Custadio Dos Santos e Silva did not just sing, he also played the Banyuwangi \'angklung\' (bamboo xylophone). It was not perfect, considering that the singer was a teenager who was born and raised in Timor Leste.
By
ANGGER PUTRANTO
·4 minutes read
Isun iki seneng temenan/Rasane koyo sing serantan/Sun angen-angen yo sampek lendem/Isun impen-impenen
Custadio Dos Santos e Silva sang part of the Osing song called “Impen-Impenan”. He did not just sing, he also played the Banyuwangi angklung (bamboo xylophone). It was not perfect, considering that the singer was a teenager who was born and raised in Timor Leste.
However, Enato, the nickname Custadio goes by, deserved a thumbs-up. After living in Banyuwangi for only a month, his Indonesian language was good. Even when he was asked a question in English, Enato answered in Osing, the Banyuwangi language. “Aran eIsun Enato, asli seko Timor Leste. Suparane (sepurane) bahasa Osingku durung pati lancar. Kesuwun (My name is Enato, from Timor Leste. Sorry, I’m not fluent in the Osing language is. Thank you),” he said.
Enato is one of 12 students on the Indonesia Culture Scholarship (BSBI) program. The government’s annual program recruits potential students from across the world and gives them an opportunity to learn about Indonesian culture. The students come from Timor Leste, Japan, Fiji, Benign, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, India and Cambodia. Among them is also an Indonesian student, Giovanno Sondakh from Ambon’s Pattimura University, who is learning about Banyuwangi art and culture.
On Tuesday (1/5/2018), all 12 students practiced hard at the Wisma Atlet Banyuwangi ahead of their performance at Jakarta’s Taman Ismail Marzuki in July, which would be broadcast on The Indonesia Channel. They performed traditional Banyuwangi songs beautifully while playing traditional instruments such as gamelan, angklung, trutuk and patrol. They also mixed in a modern instrument, the saxophone, for dangdut songs such as “Jaran Goyang”. Aside from singing and playing music, the exchange students also danced in traditional Banyuwangi dress. At the end of their performance, they congratulated Indonesia on National Education Day, which fell on May 2.
Enato said he was happy to stay in Banyuwangi and learn many things. He enjoyed the social life and culture that he studied. “We have lived only one month in Banyuwangi. There are still two months to go. After returning from Indonesia, I will promote everything that I learned to Timor Leste,” he said. Enato was proud to be able to promote the art and culture from a country that was once part of his own country. He wanted play a role in developing good relations between Indonesia and Timor Leste. The BSBI participant from Azerbaijan, Arsu Murdova, said the same thing. Arsu was impressed by Banyuwangi culture.
Arsu said she decided to study Banyuwangi art and culture after watching a YouTube video about Banyuwangi. “I love the Gandrung dance. The custom is very good and the dance is beautiful. I hope I can learn and master the Banyuwangi dances and traditions before this program ends,” she said.
Arsu said there were many differences between the Indonesian culture and the European and Turkish cultures that she found in her home environment. Those differences drove her to study and learn something new in her life. After she went home, she hoped to teach the Indonesian dances that she learned. She dreamt of performing the dances for the Azerbaijan public.
“In my country, there is an annual Indonesian Cultural Festival. I want to teach traditional Banyuwangi dances to Azerbaijani children and perform the dances at the Indonesian Cultural Festival,” she said. Aside from Enato, Arsu and the 10 other foreign exchange students who studied the Banyuwangi culture, 72 other students from 60 countries are on a similar mission across the archipelago. Foreign Ministry public diplomacy deputy director Devdy Risa said that the BSBI participants were dispersed in six regions: Makassar, Denpasar, Yogyakarta, Kutai Kartanegara, Banyuwangi and Padang. “We chose Banyuwangi because we see that Banyuwangi art and culture is growing. We work with the Sanggar Sayu Gringsing Banyuwangi to introduce the students to Banyuwangi art,” he said.
The art studio’s involvement, Devdy said, was necessary so the exchange students could learn directly about developments in the local art and culture. At the art studio, the exchange students could learn from the artists and craftsmen. On one occasion, Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas expressed his appreciation for the program that promoted Indonesia through culture.
“This cultural diplomacy is an effective way to introduce Indonesia to the world. They are selected students who surely possess great potential to tell the positive side of Indonesia,” said Anas.
While they may have foreign citizenship, the students are now ambassadors of Indonesian culture.