INDONESIA: ART AND LITERATURE

Early art in Indonesia was pretty much relegated to being religious in nature. Generally speaking, it was more or less centered around Hindu deities and important stories; however, there are also plenty of Buddhist-centered art as well.  There were also decorative motifs as well, mostly with natural themes that include leaves, flowers, and local animals.

When the Dutch arrived, they introduced European art techniques to the native Indonesians. However, when the Dutch used the term “Indonesian painting,” it didn’t solely refer to paintings by Indonesians, but also for Dutch and other foreign artists who were living in Indonesia (called Dutch East Indies at that time) as well.  The late 1800s into the early 1900s saw a period of popularity in Balinese art. It was often considered one of the most vibrant styles of art in this area. 

by Inombong Sayad Ubud

During the latter part of the 20^th century, Indonesian art began to become influenced by several styles of art, namely European-inspired abstract expressionism and Islamic-based art. As Indonesia began the search for a national identity among its multi-ethnic cultures, much of the frustration and self-finding sentiments were reflected through the artist’s paintbrush. 

Sculpture was also an important medium of art in Indonesia. There are many examples of sculptures dating back to the earliest of days. Each island essentially has its own culture and language and indigenous belief systems, so the styles can vary greatly from island to island, ranging from wooden sculptures to masks to sculptures similar to totem poles. With the introduction of Hinduism and Buddhism, artistic sculptures began to reflect this new reign of thought. Temples and shrines were the main sites for these religious-based sculptures of deities and other religious objects and symbols. The Temple of Borobudur in central Java is famous for its frescos of hundreds of stone buddhas. Other sites show a strong Hindu influence. Today, the majority of carvings and sculptures are in the form of souvenirs for tourists as well as elaborate folding screens.

Indonesia has some very unique architecture as well. Although much of it was influenced from India, there were also other notable influences as well. Probably the most well known style can be seen in the stilt houses.  Used in areas of Sumatra, Borneo, Minangkabau, Sulawesi, these stilt houses were elevated on poles for a number of reasons: to guard against flooding, to keep certain rodents out, and to give a cool place to work or store items. Many of these houses had highly peaked roofs called saddle roofs; it has points protruding upwards that looked as if someone pulled the roof toward the sky like taffy. Some of these houses (usually those belonging to a higher social status) are surrounded by highly decorated walls. 

Example of songket

And of course, there were a number of handicraft-like items. Indonesia is famous for its cloth, and there are a few different types of traditional cloth that are produced here. The first one is batik, which utilizes a technique of using wax to create patterns on the cloth before adding the dye. Ikat is another type of dying process where either the warp fibers (lengthwise fibers) or the weft fibers (the ones that are being wove into the warp fibers) are dyed prior to weaving. Songket is a type of weaving that is commonly found in Indonesia but also in Malaysia and Brunei. This beautiful cloth is usually silver or gold threads wove into silk or cotton. The islands of Java and Bali are also well known for their making of the kris, a curvy-bladed dagger. Some people have a religious ritual that accompanies the making and use of this weapon, and the hilt (the handle) and sheath are often highly decorated. It’s also surrounded by special superstitions that it holds magical powers or that some kris are have good auras while others have bad ones. 

The literature of Indonesia is somewhat of a confusing term.  In general, it refers to literature not only in Indonesia but also includes Malaysia and Brunei.  And Indonesian literature is written in a multitude of languages: early literature was almost entirely written in Malay, but it also includes works written in Indonesian, Javanese, Sundanese, Batak, Balinese, Madurese, or even Dutch or English. Malay and Indonesian are very similar languages and different dialects of both languages are fairly intelligible to many speakers.

There were a lot of different periods of Indonesian literature.  Traditional literature was normally marked as being after the introduction of Islam, but before the modern period of the 20^th century. Prior to this period, stories and histories were pretty much oral at that point. Then you also have older Malay literature, which was generally from around 1870 to 1942. During this time, many popular American and European novels were being translated as well as syair poetry and highly romanticized stories called hikayat.

The early 20^th century brought about a lot of changes. First, the Indonesian language was introduced as a lingua franca, unifying all of the islands. Although Malay had commonly been used as a lingua franca, it was by no means a national language. The Balai Pustaka was formed; it was this government-sponsored agency that was responsible for promoting and publishing literature. It was in response against the Dutch; however, it came at the cost of much censorship. The first Indonesian novels were published during this time with the help of the Balai Pustaka.

From about 1933, an era called the New Literates emerged. Many of the young intellectuals began to sense a change in what was acceptable as literature. They knew a change needed to happen but distrusted the Balai Pustaka because it was run by the government. The answer came in the form of Indonesia’s first literary magazine, lasting into the early 1950s. By the end of WWII, Indonesian writers were focused more on their own independence and writing about the pressing political matters of the day; literature was far more realistic in style. 

author Remy Sylado

 

Short stories and poetry dominated through the 1950s, and by the mid-1960s, writers who were associated with leftist groups left Indonesia and began to write from abroad. The romance novel was the hot genre during the 1980s and 1990s, and previously quasi-taboo subjects such as femininity and gender identity became common themes in short stories and novels. 

Although there have been many foreign authors using Indonesia as the setting for their novels (such as The Twenty-One Balloons by William du Bois), there have been a plethora of authors that people on the Internets seem to mention.  I did find a nice list with comments from The Guardian dated in 2011, and it’s worth taking a look at here.  It’ll at least point you in the right direction for finding something to read.  As if you have that problem.

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CAMBODIA: ART AND LITERATURE

Art in Cambodia goes back centuries to the Angkor days. Several styles of traditional art were once the very heart of day-to-day living and functionality, whether you made it, used it, wore it, or merely admired it. The Khmer Rouge took away all of the arts practices – artists, musicians, and writers were killed for their craft.  However, after they left power, the arts slowly started to make a comeback. Different schools for learning the traditional arts were established, as well as learning contemporary art.

Textiles are an important part of Cambodian life. Silk weaving has been practiced for centuries, given Cambodia’s proximity to the famous Silk Road. When it comes to weaving, there are two main techniques. The first is called ikat (no, not another Apple product), which is basically dying the weft yarn (the horizontal strands in fabric) in order to make designs. The designs vary from region to region. It’s somewhat of a long, complex process.  The other is called uneven twill, a process of taking two or three colors of yarn and weaving them in such a way that one color will be dominant on one side of the fabric and the other one (or two) will show on the other side.  The dye they used came from natural elements.

Besides silk, cotton is also highly popular. Some of the more popular woven items are a sampot (wrap skirts, similar to a sarong), pidan (tapestries with pictures woven into them), and krama (traditional headscarves worn by both men and women). Basket weaving, wicker and rattan arts are also prevalent.

Stone carving goes back to the Angkor days and was used to decorate the temple walls and surrounding areas. Some can be quite elaborate and intricate in design. It’s become somewhat of a lost art, but efforts are being made to try to bring it back. Likewise, lacquerware and silversmith work are two other arts that are starting to make a comeback into the arts world as well.

Kite-making and the kite-flying tradition is one that spans across Asia on a whole. In Cambodia, they sometimes attach small pipes onto the kite so that when the wind blows, it makes a whistling sound. They call these singing kites. The tradition goes back centuries, but in the past 20 years or so, kite-flying competitions take place with several competitors and many spectators alike, ranging from the young to the young-at-heart.

Of course, drawing, painting, and sculpting of a more modern, European style are also highly regarded as well. Especially in the years after the Khmer Rouge, art production and art education took off, and several art museums were rebuilt in Phnom Penh and other major cities. Some of the artists that have made a name for themselves are Chhim Sothy, Chath Piersath, Chhan Dina.

The first texts in Khmer were mainly religious texts (such as translations/ transliterations of the Tripitaka), written by Buddhist monks as well as court documents and stone-carved scripts at temples. There was also a strong tradition of folklore and storytelling in Cambodia.  Most of these stories were passed down verbally from generation to generation.  Many of the topics were deeply laden in Buddhist themes and proverbs.  The ancient Hindu epic poems were also a source for inspiration as well.  “Reamker” is a Cambodian version of one of these poems that has been adapted to both theatre and dance.

One of the first famous writers – perhaps because he was the king as well – was King Ang Duong.  Two of his well-renowned works, both inspired from the Jataka tales (stories told about the previous births of the Buddha), are “Kakey” and “Puthisen Neang Kong Rei.”

After the French took over Cambodia, written language took on another level.  The French were controlling, but they did help establish and produce printed Khmer literature by creating the movable blocks for the Khmer script to be used on a printing press, the first Khmer language book being published in 1908. They also transformed their educational system as well, giving more students a chance to learn to read and write. 

Writers and Cambodian literature on a whole also suffered the same fate from the Khmer Rouge days. One of the more well-known Cambodian authors today is Somaly Mam. Her beginnings were bleak, being essentially orphaned, not even sure which year she was born. She was taken in by a man she had to call “grandfather” (a sign of respect) who abused her and enslaved her before selling her to a brothel at the age of 14. She was then forced to marry a soldier in the Khmer Rouge, a man she had never met, who beat her and raped her repeatedly. She had to prostitute herself, sometimes five or six times a day just to make ends meet, and if she refused, she faced a barrage of torturous beatings. In fact, her best friend at that time was brutally murdered in front of her. She managed to escape, and a French aid worker helped her relocate to France where she later married a French national. Although she went through all of this, it did not deter her from helping other women caught in the sex trafficking trade throughout Cambodia and Southeast Asia. Her memoirs are written in The Road of Lost Innocence. She also founded The Somaly Mam Foundation in 2007 as a non-profit based in the US who helps organize anti-trafficking groups and assists in helping women and girls escape from sexual slavery. Please visit their website; there is a lot of information on the sex slave trade, what the foundation is doing, and how you can help: www.somaly.org.

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