Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

INTERMINGLING OF CONTINUITY AND DISCONTINUITY77the activities of the leading personalities from the twocamps, practitioners of these two highly distinct creativestreams have yet to find a common ground in promotingIndonesian contemporary music.11 Masters such as Pluang Chairatsami at the KalasinDramatic Arts College or Chalerm Maungpraesri of theDramatic Arts College (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute) inBangkok who are employed by formal institutions arerequired to do nothing much but correct and commentwhile the direct teaching is done by instructors.12Such teaching methodologies make the academic operationof these schools a very expensive enterprise. At SMKISolo, there are 180 students and 74 teachers, which givesa high teacher-student ratio of 2.43 students per teacher.13 The sanggars are groups that have been organized underthe broad motivation of preserving traditional culture,especially of the community that they represent or arebased in. What is significant in the sanggar movementis the required presence of master artists who teachand guide the members and act as artistic advisers oreven leaders. The sanggars, although not organized forcommercial purposes, could be invited or commissionedto perform for special events such as fairs and other specialpublic performances.14 The cremation ceremony is not only done when someonedies: bodies are first buried and only cremated on theappropriate dates determined by local elders. Thus, hotelsand tourism offices are able to advertise cremation eventsin advance; the cremations consist of a procession towardsthe beach and setting the body on a watercraft that is seton fire and pushed out to the sea.15 In the proposed curriculum, traditional folk music has beenexcluded in the study areas for the reason that performersof folk traditions earn their living from other activitiessuch as farming, fishing, craft and other “non-musical”occupations.16 The courses run for 12 meetings, ranging between 25 to55 minutes per meeting depending on the number ofpersons in a class. A certificate of completion is givenafter a student successfully passes an examination in eachcourse. The ages of the students in this extension programrange from primary school age to 70. Because there are nofixed music programs in the primary schools, the schoolprovides the instructions that many middle-class familiesnow consider part of the total cultivation of their childrenas modern-day citizens.17 The first school was established some ten years ago inthe Seri Department Store in the east side of Bangkok,followed by the second, established eight years ago in theCentral Department Store.18 Historically, the SMKIs were originally founded as“konservatori,” and later changed to Sekolah MenanggaKarawitan Indonesia in 1976. In 1997, the change ofthe letter “K” from Karawitan (musical arts) to Kejuruan(skills) represented a big ideological shift in its educationalpurpose and social significance.19 This transformation dismayed many leaders in the artsworld, who themselves graduated from these institutionswhen their mission was still based on the developmentof future artists. Such names as Rahayu Supangga, AlSuwardi and H. Soetarno are a few of the long list ofillustrious artists now representing and nurturing thecultural and artistic life of the nation.20 The school has a regular pop band to play at appreciationprograms for school patrons and sponsors. The Directress,Mrs. Pikul Leosiripong, who assumed the Directorshipin 2001, introduced the training in “massage” as wellas music because, before, the blind had only two waysof earning a living—one was to sell lottery tickets andthe other was to beg as musicians. She was the first tointroduce Thai instruments and recruited the presentteacher through her husband, Dr. Prasit Leosiripong, aretired professor of musicology at Rajabhat University.21 The culture of the khru (master-teacher) and its principalmanifestation in the wai khru is practiced in the differentfields of endeavor in which skills are transmitted fromthe master to his/her pupil or disciple. Thus, traditional“crafts” such as massage, carpentry, healing andinstrument making are areas where the transmissionalprocess through pedagogy is considered of high social, ifnot sacred, value.22 While the materiality of respect for teachers is manifestedin the Thai wai khru, respect for the wisdom transmittedby teachers and elders is likewise strongly felt amongcontemporary Indonesian artists in an informal and lessovert manner.23 According to Sri Raharjo who belongs to this family,the entire pedalangan tribe is connected to the family ofRahayu Supangga.24 As told by Surasak Chamnongsam and ManopWisuttipat.25 These schools include: 1) School of Banglam Pu, now headedby master Somchai Duryapranit and Sudjid, which tracesAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows