Performing the Arts of Indonesia: Malay Identity and Politics in the Music, Dance, and Theatre of the Riau Islands, by Margaret Kartomi (ed)
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: This book contributes to the related fields of regional identity politics and the revival of traditions in Indonesia.Political decentralization has provided chances for local histories, cultures, languages, and identities to play larger roles in the political terrain.Local political elites exploit the concept of ethnic territory to redefine administrative boundaries and gain formal status as a regency or province.The Riau Islands Province was formed in this context.Distinguishing itself from Riau Province on the mainland of Sumatra, it promotes a distinct Malayness as an identity anchored in the history of the Riau-Lingga Sultanate.Several traditional art genres have been revived to serve as identity markers.Performing the Arts of Indonesia focuses on selected forms of music, dance, and theatre that are now witnessing a revival.Kartomi frames this book through "memory codes" (p.3), a concept utilized to reveal the technical aspects of the reproduction of traditional arts.Most artists apply repetitive motifs: melodic, rhythmic, poetic, and gestural.They function as mnemonic devices to retrieve unwritten compositions.However, this shift from group to personal compositions indicates a change.Identity politics have elevated selected art forms to the status of icons representing five regencies (Bintan, Lingga, Karimun, Anambas, Natuna) and two cities-Batam and Tanjung Pinang.These places are not merely represented, but determine particular performance styles.Regarding the importance of places, Kartomi groups the fourteen chapters of the book into four parts based on geography: the Riau Islands as a whole, its western islands, its northern and north-eastern islands, and its cities.Individual chapters discuss the particular art forms found in the island groupings, viewed from sociopolitical contexts, and anthropological and historical perspectives.Part I (Chapters 1-5) offers a general overview of the Riau Islands, historical trajectories, cultural configurations, and soundscapes.The province of Riau Islands or Kepulauan Riau/Kepri, which has been defining a distinct provincial identity since its formation in 2004, consists of about 2,408 islands primarily south of Singapore.Cultural features and identity formation are analyzed within a historical perspective.Leonard Andaya positions Kepri in the southern Malay World, associated with the historical polity of Srivijaya, to distinguish it from the northern Malay World, which is connected to the Bujang Valley in modern Kedah.Being located on maritime trade routes linking the islands
Author: Alan Darmawan
Institution: Universität Hamburg
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3011083260