Betawi Cultural Practitioner Deplores Ondel-ondel Busker Ban
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10 February 2020 10:13 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Provincial Government of Jakarta and the DPRD are working on a regulation that will ban ondel-ondel buskers. The presence of ondel-ondel buskers is not in harmony with the message of ondel-ondel as an element of Betawi culture.
Cultural practitioner Ridwan Saidi said that in Betawi culture, ondel-ondel was originally used to reject plague. Along with the times, ondel-ondel began to take part in various community events, such as welcoming guests of honor, a procession of circumcision brides, until wedding party.
Ridwan regrets the ondel-ondel busking prohibition discourse. "Because, the ondel-ondel function itself is to be paraded," he said. Ridwan asserted that the jumbo dolls were meant to be carried around, not displayed in the plenary meeting room, as the legislator said.
Even if they want to be regulated, he continued, the Jakarta Provincial Government and DPRD should make provisions so that the ondel-ondel buskers do not interfere with the flow of vehicle traffic.
Famous actor and Betawi artist, Rano Karno, is one of the people whose felt disturbed every time they see ondel-ondel being used as a tool for begging. Doel - Rano Karno's nickname - did not blame the buskers. "This symbolically shows that Betawi culture has been very marginalized," said the actor who skyrocketed through Sjuman Djaya's Si Doel Anak Betawi movie in 1972.
In the Regional Regulation on Preservation of Betawi Culture, Article 4 states that the Jakarta government is responsible for preserving Betawi cultures, such as increasing participation, creativity, and awareness of the people of Jakarta towards the preservation of Betawi culture.
Then, in Article 10, it is stated that the preservation of Betawi culture aims to enhance the positive attitude of the community towards art through education and appreciation of art in schools and outside of school. But that provision does not contain ondel-ondel explicitly
Inge Klara Safitri | Galuh Kurnia Ramadhani (Intern Translator)