JAVANESE WOMEN'S IDENTITY IN MASMUNDARI'S TUTUR RUPA DAMAR KURUNG

• Main Author: Christianna, Aniendya
• Format: Dissertations
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81902
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

This dissertation research contains a study of Javanese women's identity in Masmundari's Damar Kurung as a critical discourse. Damar Kurung is a folk art from Gresik in the form of a cube-shaped lantern craft made of a bamboo frame, each side of which is covered with oil paper. The surface of the oil paper is decorated with various kosarupa (visual vocabulary) that tells the maritime traditions of the people of the north coast of East Java. Masmundari is a female artist who spends her old age making Damar Kurung. As one of the national intangible cultural heritages, Damar Kurung is interesting to study because this traditional art emerged and grew as an integral part of the culture of the north coast of Java. Investigating the intangible aspects of Damar Kurung is important because it reveals the culture of tutur and the cultural practices behind it. Damar Kurung is a folk art that tells stories about the dynamics of coastal community life, ranging from mythological stories to daily life experiences. By examining the storytelling of Damar Kurung, the community can get reinforcement for their traditional heritage, which in turn can be a reference for the roots of identity as Javanese. Therefore, this dissertation research is important to study because it is closely related to efforts to build and negotiate identity in order to become Javanese sing ora ilang Jawane. The purpose of this research is to understand the creative process and tutur style of Masmundari's Damar Kurung in constructing the identity, role and position of Javanese women. As well as formulating the concept of gender relations and power between women and men while revealing Masmundari's position among the dominant ideologies. Damar Kurung has many facets that reflect the complex and dynamic social system of Java's north coast society, for which an analysis is needed that involves cultural practices, texts and interpretations that are closely related to social, historical and political contexts, with an emphasis on understanding social interactions, ideologies, power and the ways in which culture contributes to the construction of Javanese women's meanings and identities through advice sayings. So to answer the research questions and objectives, an interdisciplinary research method was used. This method allows for the uncovering of layer upon layer of women's experiences articulated in Damar Kurung's tutur rupa, based on the theoretical frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu's intersectionality, Primadi Tabrani's Bahasa Rupa, Judith Butler's Performativity, and Antonio Gramsci's Hegemony of Ideology. As a strategy, a simultaneous blend of ethnography and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was applied. By using these methods and theoretical frameworks, this research produced some interesting findings that are useful for filling the gap of previous research that has not mapped the cultural intersection of the north coast of Java and gender through the medium of folk traditional arts: Firstly, this study found an appropriate phrase to explain the style of visual expression, the result of Masmundari's artistic practice and imagination that refers to the aspect of storytelling through the combination of various vocabulary to communicate stories, traditions, myths, religious teachings, and historical events, namely 'Tutur Rupa'. Secondly, through Tutur Rupa Damar Kurung Masmundari tells the story of how Javanese women build their identity as wives and mothers whose role is central in the family, society and God. Third, the strength and power of Javanese women can be present through powerlessness, oppression and asymmetrical relationships between men and women. And fourth, Javanese women challenge the ideology of State Ibuism by utilising their central role and position in the domestic area and their feminine characteristics. This dissertation research makes a significant scientific contribution about women's identity in the context of the north coast of Java through the medium of traditional folk art. The findings and scientific novelty in this research fill a gap in the scientific literature, when previous studies of fine arts and gender discourse have more popularly explored Javanese women's identity in the context of inland Javanese society close to the palace culture, through 'high art' objects made by experienced artists or craftsmen. By exploring the history, artistic practices and meanings of Damar Kurung's visual storytelling, an understanding of the complexity of Javanese women in constructing and negotiating their identities in a patriarchal society and authoritarian New Order regime can be obtained.