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THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE PERFORMING ARTS IN CONTEMPORARY BALI

2009; Routledge; Volume: 37; Issue: 109 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13639810903269292

1469-8382

Andrew C. McGraw,

Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies

Abstract Colonial and early postcolonial accounts often regarded the performing arts in Bali as an autonomous field, furthering anthropological romances of the Balinese as the ultimate cultural beings, seemingly disinterested in politics and power. Many contemporary accounts of the arts have either presented an image of the Balinese as self-consciously apolitical or, through a narrow focus on repertoires, have illustrated the arts as a pure, bounded arena. I argue that the diverse meanings invested in the performing arts reflect changes in the state-civil nexus and transformations in the landscape of ethnic and religious relations in Indonesia. For artists, their work provides a conduit through which to critique politics and politicians. For politicians, appeals to and support from performing artists provides a mode of establishing credibility. In Bali, the performing arts represent a site for analysing changes in political organisation and expression and for investigating the status of emergent democracy and entrenching Islam. I chronicle the 2008 gubernatorial elections and the candidates' appeals to and leverage of artists, describing how politicians seek to portray themselves as the paternal protector of an island whose unique culture is under constant threat. In 2008 issues of intellectual property, multiculturalism and religious fundamentalism, and their relationship to the arts, were the most salient issues in this discourse. This is followed by an account of the convoluted and controversial elections at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts and the passage of the 2008 anti-pornography bill and the Balinese resistance against it. Notes 1Generic ‘informants’ here, refer to a specific group of performers, primarily the following individuals: composers Ida Bagus Madé Widnayana, I Nyoman Windha, I Dewa Ketut Alit, I Dewa Putu Beratha, Sang Nyoman Arsawijaya, I Gede Arsana, I Madé Subandi, Agus Teja, I Ketut Gede Asnawa, I Komang Astita, I Madé Arnawa, I Kadek Suardana, I Wayan Sadra, I Madé Sidia, I Dewa Suparta, I Dewa Rai, I Ketut Lanus, I Wayan Sudirana, Ni Desak Madé Laksmi, I Gede Suweca; the dalang (puppeteers) I Madé Sidia, I Nyoman Sedana and I Gusti Putu Sudarta, and the dancers Ni Kadek Dewi Aryani, I Madé Bandem and I Wayan Dibia. 2‘[Bali] needs to become a fortress so that the folk are not contaminated by foreign cultural influences. And so, Cokorda Budi Suryawan hopes to become a governor which will care for and protect Balinese culture’ in ‘Masyrakat kediri harapkan CBS jadi gubernur bela budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 7 April 2008. 3See for instance: ‘Kandidat harus kawal pariwisata budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 23 February 2008. ‘Sampaikan visi-misi: CBS-Suweta kuasai forum: hanya kandidat KRB komit bela budaya,’ Bali Post, 23 June 2008. 4In 2002 ‘culture’ was reassigned from the education to the tourism ministry, indicating the government's interest in managing the commercial potential of culture. 5‘Jelang PKB ke-30 perlu komitmen besar mengawal budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 4 June 2008. 6The tri hita karana is typically defined as the relationship between humans and God, between humans and humans, and between humans and the environment. 7On this topic see the following Bali Post articles: ‘CBS didorong prioritasikan pembangunan bidang budaya,’ 10 April 2008, ‘Bangkitkan seniman Bali,’ CBS-Suweta gagas dewan kesenian Bali,' 8 May 2008, ‘Lewat jegog, jembarana menjawab,’ 19 April 2008, ‘Mangku Pastika: seniman itu satu klik di stas manusia biasa’, 2 June 2008. 8‘PKB harus tetap diselenggarakan,’ Bali Post, 15 June 2008. 9‘Mangku Pastika-Puspayoga: mejaga “taksu” budaya Bali tak harus kaku,’ Bali Post, 8 June 2008. 10‘Jelang PKB ke-30 perlu komitmen besar mengawal budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 4 June 2008. 11For an excellent analysis of historical amnesia and memories of the events of 1965 see Zurbuchen, Citation2005. 12See ‘Mulai Menggeliat Bebas dari Trauma Masa Lalu,’ Bali Post, 3 August 2008, on the resurgence of janger post 1965 and ‘Wawancara: Kadek Suardana,’ Bali Post, 24 May 2008, in which Mr Suardana makes implicit reference to the events of 1965: ‘Hanya, saya tidak sependapat jika kesenian dijadikan alat mauun propaganda politik. Kita pernah mengalami hal ini di masa lalu, ketika kesenian dijadikan alat propaganda politik. …’ [But I don't agree if the arts are used in political propaganda. We experienced a situation, before, when the arts were used as a tool of political propaganda. …]. 13See ‘Seniman berpolitik sah-sah saja, etika berkesenian tetap dijaga,’ Bali Post, 8 January 2008. 14This has been documented and analysed in a number of studies. See for instance Vickers Citation(1989), Picard Citation(1996), Howe Citation(2005), Hobart Citation(2007). For a broader analysis of the expediency of culture, see Yudice Citation(2003). 15Consider the following comment by the ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood: ‘Music dance, and ritual are served up as commercial fare for the tourist with an unabashed interest in making money. Foreigners cannot purchase land in Bali; but too many Balinese are lured by the gleam of gold and subvert the law. The effects of all this on the arts, on religious practices, on dress and customs have been appalling. … For centuries, frightening stone monsters have protected Balinese temples and their devotees from evil spirits. Now these shades of evil have assumed the form of the tourist and the foreign investor, forces too powerful for stone monsters to repel’ (Hood Citation1982: xix-xx). For similarly dire prognostications by the Balinese see ‘Gagal cetak generasi penerus: “kematian massal” bayangi seni tradisi bali,’ Bali Post, 13 August 2008. 16In 2008 gongsmiths complained of the krisis perunggu, the bronze crisis, which had resulted from a combination in the scarcity of copper and increasing transportation, labour, fuel and timber prices. ‘Crisis’ was omnipresent in the rhetoric of the 2008 elections. 17‘Mangku Pastika-Puspayoga: menjaga ‘taksu’ budaya Bali tak harus kaku,' Bali Post, 8 June 2008. 18‘Dari Kongres Kebudayaan Bali I. Manusia Bali kini aami kegamangan sosio-budaya,’ Bali Post, 16 June 2008. On similar discourses in Java see Hatley Citation(2004). 19See ‘Kongres Kebudayaan Bali: menguatkan identitas dan integritas budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 31 May 2008, and ‘Kongres Kebudayaan Bali hasilkan deklarasi kebudayaan,’ Bali Post, 17 June 2008. 20‘Kongres Kebudayaan Bali hasilkan deklarasi kebudayaan,’ Bali Post, 17 June 2008. 21Promotional advertisements featured both performances of reog ponorogo and the song Rasa Sayang which Indonesian House of Representatives minister Hakam Naja claimed as Indonesian cultural property, suggesting that Indonesia should sue the Malaysian government. In 2008 Balinese artists teasingly referred to the campaign as ‘Malaysia, Truly Indonesia!’ The Malaysian minister for tourism claimed these to be expressions of the ‘Malay archipelago’ rather than Indonesian, and Indonesia's copyright council chairman claimed that any legal action was impossible, considering the expressions have no known unitary authors (Malaysian Star, 3 October 2007). 22See Bali Post, 5 May 2008. Other contributors to the Bali Post pointed out the obvious problems with such proposals, see Bali Post, May 22 2008. 23Although few artists believed that such a project would ever get off the ground, Wacik suggested that the film would require a budget of at least one trillion rupiah (Bali Post, 15 June 2008). 24According to Aragon and Leach ‘The 1994 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) was enforced by the World Trade Organization … which pressured developing nations to draft new sets of IP laws to achieve compliance by a 2005 deadline. The TRIPS agreement requires signatory states, including Indonesia, to formulate legislation with ‘high standards’ of IP protection or risk retaliatory trade sanctions' (2008: 612). See also Drahos and Mayne Citation(2002); May Citation(2000). 25Interview, I Wayan Dibia, September 2001, Denpasar. 26Personal communication, I Madé Bandem, May 2008. 27See for instance, ‘Mangku Pastika-Puspayoga: menjaga “taksu” budaya Bali tak harus kaku,’ Bali Post, 8 June 2008, and ‘Masyrakat kediri harapkan CBS jadi gubernur bela budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 7 April 2008. 28‘Kongres Kebudayaan Bali: menguatkan identitas dan integritas budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 31 May 2008. 29‘Mempertanyakan kembali implementasi pariwisata budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 31 January 2008. See also Bellows (Citation2003: 91) on the metaphor of Bali as a maiden seduced by the west. 30‘Coba kita ingat-ingat. Sesuatu yang kaku itu pasti mati. Kalau orang mati, tubuhnya kaku. Kalau yang mati pasti kaku dan mudah patah. Tetapi hanya satu yang kaku yang dicari-cari orang, yaitu yang satu itu,’ [Let's remember, anything that is stiff is surely dead. If someone dies, their body becomes stiff. Anything that is dead is stiff and easily broken. Really only one thing is valued only once it is stiff] in ‘Mangku Pastika-Puspayoga: mejaga ‘taksu’ budaya Bali tak harus kaku,' Bali Post, 8 June 2008. Pastika's thinly veiled entendre suggests that stiffness is typically a sign of death unless, of course, it is associated with the male anatomy, in which case it is a sign of life. 31‘… ke depan perlu dikembangkan fungsi banjar untuk kegiatan yang dapat mendukung dan melestarikan seni dan tradisi serta kegiatan sosial, adat dan budaya, sehingga terwujud Ajeg Bali’ [. . . in the future the banjar can be developed as an organization that preserves and supports the traditional arts, social activities, traditional custom and culture, until a state of Ajeg is realized.] in ‘Balai Banjar Pemedilan Di-“pelaspas” Banajr, Benteng Adat dan Budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 17 April 2008. See also ‘Masyrakat kediri harapkan CBS jadi gubernur bela budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 7 April 2008. 32One artist is quoted as asking: ‘Should we look to feudal culture? Beginning when? At the end of Majapahit? When Sang Nirartha came to Bali? It's just not so simple,’ in ‘Kongres Kebudayaan Bali: menguatkan identitas dan integritas budaya Bali,’ Bali Post, 31 May 2008. To the newspaper's credit, while it has been the lead sponsor of the ajeg discourse, it has also published several articles critical of the movement's supporters and ideas. 33Two short examples set the scene. In 2008 thousands of Javanese fundamentalist Muslims called on the government to ban the Indonesian Ahmadiya movement, an Islamic sect founded in 19th-century Pakistan which recognises both Mohammed and the Indian prophet Miszra Gula. Indonesia is home to some 200,000 Ahmadiya followers. Cabinet ministers supported a proposal to force Ahmadiya followers to abandon their religion or face five years imprisonment (Jakarta Post, 9 August 2008). On 1 June 2008 a peaceful rally at the national monument (Monas) in Jakarta involving dozens of religious organisations celebrating religious tolerance and pancasila was set upon by some 200 club-wielding FPI (Front Pembela Islam, the Islamic Defenders Front) members calling themselves Komando Laskar Islam (Islamic Commando Army). Several people were severely beaten and the few available police did little to control the situation. Two cabinet ministers openly supported the FPI's actions and its jailed leader Habub Rizieq. 34‘Mangku Pastika-Puspayoga, hargai keberagaman, menjaga keunikan Bali,’ Bali Post, 4 June 2008. 35‘Kebaragaman merupakan pondasi kemajuan Bali’ in ‘Kampanye Budaya Pasti-Yoga hormati keberagaman,’ Bali Post, 1 July 2008. 36‘Semua yang tinggal di Bali, entah dia Hindu, Islam, Kristen, Buddha, Batak, Jawa, Madura, Papua mereka adalah krama Bali yang harus ikut menata kemBali pembangunan pariwisata kita,’ in ‘Industri pariwisata Bali harus lebih berbudaya,’ Bali Post, 25 January 2008. 37For more on the focus on image over structural and security issues, see Santikarma Citation2005. 38See ‘Bangun kemandirian, jangan selalu bergantung pada pusat,’ Bali Post, 3 April 2008 and ‘Meningkat, wisman ke Indonesia,’ Bali Post, 4 August 2008. 39‘PKB harus tetap diselenggarakan,’ Bali Post, 15 June 2008. The US Department of State's removal of the long-standing warning against travel to Indonesia just a month before the gubernatorial elections was interpreted by some as an endorsement of Pastika by the American government. 40This section is primarily based upon numerous emails by informants who wished to remain anonymous, the blog and a number of articles in the Bali Post and Jakarta Post between August-December 2008, listed below. 41See for the by-laws of the national department of education. 42This section is primarily based upon several emails with artists in Bali and articles in the Bali Post and Jakarta Post between May and December 2008. 43Since the passage of the otonomi daerah laws, several regencies have passed local morality ordinances and other have moved to adopt sharia by-laws. In Aceh, South Sulawesi and West Java Quran-reading skills are now mandatory for civil servants. See the Jakarta Post, 4 November 2008. 44A version of this draft can be found here 45For an excellent analysis see Pausacker, Helen 2008. 46See Woodward Citation(2001) and Bruinessen Citation(2002) on Suharto's policy of depoliticising Islam. 47As in the choreography for the neo-traditional offering dance Pengastung Kara composed by Dewa Ketut Alit in 1999, and other closely related works choreographed by the dancer Kadek Dewi Aryani. The costumes for these dances originally included a bare midriff, exposing the dancers' waists and navels, as in a belly dancer's costume. For some this was considered too racy, especially for temple performances. Later the bare midriff was covered by flesh-toned cloth, giving one the strange impression that the dancers were born without navels. 48Similar reactions had been registered during the initial controversy surrounding Inul Daratista, see Asy'arie Citation(2003).