IV.

Arts and Culture

Indonesian culture mixes the traditions of many civilizations and religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Southeast Asian, Polynesian, Chinese, Arabic, and Dutch. Since independence, the arts in Indonesia have been influenced by domestic politics. During the 1950s and 1960s the left-leaning Institute for People’s Culture (also known as Lekra) was very influential. With the backing of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president, Lekra strongly resisted American cultural influence and favored socialist realism in art. After the 1965 attempt to overthrow Sukarno and the ascension to power of Suharto in 1966, there were widespread killings of many Indonesians, including members of the artistic elite. Many artists went into exile and others, such as the prominent author Pramoedya Ananta Toer, were jailed. The government fostered some of the traditional arts of Indonesia but maintained a close watch on many independent strands of contemporary art. Permits were required before plays could be staged and books were banned with little explanation. As a result, during the Suharto years tensions permeated the arts in modern Indonesia, while Indonesian artists in exile were an aging but active presence. Suharto stepped down in May 1998, and artistic activity has flowered in Indonesia under his more liberal successors.

A.

Literature

Written literature exists for very few of Indonesia’s languages, although oral traditions, including prose and poetry, are very strong. Indian literature is influential, particularly in Old Javanese writings, which date from about ad 1000. Modern Javanese literature dates from the early 1700s and combines native, Indian, and Muslim traditions. Writing in Malay flourished after becoming the official language of the Indonesian people in 1928. Malay writings were closely associated with growing nationalism, and Sumatran writers of the time, such as Muhammad Yamin, were particularly influential. After independence, a group of writers known as the Generation of 1945 (Angkatan 45) emerged. They were direct and fierce and were epitomized by the poet Chairil Anwar. In the 1950s and 1960s ideological politics polarized the writing community and Lekra succeeded in pushing writers to adopt the style of socialist realism.

Perhaps the most famous writer of modern Indonesian literature is Pramoedya Ananta Toer. After the failed 1965 coup the government imprisoned Pramoedya because of his Communist links; he was released from jail in 1979 but placed under city arrest in Jakarta. His Buru Quartet, composed of Bumi Manusia (1980; This Earth of Mankind, 1991), Anak Semua Bangsa (1980; Child of All Nations, 1993), Jejak Langkah (1985; Footsteps, 1994), and Rumah Kaca (1988; House of Glass, 1992), tells the story of Indonesian nationalism through the character Minke, a Dutch-educated Javanese. The quartet, which was banned in Indonesia, became well known internationally.

Another internationally acclaimed writer is Romo Mangun. His Burung-Burung Manyar (The Weaverbirds, 1991) won the Southeast Asia Writers’ Award but was frowned on by the government for its critical view of Indonesian history. Mochtar Lubis’s Sendja di Djakarta (1970; Twilight in Djakarta, 1983) tells a story of corruption and decline in Jakarta in the 1960s. Other well-known writers include Achdiat Karta Mihardja, Umar Kayam, and Budi Darma. Indonesia’s best-known poets include Rendra, Subagio Sastrowardojo, Goenawan Mohamad, Sapardi Djoko Damono, and Sutardji Calzoum Bachri.

B.

Art and Architecture

Indonesian modern art is an adaptation of modern art in other parts of the world, flavored with Indonesian cultural influences. Modern Indonesian art is often traced to the formation, in 1937, of the Union of Indonesian Artists, or Persagi (Persatuan Ahli Gambar Indonesia), and to important artists of the time such as Sudjojono. Artists were important in the nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s.

Indonesian artists clustered around several institutions such as the Taman Ismail Marzuki Art Center in Jakarta, a center of avant-garde art in the 1970s. The painter Djoko Pekik is known for his hard-edged expressionist paintings of the problems of daily life in Indonesia, particularly for the poor. The New Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru) in the 1970s and 1980s emphasized making art relevant to society by examining socioeconomic problems. Practitioners of this art included Hardi, Nanik Mirna, Jim Supangket, Dedi Eri Supria, Gendut Riyanto, Haris Purnama, and Bonyong Munni Ardhi. Contemporary artists such as Heri Dono, Agus Suwage, Tisna Sanjaya, and Arahmaiani create daring depictions of Indonesia’s social issues. Basuki Resobowo paints somber scenes from contemporary Indonesia, often based on themes of struggle and resistance. The more liberal environment in Indonesia since May 1998 has brought a surge of contemporary paintings dealing with these topics, which were forbidden during the Suharto era. Many of Indonesia’s contemporary artists, such as Basuki Resobowo, spent long periods in exile during Suharto’s rule.

Indonesia has a long and grand architectural tradition. Indian influence is evident in the large Buddhist monument of Borobudur and the Hindu temple of Prambanan, both in central Java. Borobudur is Indonesia’s most famous tourist attraction. Built in the 9th century, it is a representation of the Buddhist vision of the cosmos. Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple complex in Java, was built during the 8th and 10th centuries. Arabic and Chinese Muslims have influenced the architectural style of mosques throughout Java.

The government, with international aid, has worked to preserve much of its architectural heritage, including Borobudur. Some sites, however, are threatened by rapid economic development. Meanwhile, many of the new structures in Jakarta, particularly in the city’s business center, show the modernist and postmodernist influences of contemporary architecture. Indonesian architect Soejoedi Wirjoatmodjo has played a prominent role in modern designs.

C.

Music

The gamelan, a drum and gong orchestra, is the best known of Indonesia’s classical music forms. The word gamelan comes from the Javanese word gamel, which refers to a type of hammer. The main instruments in the gamelan orchestra include gongs, bronze xylophones, bronze kettles on a horizontal frame, drums, flutes, zithers, and a two-stringed bowed instrument. The gamelan performs both in an instrumental role as well as in a supportive role for dance and puppet performances. The three major gamelan styles in Indonesia are based on Sundanese culture, central Javanese culture, and Balinese culture. The Balinese form, gamelan gong kebyar, has a faster tempo than the others. See also Indonesian Music.

D.

Dance

Indonesia is home to many traditional dance styles, and the classical dance traditions of Java and Bali have attracted worldwide attention. In Java, classical forms blend native traditions with stories and dance techniques from India. The forms have evolved over the last 200 years from the dances of Java’s former Islamic-influenced courts and today are centered in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Jakarta. The most significant of the Javanese court dances are the bedaja and the serimpi. Slow and restrained, women dancers move solemnly to the accompaniment of the gamelan and choral singing. Javanese mask dances (wayang topeng) have been traced to the 11th century. In these, dancers with wooden masks based on traditional three-dimensional rod puppets (wayang golek) act out stories from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and local tales. The most famous of these tales is The Adventures of Prince Panji. Another significant dance drama is the wayang orang, in which men and women act out a familiar range of Indian and local epics. In the wayang orang, dancers dress and act in a style adapted from traditional shadow puppets (wayang kulit).

Bali has a rich tradition of dances that are part of religious rituals. Often performed by nonprofessionals, dances are held in temple courtyards and coincide with religious feasts. The sacred baris gede is a battle dance performed by men, while another secular form of baris has been developed for the tourist market. Women dance the sacred rejang to evoke beauty. Bali is also well known for its trance dances, in which performers experience an altered state of consciousness and seek contact with the spirit world. In the Sang Hyang, a genre of trance dances in remote villages, men are believed to become possessed by animal spirits that bring about ritual purification of the community. Adolescent girls dance the Sang Hyang dedari.

The Balinese perform versions of Java’s wayang wong and wayang topeng, but the legong is Bali’s best-known dance. Two or three young girls perform the dance, which tells fragments of stories from the life of Prince Panji. The legong dates from the 18th century, although it draws on older traditions. Several regional governments pay performers to dance, both to foster identity and to promote tourism.

E.

Theater and Film

Shadow puppets (wayang kulit) have been at the core of Javanese theater for more than 1,000 years and are still the most popular form of shadow theater. In wayang kulit, the puppeteer (dalang) manipulates leather figures so that their shadows dance across a white screen. Performances, which typically begin in the late evening and end at sunrise, are built around such Indian epics as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Other forms of Javanese puppet theater include flat wooden puppets (wayang klitik) and three-dimensional rod puppets (wayang golek).

Among Indonesia’s most innovative contemporary theater companies is Bengkel Teater, established in 1967 by Rendra, a well-known poet and dramatist. Bengkel productions blend traditional Indonesian theatrical and musical forms, such as shadow puppets and gamelan orchestras, with American and European theater, such as the works of English playwright William Shakespeare. Street theater performances increased in the late 1990s.

Two Europeans made the first film in Indonesia in Bandung in the mid-1920s. For the next several years most of Indonesia’s films were made by Indonesians of Chinese descent, who also owned most of the cinemas. In the mid-1930s the Dutch government established a film production company, and filmmaking grew until 1942, when it stopped abruptly with the Japanese invasion during World War II.

After independence in 1949, film production expanded rapidly, peaking at 58 films in 1955. At the same time, the industry experienced a major shift toward greater pribumi (ethnic Indonesian) involvement in filmmaking. Films were often about the struggle for independence and the government strictly censored them. In the early 1960s films became increasingly politicized. Indonesia’s most important film directors of this era were Bachtiar Siagian and Usmar Ismail, who made a satirical film about President Sukarno titled Tamu Agung (The VIP, 1955). In the violence following the 1965 coup attempt on President Sukarno, Siagian was jailed on Buru Island. Other filmmakers were also purged, and Siagian was not released until 1979.

In the 1990s Indonesia produced about 60 to 70 feature films each year, less than half the total number of new films shown in Indonesia. Before the Suharto era ended, government censorship guided the depiction of key events and individuals in Indonesian history. Most Indonesian films are in Bahasa Indonesia. One prominent exception was the highly regarded Djut Nya Dien, a story in the Acehnese language about a heroine in the Dutch resistance. In rare instances difficult social problems are addressed in films, as in Putri Giok (The Jade Princess), which examined the assimilation of Chinese Indonesians.

F.

Libraries and Museums

Indonesia has about 20 major libraries, located mainly in the cities of Bandung, Bogor, Jakarta, and Yogyakarta. The National Archives and the Library of the National Museum are in Jakarta, as is the National Library, which includes a number of special collections.

Established in 1862, the National Museum in Jakarta has a significant collection of cultural objects from Indonesia’s ethnic groups and is among the most renowned museums in Southeast Asia. Jakarta also has a Textile Museum and the Abri Satriamandala Army Museum. The latter features many dioramas depicting scenes of Indonesia’s struggle for independence, as well as weapons and military equipment. Jakarta is also home to Taman Mini Indonesia, a theme park that represents the diverse cultures of Indonesia. The park includes houses that are built using the designs and materials characteristic of each province and district.

The Freedom Building (Gedung Merdeka) in Bandung is dedicated to the anticolonial Bandung Conference of Asian and African countries held in Indonesia in the 1950s. Yogyakarta has the Sono-Budoyo Museum, which houses Javanese, Balinese, and Madurese arts; and the Diponegoro Museum, which contains relics of the 19th-century Javanese hero Prince Diponegoro. The Bali Museum in Denpasar has a collection of Balinese arts and crafts, including architecture. Most regional cities have museums dedicated to local history. For example, Fort Rotterdam in Makassar dates to 1667 and houses two museums with a large collection of cultural artifacts from South Sulawesi.