Betawi Artists Refuse to Lose

Despite being severely affected by the pandemic, Betawi artists are helping others. Some artists continue to create and plan to showcase their works on stage once the pandemic is over.

DOKUMENTASI PRIBADI TAUFIK HIDAYAT

Taufik Hidayat (25), an artist from the Betawi Mamit Cs Studio.

The Mamit Cs Betawi art studio, which is managed by a young Betawi artists, Taufik Hidayat (25), is reeling from the pandemic. "During the pandemic, we have only performed once at an event, at the request of a national television station," said Taufik, on Wednesday (17/2/2021), in Jakarta.

Managing a traditional art studio to preserve Betawi values is none other than the mandate of Taufik\'s father who had passed away. After graduating from vocational high school, the man who lives in Senen, Central Jakarta, in 2017 focused on continuing his parents\' business, managing the studio. He and around 30 colleagues at the studio now fully understand Betawi silat, palang pintu (martial art), lenong (dance), to ondel-ondel (giant effigy) show.

The money that was earned after performances was used to ensure that the studio\'s activities continued, preserving Betawi culture while providing livelihoods.

Through the Jum’at Berkah [Friday blessing] program, we help local residents, the orphans and poor, with food and basic necessities.

Now, Taufik is forced to work part-time as an app-based motorcycle taxi driver. Members of the group are allowed to use the ondel-ondel to earn money by performing from kampong to kampong. The money is obtained to support daily necessities as well as to maintain the studio property in hopes of a better condition.

Abdul Aziz (40), the founder of Bintang Timur studio, faced different situation in Kampung Silat Beksi Petukangan, Ciledug, North Petukangan, South Jakarta. Aziz and members of the studio chose to move to help people affected by the pandemic, even though they themselves were overwhelmed by the crisis.

Also read: Art Studios Dealing with Pandemic

"Through the Jum’at Berkah [Friday blessing] program, we help local residents, the orphans and poor, with food and basic necessities. We also clean up and visit the graves of Beksi Silat figures or masters along with the donors who want to see historical traces of the martial art,” said Aziz.

KOMPAS/STEFANUS ATO

Betawi cultural avtivist Abdul Fian (58) or familiarly called Babe Doel (second from right) at his residence in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, Wednesday (17/2/2021), with three of his students. Babe Doel is the founder of the Betawi Culture Youth Center.

Bintang Timur studio is now in poor condition. Several art activities planned for last year and 2021 did not go according to schedule. However, that does not mean that the studio will die. Especially when you see that there are other families whose lives are much heavier and need to be embraced.

This generosity cannot be separated from the teachings and enthusiasm of Betawi elders and Beksi Silat leaders, such as Erpie Muhammad Nafis (79) who is familiarly called Baba Nafis.

Baba Nafis is one of the students of five key silat beksi figures in Petukangan, namely Haji Godjalih, Haji Hasbullah, Kong Simin, Kong Noer and Mandor Minggu. From those masters, Baba Nafis did not only get martial arts lessons, but also lessons on the meaning of humanity, religion and culture.

Also read: Longing for Revival of Betawi Cultural Bastion

Baba Nafis, who is nicknamed "the general", interprets beksi more broadly into devotions to fellow human beings. "Beksi means ‘defense of the four directions’. However, there are many meanings of beksi, such as the value of acculturation and humanity. In the past, the Beksi Petukangan cultural village was part of the stronghold of the people\'s troops during the colonial period. We revive the same spirit in today’s difficult condition,” said Aziz.

From the stories of old people, said Aziz, back then when Haji Godjalih performed on stage, it was them who prepared food, nuts and kerosene to light up the lamps for their audience. The same principle they apply today.

"Initially we were five people each contributed Rp 10,000-Rp 20,000. The money we collected was used to buy staple foods and we gave it to the family in Kampung Silat Beksi Petukangan. This is because of God\'s blessing, from there the flow of aid from donors, institutions and the government continue," said Aziz.

KOMPAS/AGUIDO ADRI

Erpie Muhammad Nafis (79) or familiarly called Baba Nafis is the \'general\' from Kampung Silat Beksi Petukangan. Baba Nafis is one of the five students of the Beksi Petukangan silat teacher.

Aziz emphasized that the studio and local residents comply with and respect government regulations. "Here the [Covid-19] cases are also high. We don\'t want things to get worse. We do strict health protocols," he said.

However, Aziz and his friends do not forget that there is an important task namely to keep spreading knowledge about Betawi culture to the younger generation in order to preserve the Betawi culture. So, when art shows are difficult to do, they encourage micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to produce Betawi handicrafts, including shirts. They also stage their works through the YouTube channel and the official website to reach a wide audience.

"This is beksi, this is our service to each other," said Aziz.

Do more works

Some other artists choose to continue being productive even though it\'s hard. "During the pandemic, activities have stopped, the training process has stalled. However, we do not stop working,” said the head of the Pangkeng Theater, Syamsudin Bahar Nawawi.

The Pangkeng Theater was founded by Syamsudin’s teacher, the late Yamin Azhari, in 2016. The theater was originally involved in various activities of modern theater arts. However, Yamin Azhari and the members had a special focus on developing Betawi traditional arts, especially lenong art.

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Syamsudin, while at home, continues to write various types of poetry and short stories. Together with 25 members of the studio, he also regularly has discussions via WhatsApp groups or short and limited meetings. They are looking for ideas and devising concepts to get back on their feet when the pandemic ends. One of the concepts being prepared is to finalize the concept of short story writing or short film making.

"The direction of the story [film] is still about Betawi," said Syamsudin. To meet the daily needs, Syamsudin relies on income from the Betawi culinary business, Bir Pletok Bang Syam. Members of the Pangkeng Theater studio are free to use their talents and skills from their training in the studio to make a living, such as participating in soap opera production houses.

Betawi culture, which is well-known as egalitarian, proves itself to remain meaningful and help supports its advocates. It will not be defeated by a pandemic.

This article was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko.