One aspect of the Indonesian culture that you’re not likely to get to see is the practice of ‘black magic’ or witchcraft. When you talk to regular Indonesian people they might tell you they believe in black magic, although they don’t practice it. Generally Indonesians do not like discussing black magic, especially their own experience with it, but its all around.
Today black magic, together with white magic such as fortune telling, love magic, healing massage and countless other forms, continues to play a dominant role within Javanese cosmology. Many local people believe in it wholeheartedly. All disasters, be they personal or communal, are attributed to black magic. Unusual or sudden death, crop failure, death of livestock, and marriage problems are all caused by a local dukun santet. Elsewhere in Indonesia, people will often consult a dukun to learn about the source of a relative’s illness.
Dangdut is a genre of Indonesian popular music that originated in the 1960s. The vibrant and constantly evolving musical form that draws on Arabic, Malay, Indian and rock influences exploded in the 1970s with acts such as Rhoma Irama and Elvy Sukaesih. Rhoma added Western rock to the music and political content — much of it Islamic — to the lyrics, earning him the ire of President Suharto but creating a unique sound; most other dangdut still sounds like Indian film music.
Typical of the mainstream is Elvy Sukaesih, the other great star from the golden age, or Camelia Malik. More recent years have seen a dizzying series of stars, including Evie Tamala and “disco-dangdut” by Ade Irma, Sendak Oriel and others. Especially since the late 1990s dangdut has reached a broader following in Indonesia.
Dangdut, once the music of the poor, is upwardly mobile these days. read more…
Wayang Kulit shadow puppet performances are part of Indonesian village ceremonies. The tradition and plays are very old and come from the Ramayana. The dalang, the puppeteer, or the puppet master, manipulates the puppets, speaks their parts, and coordinates the puppets’ actions with the music. He plays all the characters using many voices.
The puppets were complete artworks in themselves. Painted in minute detail, they also sported networks of intricate cutouts, adding depth to the projected shadows of stylized gods and demons. They moved at pivot joints, skillfully manipulated by the Dalang (puppet master). And being of leather, they were durable enough to show off near acrobatic moves in the fight scenes.
The dalang must be almost super-human. Performances can be up to nine hours long and for all that time the dalang sits cross-legged, telling the story and providing a voice for each puppet character; singing; moving the puppets; directing the gamelan orchestra and adding sound effects. The dalang must memorise lengthy dialogue and also be able to improvise about the local social and political situations. He may use up to 100 puppets in one performance. It is no wonder that the dalang is not only a respected and skilled artist, but is also thought to have a special spiritual dimension. read more…
