Change is inevitable in cultural development and the consequence is that a distinction must be made between the old and the new, the traditional and the modern and hybrid products linking the two. In recent times, the content of the arts has been pushed to the extreme. It is clear that the phenomena of multicultural interactions in history have shaped the performing arts, producing works with unique value. However, when this becomes an issue of postmodernism in contemporary artistic development, non-artistic matters, for instance political issues like autonomy and empowerment in artistic creation have to be considered. Interaction in the performing arts may in fact result in an outcome of hegemony on one side and marginalisation on the other.9 Although it is too early to be certain, this is one of the potential conditions of the future which data considered here suggest may in fact be typical of the future. With the beginning of the New Order and the implementation of the Repelita / National Development Plan at the end of the 1960s, national culture was pursued as the best answer to lend the repressive measures taken to stabilize the economy and society a satisfactory image. Some bright spots of the New Order included the establishment of infrastructure in the form of art schools, art centres, promotion of the arts and arts festivals. However due to policy decisions and implementation tactics detailed above, the arts of

9

Daryl Chin, “Interculturalism, Postmodernism, Pluralism”, in Marranca & Dasgupta, ed., Interculturalism and Performance, pp. 83, 84.

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more populous and politically influential ethnic groups forged ahead while the smaller groups remained on the margin. The inevitable consequence of the cultural policy of the New Order, implemented ‘equitably’ on paper by bureaucrats, was that benefits were unequally distributed because allocation of resources was subject to policy prescribed by priorities of politicians. This created problems in individual artistic representations on the one hand, and in appreciating the arts as a cultural asset of the nation on the other. Reality dawned with the onset of the 1997 economic crisis. Government programmes introduced to preserve and promote traditional and contemporary art began to flounder. Inevitably, some performing arts became very superficial, especially when staged as tourist showcases in the wake of government projects intended to transform art into a commodity. Indubitably, the development of tourism brought about some benefits for the arts. It introduced new perspectives to the regional communities, the artists and in particular the government. The opportunity to derive maximum benefit from this new source of stimuli and financial backing was however squandered because policies to exploit these lacked a mature and realistic vision for implementation. The establishment of infrastructure, for instance through the activities of arts schools, to a certain degree unintentionally demeaned the role of the performing arts of the village people, where the true roots of these arts lie. Performing arts became divorced from their local soil and began to function in an etiolated form in an academic environment serving to grace government events at state or local, national, and international levels, while the roots of the arts in the villages were being allowed to wither.

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Cultural perception was inextricably bound up with and imprisoned in a nationalist ambience which persisted right up to the explosion of the national crisis in the economy and politics. It has now become evident that the goal of fostering a national culture in the performing arts cannot be solved by a centrally imposed national artistic scheme. The solution must be initiated by artists themselves, who can adopt innovative elements and marry them to familiar ones to suit their own particular aspirations. Some new creations will inevitably become part of regional or national culture through a process of natural evolution. The shocking and unexpected appearance of cultural friction exhibited in sociopolitical turmoil in the last decade of the 20th century had a huge effect on the life of the nation. The explanation for such a violent reaction must be sought in the dramatically felt need for greater autonomy in the political life of the regions. This will have consequences for the policies for the arts. One Indonesian newspaper went so far as to question whether national culture as described in the Constitution of 1945 Elucidation of Article 32, is still meaningful. The assumptions underlying the notion of ‘Apexes’ which were key elements in cultural policy during the twentieth century now seem to be in dispute if not disrepute. A search for new terminology has been initiated by artists under the Koperasi Seniman Indonesia from Yogyakarta.10

4. Internal Cultural Management and its Parallels The establishment of infrastructure in the form of schools, institutions and programmes is worthless in the absence of a solid national cultural understanding. Unhappily, development projects were often designed as feathers in the caps of rulers, 10

Suara Pembaharuan, 4 August 2000.

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and substantive targets were dismissed as unimportant. Everything was measured by quantity and materialistic criteria. The real objectives were misconceived or intentionally designed to fulfil ulterior motives. Corruption in the implementation of national development was paralleled by the corruption of ideology. The handling of ethnic diversity during the period under study has not created social harmony. People from outside Java and Bali felt neglected and exploited, as though Majapahit were alive again and extracting tribute from the regions with no benefits returned. Political will was not strong enough to overcome deviations in the implementation of government policies which were the main cause of the disintegration of the nation. The term ‘nationalism’ has been too often misconstrued and should be reconsidered future government efforts to support regional arts across Nusantara. The establishment of infrastructure needs to be prioritised, and it is of utmost importance that villages and distant regions in the eastern part of the archipelago be included. The top priority, in view of the failures described above, should be to build up the artistic potential of the economically weaker groups and to give this endeavour an equal place alongside democratisation. It is true that regional governments may have focused on upgrading the human capital of artistic ability before marketing tourist projects, but the result has been the commercialisation of the performing arts as mere commodities.

5. The Role of Islam in National Culture It seems that national cultural policy during the twentieth century has failed, and another unifying factor has emerged. It is to Islam that the majority of Indonesian people

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have turned. Islam’s role was strengthened when it was introduced into various national culture projects of the government under the New Order including the MTQ / Musabagh Tilawatil Quran, the Quran-reading competition festivals, and the Istiqlal Festivals. (See Chapters 3 and 5) Many traditional performing arts of Indonesia already derive from and incorporate Islam. The importance of Islam to Indonesians goes beyond religious life: it has enormous historic-cultural significance, set on layers of older beliefs and religions, as has often been pointed out by scholars. Despite recent incidents generated by religious conflicts in Indonesia, Islam in Indonesia since its advent has tended to stress that it is extensive rather than intensive.11 Statistically 90 percent of the people are adherents of Islam, but the overwhelming majority of followers is greatly concerned with nationhood, and has shown great tolerance in that process. Most of the prominent leaders can only hope that the debates and unavoidable conflicts somehow will promote tolerance and democracy, and will lead to the insight that all attempts to force other parties are basically un-Islamic … and there is hope for this, because there are plenty of creative, imaginative Muslims in the country. 12

Two Muslim organizations have played decisive roles in the process of reformasi. The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are aware that “ethnic and religious violence will only serve to exacerbate the acute problems facing Indonesia, endangering national integration and the unity of heterogenous Indonesian society”, while Muhammadiyah points out “its

11 12

Ibid., p. 45. Niels Mulder, Indonesian Images: The Culture of the Public World, (Yogyakarta, Kanisius, 2000) p. 127.

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consistency after 87 years of its foundation in playing a vital role in promoting idea of civil society and since its beginning has never considered Islam as political”.13 The case for the implementation of Syariah Law, recently accepted for the province of Aceh, was considered by many as a sacrifice of the national perspective for the sake of peace so as not to lose the region, as was the case with East Timor / Timor Leste. 14 Although other provinces have also expressed a wish for Syariah Law, the national perspective still remains in the foreground. Cultural diversity in Indonesia is so enormous that is difficult to balance it so as to create harmony. It would be naïve not to assume that there are serious differences between Islam and the adherents of the many other religions and beliefs. The same is true of a sweep of culture ranging from the traditional to the post-modern. In a crisis, these differences become an easy pretext for separatism and a vulnerable point, which can be exploited in the war against terrorism.

6. The Conducive Culture State Clifford Geertz created the concept of the ‘Theatre State’. The term can also be used to describe the ritual life of the rather distant relatives of the Balinese courts in Java where liturgical form displayed the dominant themes of Javanese culture. This term is equally applicable to the independent state of Indonesia, in that it describes Sukarno’s ideological contrivances from his ‘Guided Democracy’ to the climactic surge of exemplary politics in the building of ‘Istiqlal’ mosque, Istora (Istana Olah Raga)

13

Nakamura Mitsuo, Sharon Siddique et al, eds., Islam and Society in Southeast Asia, “ Part I: The Indonesian Experience” by Mohammad F. Falaakh (NU) & M.Amin Abdullah (Muhammadiyah), (Singapore, ISEAS, 2001), pp.33 – 56, excerpt. 14 “Setelah Si Anak Hilang Kembali”, Tempo, 16 March 2003, pp. 114 – 115.

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Senayan (a colossal sports stadium) and Monas, a national monument higher than the Eiffel Tower, designed to last a thousand years.15 Exactly the same can be said about Suharto‘s monumental national undertakings such as the TMII / Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park, the Repelita, the festivals and other so-called glorious achievements. It also includes the activities of the subsequent rulers of the state, which continue the theatricalization of statehood, politics, economics, and related fields in the life of the nation. The theatricalization of politics continued into the regimes of Presidents Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, etc. The ‘Theatre State’ mentality intensifies the politicisation of the performing arts. The competitive relationship between regional cultures and national culture will constantly reappear in endless new encounters. The key to resolving this tension lies in balance. Cultural differences have to be faced transparently to engender a climate in which is not affected by a false ideal of uniformity. There are two possible relations between national and regional culture. The mode that has so far existed, as discussed in this dissertation, has emphasized competition for scarce resources. As a result, national culture has become a destructive force usurping regional resources for political ends. A second model would treat national culture not as the dominant expression of performing art in the nation, but as a mediator in the cultural diversity of the nation. Such a model would enhance the capacity of the nation to cope with international forces. The role of national culture as mediator would encourage the development of regional cultures.

15

The notion of ‘Theatre State’ was mentioned by Geertz in Negara: The Theatre State in 19th century Bali, p. 4 and its relation to Java and Indonesia in Islam Observed: Religious Development in Morocco and Indonesia, pp .38, 86.

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There is a tendency to regard regional cultures as potential separatist exponents endangering the unity of the nation. Paradoxically this mistaken notion has led to the very situation it sought to avoid. National culture should be seen as a synthesis and harmonization of differences between regions, not their antithesis.

7. Lessons Learned Betawi is an example of the recent formation of a new regional identity. Despite the fact that it may bear the stigma of ‘invented tradition’, Betawi art has been generally acknowledged as a valid cultural expression, and can be said to serve as a mediator between regional or ‘folk’ performing arts and contemporary art in the constantly evolving urban environment of Jakarta. The economic collapse in 1998 and the new decentralisation policy of 1999 resulted in reducing the attention paid to national culture. The regions now are encouraged to develop their own artistic expressions to international levels. This new policy will probably give a boost to regional culture development in regions which are more populous and wealthy. However, those regions with lower populations, fewer financial resources, and fewer people skilled in culture resource management may experience even greater erosion of traditional performing arts. Much will depend on the ability of the regions to identify their cultural resources, and to develop a culture resource management system in co-ordination with other sectors such as tourism and education. The choices in implementation priorities such as between the traditional and the modern and between popular or court is a matter of giving

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assistance to the sector which is adjudged the weakest. Criteria might include the significance of the arts or the artists themselves as a regional cultural resource. As an epilogue it can be noted that the recent Congress on Culture organized in Bukit Tinggi from 19 – 23 October 2003 was termed Kongres Kebudayaan V / Fifth Cultural Congress, but Ayip Rosidi, a well-known writer, argued that it is actually the seventh Cultural Congress held since Independence. Comments reported in Tempo 27 October – 2 November 2003 give rise to new concerns. “ Kita tidak punya alasan bergembira” demikian penutup Toeti Heraty yang memoderati dua pembicara pleno pada awal, Goenawan Mohamad dan Ignas Kleden. Pandangan Goenawan dan Ignas Kleden yang “suram” tentang Indonesia sedari awal memang membayangi diskusi. Bila diringkaskan, pokok pikiran keduanya adalah”imajinasi Indonesia yang terbuka kini terancam berada pada titik nadir” “Tak mudah membawa Indonesia yang dibayangkan Hatta”, kata esais Goenawan Mohamad. Selama ini kita ibarat sapu lidi, dengan berbagai keragaman komunitas di Tanah Air. Dipersatukan secara totaliter. Dan kini akibatnya, setelah ikatan longgar, bilah bilah itu “melesak” kesana – kemari. Perlu didefinisikan kembali apakah Indonesia. Sedangkan Ignas menilai bahaya terbesar adalah nasionalisme etnis. Sosiolog ini menengarai tanda tanda bangsa ini jatuh ke provinsialisasi. Ada gejala politik dan birokrasi yang berdasarkan identitas kedaerahan. “Ini mengurangi terciptanya integrasi luas”, katanya… Semua wakil wakil dari daerah sepakat, pendekatan budaya paling ampuh untuk memulihkan pertikaian. “Di Maluku ada ‘masohi’ adapt untuk saling membantu, bahkan dari fam lain seperti Buton. Tiap tiap daerah memiliki tradisi penyelesaian konflik seperti ‘ pella gandong’ di Maluku atau ‘ sintu wumarso’ di Poso. Tapi pendekatan budaya justru sering salah dimengerti oleh militer setempat.” “Sangat sempit, bayangkan, mereka kirim penyanyi dangdut untuk menghibur. Itu yang dianggap solusi budaya”, kata H.Sofyan, utusan dari Sulawesi Tengah … Dalam hampir semua diskusi terjadi “tarik tambang” antara mengangkat dan menolak “nativism”. “We have no reason to be happy”, concluded Toeti Heraty, moderator of the two speakers of the early session, Goenawan Mohamad and Ignas Kleden. Goenawan’s and Ignas Kleden’s “gloomy” views of Indonesia from the beginning overshadowed the discussion. In condensed form, the two asserted, that “the openness of Indonesian imagination now threatens to reach its nadir.”

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“It is not easy to create the Indonesia which Hatta imagined,” said the essayist Goenawan Mohamad. “Up to now we have been like brooms of reed, with many variety of community in the Motherland. We were unified in a totalitarian manner. As a result, now that the ties are looser, the reeds are sagging and bending here and there. We need to redefine Indonesia.” Ignas estimated the major danger to be ethnic nationalism. This sociologist focused on the signs that the nation is descending into provincialism. There are political and bureaucratic symptoms of regional identification. “This retards the creation of broad integration,” he says… All representatives of the regions agreed that the cultural approach was best able to restore the system to health after these clashes. “In Maluku there is the ‘masohi’ adaptation of mutual assistance, even from other clans like Buton. Every region has traditions for conflict resolution such as ‘pella gandong’ in Maluku or ‘sintu wumarso’ in Poso. But the cultural approach is often misunderstood by the local military.” “Very narrow, imagine, they send dangdut singers to entertain. That is what they think a cultural resolution is,” said H. Sofyan, representative from Central Sulawesi… And the entire discussion became a tug of war between those espousing and criticising ‘nativism’. Tempo commented that this is the result of regional autonomy, and foresaw that future conflict will arise as a result of regional autonomy, accentuating the already existing ethnic conflicts, because regional autonomy has not been correctly conceptualised. The atmosphere of the latest ‘Cultural Congress’ at Bukit Tinggi has proven that there is concern that ethnic cultures and the national culture would still become a problem, highlighting the need for a balance of priorities. In spite of the boost that the new regional autonomy is giving to the rise in significance of ethnic cultures, national culture is still considered by many as a necessity in unifying the sovereign state. However, it is important to ensure an even distribution of opportunities whether regional or national. This is the most difficult task. Objectives set for the attainment of these goals were not achieved in the first half of Independence. Most Indonesians expect that they will be pursued during the next half-century, so that all inhabitants of the archipelago will be incorporated into a united prosperous Indonesia.

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ABBREVIATIONS

AJ ANRI ASTI BKI DKJ IKJ ISEAS ISI JMBRAS JSEAH JSEAS KITLV KOKAR LPKJ MBRAS PELITA PKJ REPELITA RIMA SMKI STSI TBG TIM VBG VKI VOC

Akademi Jakarta Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia Akademi Seni Tari Indonesia Bijdragen tot de Taal-,Land-, en Volkenkunde, Leiden Dewan Kesenian Jakarta Institut Kesenian Jakarta Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Institut Seni Indonesia Journal of the Malayan [Malaysian] Branch, Royal Asiatic Society Journal of Southeast Asian History Journal of Southeast Asian Studies Koninklijke Insituut voor Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde, Leiden Konservatori Karawitan, Indonesia Lembaga Pendidikan Kesenian Jakarta Malaysian Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, Kuala Lumpur Pembangunan-nasional Lima Tahun Pusat Kesenian Jakarta Rencana Pembangunan-nasional Lima Tahun Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs Sekolah Menengah Kesenian Indonesia Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde Taman Ismail Marzuki Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap Verhandelingen Koninklijke Instituut Vereenigde Oost-Indishe Compagnie

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List of Personal Interviews Agung Anom, middle aged retired dancer from Ubud – Bali , who went with John Coast to the United Kingdom and USA in 1950 ; Ubud, 27 April 1999 Datuk Maliki, chief of the Orang Kubu of Nyogan village–Batanghari–Jambi; Nyogan village Jambi 1 March 1999 Edi Sedyawati, Professor of the University of Indonesia, former Director General for Culture, dancer, writer, cultural expert who also served in several positions at the Jakarta Art Council and the Jakarta Institute of the Arts. Numerous interviews. Fachruddin Saudagar, Lecturer in Ancient History of the University of Jambi, and Kubu Expert, Jambi, 3 March 1999 Gusti Bagus Adi Perbawa, Balinese dancer and teacher, official of the Directorate for Arts, Jakarta, 16 April 1999 Gusti Bagus Ngurah Panji, Balinese dancer founding father of the Dance School in Denpasar, Singaraja 25 Aril 1999 Idris Djakfar, Prof. of Law, University of Jambi, Kerinci culture expert; Jambi 1 March 1999 Lukman Zakaria, ex village head of Ampelu in Tembesi-Batanghari- Jambi, a cultural lover and an ardent supporter for the arts in his region, Ampelu–Jambi 1 March 1999 Made Ariani, Executive of a major travel agent in Bali, Denpasar; 26 April 1999 Nur Aini Rahman, retired official of Department of Education and Culture in Jambi, elderly dancer and pioneer choreographer of the Jambi Region, Jambi. March 1999 Nyoman Astita, STSI graduate and composer in Denpasar; Denpasar 24 April 1999 Nyoman Catra, STSI graduate & lecturer of ASTI-STSI Denpasar, dancer and choreographer; Den Pasar 24 April 1999 Nyoman Nekanaya, manager of Bali Art Centre ; Denpasar 28 April 1999 Nyoman Tusan, painter, retired official of the Department of Education and Culture, art-critic, writer; Denpasar 26 April 1999 Soedarsono, Prof in Javanese Art, ex Dean STSI Yogyakarta, dancer, choreographer, writer: phone call interview, Yogya , Aug 2000 Wayan Dibia, dancer, choregrapher, former dean STSI Denpasar, USA graduate Ph.D in Arts, Writer, Denpasar 23 April 1999

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Wayan Gede Yudhana, STSI graduate, lecturer, composer ; Denpasar, 28 April 1999 Wayan Rai, lecturer STSI Denpasar, USA graduate PH.D. in arts, composer, writer Denpasar, 24 April 1999

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