Traditional Art Movement (GESIT), Preserving Ancestral Heritage

Helloindonesia.id – God Almighty has bestowed the Indonesian people on the richness and diversity of the ethnic groups, customs, languages, knowledge, local technology, traditions, local wisdom, and art. This diversity is a noble value cultural heritage that shapes the identity of the nation amid the dynamics of world development.

Indonesian National Culture is the whole process and the results of the interaction between cultures that live and develop in Indonesia. These developments are dynamic, characterized by inter-cultural interactions, both domestically and with other cultures from outside Indonesia in the process of dynamics of world change.

In this context, the Indonesian people faced various problems, challenges, and opportunities in preserving and advancing Indonesian National Culture.

For this reason, a strategic step is needed in the form of efforts to promote culture through protection, development, utilization, and guidance to realize Indonesian society in accordance with the principle of “Trisakti” delivered by Ir. Soekarno was the founder of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in a speech on August 17, 1964, which was politically sovereign, economically independent, and personality in culture.

Based on this philosophical and sociological foundation, the Banten Arts Council (DKB) organizes the Traditional Arts Movement (GESIT) program throughout 2017-2018. According to the Chairperson of the DKB, Chavchay Syaifullah, the GESIT program is intended to preserve and develop traditional arts that grow in Banten and promote them to the wider public.

Banten is one of the provinces that has a rich local cultural treasure. Banten has experienced the dynamics of social, cultural, political and religious changes in a variety of epochs and periods of power that were quite long since pre-history, the Hindu Kingdom of Pajajaran, the period of the Banten Sultanate, the period of Dutch Power, the Independence Period and the Banten Province.

With this historical setting, Banten certainly has distinctive, unique and diverse forms and practices of local culture. While quoting Claude Guillot, Chavchay stated: “Banten is not Javanese, not Sundanese, nor Malay. Banten is a meeting point between nations, between tribes. A cross-cultural result and a combination of Hindu-Buddhist, Islamic, Chinese and Western civilizations. “

Chavchay further stated that the treasure of Banten’s local culture needs to be nurtured, preserved, and developed so that the people of Banten do not lose their cultural identity which is increasingly eroded by the increasingly hegemonic flow of global culture and popular culture.

If the dominance of global culture and popular culture is left without being balanced with efforts to introduce, teach, inherit, and develop Banten’s local culture, it is very possible that the future generation of Banten will lose its Banten identity, forget its own cultural characteristics, and washed away in populism of modern culture which in some ways is not in harmony with the norms, values and views of the people of Banten.

Therefore, DKB deliberately designed the GESIT program systematically in the hope that Banten artists and communities have authentic experiences in building conceptions, creations and appreciation of Banten’s arts and culture on an ongoing basis.

The GESIT program includes a number of activities, such as performances, performances, workshops, talk shows, and others related to the preservation and development of traditional Banten art. This program involves a number of artists, cultural experts, studios, communities and art organizations in the Banten region who have been known to have a strong dedication and commitment to preserve traditional Banten art.

The series of GESIT activities are held every weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) throughout 2017-2018. Held in 8 (eight) Regencies / Cities in Banten Province, which includes Serang Regency, Lebak Regency, Pandeglang Regency, Tangerang Regency, Serang City, Cilegon City, Tangerang City, and South Tangerang City.

The activity was held in the town square, schools, campuses, Islamic boarding schools, malls, and shopping centers. Such public spaces were deliberately chosen in order to introduce and promote the diversity of Banten’s arts and culture to the wider community.

During this time, many Banten people did not know the diversity of traditional Banten art. Whereas, Banten has various forms of artistic expression, such as Bendrong Lesung, Kuda Lumping, Marhaba Rakbi, Rampak Bedug, Qasidah, Beluk, Debus, Dogdog Lojor, Gambang Kromong, Patingtung, Rudat, Tayuban, Terebang Gede, Yalail, Zikir Saman, Dodot, Banjet, Ubrug, Cokek, Wayang Garing, and Angklung Buhun.

In practice in the field, the GESIT program turned out not only to become a symbolic ritual, but also able to transform into a socio-cultural movement among traditional artists and the Banten community.

Moreover, they gave a positive response to this program and hoped that DKB would hold a similar program in the coming years.

According to them, this kind of program is very important to develop the noble values of national culture, strengthen national cultural diversity, strengthen national identity, strengthen national unity and integrity, educate the nation’s life, improve national image, preserve the nation’s cultural heritage, and influence the direction of development world civilization so that culture becomes the direction of national development