Saving the Culture, Saving the Future of Indonesia
By FARID ARRISYAD
On August 6, Indonesia's activist, poet, playwright, and artist extraordinaire WS Rendra passed away in the golden age of 74. Some of us may stir uncomfortably in our seats and ask in careless whispers, "WS who?"
Two months earlier, on June 5, Kerenina Sunny Halim was crowned Miss Indonesia 2009. She told the media after her victory that as part of her preparations for Miss World 2009 to be held in South Africa in December, she would start learning Bahasa Indonesia.
Two years earlier, in November 2007, several Reog Ponorogo troupes braced the road to protest against stolen identity. The online community immediately engaged in war-of-insults against the "thief".
Reog troupe
Yet, till today, Indonesian award-winning news programme is still using 'quick count' instead of 'perhitungan cepat' and 'news' instead of 'berita'.
Visit the official website of Indonesia's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and one can find no basic information, nor statistic, let alone description, about our traditional arts and cultures. No web page is specially dedicated in explaining that we have about 300 ethnic groups, each with its own uniqueness; mind you, I got this number from Wikipedia.
In one session of the recent vice presidential debates, candidates were asked to define what constitutes national identity. But out of the three men standing, there was only one candidate who put arts and culture as the number one pillar of our nation identity. The other two kept on hammering on material welfare and economic issues as the foundation of our country.
So, what is your answer when I asked you, "Are we responsible for letting other nation steals our nation's arts and culture?"
I have struggled to answer this particular question.
I hope you don't look at me in a strange look. I'm not an over-patriotic youth nor a xenophobic who is suspicious of the infiltration of foreign elements. I am a normal 20 year-old, who is simply saddened by the lack of interest in our own arts and culture.
Since I moved to Singapore eight years ago, Indonesian art and culture has been my special interest. It is what reminds me of how proud I should be as an Indonesian. Our nation is endowed with such greatness that other country actually wants to "steal" our arts and cultures and claim them as their own. Yet, on the other hand, I cannot resist thinking that we are partly responsible for their slow decay.
I have been trying to reason why so many people in Indonesia are unaware of the history and development of their cultures, especially when you are in the position of power. If not, the West Java governor would not ask the artists to "soften" Jaipong. If he understood, he would have known that goyang, gitek, and geol are the essential elements of Jaipong.
Jaipong dancers
The world adores the works of Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and Time magazine wanted to nominate him for Nobel Prize for Literature. But yet there are so many among my peers who have not read his works, and prefer to crowd around the chick-lit and Japanese comics in Gramedia. Compare this to the Japanese youths who, despite their stereotyped obsession over manga, must have read some works of local literature heavyweights such as Natsume Soseki, or Yukio Mishima, or Kenzobure Oe, before they hit 15. In another instance, an Indonesian female friend told about her Japanese partner who is amazed and amused of the small section (2 bookshelves and that's it) of local literature found in an Indonesian bookshop.
Those who want to argue that this is about individual taste or preference, I think, are missing the point. There is a crisis in our arts and cultural identity as a nation, this we can't deny. And unless we start doing something, anything all, the crisis can only get worse. Do not get bewildered if one day, someone with a thick Sundanese accent comes to you again and ask, "Kalau Jaipong asalnya dari mana?" Or perhaps in 2020, a professional writer will claim that nothing in Indonesia is authentically Indonesian because the ingredient of gado-gado is imported from other country. No, not even the unique Balinese culture, well-known world all over, may save us then.
Balinese court gamelan musicians
Perhaps it is the failure of our educational system - despite being very comprehensive and intentionally all-rounder by including kesenian, bahasa daerah, and so on, it still insists on rote learning instead of experience-oriented learning to instill pride and real appreciation of the real things. Or perhaps it is the influence of the irresponsible media that blindly import all foreign programmes without reserving ample airtime for the local arts and culture to shine.
Regardless of the reasons, we as individuals have our own roles to play. Once, Soekarno banned all Indonesians from doing anything un-Indonesian. But, I do not think we should go to that extreme to start appreciating our arts and culture. In the age of globalisation, it is simply impossible to close ourselves from outside world and maintain a self-sufficient stance. The fact that all Indonesia Thinking articles are written in English is only one example of how Indonesia is only a small player in this global arena.
Still, it does not mean that we have to just go with the flow and let our arts and culture disappear. Save our culture from extinction, and protect the heritage for Indonesia's future generation. Just like we try to save our earth from global warming to ensure that our grandchildren will still have a planet to live in, we also need to save our arts and cultural heritage as a form of identity for future generations of Indonesia.
How to go about it? First of all, let's start with the man in the mirror. Let's consciously take steps to get acquainted again with what makes us Indonesians. From Sabang to Merauke, we all speak one language, Bahasa Indonesia, but look closer, and you will see the captivating beauty of cultures from individual tribe. Bhinneka Tunngal Ika - united in diversity - yes, we are. Opening our eyes to acknowledge differences, and appreciating what ties us together - yes, we can.
Asmat artists
I must mention that I am very heartened to see the great turnout during the annual Enchanting Indonesia event in Ngee Ann City. Now on to its third year, I have no doubt it is the great stepping stone in promoting our diversity in the international platform, in this case Singapore. And for Indonesians who turn up, it shows that at least they still care.
But while visiting the different booths may remind them of the diversity of our arts and culture, the work does not stop there. If you have some time to spare, be proactive and get involved in cultural activities. There are free Indonesian traditional dance workshops in Singapore - get in contact with me if you are interested to find out more. If dance is not your cup of tea, why don't you take a break from the doses of Hollywood blockbusters and watch one of the best Indonesian films ever made? The PINUS (Indonesian student organisation in NUS) is organising a free screening of the film Laskar Pelangi this coming August 27.
Ideally by being in Singapore, each and every of us is an arts and cultural ambassador of Indonesia. The least we can do is to get to know the culture and tradition of your own ethnicity. Then, make efforts to learn about other cultures from other fellow Indonesians.
Hopefully, the next time you ask yourself, "Are we responsible for letting other nation steals our nation's art and cultures?" The solid and immediate answer is "NO!"
Farid Arrisyad is an undergraduate student in communications (PR and journalism) in University of Newcastle, Singapore (PSB Academy). Contact him at arrisyad@gmail.com
Photos are writer's collection from the recent Enchanting Indonesia 2009.