UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Art of Resistance: Trauma, Gender, and Traditional Performance in Acehnese Communities, 1976-2011 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3g18p73v Author Clair, Kimberly Publication Date 2012 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles The Art of Resistance: Trauma, Gender, and Traditional Performance in Acehnese Communities, 1976-2011 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Women’s Studies by Kimberly Svea Clair 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Art of Resistance: Trauma, Gender, and Traditional Performance in Acehnese Communities, 1976-2011 by Kimberly Svea Clair Doctor of Philosophy in Women’s Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor Susan McClary, Chair After nearly thirty years of separatist conflict, Aceh, Indonesia was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a disaster that killed 230,000 and left 500,000 people homeless. Though numerous analyses have focused upon the immediate economic and political impact of the conflict and the tsunami upon Acehnese society, few studies have investigated the continuation of traumatic experience into the “aftermath” of these events and the efforts that Acehnese communities have made towards trauma recovery. My dissertation examines the significance of Acehnese performance traditions—including dance, music, and theater practices—for Acehnese trauma survivors. Focusing on the conflict, the tsunami, political and religious oppression, discrimination, and hardships experienced within the diaspora, my dissertation explores the ii benefits and limitations of Acehnese performance as a tool for resisting both large-scale and less visible forms of trauma. Humanitarian workers and local artists who used Acehnese performance to facilitate trauma recovery following the conflict and the tsunami in Aceh found that the traditional arts offered individuals a safe space in which to openly discuss their grievances, to strengthen feelings of cultural belonging, and to build solidarity with community members. Outside of Aceh, Acehnese communities have used their performance practices to reconnect with their cultural identity and to combat discrimination, feelings of isolation, and other hardships experienced abroad. Women in contemporary Aceh have also found solace in performance, which can provide an opportunity to resist the restrictions imposed upon them by syariah (Islamic) law. At the same time, efforts to use performance for trauma recovery must take into account the diverse healing needs of community members. Many of the performance workshops in Aceh failed to address the ways in which Acehnese women and girls were differentially affected by the violence and the tsunami. My research also suggests that Aceh’s conservative religious atmosphere has limited Acehnese women’s performance opportunities and has influenced the ways in which Acehnese women and girls, including those in the diaspora, interact with their performance traditions. Investigating how individuals’ experiences with trauma, as well as the healing methods they employ, are inflected by gender, ethnicity, class, age, sexual identity, and geographical location, my dissertation addresses the complex possibilities of performance as a tool for resisting, if not recovering from, trauma. iii The dissertation of Kimberly Svea Clair is approved. Elizabeth Marchant Grace Kyungwon Hong Sondra Hale Geoffrey Robinson Susan McClary, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract........................................................................................................................................... ii Committee Page............................................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................... vii Vita............................................................................................................................................... viii Introduction....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Histories of Acehnese Identity...................................................................................4 Background...................................................................................................................................7 Reconstructing History ...............................................................................................................13 The Golden Age (1509 – 1699)................................................................................................13 The Dutch-Aceh War (1873 – 1903)........................................................................................20 Religious Reforms and the Darul Islam Rebellion (1920 – 1959)...........................................24 The Separatist Conflict, the Tsunami, and the Peace (1976 – 2011) ......................................32 The Lie that Tells the Truth ........................................................................................................43 Military Heroism and Self-Reliance ........................................................................................44 Islamic Devotion ......................................................................................................................46 Acehnese Women: Heroes and Victims....................................................................................48 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................51 Chapter 2: Adat, Gender, and Aceh’s Performing Arts ..........................................................52 Understanding Adat ....................................................................................................................53 Acehnese Adat ............................................................................................................................57 Merantau..................................................................................................................................57 Matrifocality ............................................................................................................................61 Acehnese Performance................................................................................................................70 Background..............................................................................................................................70 Reinforcing Assumptions .........................................................................................................75 The Uses and Abuses of Tradition ...........................................................................................81 Performing a Different Story ......................................................................................................89 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................93 Chapter 3: Transforming Trauma: Performance and Healing in Aceh.................................94 Trauma and the Arts in Aceh (1976 – 2011) ..............................................................................96 Untangling Trauma Discourses...............................................................................................97 Gendered Traumas.................................................................................................................105 The Conflict, the Tsunami, and the Arts ................................................................................111 Performance and Trauma Recovery..........................................................................................115 International Organizations ..................................................................................................116 Local Organizations ..............................................................................................................126 Individual Performers............................................................................................................135 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................149 v Chapter 4: Transported Traditions .........................................................................................151 Acehnese in Jakarta: Then and Now.........................................................................................153 Waves of Migration................................................................................................................153 Demographic..........................................................................................................................156 Challenges..............................................................................................................................159 Tactics....................................................................................................................................164