Dutch-Indonesia Encounters Day 2

The symposium on Dutch-Indonesian Musical Encounters continued for a second day on Thursday 20 May. Today was quite a mix of papers - from obscure performance forms in Indonesia's outer islands to a postcolonial critique by Indonesian composer Franki Raden to theatre in Suriname and pop music in the Netherlands.

Anthropologist Gerard Persoon spoke about versions of the Wilhelma as sung in Mentawai. The national anthem was learned in colonial schools and sung annually at the Queen's Birthday (a major celebration in the Indies, often involving 'folk games' like climbing greased poles and the like). The song was still proudly remembered in the repertoire of one of Gersoon's chief musical informants and recorded in a CD. A number of Mentawai language versions exist, with different lyrics etc.

Miriam Brenner, a young ethnomusicologist who works for a music festival in Nijmegen and a world music venue in Utrecht, spoke about research she did in Buton for a Bandung NGO on a drum and dance military style band known as galangi.



This band - which features a small ensemble of drummers (3), spear holders and flag bearers form a military kompaniya that appear in processions. Formerly a war dance, it is now typically used as a welcoming dance.Dutch sources going back to 1640 describe the use of drums to intimidate the Butonese. In an inversion of this, Butonese dress in the trappings of the VOC. Up until the late colonial period, galangi's flags displayed the VOC emblem.Drawing on Homi Bhabha, she described galangi as a sphere of activity where colonial power exerted its influence.

Franki Raden went back to materials in his PhD dissertation (2001) and linked the work of Ki Hadjar Dewantara to his own work as a composer (specifically his recent concert with the Indonesian National Orchestra). He argued that by having a national anthem in a Western diatonic mode, a European element was embedded in Indonesian national identity from the start. Ki Hadjar Dewantara's hybrid Kinanthie Sandoong (which has a piano part based on gender figurations and a vocal line that calls upon the singer to improvise cengkok wilet) was a sign of resistance against the hegemonic culture of Europe. He described and showed a DVD of the recently-launched Indonesian National Orchestra - working with 'masters' from around Indonesia and developing a few new instruments (incluindg a bass rebab redolent of Suryoputro's late colonial work) he continues Ki Hadjar's tradition of notating and allowing for self-expression. This is a big ensemble - 45 instrumentalists plus a choir of 15 - and Franki is still looking for funding to support the work. It is a nationalist projecgt - Franki rejects European instruments (he says he will only use them as soloists), wants to return to indigenous tradition and explore resources and develop tradition as a composer.

Discussion focused on the role of notation and what it means to be a composer in Indonesia. Wim van Zanten said that notation was only an aide memoire - in contrast to Judith Becker who argues (with Walter Ong) that notation fundamentally changes the way we think. Henk Mak van Dijk said he knew of only 3 compositions by Ki Hadjar (Franki knew only one) and questioned whether Ki Hadjar could then be called a composer. Ben Arps countered that Ki Hadjar wrote many other pieces - but used a cypher notation of his own devising. Dutch composer Jos Jansen questioned how innovative Franki's work is - he says he has heard much similar music in Yogya and Solo over the years. He urged a more radical approach to gamelan.

This lively discussion was followed by a paper by Fridus Steijlen on the Maluku band H-Gang, the Merantau choir and a theatre of liberation play titled Degnan Harapan. All were part of a radical moment in Maluku cultural politics in the Netherlands in the 1980s in the wake of the violent highjacking of trains, as the community moved from being exiles to reconciling themselves to the position of migrant. The community in their arts made strategic alliances with other communities of struggle - the gay rights community, South African anti-apartheid activists, East Timorese activists, ex-PKI. This is legible in their arts - through singing South African songs, singing song such as N Bomb (a nuclear protest in reggae style) and Indonesian-language songs such as Buka Mata Sama-Sama (1981) - in which Indonesians are called upon to vote against the Soeharto regime. Interesting ironies emerge. A South African song turns out to have lyrics urging people to kill the Boers - this was sung without knowledge at the time. The speaker presented as a musician participant in this early 1980s scene - speaking from direct knowledge. This inclusivity has been a characteristic of Maluccan bands in the Netherlands for years. Discussang Wim Manuhutu (himself also a musician) said that the Maluku community generally found H-Gang and affiliated organisations 'weird' both musically and in terms of their political alliances.

After lunch, we heard a paper by Annika Ockhorsst on Javanese elements in the Surinamese multicultural theatre companiy Doe Theatre (1974-1983). Annika wrote her MA in history on this company, basing herself on historical documents as well as interviews with suriving ompany members, some of whom live in the Netherlands. Doe (from a word meaning song-and-dance performance as well as 'do' - a sense of political action) was a postcolonial theatre that aimed to define a national Surinamese identity by drawing on elements of all the major ethnic groups and enacting stories addressing real issues confronting Surinamese society. Gamelan instruments were used, costume and set elements (including a gapura) were incorporated, mythological figures (including a wayang wong Hanoman) could be found. Dancers returned from dharmasiswa in central Java taught the company dance. The company played for middle class audiences in the capital. Few Javanese attended, despite the fact that 2 out of the 10 core members were of Javanese descent. While touring in the provinces, it played sometimes for Javanese audiences. It was noteworthy also for introducing gamelan instruments (played in a non-idiomatic way) to indigenous people in the interior. The company resisted the European style of theatremmaking by drawing on indigneous elements, inspired by the black theatre movement in the US (the director had studied in the US before founding Doe) and a variety of other cultural influences. It also worked strategically with a number of other organisations - including at least 2 Javanese NGOs. Other performances (to date) have people present their own cultures. But Doe showed people from different ethnic groups enacting each other's rituals and dances and expressive arts. Franki Raden wondered in the discussion about the influence of Amir Pasaribu, who lived in Suriname for 30 years.

We also heard two papers on pop music in the Netherlands by people of Indonesian extraction. A and R manager Harry Knipschild showed clips from youtube of a number of bands famous in the 1950s and early 1960s - speaking about them from the perspective of the music business.



Lutgard Mutsaers, author of the book Rockin' Ramona (1989), described the bands in a discussion afterwards as 'unDutch' (meaning excellent). They made their fortune playing in Germany to soldiers in American army bases desparate to hear rock 'n roll and returned to Holland in cadillacs and gold chains. Knipschild was not only nostalgic for the past - he also promoted the Sarawak singer Zee Avi, showing a clip of her 'Just You and Me' (2009), and spoke about singers of Indonesian extraction who are still making music today. Rein Spporman argued that Maluccan musicians are not defined by musical style (though they share a core repertoire of 150-200 folk songs). Rather they are 'the gypsies of the Netherlands' playing whatever music is in vogue.

A festive dinner at the Prentenkabinet followed in the evening.

Dutch-Indonesian Musical Encounters

I am writing from Leiden, at the end of the first day of a symposium on Dutch-Indonesian Musical Encounters sponsored by the KITLV and the Professor Teeuw Foundation. The Teeuw Foundation is planning to award a prize to a musician or scholar of music who has contributed to the mutual cultural understanding of the 2 nations, and is holding this event to generate a context for the award. It is planned that a volume of conference papers will be launched at the prize ceremony - and there might be another conference on the same theme in Indonesia in the future.

Today, I gave a paper (actually less a paper than a display of audiovisual examples as papers were distributed in advance of the symposium) titled 'Indonesian Performing Arts in the Netherlands, 1913-1944'.



I presented a clip from the only film made of an Indische drama, The Sugar Lady (first staged in 1917 and filmed in 1935), some kroncong by a Dutch student group recorded in London, a short slice of Jodjana's film God Shiva, a short clip of a 1949 Dutch-Indonesian conference on West Papua featuring Javanese dance.

The paper was well received - participants seemed most interested in Jodjana particularly.

Henk Mak van Dijk spoke on Constant van de Wall, showing some images that did not make it into his book, as well as a clip from a DVD of the 2008 production of Attima and some tracks from his recording of van de Wall's music.



He was concerned in particular with van de Wall finding a place in Indonesian music history and for Attima to achieve its place in the cannon of exotica. He thought about van de Wall's compositions as a way to make history come closer to Indonesians- they could appreciate them as they are familiar.

Renadi Santoso, a Cologne-born composer and dancer of Indonesian descent who lives in Holland, and Dutch composer and sound technician Jos Jansen spoke about their relation to gamelan. Renadi spoke about art as a way to discover aspects of his self. Gamelan provides him with a way to understand his roots. He is also interested in the kendang's relation to dance and puppetry - providing him with a model for how to have an extra layer in his music, a friction that is not resolved. Jos Jansen described his intimate familiarity with gamelan - a music that is not strange to him as he has been playing it for decade3s. He spoke about his use of chance compositional procedures (modelled after John Cage) and his experience of working with Miroto - seeing his dancers repeat a movement for the duration of a 52 minute pre-composed score until they found a moment when it was cocok with the music. They built up the dance score in this way.

The afternoon was a public session in the Tropen Museum. We heard three talks. The first was by Liesbeth Ouwehand (photo curator at the KITLV) on performance photographs in the KITLV archive (with a concentration on photos from the court of Yogya in Groneman's book on dance and ceremony, and photos of the large 1906 exhibition in Surabaya). Madelon Djajadiningrat and Clara Brinkgreve did a double-act presenting on the correspondence of Jaap Kunst and Mangkunegara VII. Wim Manuhutu spoke on songs from Maluku and concluded his presentation with a charming trio presentation of an Ambonese song. The talks were punctuated with compositions by Sinta Wullur for piano, flute and voice. Many in the audinece were elderly ex-Indies hands, and there was a great sense of nostalgia for the colonial period that permeated the whole afternoon.

In addition to the talks, like at many conferences, I've been hanging out and catching up with old friends - Ben Arps, Sumarsam, Pim Westerkamp, Freek Columbijn, Rob van Albada and others. I've also had the opportunity to spend some time with Franki Raden - who is staying in the same suite of room at the Ethnological Museum. This is a rare treat as this famous Indonesian composer has only just returned to Indonesia after a decade living abroad and has recently founded a self-proclaimed national orchestra composed entirely of indigenous instruments. Franki divides his time now between Jakarta and Ubud and I hope to see him in one place or the other when I visit Indonesia in December-January.

Nike 'Wayang'

An unusual piece of shadow animation has popped up in my weekly google alert.



Simon Cassels and Justin Blampied, the creators of this 'Spec piece' - a proposed ad for Nike - discuss being inspired by wayang kulit's clean and straightforward storytelling capacities (see http://www.creativereview.co.uk/feed/march-2010/05/nike-wayang).

Remarkable Indonesia

I attended last night (29 April) a tourism and trade promotional event at Harrod's, London's most 'iconic' shopping emporium located in the fashionable Knightsbridge area. Called 'Remarkable Indonesia', it marked an effort that began in 2009 to 'rebrand' Indonesia to make the international public (including potential tourists and investors) aware of the economic and political strides Indonesia has made over the last 12 years, since the fall of the New Order.



Throughout the month of April, Indonesia occupied several display windows at Harrod's, there were black cabs parked outside the store bearing the 'Remarkable Indonesia' logo, a range of Indonesian food (ayam panggang, rendang, tahu isi) was avaialble for sale at the Harrod's food court and the Remarkable Indonesia campaign was also featured in a two-page spread in the Harrod's magazine. The Remarkable Indonesia gala dinner was a kind of conclusion to this month-long celebration. The overall budget for the initiative was 5 billion rupiah(http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/27/indonesia-aims-lure-more-tourists-uk.html).

The gala dinner was originally scheduled for 22 April, but because of flight disruptions to the eruption of the Iceland volcano, had to be postponed until 29 April. That was backup plan A, joked Indonesia's ambassador to London at the gala affair. Plan B would have been to have had embassy and Harrod's staff join together to dance and sing for the public.

As it happened, the Minister of Trade and Minister of Culture and Tourism were unable to attend the rescheduled event due to clashes with previous committment. They were represented by director generals from both ministries. Also in attendance were an assortment of ambassadors from London (as well as Indonesia's ambassador to The Hague), various VIPs in the British Indonesian community, people based in London with Indonesia interests (including government and business people) and many, many Indonesians flown out especially for the event. (I sat with Professor Wiendu Nuryanti from Gadjah Mada's MA programme in Tourism, who advises the government on tourism affais.)

The event began at 6pm in the Georgia Restaurant, decked out with a fashion show stage, starry walls and ceiling, and Indonesian motis (including wayang golek from Sarinah on each table). Tickets were priced at 300 pounds a plate (though of course I was there as an invitee).

The MC was a Dutch woman of Indonesian descent Lindsay Pronk, Miss Netherlands 2004, who presented a programme including a slide show of the Harrods campaign to a pop version of a Javanese lagu dolanan, Cendrawasih performed by 4 dancers from the London-based Balinese dance group Lila Bhawa directed by Made Pujawati (to recorded gamelan music), a fashion show by some of Indonesia's famous contemporary designers (Oscar Lawalata, Ghea Panggabean, Andi Lim), a music group combining a Batak vocal-instrumental group with a musician playing a stringed instrument from Nusa Tenggara Timur and Didik Nini Thowok, who did an 8 minute selection of some of his comical dances. Two members of the London-based Balinese gamelan group Lila Cita played as guests arrived.



There was also of course food - soto ayam, a small rijstafel assortment with nasi kuning and desert.

The event ended with a door prize - free tickets on a sponsoring airline and hotel vouchers. (I won one of the vouchers - and will now be staying in a very nice hotel in Ubud in December.)

It is difficult to estimate the effectiveness of events of this sort. The director generals and representative from Harrods who gave opening talks emphasised the number of visitors to Harrods, the prestige of the Harrods brand and the like. Director general Siregar from the Trade Ministry described this as a sort of 'cultural diplomacy'. He also described Indonesia as testatment to the fact that democracy, Islam and 'Asian values' can go hand in hand. It was a way to 'tell the world' of the 'progress' Indonesia has made over the last 12 years.

The use of the arts and fashion, Siregar reported, was a way to mark Indonesia's strengths in 'creative industries'.

The event was, I think, a mixed success. It was a bit rushed (Harrods insisted that everyone had to leave by 8pm) and suffered somewhat from under-preparation.

An example of this was a 7am phone call I received on the day before the event from Didik Nini Thowok, acting on behalf of the panitia (organisers). Lila Cita was originally due to provide live accompaniment for the Lila Bhawa dance group but had been told at the last minute that they had to arrive by 4pm, and the group (with day jobs all) could only be there by 5pm at the earliest. So the panitia tried to scrounge for alternatives - other Balinese gamelan groups that might be able to accompany Cendrawasih or other music-dance groups (jaipongan was mooted). In the end, after many phone calls, the panitia decided to 'allow' Lila Bhawa to perform to recorded music.

Mas Didik's dance left an impression on the audience - through the reversal of the Dwimuka opening, the onstage costume change that revealed 'he's a bloke!' (as one person at my table audibly remarked) and the ending in which Didik in a Mr Bean mask dragged a suitcase decorated with a Union Jack. But it felt rushed and the use of recorded music limited the possibility of interactions with the audiece.

The overall effect struck a careful balance between modernity (one of the designers reminded a person at my table of Issey Miyaki) and tradition (delivered largely via the performing arts groups), local colour and global appeal.

I also made a connection with Sapta Nirwandar, Director General of Marketing for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and had the great pleasure of spending an evening with Didik Nini Thowok (on 27 April), who remains one of Indonesia's most talented and vivacious performers. 'P2P connections' (to use the language of diplomacy) make official promotionals worthwhile.

Ruth St. Denis: Javanese Court Dancer

A posting on the SCUDD list revealed that some generous blogger has at last uploaded most of Phillip Baribault's short film 'Moments from Famous Dances' (Paramount, 1932-3) to youtube. This dance features several short solos by American dancer-choreographer Ruth St Denis, including 'Javanese Court Dancer’ (1926) with music by Clifford Vaughan. St Denis created this work in Singapore after a tour of Java sponsored by the Kunstkring. It is an American impression of serimpi.




Approximations to the traditional dance vocabulary, such as sembah, ukel and dolanan sondher, can be seen in the film, but as dancer and dance scholar Deena Burton notes the dance ends ‘with a pose most uncharacteristic of Java—Miss Ruth gracefully reclining and languidly tossing her sampur (the ubiquitous Javanese dance scarf) over her shoulder on the final gong.’ The court dancer’s obsequious final pose, with her gaze directed on the floor in utter humility and deference, is an act of obeisance to Orientalist stereotypes of the prone and vulnerable Asian dancing girl.

President Obama on Wayang

Barack Obama has had to delay his long-planned trip to Indonesia this month due to ongoing debates around his health legislation. He now plans on going in June with his family - with stops in Jakarta as well as Yogyakarta or Bali.

As a sort of consolation, and by way of apology to the Indonesian people, Indonesian journalist Putra Nababan was offered a one-to-one interview, which Obama suggested was the first ever interview of an American president by an Indonesian journalist in the White House.



Part of this interview concerned the standard issues (economic cooperation, Islam etc) but Obama also reflected nostalgically on his years in Indonesia. He pointed out that he has few opportunities to practice his Indonesian due to the small population of Indonesians in America (which also, he said, meant that there are not enough good Indonesian restaurants in the US).

He also was asked specifically about wayang and Indonesian comics.

OBAMA: I used to love the Mahabharata, I used to love Ramayana, I used to love wayang. And I still do. I am inspired by the stories of Hanoman.

We ask again: any chance for wayang being performed in the White House, Mr President?

'Dalang bule' in the news... again

An article about me appeared titled 'Dalang Bule Ki Matthew Cohen' (Albino Puppeteer Ki Matthew Cohen) appeared in Kabari, an Indonesian-language monthly that describes itself as an 'information bridge between Indonesia and Amerika' See www.KabariNews.com/?34269.

The information was collected by the reporter, Yayat Suratmo, via the www and email, and as I didn't see it before it went to press there are a number of factual inaccuracies.

The 'dalang bule' label which was bandied about in the Yogyakarta press seems to persist. It's not one that I like, for obvious reasons. A legend has it that the designaton of 'bule' for Caucasians was started by Ben Anderson when he was living in Jakarta in the 1960s. It was meant humorously at the time, but since has been used in a racist or racialist manner.

A google search reveals that the following puppeteers have been described as 'dalang bule':

- Gaura Mancacaritadipura (an Australian who became an Indonesian citizen some years ago, who lives in Jakarta and is active in Senawangi and a number of heritage organisations (see http://dwieky01.multiply.com/video/item/24)

- Larry Reed (a San Francisco-based puppeteer, puppet director and film maker with long experience performing as a Balinese dalang and best known for his massive wayang spectacles)

- Tamara Fielding (a New York-based puppeteer, born in West Java of Eurasian descent, who performs her own idiosyncratic version of wayang in community settings, cruise ships and the like)

There are also, of course, references to the various 'dalang bule' who control Indonesian politics - in various articles by conspiracy theorists.