A Serving of Culture, with a Side of Tradition.

Before I begin my next post, I'd like to draw your attention to the left sidebar.  Yes, I've been posting photos on Facebook, but the albums on the left are more complete.  Plus:  Now with captions!

America has often been described as a melting pot: a massive conglomeration of countries, people, and culture coming together to form the society that exists today.  (In fact, I accidentally discovered that the Indonesian Sign Language gesture for America is basically stirring a large pot...coincidence?) As such, I'm finding that it's rather difficult to nail down aspects of "American Culture."  It's actually a question I've been asked a lot, and it's made me question whether or not there actually is such a thing.  Sure, there's Western culture, which include much of Europe , and that's easily classified because many Asian countries have their own distinct cultures that can be easily distinguishable  from those of the west.  But every European country can also claim their own cultural traditions.  Because of that, the overarching term "Western Culture" is far too general to be descriptive.  Now, the funny thing is that many of those same European customs spread to America.  Many Americans are very proud of their heritage, European or otherwise.  Nearly everyone I know can rattle off whether they're "half-German, half-Danish" or "A quarter Welsh, a quarter Irish, and half English," or "A little of Italian, a bit of Irish, a lot of Polish, and a smidge of gypsy".  This, therefore, gives them a chance to exploit those culture aspects to which their heritage gives them an unquestionable right.  Perhaps the Irish in your blood gives you a bit more of an affinity for Jack Daniels and Flogging Molly, or maybe your love of Italian food culminates in your conviction that nothing can beat your Italian grandmother's tomato sauce (I myself happen to fall in both categories.)  But does that fall under the category of "American Culture"?  I'm inclined to say no, it's only borrowing. 

Ok then, so what is truly American?  Baseball? Sure.  Cheesesteaks? If they're from Philly, most definitely.  Apple pie? I guess, but only because all the songs say so.  Look, here's why I'm trying to figure this out: when it comes to culture and tradition, Indonesia is wealthy.  There is a massive amount of tradition that comes from Indonesia and stays in Indonesia and is embraced by all its people.  It's really hard to compare the Melting Pot to a country that can so easily nail down what is its traditional and cultural heritage.  The entire time I've been here, I've repeatedly heard how this dish is a traditional food, and that's traditional music, and he's wearing traditional clothing.  Not that I'm complaining; I love it and I find it fascinating.  Here are some of my favorite bits of serious culture I've encountered here. 

This puppet was a gift
from a friend.  It is the
character "Bima".

My first month here, I was fortunate enough to see the Ramayana ballet.  This was a gorgeous dance production in an outdoor theatre which told the story of Prince Rama and his wife Sinta, a fairy tale that nearly every Indonesian child knows growing up.  In the same way that Americans are raised on The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Indonesians are raised with myths about the kings and princesses of old Indonesia.  These tales are fraught with magic, talking animals, tragedy, sacrifice, and heroic warriors.  They are told in various mediums; among the most famous is the Wayang  Puppet Theatre.  Now, these characters are so well known, and the stories so heavily part of tradition, that the shape of the puppets of the main characters are as recognizable and prevalent as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.  You'll find them as stickers on motorbike helmets, logos in store windows, even decorations along the main road.  It's wonderful to see characters who are thousands of years old being embraced both as history and a part of every day life.

Just for a second, I want to let my inner theatre geek run loose.  I loved the Ramayana ballet in every way, but even more so because of what you can see in this video.  You'd never ever see something like that in an American theatre.  Something to do with safety laws and fire hazards and probably OSHA regulations.  So, for me, it was totally awesome. 

I want to touch on the food, but only briefly because I still have trouble remembering the names of everything.  However, there are so many traditional dishes or snacks, and most of them are very regional.  Yes, I know that we have specialty dishes in America (Chicago-style pizza or Louisiana BBQ), but Indonesia takes it to a whole other level.  I'll often hear that, for example, this particular way of cooking and serving this particular meat is the traditional dish of this particular city, or maybe even this other island.  And maybe you can find that dish everywhere, but its origin is always recognized.  Here's another example.  When you travel to a different city, it's customary to bring something back for your family or co-workers, and snack food is a perfectly acceptable gift.  It makes it even better if the food is native to that city.  Fortunately, it's fairly easy to ascertain because it'll be written right across the packaging.  Perhaps it won't be terribly different from a similar bag of fried chips or baked chocolaty doughy thing from somewhere else, but it will indeed have its own style, and therefore: Boom. Traditional food of [insert city name here]. 

As you may have seen from my pictures, I've been able to attend several wedding parties.  Notice how I say wedding parties, not just weddings...I'll explain in a second.  As you might expect, Indonesian wedding traditions are severely different from American traditions. (Side note: yes, I do feel perfectly comfortable calling American weddings traditional, because there is definitely a certain style and certain aspects that are present in all American weddings.)  Indonesian weddings are cool and interesting because they have not only the official and religious aspects, but also the traditional culture that plays a role.  In the city of Semarang, it's Javanese culture.  That means Javanese dress, food, customs, and ceremonies.  The easiest way to explain it  is to take you through it.  Now, this was the procedure for the first wedding I went to, but of course it may be a bit different for others. 

The bride (right) and her
family the wedding eve.

The night before the wedding is just as much a part of the celebration as the next day.  Chairs and food and music will be set up in the tent (there's always a tent) for anyone who wants to drop by. There are some small ceremonies that may happen, depending on the family or other circumstances, but a lot if it is just everyone hanging out.  You'll probably run into the bride and/or groom at some point, but not necessarily.  So the next day, the couple gathers with their families and close friends at the mosque.  Bear in mind Indonesia is 80-90% Muslim, so this is probably pretty typical.  I'll let you know how a Christian or Catholic wedding differs if I have the opportunity.  Now, this time at the mosque is for paperwork and prayers.  However, it's not a whole big thing.  There  were only about 20 people there.  It was a simple, quiet half hour or so.  After the paperwork and prayers, pictures were taken with the bride and groom (so many pictures, too many, in my humble opinion) and they drove off...somewhere.  I'm not sure.  But everyone else went home until the wedding

The groom makes his entrance.

party started an hour later.  The wedding party is the main event.  While the business at the mosque might last half an hour, the wedding party lasts 3-4 hours.  It's the main event of the day. It began with the entrance of the groom into the tent with his family behind him.  He met the bride in the middle of the tent, and there were many words spoken that I had no hope of understanding by two rather official looking gentlemen.  After that began the Javanese customs.  Unfortunately I couldn't see past everyone else gathered around, but I did manage to see that the couple shared food and drink, and begged permission from their parents, first from the bride's, then from the groom's.  Then they took their seats on their thrones (see pictures) and received guests.  For everyone else, this is when the eating and socializing begins in earnest.  There's music (traditional, of course) and a ton of food.  The guests arrive and sign the guest book, receive a party favor, and greet the families of the newlyweds.  They proceed to the throne to greet and congratulate the bride and groom, and probably get a picture with them.  Guests can include not only friends and family, but everyone from the neighborhood and friends of friends, and maybe even friends of friends of friends, like me.  One Sunday, two friends and I went to 3 different wedding parties, because one of them had received an invite, and it was passed down the line to me.  To be honest, it actually felt a bit like grad party hopping.  But the food was excellent and the decorations and  traditional clothing was always beautiful.

So that's pretty much all there is to it.  Lot's of food, people, music, and photos.  I do have one curious anecdote following the wedding.  A few weeks later, I was visiting the neighborhood again and I met the couple on the street.  After greeting me, the bride asked to touch my nose.  I was a bit baffled by the request, but I don't really have a personal bubble, so I didn't mind.  My friend explained afterward that if a mother wants her child to have a certain aspect of someone she knows, she'll want some sort of interaction with that person.  Maybe she'll get a picture with them, or touch the part of the body that she likes.  In this case, the bride wanted her future child to have a nose like mine.  (Apparently a lot of Indonesians enjoy the sharp noses of Westerners.) 

There's so much more I can talk about, but this thing is long enough as it is.  If you have any thoughts on my ponderings about American Culture, leave a comment! Sampai jumba!