Week 5: Cultural Investigation Trips

This week our Indonesia SSTers were broken up into 4 groups and given a topic and location to investigate. The assignment was designed to build independent research skills and dive deeper into one of our four Study Term themes: Indonesian History/Politics, Religion, Environment or Arts. Each group created a budget and a travel plan, conducted background research on their topic, and then presented their findings during Rumah Goshen. 

History/Politics Group: Fort Vredeberg Museum

Ella, Zeke and Jesse were assigned to investigate Indonesia’s history of colonialism and revolution at the Fort Vredeberg Museum. They reported on the impact of the Dutch, and later the Japanese, on Indonesian cultural identity. They researched the impact of guerrilla warfare during the revolution, and the differences between historical narratives of that time depending on who is telling the story. They were surprised to realize just how recent this history actually is, and realized that many people they interact with and meet on the street would have experienced these events. They also read about how decolonization in Indonesia was not a linear story, but ebbs and flows even now. 

At the end of their presentation, they challenged the group to name the Dutch influence in each category. Can you guess them all?

Religion Group: Javanese Catholicism at Church of the Sacred Heart

Emma, Justin and Lawson visited the Church of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic pilgrimage site just outside of Yogyakarta. Since landing on Java, the group has studied Islam, attended Protestant and Mennonite church services, and toured Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese temples. This learning tour gave them the opportunity to dive into another religious tradition we haven’t been able to study as much as a group: Indonesian Catholicism. They described the experience of visiting the broad, quiet campus filled with “nooks and crannies” of art displays and intricate ceilings decorated in traditional Javanese style. They noticed a particularly holy place they deemed “the Ultimate Prayer Spot,” which features a small Hindu-style temple housing a statue of the Virgin Mary with a Javanese face, holding a Javanese baby Jesus. They noticed fascinating overlap and intermingling of Christian symbols, Javanese culture, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Environment Group: Chocolate Monggo Factory

Eli and Sydney were the lucky ones who got to tour Chocolate Monggo, a chocolate factory designed to educate visitors on the chocolate production process. Started by a Belgian expat, Chocolate Monggo has grown into a multi-island operation. They reported on the history of chocolate in Indonesia, its important place in the economy as a major export, and the environmental costs and impacts of chocolate cultivation and production.

Eli and Sydney were able to tour the factory, and even got to make their own chocolates (yes, they shared some with us!)

Arts Group: Affandi Museum

Laci, Elliot and Luke were given the assignment to learn more about the contemporary art scene in Indonesia by visiting the Affandi Museum in Yogyakarta. Affandi Koesoema, the first Indonesian artist to gain international recognition, was a self-taught expressionist who painted throughout the mid to late 1900s. He pioneered the “tube method,” where paint is squeezed out of the tube and painted with the artist’s hands rather than paintbrush. His abstract paintings include themes of family, human emotion and personal stories. The group broadened their research to include more recent conversations in the Indonesian art world, which include social commentary on global media/technology, exploring gender through retellings of traditional stories with female protagonists, and political protest. At the end of their presentation, they gave us a tough pop quiz that helped us solidify our knowledge of Affandi and his family.