Indonesian Cultural Day brings traditional market atmosphere to UCLA
Members of the Indonesian Bruin Student Association prepare crafts for their cultural day, which will be held Thursday. (Allison Ong/Daily Bruin)
By Allison Ong
May 21, 2015 1:32 p.m.
The resonating tones of Indonesian gamelan music is soothing for Kaylie Tannia. She plays the gendèr, an instrument made of tuned metal bars that resembles a xylophone. About 10 musical instruments, including the gong and the double-headed kendang drum, joined the gendér on stage last week as Tannia performed in an ethnomusicology concert in Schoenberg Hall.
“I love the sounds that the instruments make,” said Tannia, a fourth-year communications studies student. “They have unique beats.”
Dancers swayed and twirled to gamelan music as they performed traditional songs and dances in Dickson Court North on Thursday at 11 a.m. for the eighth annual Indonesian Cultural Day, hosted by the Indonesian Bruin Student Association, also known as IBSA. The lively atmosphere of outdoor marketplaces in Bali inspired IBSA to organize the festival in the style of a traditional market.
The festival is the association’s first outdoor event.
“Even though Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world, people don’t really know what Indonesia is really about,” said Setiawan Makmur, a fifth-year electrical engineering student and president of IBSA. “We want to expose people to our cultures, our games and our performances.”
Various booths will offer a wide number of cultural activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Students can participate in traditional Indonesian games, including cracker-eating competitions and congklak, a variation of the classic game Mancala played with clam shells or beads.
Attendees can also create jewelry with Balinese beads or purchase goods from an Indonesian food truck. One drink on the menu is es teler, a fruit cocktail made with sweet ingredients such as coconut meat, avocado and jackfruit.
About 250 people attended the folklore-based drama production in Ackerman Grand Ballroom last year. IBSA decided to host an outdoor event this year so organizers could incorporate a diverse array of elements in the festival, such as food and games, Tannia said.
The event was funded by the Undergraduate Students Association Council Cultural Affairs Commission as well as a fundraiser during which members sold martabak, or Indonesian stuffed pancakes.
Juan Susilo, a second-year computer science student, recalled the challenges he faced as a first-year college student when he moved to the U.S. from Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2013.
“I consider myself very Indonesian,” Susilo said. “I couldn’t relate to people either from the U.S. or non-Indonesian students (on some) values (they held), like how (they perceived) family, school and independence. I was quite lonely.“
Students established IBSA as a nonprofit organization in 1995 so members could build social networks and promote education about Indonesian culture. Since then, the club has helped international students like Susilo connect with the Indonesian community on campus.
Makmur said he thinks the club unites Indonesian students who may struggle to make new friends at UCLA. Although IBSA doesn’t meet on a weekly basis, members meet for dinners, movies and cultural performances.
“The core function of our club is to connect people so they can make local Indonesian friends,” Makmur said. “From then on, they (continue to) build their relationships.”
