Arts Can Maintain Jakarta’s Spirit of Diversity

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

The Betawi Cultural Village Complex in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, as seen on Saturday (20/6/2020).

Jakarta is known as a cosmopolitan city that is a melting pot of culture. On his 493th anniversary, Betawi arts groups are maintaining and bringing to life the capital city’s spirit of diversity.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Founded on 22 June 1527, Jakarta celebrates its 493th birthday on Monday. The anniversary celebration is an occasion for the capital of Indonesia to continue to maintain the spirit of openness that has come to define its cultural strength. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the event’s activities are to be held virtually through internet platforms.

A virtual concert themed #dirumahaje (stay at home) was held on Sunday afternoon at the Betawi Cultural Village complex in Setu Babakan, South Jakarta. The concert was livestreamed on social media so people could enjoy it from home. "Betawi culture is part of the nation\'s wealth," Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said during the concert.

Read also: Longing for Revival of Betawi Cultural Bastion

While on Sunday morning after the first Car Free Day since the Covid-19 restrictions were imposed, people watched ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies) perform down the bicycle lane of the Malaka Sari East Canal gate in East Jakarta. The 2.5-meter-high costumes were dressed in distinctive Betawi clothing with colorful hair ornaments shaped to resemble coconut flowers, complete with a red or white face mask.

Besides the ondel-ondel, many Betawi art forms have also become icons of the capital city. These include the palang pintu (a type of pencak silat, or martial art), lenong (theater), the traditional musical ensembles tanjidor and gambang kromong, and the cockek traditional dance. These arts are traditionally performed to mark Jakarta\'s anniversary.

This cultural identity corresponds with the results of the Kompas survey conducted on 16-18 June 2020 involving 530 respondents from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi, the regions that make up Greater Jakarta. Regarding the arts that they most identified with Betawi culture, 37 percent of respondents picked the puppetry arts (ondel-ondel, blantek), 32 percent picked lenong, and 12 percent picked dances (yapong, topeng, japin). The respondents varied in what they found most attractive about Betawi performing arts, from comedy (39 percent) to straightforward language (29 percent), and from unique musical forms (18 percent) to indigenous dance movements (11 percent).

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Aat Sudrajat, better known as Muut Lenong, a Betawi arts activist and leader of the Bunga Cempedak Studio, plays the gambang kromong (xylophone) in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Saturday (20/6/2020). Betawi art activities at the studio, including training and classes, are temporarily stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Acculturation

These traditional art forms represent the deeply rooted mixed cultures of Jakarta. For example, Chinese culture is reflected in the stage makeup of a cokek dancer and the members of a gambang kromong ensemble, while European influences are seen in the tanjidor musical instrument. Sundanese elements are evident in the mask dance, Javanese influences in Betawi puppets, and Arabic influences on selawat in the palang pintu martial art.

During an interview late last week, the artists said that openness and fusion were the strengths that helped Betawi arts survive to the present.

Palang pintu activist and founder of the Betawi Culture for the Younger Generation (GMBB), Abdul Fian, 58, said that the martial art reflected the daily habits of the Betawi people, who were open and liked joking. The selawat chant and movements of palang pintu illustrated physical and mental balance.

Komariah Munawar, who runs the Kota Bambu Betawi Art Studio on Jl. Kota Bambu Utara in Palmerah, West Jakarta, said that the studio combined the gambang kromong with new musical genres, such as reggae and pop. However, despite the modification, the traditional genre still maintained its musical characteristics. He added that the members of the group were not necessarily Betawi.

Our members also have different ethnicities, for example Batak, Ambonese, Javanese and Sundanese.

The 24-year-old palang pintu and martial arts coordinator at Betawi Art Studio, Mamit Cs. Ridwansyah, said that although palang pintu was identified with Betawi culture, the studio accepted members from other ethnic groups. "Our members also have different ethnicities, for example Batak, Ambonese, Javanese and Sundanese," he said.

Cosmopolitan spirit

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan revealed in a virtual interview with Kompas last Friday that the capital region had been cosmopolitan since the Sunda Kelapa era, because it had welcomed migrants from across the archipelago and even abroad, along with all their traditions and cultures. This was inseparable from Betawi culture, which was open to new influences and was in itself a blend of Chinese, Arabic and European elements.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies) are displayed in front of a Betawi traditional house in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Saturday (20/6/2020).

Jakarta\'s anniversary is a moment to remind its residents of the value of openness. "Basically, Jakarta is a culture that accepts differences and generally has an environment that is conducive to peace," said Anies.

According to historian J.J. Rizal, the indigenous Betawi culture of Jakarta was historically very intercultural. The city, once called Kelapa and Sunda Kelapa, was a cosmopolitan port city. The settlements at Sunda Kelapa port were extremely multicultural, especially after it became connected to the Spice Routes.

"Cultural artifacts in the form of the coconut flower [decorations] on ondel-ondel suggest that past societies were very inclusive," he said.

Betawi people were accepting of other cultures, which could be seen in the varied activities at many performing arts studios.

Betawi people were accepting of other cultures, which could be seen in the varied activities at many performing arts studios. "Betawi is everywhere, as many people converse in the dialect, [using words] uch as \'jelasin’ (to explain) or \'apa sih” (what’s up). The big challenge now is how far the Betawi’s intercultural values can be spread and instilled,” said Rizal.

Quiet during epidemic

In addition to the challenges of sustaining its values, Betawi art is now under pressure from the impacts of the Covid-19 epidemic. The implementation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to curb the spread of the disease has severely affected the traditional performing arts. Local artists need the opportunity to perform so they can make a living.

The leader of the Kinang Putra gambang kromong group, Andi Supardi, said that the ensemble was facing a dearth of opportunities to perform as a result of the epidemic. To survive, some members had taken up part-time jobs as motorcycle taxi drivers or food traders. However, they tried to continue performing through online shows. "The studio cannot stay closed for too long," he said.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

The Betawi Cultural Village Complex in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Saturday (20/6/2020).

Yusuf “Ocit” Nirin, 48, the caretaker of a Betawi dance studio in Pekayon village of Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, said that the studio had been closed for the past three months because of the outbreak.

"The studio is closed for the duration of the social restrictions. We have not performed yet," he said. (SKA/JOG/DNE/IGA/MED/DIV)