Expressing and Contesting Java-Islam through Performing Arts in Indonesia

FAIN: FA-232431-16

Professor Sumarsam
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT 06459-3208)

Preparation of a book on Islam and the performing arts in Indonesia.

Religion and culture are intrinsically linked. As they travel around the world, they create transcultural practices and perspectives manifested in both spiritual and artistic domains. In Indonesia, the performing arts serve as one of the major venues for this blending of beliefs and practices. This study will yield a book-length monograph that examines discourses of transculturalism, the performing arts, and Islam among the Javanese, the largest cultural group in the largest Muslim country in the world. Stemming back to the 15th century, Indonesia’s long process of Islamization has given rise to rich variations in the content and context of the performing arts, such as wayang shadow puppetry and gamelan music. Ultimately, this study aims to address the history and diversity of both traditional and popular Indonesian Muslim expression, while unpacking Indonesia’s modern sociocultural and religious development.

Associated Products

Gamelan and Wayang as Inter- and Intra-Cultural Objects (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Gamelan and Wayang as Inter- and Intra-Cultural Objects
Author: Sumarsam
Abstract: Ethnomusicology is often conceived as the study of cultural performances by living musicians and their roles in contemporary society. This implies that the field is lacking interest in historical approach to the formulation of performing arts. I argue that in order to fully understand any forms of contemporary performance genres, it is important to trace their historical formation and transformation. Formation refers to the process of formulating a certain genre in a particular period of history; transformation, the genre continues, change, modify, or disappear in accord with the changes of socio-cultural circumstances. This paper discusses contemporary gamelan and wayang from the above line of thoughts: in what ways and what is the result after the genres have to adjust themselves to certain historical and socio-cultural changes and the changing of artists’ perspectives. Two main processes define the change and continuity of these performance genres: (1) the interaction between Java and other islands in Indonesia (intra-cultural interaction), and (2) the interaction between Java and foreign culture (inter-cultural interaction). I will illustrate the former by examining the dynamic historical relationship between Java and Bali, its impact on performing arts in both regions. For the latter, the relation between the West and Indonesia in the twentieth century will be discussed, particularly its impact on the content and context of contemporary wayang and gamelan.
Date Range: August 27-29, 2017
Location: Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta

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