Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0025/00250.txt

Text File | 1993-07-27 | 26KB | 471 lines

$Unique_ID{bob00250}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Indonesia
Arts and Culture}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Department of Information Republic of Indonesia}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Indonesia, Washington DC}
$Subject{asmat
life
java
found
indonesia
own
wood
indonesian
museum
village}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Title:       Indonesia
Book:        Indonesia 1990 an Official Handbook
Author:      Department of Information Republic of Indonesia
Affiliation: Embassy of Indonesia, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Arts and Culture

ARTS

     The Guidelines of State Policy directs that art should be nurtured and
improved in efforts to preserve and improve the Indonesian nation's cultural
diversity.

     Art forms in Indonesia are not only based on folklore, but many were
developed in the courts of former kingdoms and as in Bali they form a part of
religious ceremonies. The famous dance dramas of Java and Bali are derived
from Hindu mythology and often feature fragments from the Ramayana and
Mahabharata Hindu epics.

     The puppets of the "Wayang Kulit" shadow play are made of intricately
carved and colorful painted leather, the "Wayang Golek", however, uses
colorfully dressed wooden puppets. The puppets are manipulated by a puppeteer,
the "Dalang", who narrates the story and sings, using a different voice for
each character for a show. Meanwhile, dances differ from region to region and
so do the musical instruments. The tinkling sounds of the bamboo "angklung" of
West Java and the "kolintang" of North Sulawesi are well-known.

     The Bataks of North Sumatra and the Ambonese of Maluku are best known for
their singing accompanied mainly by guitars.

     With regard to painting, both in oil and water colors, there are
different schools. The best known are in Bali, Yogyakarta, Bandung and
Jakarta, all of which have Fine Arts Institutes.

     Batik is another form of painting and one of the oldest traditional arts
of Java. It comprises drawings on cloth waxing and dyeing. Traditional centers
of batik industries are Solo and Pekalongan (Central Java), Yogyakarta,
Cirebon and Tasikmalaya (both in West Java) and Madura (East Java).

     Indonesian woodcarving can be highly refined and ornate like those found
in Java, Bali or primitive as those in Kalimantan (Dayak), Irian Jaya
(especially Asmat) and Nias Island (North Sumatra).

     Weaving is a folk art found all over the country, with motifs and in the
colors characteristic to each region.

     The potter's craft is known throughout the Indonesian Archipelago and
springs from the daily needs of the people. In contrast, a highly-developed
art is the silverwork produced in Yogyakarta and Bali, and to a lesser degree
in West Sumatra, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

     Plaiting of bamboo, a widely available material, into highly utilitarian
and decorative object is commonplace. Pandanus leaves are also dried and made
into baskets and mats.

CULTURE

     Whilst unity has been a result of history, differing cultures are based
on many different ethnic groups found throughout the country who have
maintained their traditions, languages and dialects. Protected by "adat"
(customary law) which differs from area to area, modernization is only a
superficial veneer covering the daily life even in the cities. Ultimately,
"adat" is the man's tie to his family and to his community and is applied to
his way of life.

     The cultures of the people originated from its agricultural beginnings
and have been partly influenced by waves of traders from India, China, Arabia,
and Europe bringing along their religions. Western influence arrived with the
Portuguese who came in search of spices in the early 16th century and later
with the British and the Dutch merchants.

     The Hindu heritage is much found in this archipelago and is still
prevalent, while the Ramayana and Mahabharata Hindu epics play an important
role in culture and much of it has been adapted and absorbed and regarded as
a pure Indonesian legacy.

     Traditional customs have merged with religion, resulting in colorful
ceremonies and festivities which vary from area to area.

GOTONG ROYONG (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE)

     One of the most important traits of the people of Indonesia is "gotong
royong" or mutual assistance as it is practiced in the Indonesian social life.
From time immemorial the harvesting of rice in villages is done in a "gotong
royong" fashion by all the village community, in which they assist each other.
This also applies to almost all social activities and has been handled down
for centuries from ancestors to posterity as a cultural legacy, as an "adat"
or tradition. Various expressions of "adat" have later adapted with the
"adat" law or customary law of Indonesia which during the colonial period has
been kept intact by the Dutch colonial rulers. Certain provision of the "adat"
law vary indeed in the different regions of the country according to local
traditions and cultural patterns. It stands to reason therefore, that
Indonesia's Coat of Arms is inscribed with the motto "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika",
meaning unity in diversity.

MUSYAWARAH AND MUFAKAT (DELIBERATION AND CONSENSUS)

     The process of decision-making in Indonesia traditionally goes through
a "musyawarah" (deliberation) and "mufakat" (consensus) which is in fact
sessions of deliberations to reach a consensus. Throughout the national
history, decisions in villages regarding land ownership, exploitation of water
resources and forest produce, the construction of village roads and the like
are decided by village heads through "musyawarah" to reach "mufakat". Every
member of a village community is entitled to participate in such deliberation
for the common interest of the village community, to consider the best
solutions in cases of conflicts.

     The spirit of conciliation, called "rukun" in Indonesia is another
apparent trait of Indonesian culture. The application of "rukun" in all
matters of controversies are sought without resentments or grudges of either
parties involved. Equal rights for women have always been upheld in the
community.

CANDI

     "Candi" is an Indonesian word, it is pronounced "chandy' with the "a"
pronounced as in "father". It indicates the many stone monuments from
Indonesia's classical period, of which the remains are still found today,
particularly in Java, Sumatra and Bali. Statues of Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu,
Agasty, Dhurga and replicas of the gold head in the Hindu religion placed in
the candis are, most likely the duplicates of the heads of the former rulers,
placed on the bodies of the godhead statues. In some cases the historical
identity of the ruler is inscribed on a stone of the "candi".

     In contrast, Buddhist sanctuaries were built as an act of faith and in
order to gain merit. It is worth noting that Buddhism displayed on the
monuments of Central Java is the Mahayana Buddhism. This denomination is
largely embraced by the Indonesian Buddhists today, in contrast with the
Hinayana Buddhism worshipped in Burma and Thailand. The great Buddhist
edifices of Java are all connected with the names of Shailendra kings, whose
history is still imperfectly known.

MUSEUMS

     The many museums, large and small, found throughout this country
present virtually together the whole spectrum of Indonesian life, in thought
and history beginning from the time of its earliest inhabitation and even
before, up to the present.

     The best known, and also the oldest in existence, of the museums of
art, culture and history is the Central Museum in Jakarta. Claimed as one of
the finest in Southeast Asia and founded in 1778, it still has the world's
most complete collection of Indonesian artifacts.

     Museum of natural history are found in Bogor and Bandung. Of equal
scientific interest, though small, is the Sangiran Museum of paleontology
and anthropology in Central Java. It displays prehistoric fossils found in
the area, including the "Java Man", or pithecanthropus erectus, and "Solo
Man" or Homo Soloensis.

PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL ANCIENT MONUMENTS AND RELICS

     Other important museums are Taman Fatahillah Museum, Maritime Museum,
Armed Forces Museum, Museum Indonesia in the Indonesia in Miniature Park,
which are located in Jakarta, and Sono Budoyo Museum in Yogyakarta as well as
Radjapustaka Museum in Solo, Central Java. In addition, many provincial
capitals or towns have museums of local culture and history.

     Attention has also been given to the preservation of historical
monuments and relics, archaeological remains and historical and ancient
buildings.

     During the last five years efforts have been done to restore "candis"
or temples in 24 sites, old cemeteries in 73 sites, prehistoric gardens in
8 sites, 12  fortresses, 10 Balinese Hindu temples, 16 palaces, 8 different
traditional houses, and 1,594 historical relics. In addition, archaeological
feasibility-studies have been conducted in 27 locations and technical studies
in 13 locations.

     Restoration work of archaeological relics in the 27 provinces in fiscal
year 1988/89 included two mosques, 3 churches, 5 palaces, 4 museums, 5
cemeteries, 4 fortresses, 5 megalithic complexes, one Balinese Hindu temple
and 2 historical buildings.

THE ASMAT

     The term "asmat" is applied to both the people and the land where they
live. Covering an area of about 26,725 square kilometers, the Asmat territory
lies along the southwestern coast of Irian Jaya, at 140 degrees to 137
degrees east longitude and from 4 degrees to 7 degrees south latitude. Its
climate is hot and humid. The rainfall is quite high, ranging from 4000 to
7000 mm per annum and falling throughout the year or 200 raindays annually.
Temperatures vary from 27 degrees to 35C during the day and
below 21C at night.

     The region possesses many unique physical characteristics. Most of the
territory consists of low-lying marshland, and the coast is fringed with
mangrove swamps. The soil is brackish and alluvial; it is peat soil with core
alluvial sediments and core rocks, the result of thousand years of erosion
from the Central Mountains.

     The alluvial swamp is wide, crossed by a great number of large and small
rivers and a still larger number of interconnecting waterways. Meanwhile the
tides fluctuate widely from 4000 to 7000 meters. Only in southeastern Asmat,
on the Casuarinen Coast are there sections of sandy shores.

     Its forest is rich in varieties of mangrove, other rishophores and
softwooded trees, nibung, nipah, pandanus, sago palm, ironwood, bamboo,
orchids, epiphytic ferns, all linked and woven together by lianas, vines,
creepers, and an assortment of rattan then mesh into one solid impenetrable
mass close to the river banks. In the interior the forest is more open.

     There are no large animals and no primates. Wild pigs, marsupials such
as cuscus and tree kangaroos, small mammals, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and
cassowaries are relatively common in Asmat. The beds of the streams and
rivers are rich in crustaceans, including crabs and crawfish, while the
waters themselves are full of shrimp, catfish, turtle, and fish whose species
vary with the varying salt content of the water and the distance from the
sea.

     Housing about 60,000 inhabitants belonging to the Melanesian race, the
Asmat region is divided into 52 villages and into four subdistricts, and part
of the Merauke District.

SOCIAL SETTINGS

     The Asmat people live intimately with their natural surroundings. In
fact, they call themselves As-Asmat, meaning "We, Tree People". They identify
themselves with trees, and since their environment is brackish marshland
continually being flooded by tidal waters, they can make no tools other than
those of wood and of the bones of animals living around them. Therefore, wood
is very critical to their very existence.

     The Asmat people living in coastal areas are hunters and gatherers and
have no gardens. The keeping of domestic animals is also unknown to them
except for the dogs they keep for hunting. However, as the hunters and
gatherers, they often leave their villages and make a living temporarily in
the forests around two or three months in houses called bivaks (transitory
houses). While the Asmat of the foothills own few pigs and do not have them
on the scale of the mountain people. They plant gardens of taro, sugar cane,
bananas, tobacco, like their neighbors in the mountains. Sago does not grow
wild here, it must be planted.

     Family houses or "cem" are usually inhabited by several families,
including their kinsfolk. Each family has its own stove of fireplace within
the "cem"

     The men's long-house, the "jew", located usually along riverside, is the
cultural center of the village. In the past the "jew" had a strong religious
significance and was of a great ritual importance in the Asmat community,
serving as centers of everyday life and of special ceremonies including
preparations for war, peace, or even headhunting raids. Now the said
long-house "jew" functions principally as a workshop where the men work on
their arts and handicrafts, or educate their juniors the values of courage
and strength, knowledge and skills in order to become self-reliant adults. In
the meantime, the number of stoves or "joses" within such a "jew" may
indicate the number of clans living in the village. Only on special and rare
occasions are the women allowed to enter the "jew".

     However, both sexes in the life of Asmat have their special or expected
duties. Each helps the other without anyone wanting to change roles. No one
feels restrained. The women go fishing with nets while the men build traps
and spear large fish. The men watch carefully in the sago grounds over the
safety of the women while they prepare the sago. The women take care for the
upbringing of the children, they watch over the girls until they marry and
over the boys until they move to the "jew".

     The village life of the Asmat underlines the hierarchy of its chiefs, who
must be looked upon as "prismus inter pares". It is only through their own
forceful personalities, their intelligence, and their performance in all
areas of life that they rise to a high rank and have great influence.

     All men in Asmat carve to some extent. Everyone learns to make his own
bows and arrows, his own paddles, canoes, sago pounders, and simple types of
spears. However, every village has good carvers and these men are highly
respected. They have the status equal to that of great warriors.

THE TRUE-BRED

     For the Asmats, self-reliance is a life prerequisite. They, anywhere and
at any time, many find themselves in the face of a challenging situation, and
they must be able to overcome it with the aid of only the most simple
implements at their disposal.

     Their style of self-reliance may be seen as individualistic, however it
is just the contrary. The Asmat have indeed a strong sense of loyalty -- not
only among member of their own group, but also towards other human beings in
general. And this fact apparently is not widely known. The story that the
Asmats in particular and the inland tribes of Irian Java in general are
man-eaters or cannibals is absolutely untrue! "The Asmats are utterly friendly
people, and they prefer peace above anything else", says Mr. Seiichi Okawa,
a Japanese anthropologist, who lived in Irian Jaya, including in the Asmat
region, for three years during the seventies.

     Okawa further informed how the Asmat - and the other tribes of Irian
Jaya as well - could be the greatest teachers one can find on the meaning
of life. "What we have lost, the Asmats still have strongly, namely, sympathy
and kindness towards others. These two qualities they possess in greater
measures and more profoundly than do we, members of a more advanced
community", Mr. Okawa affirms.

     Mr. Okawa speaks from his own experience. One day he slipped and fell off
a wooden bridge. Injured and slightly in pain he was soon surrounded by the
Asmats who said in one voice, "Give your pain to us. You need not suffer it,
let us bear the pain for you..."

     Besides, the Asmats who are famous for their impressive skill in wooden
carving, not only possess extraordinary high humanistic feelings, more than
that they have a philosophy of life which reflects their sense of fairness and
civilization. Also, one of their notable traits is their sense of shame. This
trait has been preserved for so many years from one generation to another, as
it is reflected in their folklore. A famous one is the story of "Ufiripits".
It is about a man who guilefully married his own to daughters. However, the
moment they found out who their husband was, the two sisters were overcome
with shame and agreed to put an end to the unseemly situation. The accursed
father was lured into a trap. He drowned himself and was transformed into a
sea giant (cesar pak), to dwell in the estuary of the Ayip river until the
end of eternity, while his two daughters went and left their village, in
search of another place to live. Another well-known legendary story is the
tale of "Beorpit", a handsome young man. When his efforts to do good did not
reach his standard of perfection, he was filled with shame and vanished
forever.

DANCE AND MUSIC

     Dancing has its ritual significance in the Asmat community. It forms the
most important element in their communication with "Fumeripits", the Great
Creator.

     The general name for Asmat dances is "ndi". It was originally a war
dance. It came into existence as the expression of their joy as they had won
a war. To celebrate the victory the Asmats would dance all night long, while
singing songs and telling their experiences during the battle, to the
accompaniment of the dynamic beating of the small, oblong-shaped drum "tifa"
and long, shrill cries.

     The dance movements are basically simple but full of symbolism, and
imitate the motions of animals, such as: butterfly (fot'ndi), where the legs
make opening and closing motions; the cassowary (jiwin'ndi), where the feet,
hands and hips move in rhythm; the sago-worm (to'faeton'ndi), where the body
keeps coiling and twisting. Through dancing they get rid of things that burden
their minds, and achieve a feeling of liberation in the true sense of the
word. They believe that getting into a trance, unstained and free is the
moment of perfect contact with their Great Creator, "Fumeripits".

     An important element in their daily life is singing or "so" in the local
dialect. They sing for ritual ceremonies or for whiling away the time. They
sing with or without the accompaniment of instruments. Their most favourite
musical instrument is the "em", a kind of drum, which is sometimes joined by
the "fu", an instrument made of wood or bamboo.

     In ceremonies where proas (cie) are used, such as the "cie pokmbu" or the
launching of a new boat, and in welcoming festivities, they would beat their
oars against the sides of the boat in the rhythm of their song. The
distinction of songs rest in the rhythms created by the beat of the "em" and
by their lyrics. Songs for ritual ceremonies are not interchangeable. This
means that songs used for certain ceremonies may not be sung at any other
ceremony because each occasion has its own collection of songs, and these have
been preserved through generations. In contrasts to the ceremonial songs, the
non-ceremonial ones are haphazard. The Asmat sing to raise their spirit, like
when they start tiring from work, and when one person burst into a song, the
others would spontaneously join him, if they share his actual feelings - which
may be of sadness or of joy.

WOOD CARVING

     Owing to the superior quality of fine woodcarving skills the Asmat people
find acclaim throughout the whole world. Experts regard their work as a
cultural gift of universal value, and therefore this woodcarving is given a
good, appropriate place in most prominent museums in the United States of
America, in the Netherlands, West Germany, France, etc. This similar
appreciation also can be found in a number of books on the Asmat, containing
the research findings of world-renowned anthropologists.

     The Asmat believe that carvings connect the life of this world with the
world of the spirit. They are the medium through which the Asmat remain in
contact with their ancestors. They are deeply influenced by their beliefs and
cultural values on which they base their community life. Let us observe their
most well-known myth: One day sitting alone in loneliness in his great feast
hoyse in the jungle, Fumeripitsj, The Creator, decided to make carvings. He
carved good figures, some were male and some female, and put them all inside
in the feast house. He was pleased with his work but still feeling lonely.
Fumeripitsj then began making a drum by hollowing out a section of log,
putting a lizard skin over one end and tied it there with rattan and a mixture
of his own blood and white lime. When it was ready, he beat on the drum. Soon
the figures around him began to move, jerkily at first. The faster he beat the
drum, the faster and more easily the figures moved. Gradually the figures came
to life and, in this way, the first Asmat appeared.

     They are masterly in expressing their esthetic feelings in the wood
carvings they create, using designs which are un-paralleled in this
world - although the tools they use are very, very simple, such as sea shells,
cassowary bones or stone chips. The main theme dominating the Asmat art of
wood carving is Man, his power and valor. Like ourselves, the Asmats also like
to mark their possessions with symbols indicating their status. The shield of
a war commander, for instance, is exclusively ornamented with an image of the
parying manits (the wenet wow), while the stork, or "pomar wow", is carved
only on the shield of a war commander who excels in hunting down the enemy.

     All artifacts made for permanent use, such as shields, drums, bowls,
horns, and spears, are carved with great skill and a keen, dramatic sense of
balance and beauty. The figures are carved with deep knowledge and control
and show an outstanding sense of harmony and a bent towards abstraction.
Indeed, as a tradition, each piece of carved wood represents an inscription of
the Asmats' observation of their environments.

     As mentioned earlier, all men in Asmat carve to some extent. Everyone
learns to make his own bows and arrows, paddles and canoes, sago pounders as
well as simple types of spears. It reminds us of the Western joke on the
hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt: A man who cannot draw a picture, is an
illiterate, because the ancient Egyptian alphabet consists of picture
sequences. However, when something more elaborate is required, something
demanding special skills, ordinary carvers turn to the best ones.

     Referred to by one or two names i.e. "wow ipitsj", literally "design
men", and "tsjestsju ipitsj", "clever men", carvers in Asmat are greatly
respected. Everywhere in Asmat there are particularly good carvings by
particularly good carvers. The carvings of these men have special
characteristics one can easily identify who made it: for instance the shape
and the grouping of the figures, the general lines, the kind of motifs they
have invented and developed.

     The Asmat artisans keep pouring their creative values assiduously into
each piece of wood carving. Thus, not one piece they produce is solely
ornamental and without meaning.

     To paint artifacts, the Asmat use three colors: white, red and black.
White paint, called "mbi", is made from mussel shells, red paint, called
"wasah" is ochre from foothills, and black paint named "sosok" is made from
crushed charcoal.

     However, this excellence could hardly be upheld with the arrival of
Westerners in the beginning of the 20th century, who came streaming in
treating the Asmat wood carvings as mere souvenirs. Moreover, the Western
tourists and antique dealers were ordering wood carvings for home decoration
purposes. This flow of commercialism inevitably brought about a sad
misrepresentation - not to say complete disappearance - of the Asmat art of
wood carving. This is indeed the challenge demanding our serious attention:
amidst the ever-increasing contact with the outside world, it would be wise to
keep preserving the distinctive character of the Asmat culture, which now has
become world renowned.

THE ASMAT PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

     Asmat is a name which finds acclaim throughout the whole world, due to
the superior quality of their fine wood-carving skills. Meanwhile, it has to
be admitted that the Asmat people's living conditions are fraught with great
social problems. For this reason the "Asmat Progress and Development
Foundation" feels itself called to help create better living conditions, which
may enable the Asmat people to develop themselves more in line with
present day progress and development.

     The foundation proved to have found good response. To achieve its noble
aims, the Foundation, established in 1985 and legally confirmed as corporate
body in late 1987, is now receiving much assistance and support from various
sides. Within a relatively short time, as a non-profit organization the
Foundation has been able to carry out various activities ranging from setting
up the Asmat Center to exhibitions, It also supplies the Asmat Museum in the
Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII) with artifacts.