Multicultural Exchange : Activity report #9

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Gender Equality Issue in Two Cultures of Indonesia

Presenter: Radhitiya Al Furqan & Adam Prihananda Marda

          Considering the diverse culture in Indonesia, we decided to present our hometown culture, namely Betawi culture (Adam) and Minangkabau culture (Radi). As the correlation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), we decided to select the SDG number 5 issue “Gender Equality” considering the uprising issue of gender around the world and the uniqueness these two cultures have related to the gender equality issue. The question “is there any culture in your country that oppressed/burdening/put responsibility/limitation on particular gender?” was raised to trigger discussion among lab members.

          The first part of the presentation was themed “Matrilineality and Gender Inequality in Minangkabau Culture”. Minangkabau tribe, which native to the West Sumatra Province of Indonesia, is one of the few matrilineal societies that exist in the world. According to Anjana, N. (2018, from Britannica.com) a matrilineal society is “Group adhering to a kinship system in which ancestral descent is traced through maternal instead of paternal lines”. Hence, things related to ancestral line, inheritance, and sub-tribe name (similar with family name, e.g., Tanaka) are majorly focused on the women side. However, Rakshit, D. (2021 from theswaddle.com) stated that despite the focusing attention and role to women, the matrilineal society does not necessarily translate into a gender-equal society, which also applies for the Minangkabau society. Taking example from the inheritance system in Minangkabau tribe, even the family property is inherited to the family descendants, the sub-tribe’s properties (e.g., rice field, tribe house, etc.) are inherited and under the management of the eldest women among families in the sub-tribe. However, due to this system which pass responsibilities to women, it limits the option for women in Minangkabau tribe to chose other options such as pursuing career or education, which translated into fewer involvement in decision making and political position. This situation depicts the existence of gender inequality that exists in the Minangkabau tribe. During the discussion, a point was raised in which Colombia, despite adopting the bilateral society system, women play major role in building society as majority of households are led by women or depending on women’s wage.

          The second culture we discussed is Betawi, which is native to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. In general, the traditional culture and norms of Betawi have been “pushed away” by other cultures because of the role of Jakarta as the capital city bringing people from outside the city with their own unique cultures, blending them with Betawi and modern cultures. Hence, currently it is not so often we can see cultural tradition taking place. Regardless, the traditional values and events can still be witnessed in some areas, especially the outer region of Jakarta.

           Specific to gender equality, the discussion focused on two aspects of the tradition, which are weddings and Ondel-ondel. There are several processes or events that take place before the wedding ceremony; engagement, Tande Putus, Dipiare, Siraman, Potong Centung, Ngerudat, and Palang Pintu. Even though there are no strict rules to do all these steps, one thing in common is that the groom and his family have to pay for all of it including the wedding party, while the bride and her family are the ones organizing the party. The issue arises from the one-sided financial burden it creates. It turned out from the discussion, that this is also what happens in other cultures outside Indonesia, where man has to pay for the wedding. However, in recent modern times, all of it now goes back to the agreement between both families. People will not fully follow this tradition anymore. Instead, both families will sit and decide together how they will manage the wedding and how to distribute the financial expenditure. This phenomenon also happens in some other countries like Malaysia, Laos, France, etc.

           Gender equality in Betawi culture can also be seen in Ondel-ondel, a 2.5-meter-tall large puppet figure, made of woven bamboo. It is constructed in such a way that it is easily lifted by one person from inside the puppet. No one knows the originality of Ondel-ondel as some sources said it probably started to exist in 1605. This puppet has been used as a form of traditional folk performance where performer wears it atop their shoulder, then they will parade and dance to traditional songs. Ondel-ondel usually comes in pairs of male and female, where a distinct physical feature can be seen. Male Ondel-ondel’s face is painted with an evil red, and the female’s a pure and innocent white. According to Wahidiyat & Carolina (2023) who studied the iconography and iconology on the visual appearance of Ondel-ondel, this distinction represents the duality, holding the balance of the world upon one’s shoulders between anger and courage and kindness and holiness. This is related to the historical function of Ondel-ondel, where in the past it was usually used as a tool to ward off evil and exorcise the streets. They give a manly, scary appearance to the male one as it serves to scare and dispel the forces of evil, while they give goodness, pure-white color to the female one as it serves as a balancer for men’s Ondel-ondel. This is only one example where our ancestors tried to communicate through their culture and artifacts on differentiating the roles of man and woman to create a balance. Now in modern times, with gender equality being risen, will it topple the existing balance or will it perhaps create a new kind of balance?

 

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