Performing Sumatra Through Cultural Heritage
Type
Double PanelPart 1
Session 5Thu 09:00–10:30 Room 1.501
Part 2
Session 6Thu 11:00–12:30 Room 1.501
Conveners
- Alan Darmawan University of Hamburg
- Jan van der Putten University of Hamburg
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Add to CalendarPapers (Part 1)
- Building Collections from Colonized Indonesia: Historical and Ethical Perspective in the Case of the Batak Collection of the Ethnographic Museum of Hamburg Roberta Zollo University of Hamburg
- Melayu Songs and Their Relation to Storytelling in North Sumatra Clara Brakel Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies
'A yellow ship sails into the night' is the opening line of a popular lagu gambus, a song that is performed at happy domestic occasions such as wedding parties, where it may be accompanied by an energetic zapin dance. This attractive Malay song, that has been popular for a long time, was recorded in 1979 in the area near Medan for a project on traditional storytelling in North Sumatra by Lode Brakel and myself. We recorded two very different versions of the song, yet another version was recorded in 1993-4 by Philip Yampolski in Riau.
The fact that literary texts In Indonesian languages are primarily composed as 'sound' is usually overlooked in scholarly writings. This is why our research on North Sumatran literary traditions focussed on performance of storytelling in all its aspects, including songs, speeches, spells and riddles.
For this Sumatra cultural heritage panel, I shall present a few different versions of the song about a yellow ship, discuss their meaning and investigate the connection of these songs with stories and storytelling processes, which have for a long time been part of the making and performing of cultural heritage in various regions of [North] Sumatra.
- Silk Tells Its Stories: Nineteenth and Early 20th Century Textiles from Aceh Barbara Leigh University of Technology Sydney
Acehnese woven silk textiles were once produced in a number of coastal centres in the province. Such was their high reputation that neighbouring regions looked to Aceh to emulate their fine designs and learn from their skilled weavers. The sombre tones of Acehnese silks and the intricate floral, geographic and calligraphic motifs tell their own stories. The ravages of war and plundering of many fine cloths now housed in museums in Europe is part of that narrative. The paper will examine that cultural heritage through the "eyes" of the textiles.
Papers (Part 2)
- Raja Ali Haji and Contemporary Cultural Production in Riau Islands: Malay Heritage Performance in Film, Museums and Art Festivals Alan Darmawan University of Hamburg
Political decentralization in Indonesia has led to several ramifications in the social and cultural fields. New provinces came into being and take part in redefining identity for more local interests. Within this context, Sumatra appears as a unit of cultural realm differing itself from dominant Javanese culture and identity. Several efforts have been initiated to weave provinces on the island to step forward as a community. Malayness revives as a shared imagination and overarching concept, which is adopted as identity by most of provinces in Sumatra. Instead of being a final form, Malayness is being shaped by linking the provinces through series of conferences, customary society forums and art festivals.
In these circumstances, Riau Islands engage in such a network and present Malayness as identity of the province. These attempts stimulate a revival of tradition and reinvention of heritage. The historical presence of the nineteenth-century Riau-Lingga sultanate provides the local authorities with an ideal form of Malay civilization, which is being revived to obtain an ambition as the center of the Malay world. Literary works are thought to indicate the paramount of cultural life, which is regarded to have necessarily contributed to the formation of Indonesian national language. Among the illustrious Malay authors from the age, Raja Ali Haji is respectfully placed in the center of circle of literati. The province has exerted much efforts to promote this Malay scholar as national hero and his works as source for recent art productions.
This paper deals with the re-production of narratives about Raja Ali Haji and one of his works, the Malay poem gurindam dua belas. His name appears in every-day life as the name of several places and objects. Museum displays representations, and a film embodies his biography. Youngsters and school children appropriate the poem through music production and verbal art staged in art contests and festivals at school or held by local government. These cases show that Raja Ali Haji gains a key position in Malay language and literary tradition, and as one of the symbols of Malayness in Sumatra. This paper argues that the revival of literary work materializes in art production, as one of means to perform Malayness, which is one of configurations shaping the image of Sumatra.
Show Paper Abstracts
Abstract
Since the turn of 21th century, turning objects, places and practices into heritage, or heritagisation has become a global trend forming a dynamic terrain in which state and non-state actors are actively involved to pursue various interests. In recent times Indonesia has become very active in trying to have its cultural and natural heritage acknowledged by nominating sites for the UNESCO lists. The ongoing political decentralization with its identity formation on sub-national levels also makes use of a national heritage list to get local sites acknowledged, stimulating self-identification in the process. These processes are quite often performed in a framework of intertwined-interests to shape a local or regional identity and commodify sites to attract tourists.
To this general trend of ‘heritagising Indonesia’, the island of Sumatra is no exception but shows its own dynamics. It has always been at the crossroads of many cultures which has resulted in a welter of outside cultural elements enriching local cultural expressions. Indonesia’s political and cultural focus has always been on Java and Bali, but it seems that through the political and economic decentralisation this is finally changing.
This panel wants to present and stimulate discussions about social processes that surround the making and performing of heritage from a multi-disciplinary perspective focusing on different cultural formats such as oral tradition, rituals, performing arts, manuscripts, and historical sites. It plans to present papers on local cultures of Sumatra, such as Toba Batak (North Sumatra), Minangkabau (West Sumatra) and Malay (the Riau Islands and South Sumatra) by specialists in the field.
Keywords
Political decentralization in Indonesia has led to several ramifications in the social and cultural fields. New provinces came into being and take part in redefining identity for more local interests. Within this context, Sumatra appears as a unit of cultural realm differing itself from dominant Javanese culture and identity. Several efforts have been initiated to weave provinces on the island to step forward as a community. Malayness revives as a shared imagination and overarching concept, which is adopted as identity by most of provinces in Sumatra. Instead of being a final form, Malayness is being shaped by linking the provinces through series of conferences, customary society forums and art festivals.
In these circumstances, Riau Islands engage in such a network and present Malayness as identity of the province. These attempts stimulate a revival of tradition and reinvention of heritage. The historical presence of the nineteenth-century Riau-Lingga sultanate provides the local authorities with an ideal form of Malay civilization, which is being revived to obtain an ambition as the center of the Malay world. Literary works are thought to indicate the paramount of cultural life, which is regarded to have necessarily contributed to the formation of Indonesian national language. Among the illustrious Malay authors from the age, Raja Ali Haji is respectfully placed in the center of circle of literati. The province has exerted much efforts to promote this Malay scholar as national hero and his works as source for recent art productions.
This paper deals with the re-production of narratives about Raja Ali Haji and one of his works, the Malay poem gurindam dua belas. His name appears in every-day life as the name of several places and objects. Museum displays representations, and a film embodies his biography. Youngsters and school children appropriate the poem through music production and verbal art staged in art contests and festivals at school or held by local government. These cases show that Raja Ali Haji gains a key position in Malay language and literary tradition, and as one of the symbols of Malayness in Sumatra. This paper argues that the revival of literary work materializes in art production, as one of means to perform Malayness, which is one of configurations shaping the image of Sumatra.
Since the turn of 21th century, turning objects, places and practices into heritage, or heritagisation has become a global trend forming a dynamic terrain in which state and non-state actors are actively involved to pursue various interests. In recent times Indonesia has become very active in trying to have its cultural and natural heritage acknowledged by nominating sites for the UNESCO lists. The ongoing political decentralization with its identity formation on sub-national levels also makes use of a national heritage list to get local sites acknowledged, stimulating self-identification in the process. These processes are quite often performed in a framework of intertwined-interests to shape a local or regional identity and commodify sites to attract tourists.
To this general trend of ‘heritagising Indonesia’, the island of Sumatra is no exception but shows its own dynamics. It has always been at the crossroads of many cultures which has resulted in a welter of outside cultural elements enriching local cultural expressions. Indonesia’s political and cultural focus has always been on Java and Bali, but it seems that through the political and economic decentralisation this is finally changing.
This panel wants to present and stimulate discussions about social processes that surround the making and performing of heritage from a multi-disciplinary perspective focusing on different cultural formats such as oral tradition, rituals, performing arts, manuscripts, and historical sites. It plans to present papers on local cultures of Sumatra, such as Toba Batak (North Sumatra), Minangkabau (West Sumatra) and Malay (the Riau Islands and South Sumatra) by specialists in the field.