My cultural artifact for this week is about the Indonesian cultural fair and Gamelan Çudamani performance that took place a few weeks ago. Accompanying the performance were several Indonesian-related events hosted by the University of Richmond. In my four years in Richmond, I have never attended an event solely dedicated to Indonesian culture, much less hosted by UR, so this was a new and special experience for me.
The events I attended included the Indonesian cultural fair and a dance workshop. During the fair, I got the chance to meet a lot of local Indonesian people and practice speaking skills. I was nervous at first, but was able to effectively communicate, which goes back to my goal of learning more formal/academic Bahasa Indonesia rather than casual speech. There were various tables set up for Indonesian snacks, coffee, study abroad opportunities, and more. It was a very pleasant experience for me because it reminded me so much of my trips to Indonesia- it made me realize how long it has been since I was surrounded by Indonesian food, culture, and language. One of the tables even gave out my favorite Indonesian iced tea, teh botol, which is really hard to find in Virginia! After the fair, there were a few workshops on Balinese dance, music, and martial arts. I joined the dance workshop, which was very difficult! The dance did not have too many complicated moves, but what made it hard was the intricate hand movements. I tried my best to follow along, but it required a lot of precision and flexibility. I attended the fair and workshop with a friend of mine who was born and raised in Indonesia, so it was interesting because our experiences were slightly different as I am Indonesian-American. She expressed feelings of homesickness, while for me it was very new and fascinating.
As for the performance, it was very intriguing, and I had never seen anything like it in the past. I am not very familiar with gamelan music, so I did not know what to expect. During the fair, they did play a few pieces, though every song they played had a calm and serene vibe. With that said, I definitely expected something similar for the actual performance, but it was completely different given that the group makes experimental music. There was a focus on both the music and the visuals, so there was not a dull moment. There were theatrical elements, because the dance and music worked together to tell a story. There was an intermission in between, but the first part seemed to focus on “land” elements, whereas the second part showcased their new Titra (water) production. The performance also included some dialogue, though I could not understand it because it was either in Javanese or Balinese. As I said before, the group is relatively experimental, so they mix a lot of traditional elements with their own spins. The music was very dynamic and loud, which made for a fun performance. The last part of the performance even included a portion where they played louder than usual and encouraged the audience to make noise with them. It was very touching to hear about the group itself- many of the members are related and their arts/techniques are passed down from generation. For this performance, many of the younger members took on leadership roles so they were eager to perform. After the show, my friend and I met a few of the performers and supported them by buying their merchandise.
Comments
Kianti,
I was also not aware that UR hosted something like this! I am so glad that you were able to be surrounded by Indonesian culture (especially the food haha) in an environment like UR where Asian presence is very minimal. At UR, I also noticed that there was a bigger presence of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, e.t.c, but not a lot of Indonesian culture awareness, so I also hope to go to one if it is available next year.
That is so interesting, Kianti! It is good to feel connected to the place your family came. It is part of your story. I had no idea about any of those things and by reading your post I could meet one side of Kianti I have never seen. I will search more about Indonesia from now on.