Betawi Mask Dance

Jakarta native community or better known as Batawi people has a lot of traditional art, one of which is the Betawi mask. Betawi mask has at least three main elements: music, dance, and theater. The dance in this traditional art then so called as Betawi Mask Dance.

Why using a “mask”? This is because Betawi people think that the mask is having magical powers. In addition to refuse reinforcements, it was also considered capable of removing sorrow because of death, illness, or any other disaster.

Betawi mask can be interpreted in the form of theatrical performances that contain aspects of dance, singing, narration with dialogue and monologue. The dancers use a mask similar to masks West Java Karawang Mask dance, but in terms of different languages.

Betawi mask dance is being performed at the important occasion according to Betawi People, which is wedding day and circumcision day for the boy. By inviting the talent show of Betawi mask dance is quite expensive, but they do afford this hardly to celebrate the moment. On the other hand, by presenting Betawi mask dance for the guess of honor, it will raise the social level of the host.

The Jakarta History Museum (Museum Sejarah Jakarta), is also known as Fatahillah Museum or Batavia Museum. This museum is located in the Old Town (known as Kota) of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The building was built in 1710 as the Stadhuis or city hall of Batavia, during Dutch colonization. Jakarta History Museum, opened in 1974, displayed objects from the prehistory period of the city region, the founding of Jayakarta in 1527, and through the Dutch colonization period from the 16th century until Indonesia’s Independence in 1948. The museum is located in south side of Fatahillah Square (former Batavia city square) near Wayang Museum and Fine Art and Ceramic Museum.

Jakarta History Museum has a collection of around 23,500 objects, some of them inherited from de Oude Bataviasche Museum (now the Wayang Museum). The collection includes objects from the Dutch East Indies Company, historic maps, paintings, ceramics, furniture, and archaeological objects from the prehistoric era such as ancient inscriptions and sword.

It also contains the richest collection of Betawi style furniture from the 17th to the 19th century. The collections are divided into several rooms such as Prehistoric Jakarta Room, Tarumanegara Room, Jayakarta Room, Fatahillah Room, Sultan Agung Room, and MH Thamrin Room.

The museum is also contains a replica of the Tugu Inscription from the age of Great King Purnawarman, which is the evidence that the center of the Kingdom of Tarumanegara was located around the seaport of Tanjung Priok on the coast of Jakarta. There is also a replica of the 16th century map of the Portuguese Padrao Monument, a historical evidence of the ancient Sunda Kelapa Harbor.

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, and the first biggest city in Indonesia. Jakarta also the center of economic, cultural and politic. Moreover, Jakarta is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia and also 12-largest city in the world. As mentioned as Metropolitan city together with JABODETABEK [Jakarta, Bogor,Tangerang,Bekasi] it become the second largest in the world.

There is a very long history mentioned about Jakarta together with the journey independent Indonesia toward the colonialism. Jakarta in the past was named as various label, on 397-1527 was Sunda Kelapa, on 1527-1619 was Jayakarta, 1619-1942 was Batavia, on 1942-1972 was Djakarta, until present day it become Jakarta.

Jakarta is kind of Mestizo, or a cultural diversity among all over ethnic and culture that mixture into one big bowl. The ethnics that live in Jakarta are various like Javanese, Sundanese, Minang, Batak, Bugis. Also, there are some ethnic like, Arabic, Tionghoa, Portuguese and India.

The indigenous people of Jakarta is Betawi people, but nowadays Betawi is become more minor for there are many ethnic visitors who come to Jakarta. Most Betawi people are usually live on Banten or some part of West Java. Hence, the government make it one place to gather the Betawi people in Cultural Conservation in Situ Babakan.

As a capital city, Bahasa is the main language to be spoken in everyday life. But, there are some dialects that following Bahasa, like dialect Betawi, Sundanese and some dialect from other ethnic like Minang, Batak, Bugis and others. In addition, the Jakarta teenagers nowadays usually spoke in Bahasa Gaul or Slang words. It become more popular for them to mix the Indonesian language and English. Even more, there is a dictionary for slang word to be spoke by some group of people or teenagers.

As a big city, Jakarta has become a modern city with high cost of living and very crowd. That is why, to complete the needs, government is already facilitating every aspect to fill the people needs. Many things like entertainment, education, business opportunity can be find in Jakarta.

Betawi People

Betawi or Batavian is Jakarta indigenous people who are exist because of marriage from some ethnic groups in the past.

The Betawis are mostly descended from various Southeast Asian ethnic groups, Portuguese and Dutch plus Arab, Chinese and Indian brought to or attracted to Batavia to meet labour needs, including people from various parts of Indonesia.

The history remain that Betawi ethnic was being form by 1815-1893. In the Dutch colonial era, the governments always did the census, which was based on the nation or ethnic group. In census data Jakarta in 1615 and 1815, there was residents from different ethnic groups, but no record about Betawi ethnic group.

In 1930, the category of Betawi people who previously did not exist in fact emerged as a new category in the census data. The number of people as much as 778,953 lives and Batavia became the majority population of Batavia at that time.

Basically, the consciousness as the Betawi ethnic group in early formation was also not formed yet. In everyday interactions, they more often call themselves based on the locality where they live, like people Kemayoran, Senen people, or people Rawabelong.

The recognition of the existence of the Betawi people as an ethnic group and as a social and political unit within a wider scope, was newly emerged in 1923, when Husni Thamrin, who is the community leaders established Perkoempoelan Kaoem Betawi. They also finally realize that they are a faction, they are Betawi people.

After Indonesia independent day, Jakarta flooded with immigrants from all over Indonesia, so that the Betawi living as a minority ethnic group. They are increasingly pushed to the periphery, even being evicted and displaced out of Jakarta.

Mixed nature of the Betawi dialect is a reflection of Betawi culture in general, which is the marriage of various cultures, both originating from other areas in the archipelago as well as foreign cultures. Although the formal language that being used in Jakarta is Indonesian, the language of informal or daily conversation language is Indonesian Betawi dialect.

In art, Betawi is famous with their Lenong, Gambang Kromong, Rebana Tanjidor and Keroncong. Those particular art are coming from different ethnic that being formed by Betawi society.

Overall, Betawi is like a big salad bowl contain of some fresh qualified mix vegetable that pure and generous. The best of anything are inside the bowl.