Culture indonésienne

To speak about " culture indonésienne " ask that one define what one understands by " Indonesia n".

Indonesia is a recent nation. She proclaimed her independence in 1945. The nation is an ideological concept. One cannot date the moment when the idea of nation indonésienne was born. But one can say that the first instrument by which this idea is proclaimed is the " Oath of Jeunesse" pronounced by the representatives of various associations of students and young people inlanders (" indigènes" , in the context of the the Indies Dutchwomen) assembled in congress with Batavia in 1928. By this oath, the participants stated to aspire to " A nation: the nation indonésienne, a language: the indonésien, a country: Indonésie".

We will thus define as culture indonésienne all that occurs and occurred, not only in the context of the Republic of Indonesia, but also in connection with the wish of a future nation indonésienne.

A criterion, to the first chief for the literature, is the language. The literature written in Indonésien is indonésienne ( bahasa Indonesia ). It is not a question to engage a linguistic polemic of order. What is called “indonésien” in the years 1930 is well the Malayan, but that the nationalists want to be the language of the nation for which they fight. The literature written into Malayan in this frame of mind is thus already a " literature indonésienne".

To speak about language indonésienne is a political step, even ideological. Nobody will warn himself to say that the Americans speak “states-unien” or the inhabitants about Buenos Aires, “argentinien”. But the indonésien is a daily reality for more than 220 million people, even if the language whom they speak, or in any case that one speaks with their television and their radio, is perfectly comprehensible by the Malayan ones of Malaysia which officially speak… “malaysien” ( bahasa Malaysia ), whereas spontaneously, they call their “Malayan” language rather ( bahasa Melayu ).

Literature

The cinema

It seems that some films were made in indonésien at the time colonial. But the indonésienne film production will start really only with independence. One could almost say, for the moment at least, which it has a " age of or" , the years 1950. This period is favourable with creation. The armed conflict against the Netherlands ended. Admittedly, of the rebellions burst a little everywhere in the archipelago, but they do not involve violences true and durable, except the insurrection of Darul Islam which, of 1948 to 1962, will defy the governmental army and will proclaim to want to establish an Islamic State in Indonesia. More generally, Indonesia is shaken many political crises, inside like outside. But the artists can express themselves.

From this time, one will retain especially the name of Usmar Ismail (1921-1971), which in addition founds in 1950 the national production company Perfini, allowing the development of an independent cinema indonésien. Among his films, one will note: " Darah daN do' a" (translated by long walk , 1950), " Lewat jam malam" ( Curfew , 1954), " Tamu agung" ( the guest of honor , 1955) and " Tiga dara" ( Three girls , 1956). Many of its films have as a framework the period of conflict with the Netherlands (1945-48).

In 1957, under the pressure of the nationalist factions extremists, Indonesia expels the Dutchmen, who still had the large plantations, companies and banks, and nationalizes their credits. In interior policy, Soekarno lance the “directed democracy”, much more directing than democratic. One period of political agitation follows where artistic creation is crossed by the cleavage between those which, near to the Communist party indonésien (PKI), estimates that “the policy must be with the orders”, and others.

The repression which follows the " what is called; Movement of September 30th carried out by officers of left in 1965 and made between 500.000 and one million deaths, could not inaugurate one serene era for creation. Years 1960 and 1970, one will retain the realizers Teguh Karya, whose films draw up a portrait coloured and charming of a company indonésienne in process of urbanization and modernization, with " Ibunda" (" The mère") and " Secangkir Kopi Pahit" (" A coffee amer" cup;), and Eros Djarot, of which the " Tjoet Nyak Dien" tell the history of the widow of a war leader who takes again the combat of her husband against the Dutchmen in Aceh at the end of the 19th century.

Years 1980 are those of the beginning of the economic boom indonésien but also of a soft violence which persuades Indonésiens to be satisfied to see their living conditions to improve. The end of the year 1990 is one period when creation is done more courageous and imaginative. The resignation of Soeharto in 1998 releases the spirits. Riri Riza with " Kuldesak" ( Cul-de-sac ), Garin Nugroho with " Daun di atas bantal" ( a sheet on a pillow ), Dinata with " Denied; Arisan! " ( the protective sacking! ) and Rudi Sudjarwo with " Ada apa dengan cinta?" ( What occurs with Cinta? ) leaves the bêtifiant yoke of conformise where the Soeharto mode had plunged Indonésiens.

GIE of Riri Riza was nominated for Academy Awards 2006 Best Foreign Film category'. Even if it finally did not receive from reward, it shows that the cinema indonésien starts to be recognized abroad. GIE is drawn from the personal newspaper of Soe Hoek Gie, a known militant student of the time of Soeharto, whose death was still not elucidated. GIE will open the night of official reception of the 1st London Indonesian Film Screening 2006.

Painting

Affandi is the most known painter indonésien abroad.

One can also quote the painter Salim, who lives in Paris.

Sculpture

Among the alive sculptors indonésiens, one can quote Teguh Ostenrik, born in 1950. Teguh studied in Western Berlin in the years 1970, when this part of the city was still an enclave in the territory of the German democratic ex-Republic. He lived then and worked in Amsterdam before returning to Jakarta in 1988. Of a large variety in the forms and technical employees, her work turns around the topics of the communication between the men and their relationships to nature and cosmos.

Music

The theater

Under Soeharto, the theater was an average privileged person of expression to criticize the mode and them through company indonésienne in general, within the limits authorized by the capacity. This form of expression belongs indeed to the tradition, in particular in the wayang orang , Javanese traditional theater which puts in scene accounts drawn from the great Indian epopee of the Mahabharata. In the wayang orang , there exist characters, the punakawan (that one usually translates by “clowns”), whose role is, at the same time to create a comic interlude in a rather serious spectacle, and to give the opportunity to translate a point of view and popular feeling that the traditional social order did not make it possible to express. The innovation of certain troops, of which most popular is the " Teater Koma" , was to translate this popular opinion in an autonomous and modern way.

But theatrical creation in Indonesia has other forms. It can possibly benefit from the tradition, in particular Javanese and Balinese.

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