After much internal debate about the subject of my first blog entry, I've decided to first introduce Malang, Indonesia to all our readers. Hopefully, after reading this, you will have a better picture of what Malang is, and who are the people living in this rich piece of land. What I am about to share was documented on May 22nd, 2011. These are observations that capture my true feelings about the people and culture of Malang.
Travelling back in time has never been easier with the annual festival of Malang Tempo Dura (Malang goes back in time, MTD). It is truly a place where one can taste, smell, touch, and see the rich culture of Indonesia. Moreover, it is a festival for people from all walks of life to gather—young and old, rich and poor. It is a gathering of strangers in Malang, to shop, laugh, and eat. These strangers, with the help of lively music and the aroma of spices, from a community that is so vital to Indonesian
culture, as it is reflected in the festival’s food, clothing, and art.
A community is a family with little or no blood relations—it is choosing to be a part of a larger group of people despite the accident of birth. Indonesians exhibit a strong sense of community, which is reflected very strongly in the food at MTD. Stopping by stand after stand, one can always find rice and dough as part of the main dish or dessert. Rice is always coupled with strong spices, sugary drinks, and oily snacks. This coupling allows the bland to meet the exciting; the flavorless to meet the flavorful. The opposing elements counter-act each other to make a harmonious and delicious serving. The dishes allow difference to create unity—just as a community would. Moreover, the mixture of dough, mixing it, compressing it, steaming it, rolling it, are all part of a process that many families enjoy together. As the sticky rice unites each dough particle, the making of rice cakes unites the family; as well as those who eat it.
A community is also complicated. It is made up of completely different individuals with vastly different personalities. Such complications are what make a community beautiful and strong. These qualities are undoubtedly on full display in the cultural clothing and art of Indonesia. At MTD, one can always spot the traditional Indonesian clothing, Batiks, being used as wall decorations or sold as clothing. The Batik is a large piece of cloth, traditionally painted by hand with natural dye, into floral patterns of great complications. It can
be worn in many ways, depending on one’s personal style. As hundreds of years have passed since its first appearance, thousands of patterns have emerged on the Batik, celebrating the diversity of Indonesian people and culture. The Batik at once unifies a community and differentiates individuals.
At MTD, one may also find a form of traditional Indonesian Art, the Wayang Shadow Puppet. It is a cultural heritage that few can deny its splendor. The puppets themselves are colorful yet structured, displaying patterns of similar complications as the Batik. Yet, when the shadow puppet is used in a performance, one only sees its shadow—a projection of its outline from behind a screen. The two-dimensional puppets come alive through the interplay of light and shadows. Similar to Indonesian food, by contrasting empty spaces and solid material, two opposites, one can see the puppets come alive on the screen. The puppets then play out scenes of the lives of Indonesian people. With exaggeration, it can dramatize and satirize a community, a person, or a type of people. The Wayang Shadow Puppet is a form of art that educates as well as inspires awe. For the practice of controlling the puppet limbs takes years to master, and to give the puppets character, the puppeteer must know the movements of the puppet as if they were his own. Wayang is an art of the mastery of patience and understating, qualities that a community must possess to be open to new ideas, but also form a sense of identity.
Community is one of the most important values in Indonesian culture. As I traveled back in time in MTD, I realized that this quality is hundreds of years old, but as vibrant as ever. As the world becomes increasingly fast-paced, Malang shall never lose its patience. Malang will maintain that sense of community, of being in a diverse community made up of different individuals but united by their food, beliefs, culture, and language. The aroma of Malang is rich, waiting for you to discover its intricacies and complications. That is something time shall never erase.
