Manado Youths Voice Freedom of Expression Through Arts

Not wanting to get their voices further drowned by the hustle and bustle of the city, young people in Manado, North Sulawesi, have stepped out to create a space of expression through literary works.

ARSIP KENNY ANGOW

One of the founders of the Manado Poetry Night, Netty Rahajaan (27) reads poetry on the Comedy and Poetry stage held by the North Pride art community in Manado, June 16, 2022.

Netty Rahajaan (27) stepped out on a stage and began to read a poem. Her tone palpably evoked her burning enthusiasm. It was mid-June 2022. The poem was titled “In Nusa Utara, Bukan Tambang Negara” [in northern archipelago, not the state’s mines]. She co-wrote it with Hendro Septian Lende (32), a stand-up comedian.

”…Yang tersisa hanya sejarah perjuangan yang tak akan pernah mati/ nanti tumbuh jadi api yang membakar banyak nyali/ Ribuan niu akan berkicau dari seluruh Sahendarumang/ Melawan untuk rumah, melawan untuk setiap air, dan melawan untuk akar-akar pohon pala/ Mari pulang, nak, mari melawan/…”

[What remains is the milestone spirit of a struggle that will never die/ later grows into a fire that inflames many souls/ Thousands of niu will screech from all over Sahendarumang/ Fight for the house, fight for every drop of water and fight for the roots of the nutmeg tree/ Let's go home, son, let's fight]. Such was one stanza of the poem.

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In the poem, Netty evoked her inner bond to Sangihe Island, where she had spent her teenage years as a senior high school student before moving to Manado. Her memory of a landscape with a backdrop of the sea and misty hills on the 73,698-hectare island turned into an expression of fear about it being in danger of being swept away by goldmining practices through the issuance of operational permits in early 2021.

Being a young Maluku-blooded woman of common societal community, she is resigned to not having enough power to expel the mining company. For a while, she was voicing her restlessness and spirit of resistance with poetic stanzas on stage.

In the beginning, the Manado Poetry Night only featured poetry. However, you see poetry can also be performed with other arts

She was among young poetry-loving community members giving stage performances that night, along with comics, who delivered funny jokes, as well as several musical performers. Presenting comedy and poetry, the event was organized by a young art-loving community at the Kemang Coffee Shop in Sindulang II sub-district. Poetry lovers from the “Manado Poetry Night” and comics from “Stand Up Indo Manado” were brought together on one stage.

“In the beginning, the Manado Poetry Night only featured poetry. However, you see poetry can also be performed with other arts,” Netty said during an interview on Wednesday (12/10/2022). She was accompanied by fellow young poetry lover, Farizt Siraj (20).

ARSIP MALAM PUISI MANADO

Poetry fans who are members of the Manado Poetry Night community take a group photo after holding a poetry reading event at one of the cafes in Manado, 2020.

The Manado Poetry Night was initiated on 8 March, 2020, a few weeks before the first case of Covid-19 was announced in Manado. Its establishment is seen as a marker to the rise of poetry as a performing art in the city.

“Poetry has so far been known only as a subject taught to children at elementary schools, but when learning poetry [from stage performance], many souls are set alight with enthusiasm. Even during the reformation period, poetry was used as a means to voice dreams freely. Today, it should be like that too. We have created this community to invoke our sensitivity," Netty said.

Three days after its formation, the founders of the Poetry Night community followed it up with their hangout idea. Poetry-loving youths merged together at a coffee house. The Manado Poetry Night has since gone from one cafe to another to celebrate freedom of expression through poetry. They perform at least once a month.

Discourses and concerns about social issues are conveyed without restraint via soul-inspiring lyrical words, often accompanied by guitar strums to add to the serenity.

The poems they read carry messages not only about politics, but also daily life and youth-related issues, from romance to spiritual health.

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Farizt recalled they held an event in June 2021 with the theme of romance. They presented “Hujan Bulan Juni” (June rain), a poem by Sapardi Djoko Damono. Motion of no confidence was also once made a theme in protest against Law No. 11/2020 concerning job creation.

“Through these activities, we are seeking to accommodate young poetry lovers. They have their own concerns. We believe all their worries can be eased by putting it in the form of poems,” he said.

The Manado Poetry Night serves young people with a space as an escape from the daily grind, because, said Farizt, reading poems can evoke the feelings of and entertain those who mingled in the cafe. He said the event also help people socialize and make friends.

Learning place

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

Hendro Septian Lende (32) alias Endru Stifler, a solo comedian from Manado, North Sulawesi, poses like a boxing athlete when met on Saturday (15/10/2022). Endru is a member of the Standup Indo Manado community.

Affirming his belief about art being a means to express social restlessness freely, comic Hendro Septian Lende, alias Endru, said he vented his emotions and dissatisfaction in life on stage in a witty way that could entertain the audience.

"It must provoke fun. Otherwise, it would just be the same as being angry [openly]," he said.

He was among several stand-up comedians performing that night. They were members of Stand Up Indo Manado. Endru referred to the community, which had around 20 active members, as a learning place for those who had interest in becoming a comic.

“That's where comics, who are aged between 18 and 36 years, develop their passion. There, we learn about writing material pieces and preparing scripts for what we are going to act and play," he said.

It must provoke fun. Otherwise, it would just be the same as being angry [openly].

He said members of Stand Up Indo Manado were required to rehearse the performance based on the script before an audience at the Open Mic event every Friday at Allure Coffee, Teling Atas sub-district. An accomplished script deserved to be documented for stage performance.

Compared to a poetry reading, stand-up comedy is more popular. Comics have increasingly received orders to appear at various events. Endru said as creative industry workers, comics were challenged to be able to be creative individually or in a collective performance with other community members, such as in the Manado Poetry Night.

Speaking about choices, he preferred to perform by himself, saying that he could explore his idealism freely in the preparation.

Building awareness

The city’s young communities have also been looking to build awareness over various issues such as those Nurrul Nelwan (24) is engaging now. She founded a micro-cinema community in 2019 called Bakumpul Bauni, which in Manado Malay means “gathering [to] watch”. Once a month, seven Bakumpul Bauni members hold screenings and discussions of short films by Indonesian filmmakers.

"We provide not only an alternative film-screening room that brings together filmmakers, activists and cinema lovers, but also viewing references to the Manado public," Nurrul said.

During a screening time, they raise an issue, which is often classified as taboo, to be freely discussed, like they did last May, when they screened three films about exploitation of women. In August, they brought up three films about gender segregation and sexual disorientations of a minority group.

Nurrul, Netty, Farizt and Endru are portraits of young passionate citizens who work, speak and promote change through art communities. Young as they are, they now show a spirit of compromise when dealing with idealism.

This article was translated by Musthofid.