Benediktus Hang, Guardian of the Dayak Long Gliit Art
Dayak art has become part of Benediktus Hang, 48. Every meaning and value of the Dayak art has become his way of life. He has devoted himself to training local children the traditional dance of the Dayak Long Gliit, so that they would grow up maintaining the forests.
Hang was born and settled in Long Tuyoq village, Long Pahangai district, Mahakam Ulu regency, East Kalimantan. From its name, this village is in a regency located on the banks upstream of the Mahakam River. Nature has given him many life lessons. The forest is where people farm and hunt. The river is a place for people to catch fish for side dishes.
All of those values are summarized in Dayak traditional art. He realized it in every traditional ceremony he attended. He has never been absent from any traditional performances or ceremonies. During his time performing the traditional tribal art, he was inspired that the Dayak tribe art has a noble message.
"Some dances have movements like those of birds, frogs and even fish. Dayak art reminds us to be peaceful with nature," Hang said on Thursday (2/5/2019).
Hang learned the Dayak arts from generation to generation of the Dayak Long Gliit (read Long Glaat) tribe. He has been familiar with a total of 27 types of dances since his childhood up to adulthood. Not only that, he is also adept at playing various Dayak musical instruments, such as sampek, gening and various traditional Dayak tribal percussion instruments.
Hang founded the Pangiraan Dance Studio to make it easier for everyone who wants to learn Dayak traditional arts in his village. In addition to teaching youths or adults a traditional dance before traditional rituals, he also decided to teach children in the only elementary school in Long Tuyoq.
Since 2016, he has routinely taught students at 003 SDN state elementary school in Long Tuyoq village, Long Pahangai district, Mahakam Ulu regency. A day a week, he teaches students the traditional arts of Dayak that he mastered.
In teaching dance, he does not only teach his students to master the traditional art, but also understand its meaning and make it a daily life practice. Because, according to Hang, traditional art is the embodiment of the values of life. The beauty of Dayak art is not only enjoyed by the beauty of its movements, but the dancer must also absorb the values in it.
As an example, he said every June, Dayak people in Long Tuyoq village cleared land for farming. There are customary processions that need to be performed. There is a dance that is used in the procession, namely mitang lumaq dance or slashing the field.
The movement in the dance is a symbol that the community cannot be greedy in managing nature. Land clearing is carried out in moderation so that grandchildren in the village can still manage the existing land. According to local beliefs, during land clearing, people must be willing and sincere, otherwise it can be dangerous to oneself.
"If it is not accompanied by a procession and good intentions, we believe that later it would be disastrous, as the body parts will be hit by machetes when opening the field," Hang said.
Limit
Even though technology, such as devices and television, has entered the village, Hang does not want children to abandon the wisdom of Dayak traditional values. For this reason, he wants to be the guardian of the boundary between modernity and tradition.
He considers technology important to learn and follow but it should not lead people to abandon the values of Dayak traditional arts. He hoped that wherever the Dayak tribe children grew and developed, they still lived a lifestyle in harmony with nature.
"Those values need to be preserved in each of them. Through the arts, the messages are summarized," Hang said.
If one’s name is a prayer, it seems that Hang\'s parents\' prayer has come true. In the Dayak Long Gliit language, Hang means the boundary between two fields. Hand has ordained himself as the guardian of the border between modernity and tradition.
Hang has never boasted about his achievements. He worked quietly behind the scenes of the success of his students’ achievements. His students won the dance competition in Long Pahangai district in 2017. Hang was pleased with the achievement, but the achievement was not the main one. For him, absorbing the values of each Dayak dance movement is what’s most important.
Hang hopes that the school will become a center for the transfer of art knowledge for children in Long Tuyoq village. According to him, the values in Dayak traditional art must not stop only with the old generation. School is the relay point for those values.
Long Tuyoq village, where Hang lives, can only be reached using a boat on the Mahakam River. The land route cannot be accessed comfortably because it is still in the form of red soil, which during heavy rain is difficult to pass by vehicles.
The forest that covers this village, according to Hang, needs to be sustainable. One way to instill these values is through art that is easily accepted by many people, especially children. He hopes that every dance movement by Dayak children can be a reminder for anyone to know the limits of using nature.
"Everything we get comes from nature. Don\'t be greedy towards nature," Hang said calmly.
In the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report of June 2018 titled “The State of the World’s Forests: Forest Pathways to Sustainable Development”, the existence of forests is predicted to be a solution for at least 10 of 17 points in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It is the responsibility of all countries on Earth (Kompas, 28/7/2018).
Hang never read the report nor has he heard of it. However, what Hang has done seems to provide a basis for the children in his village to protect the forest. He did not say this with words, Hang absorbs those values in every rhythmic, magical movement of the Dayak dance.
Through dances, children are invited to be wise in living life on Earth. Through art, he seems to invite everyone to remember the limits of action. Hang, who did not graduate from junior high school, has done great work in his small hamlet.
Benediktus Hang
Born: Long Tuyoq village, Long Pahangai district, Mahakam Ulu regency, Dec. 17, 1971
Education:
- SD Katolik 002 Long Tuyoq
- SMPN 01 Long Pahangai (not graduated)