Art & culture

Indonesia is blessed with a rich and diverse mix of traditional cultures and art forms. The basic principles which guide life across this colorful tapestry of life-styles include the concepts of mutual assistance or "gotong royong" and communal meetings and gatherings or "musyawarah" to arrive at a consensus or "mufakat". Derived from the traditions of agriculturally based rural life, this system, is still very much in use in community life throughout the country. Social life, as well as rites of passage, are steeped in ancient traditions and customs, or "adat" laws, which differ from area to area. "Adat" laws have a binding impact on Indonesian life and have been instrumental in maintaining equal rights for women in the community. Religious influences on communal life vary from Island to island and village to village, depending on local history.

Art forms in Indonesia are not only derived from folklore, as in many other parts of the world. Many were developed in the courts of former kingdoms, as in. Bali, where they are integral elements of religious ceremonies. The famous dance dramas of Java and Ball are.derived from Hindu mythology and often feature fragments from the Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu epics.

I. The Performing Arts
II. Dance
III. Javanese Ballet
IV. Ketoprak
V. Music
VI. Balinese Dance
VII. Handicrafts

From graceful court and temple dances to charming folk dances and boisterous play, the performing arts of Indonesia offer an astounding range of types and styles for the visitor to study or enjoy, reflecting, as they, do, the soul and tra-ditions of the various ethnic groups who perform them. Music, dance and drama are very often interwined, as in the ludruk transvestite theatre of East Java and the lenong folk theatre of Jakarta, both known for their slapstick humour and early Shakespearean simplicity in their stage settings.

An important form of indigenous theatre is puppetry, of which the most celebrated is the wayang kulit shadow play of Java. These plays are magical and mysterious, and have often been seen as roads to the true heart and soul of Javanese culture. They are performed with leather puppets held by the puppeteer (dalang), who narrates the story of one of the famous episodes of the Mahabharata or the Ramayana. The play is performed against a white screen, while a lantern in the background casts the shadows of the characters on the screen. Most of the audience sits In front to watch the shadow figures, but it is also possible to sit behind the screen and watch the dalang at work. A traditonal performance can last from dusk till dawn, but shorter versions catering to a western sensibility are available in many cities.

The puppet theatre has many forms and employs a variety of media. In West Java, for example, the most popular form is the Wayang Golek, using carved and painted three dimensional wooden puppets. Both the Wayang Kulit and Wayang Golek take their repertoire from the clasical Indian epics but in Central Java, the wooden puppet theatre traditionally revolves around stories derived from popular folk legends and the spread of Islam. The oldest form of "shadow" play is probably the Wayang Beber, In. which the dalang or puppeteer simply unrolls a scroll bearing the scenes and figures of the story while he delivers his narration, accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. A popular contemporary form of wayang theatre is the Wayang Wong, is which actors or dancers represent the characters in the story, presented on a conventional stage.

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Like most of the performing arts of the Orient, dance in Indonesia is believed to have had its roots in religious worship. Even today, many dances are considered sacred or can be traced back to their early spiritual associations. Among these are not only the temple dances of Ball, but also such seemingly profane dances, such as the Bedoyo Ketawang of Solo, performed only on such rare occasions that they are in peril of becoming lost due to the lack of young dancers able to perform them.

Dance traditions today are as widely diverse as the various ethnic cultures of which they are part. Nurtured to refined perfection in the royal Javanese courts, the classical dances of Central Java are highly stylized expressions which had probably already attained their basic movements during the height of the Hindu-Javanese culture, from the 8th to the 13th century. Those dances eventually reached the common people, who gave them a more spontaneous form of expression. In the hands of the people, these dances provided a rich source not only for popular dance dramas, but also for social dances, which often display clear erotic overtones, such as Tayuban or Ngibing.

The bumbung dance of Bali evolved into the beautiful "Bumblebee Dance" and "Tamulilingan", a creation of Bali's late maestro, I Mario. Other popular folk dances still display strong magic associations, as in the "Kuda Lumping Horse Dance". Whereas rigid discipline and artistry mark the dance of Java and Bali, those of Sumatra, Maluku and most of the other islands are characterized by their gracefulness and charm, a distinction which is further accentuated by non-gamelan musical accompaniment.

The old traditions of dance and drama are being preserved in the many dance schools which flourish not only in the courts, but also in the modern, government-run or supervised art academies. For comparative study and enjoyment, the introduction of serious western art forms is also being encouraged through performances sponsored by private organizations or foreign, missions, as well as by government supervised institutions such as Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) Art Center in Jakarta.

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There are two leading names in staging spectacular traditional dance ballets on a regular basis. One is the Prambanan open air stage near Yogyakarta, where between June and October, during nights of the full moon, performances are given of the Ramayana ballets. The other is the Candra Wilwatika open air stage at Pandaan In East Java, performing stories taken from the popular East Javanese folk legends.

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An offshoot of the wayang wong theatre, Ketoprak is the contemporary popular version of dance drama which takes Its stories from popular folk legends and history rather than from the classic epics. Costumes, dialogues and dance, are much simpler than those at the wayang wong.

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Musical traditions are as diverse as the population, but the one musical expression best known and most widely associated with the country is probably the gamelan. A complete gamelan orchestra may consist of as many as eighty instruments, the largest part comprising various types and sizes of metal percussion instruments. Drums, a zither (celempung), a rebab two-stringed upright lute, a flute and often a few other instruments complete the ensemble. Although there are variations known within each, the gamelan orchestra is basically tuned to two systems, the old pentatonic slendro and the younger seventone pelog, each producing its own mood and having its own uses in the musical or theatrical repertoire. The creation of moods or "colour" is further archieved by the use of three principal modes (pathet) within each tuning system. The most elaborate form of gamelan is that of Central Java (Yogyakarta and Surakarta). West Java has it own gamelan ensemble, usually simpler than the Javanese, with more stress on flute, drums and the bonang family of horizontally placed kettle gongs. But the most brilliant is that of Ball, where sets of "male" and "female" megalophones produce a beautiful timbre associated with the Balinese gamelan. In much more simple forms, the "gamelan" is also known in other islands of Indonesia, from southern Sumatra to Sulawesi and Kalimantan. Bamboo xylophones are used in North Sulawesi and the bamboo "angkiung" instruments of West Java are well-known for their unique tinkling notes which can be adapted to any melody. The Bataks of North Sumatra are famous for their popular singing groups who today entertain visitors in many International hotels.

Performances of Javanese gamelan can be heard every Sunday in the Kraton of Yogyakarta. The Central Museum, in Jakarta has performances of Sundanese (West Javanese) gamelan every Sunday morning. Javanese gamelan also accompanies the shortened wayang kulit performances given at the Wayang Museum in Jakarta every Sunday morning.

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Regular performances of the popular dances such as the legong kraton, the barong kris and the baris dances, are easily found throughout Ball. They are usually staged for tourists by the village people. The Kecak is performed at night by torchlight.

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The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and style. As a whole the people are artistic by nature and express themselves with canvas and paint, wood, metal, clay and stone. Indonesian artists create some of the finest wood-carvings to be found anywhere in the world. Paintings of an infinite variety, both traditional and contemporary, are to be found all over the country. The silverwork and engravings of Yogyakarta and Sumatra, and filigree of South Sulawesi are famous throughout Indonesia.

The batik process of waxing and dyeing originated in Java centuries ago and classic designs have been modified with modern trends in both pattern and technology. There are several batik centers on Java, the major ones being Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Pekalongan and Cirebon. Batik is also being produced In Bali, where local designs are incorporated. Artists in West Sumatra and Kalimantan produce hand-woven cloths with gold and silver threads, silk, and cotton of fantastically intricate design. On the islands of Sumba and Flores you can find the traditional ikat, a type of weaving with hand-dyed threads.

Indonesia is an art-collector's and handicrafts shopper's paradise, and you will probably end up buying an extra suitcase just to pack all your treasures home with you.