Chinese lion dancing is a glue that binds in Indonesia - Feature Posted : Thu, 31 Jan 2008 05:13:01 GMT Author : DPA Jakarta- It was late in Indonesia's capital old town area when 25 youths were sweating, laughing and shouting to each other under the dark open sky, while practicing their dancing and jumping moves to the sound of a Chinese drum and cymbals. One of them was Syafri Sanusi, a 10-year-old boy who takes part as the head of the Barongsai, which means "to dance like a lion."
The traditional Chinese dance consists of two people in lion-like costumes performing moves based from wushu, a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. "I become the head of the lion, because I am small," Syafri said, welcomed by burst of laughs from his friends in the dance group. "But that's okay, I like performing the lion dance very much." Syafri is a pribumi (indigenous Indonesian) and a Muslim who joined the Kong Ha Hong, a popular lion dance group based in Jakarta two years ago. Some might think that to be a very odd combination, for non-Chinese to perform traditional rites of Chinese culture. "Not anymore!" said Ronald Sjarif, the caretaker and owner of the dance group who was also a dancer. "Today, Barongsai has successfully glued many differences of our nation. It is absolutely a natural way to mix Indonesians." Indonesia comprises more than 300 native ethnic groups that speak more than 800 dialects and worship several religions. The country's national ideology, "Pancasila," promotes unity through diversity. But it was only a decade ago that the predominantly Muslim nation practiced official discrimination against ethnic Chinese, who are mainly Christian and also perceived to control the country's economy. Following a failed coup by the Indonesian Communist Party in 1965, former dictator Suharto who died last Sunday on the age of 86, banned Chinese-language books and newspapers, Chinese names and symbols, and outlawed public celebrations of Chinese holidays. "At that time, nobody dare to even think of performing the lion dance, we were really scared of the consequences," said Sjarif, who has performed with his troupe in front of three Indonesian presidents after the fall of Suharto. Indonesian-Chinese finally won their rights after a pro-democracy movement in 1998 ousted Suharto and swept Abdurrahman Wahid into office the following year. "I still recall the time of transition, when it was in 1999, we still needed a permission from the police to perform lion dance in public," said Andri Wijaya, 24, a member of the group. "It has been better in the years after that," he said. "Now as you can see, my friends in this group vary - many of them are Muslims or non-Chinese ethnic. Lion dance is a universal language; I am proud of that." Wahid lifted the bans and finally in 2000 the Chinese New Year celebrations were held in the Glodok Chinatown area in Jakarta for the first time in decades. Indonesia's ethnic Chinese population is less than 10 percent of the country's 230 million people, yet they exercise major influence in local economies across the nation and are perceived to enjoy preferential treatment by the government. Nagging misunderstandings and prejudice have led to periodic riots and rampages against the Indonesian-Chinese community, very often instigated by political or military elements. The animosity hit its worst point in May 1998, when pro-democracy demonstrations brought on by unemployment and high prices for rice and fuel suddenly began targeting ethnic Chinese in Jakarta. Dozens of Chinese women were believed to have been raped, tortured and murdered, while scores of buildings, markets and shopping centers were razed. "We have definitely moved on and put that behind as our past," Ronald Sjarif said. "It is almost irrelevant to talk about discrimination nowadays," he said. As the Lunar New Year celebration approaches, Sjarif's troupe is busy practicing for their performances. While ethnic Chinese are busily preparing to usher in the Year of the Rat, the dancers practice their kicks and jumps on 3-metre poles, carrying the lion costume that weighs about 5 kilograms. "Lion dance is not just fun, but also healthy. Although you have to remain disciplined," said Juliana Atmiwijaya, one of the girls in the group who is half-pribumi and half-Chinese. "Plus you make friends too." "We will perform for the public in a mall in south Jakarta for 17 days," Ronald Sjarif said, noting that the group is fully booked for the whole month. "This would never happen under Suharto era, may his soul rest in peace," he said. Kong Ha Hong lion dance group was re-established in August 17, 1999 after three decades of limbo. They have joined several times in world championship tournaments and last year placed 5th in the world. "I am hoping and praying that there will never, ever be any restrictions to perform lion dance in Indonesia like past time," Andri Wijaya said firmly. "This should be continuing to future Indonesian generations." http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/180896,chinese-lion-dancing- is-a-glue-that-binds-in-indonesia.html Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! 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