Dance, Music, Architecture - Lively Testimony to Indonesian Culture (Kate Lüders with Dagmar Bothas)

=== [PDF page 1] === A special Asia — Africa Edition! @ Solidarity of two continents @ An African civilisation superior to the Buropean, before the slave trade @ The centennial of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore, Indian patriot and poet; one of the greatest of the great @ The Algerian people’s freedom struggle, the heroic part played by women, the solidarity of the world’s people ® Teachers, doctors, cabinet ministers, and even heads of state — slaves of slaves before independence, this is what they are today! @ A revolution in the Arab world: the personal status of the Tunisian woman! e Repercussions of the Ist Afro-Asian Women’s Conference, which condemned colonialism unconditionally Free, freed and being freed, they are demanding all their rights.. These are some of the aspects that will be dealt with in our special July issue with ® coloured pages ® unedited contributions highly qualified contributors the co-operation of Asian and African women Reserve this issue today Send your order to: the Publishing house: Verlag fiir die Frau Leipzig C 1, [Unreadable] or to: Women of the Whole World Unter den Linden 13 Berlin W 8 (DDR) Se ES ees | For four months Mrs. Dagmar Bothas visited the islands of Java, Bali and Kalimantan | (Borneo) as guest of the Indo- } nesian Government. On _ her | return, in spite of her many obligations, she was kind enough to give us her impressions of the trip for “Women of the Whole World”. Pac the most striking aspects of these magic islands was the stay in Ubud, a former 4 cultural center in the interior of Bali. I stayed at Puri-Saren, the largest of the old feudal properties in the area. It is | a monument in the old Balinese style, its various buildings decorated with gilded wood, its temple gates and walls surrounded by flower gardens. | The Puri-Saren has been made into a residence for guests of the Indonesian Government Children of the island nation, bright, observant and wide awake. They will complete the great leap forward their nation has undertaken after 350 years of colonial oppression. Dance, Music, Architecture LIVELY TESTIMONY TO INDONESIAN CULTURE a discussion with Mrs. Dagmar Bothas, by staff writer KATE LUDERS The 3,100 meter Gunung Gede Volcano at Puntjak Pass. Java is known as the most fertile tropical island in the world and the land of volcanoes which still cause terrible devastation. === [PDF page 2] === One morning in Ubud I went Temple on Bali. folk wash themselves and their This scene has disappeared from the life of the towns The government for health reasons has with the young archaeologist, sons, Dr. Suoejono, to visit a few of In the course of our tour we the historic sites in which Bali passed excavations where trea- He Coane one is so rich compared with other sures of an ancient culture are banks have been: ee: built up. In the vilislands of its size. being unearthed, Indonesia, lages however this We crossed the terraced rice particularly the islands of Java Practice is still common. paddys, parcels of green on the and Bali, is rich in old temples slopes of the hills, and came to which recall the more glorious Tampaksiring at the foot of the periods in the history of the Kawi Mountain, All around us country. Among the most imwere rice fields, coconut trees, portant are the Hindu temple of banana trees and mountain Prambanan and the Buddhist springs. We descended a stair- Borobudur, which today is a case and stood before a stone national sanctuary. They are wall with huge stone-hewed coffins. Facing us across a ravine were the coffins of the four Wives of kind Anak Wungsu, carved from the cliff face and a sculpture representing the goddess Durga In Hindu mythology Durga is the wife of the god Siva, known as “the destroyer”, We visited the sacred spring of Tirta Empul which, framed and protected by walls deco- The reliefs orn: rated in relief, springs from the earth in a thin line and spreads The Borobudur interior. Its five a hill 50 meters out in a vast lake and washing their clothes as they do everywhere in Indo- At special bathing places nesia, In one place mothers and separated by walls and temple grandmothers wash their childgates, we saw people bathing ren, and in another, the men- Classical ritual dance, Bali. This isolated little Sanctuary, hidden be neath a group of giant trees whose red blossoms carpet the e arth, is in the centre of Bali, === [PDF page 3] === clothes as Indo- \others and their childthe oes a IB Bz men- Thi e c i eerie ‘d little sanctuary, hidden beneath a group of giant trees whose blossoms carpet the earth, is in the centre of Bali, folk wash themselves and their sons In the course of our tour we passed excavations where treasures of an ancient culture are being unearthed Indonesia particularly the islands of Java and Bali, is rich in old temples which recall the more glorious periods in the history of the country. Among the most important are the Hindu temple of Prambanan and the Buddhist Borobudur, which today is a national sanctuary. They are This scene has disappeared from the life of the towns. The government for health reasons has prohibited washing in the canals and the banks have been built up. In the villages however this practice is still common. The reliefs ornamenting the terraces tell the The Borobudur temple, a hill 50 meters high. life of Budha and of men. built in the 8th and 9th centuries has no terraces and three round towers are built around preserved with the same care as the temple gates we saw along the way. The feeling for art, beauty and the aesthetic is higly developed and can be found in every peasant household. The taste with which the women choose their clothing and accessories is surely equalled nowhere in the world, All are attractive in form and colour. This feeling for order and beauty shows itself also in their work, whether it is a question of stacking wood, planting rice, displaying fruit in the market or building a house Equally beautiful are the batik sarongs, of the Jakarta region make batik sarongs in their homes. === [PDF page 4] === works of art which sometimes also beginning to change. In take the women a year to Surabaya (Java) I attended a make. meeting organised by the Ministry of Culture where hundreds of young people from all the islands were presenting In Bangka I was invited to ! the house of an old islander to witness the performance of a dance telling a story from their dances before a jury who history. The room was deco- ‘Selected the best rated with coloured cloth and On Sundays the children and lighted by oil lamps. The dance youth practice music and dancwas performed by three wo- ing Pupils and teachers meet men and depicted the father of in the schoolyards to play the a Bangka princess who went in flute and anklung (a bamboo a boat to meet a prince from instrument). I saw this classi- Java. For three days a storm cal music being taped and playkept them from landing. The ed back when I was in Bandung. music represent the hostile Ee. = presenied See Students teach music and songs elements, while the dancers Ss ©. Ba that have never been written | each bearing a golden vase down filled with flowers, portray the | storm. The cultural traditions are i respected and the youth are Originally these were reliencouraged to study the folk gious ritual temple dances. ments, costumes and _ tasteful the Minister of Culture, Procomposition. The fairy nights in fessor Prijono told me: “Under the courts of princes were Dutch rule, less than a million world famous, but for long Indonesians could read and periods the dances remained write. Today, the figure is ten Static and development ceased million. The most recent staage, “Bahasa Indonesia”, based Now that the country is inde- _ tistics the rapi Se >aristics on the rapid disappear on the Malayan, is the link pendent, a national revival is ance of illiteracy are already i 2 ea which unites this nation of taking place in all fields utdated.”” outdated many islands. Both children The traditional dances are The new Indonesian langu- and adults learn it May 1st. — The women, led by members of the women’s organisation GER- WANI, all take part ~~. in the demonstrations === together, which developed into court a5 dances in the feudal period The main task of the Ministry Many of them are unparalleled of Culture is the fight against in their perfect classical move- illiteracy, Before my departure A Sumatra couple in festive dress. The colourful costumes are well cared for. All the educational facilities have been expanded. Alongside the kindergartens and schools — 6500 primary schools have been built in West Ja high schools, universities and various other cultural _ institutions are being built. One of the main cultural centres is the old city of Jakarta with the famous national Indonesian university, the “Gagyah-Mada This university reflects the new Indonesian spirit and has now overcome all the initial apparently insurmountable dilficulties, The time Mrs. Dagmar Bothas took to tell me about her trip was not so limited as our space is, This article has been considerably abridged, and I have placed the emphasis on the cultural aspect. I would like to draw the reader’s attention to Issues 7/1959 and 6/1960 of “Women of the Whole World”, where other aspects of Indonesian life are discussed