The Entertainment World of Minangkabau People in the Early of the 20Th Century
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The Entertainment World of Minangkabau… (Meri Erawati, I Ketut Surajaya, Linda Sunarti) 141 THE ENTERTAINMENT WORLD OF MINANGKABAU PEOPLE IN THE EARLY OF THE 20TH CENTURY DUNIA HIBURAN MASYARAKAT MINANGKABAU PADA AWAL ABAD KE-20 Meri Erawati1, I Ketut Surajaya2, Linda Sunarti3 1,2,3Department of History, Faculty of Humanity, University of Indonesia e-mail: 1 [email protected] 2 [email protected] 3 [email protected] Naskah Diterima: 12 Januari 2020 Naskah Direvisi: 30 Juli 2020 Naskah Disetujui :28 Agustus 2020 DOI: 10.30959/patanjala.v12i2.595 Abstract This article discusses the entertainment world of the Minangkabau people in the Dutch colonial epoch. The world of entertainment is constructed using the historical method through the collection of written sources particularly contemporary newspapers and is equipped with books in the form of memoirs and autobiographies. The data obtained are then criticized and synchronized to produce historiography. The results show that the entertainment that developed in Minangkabau is identified into two namely traditional entertainment and modern entertainment. The traditional entertainment is entertainment that has been passed down from the Minangkabau culture, while modern entertainment is entertainment influenced by the West. Keywords: entertainment, Minangkabau, colonial Abstrak Artikel ini menjelaskan tentang dunia hiburan masyarakat Minangkabau pada masa kolonial Belanda. Dunia Hiburan dikontruksi menggunakan metode sejarah melalui pengumpulan sumber- sumber tertulis terutama koran-koran yang terbit sezaman serta dilengkapi dengan buku-buku berupa memoar dan autobiografi. Data yang diperoleh kemudian dikritisi dan dikronologikan sehingga menghasilkan historiografi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa hiburan yang berkembang di Minangkabau terpola menjadi dua yakni hiburan tradisional dan hiburan modern. Hiburan tradisional merupakan hiburan yang telah turun temurun dari budaya masyarakat Minangkabau, sedangkan hiburan modern merupakan hiburan pengaruh Barat. Kata kunci: hiburan, Minangkabau, kolonial A. INTRODUCTION has many kinds. Playing games, visiting Entertainment is part of the lifestyle, that is tourist attractions, visiting the arena and about how one uses their free time to shopping centers (markets), gathering and entertain themselves such as seeking the chatting, visiting places that provide enjoyment of the entertainment per se. entertainment, listening to music, watching Entertainment is simple, whatever its type, games, performances, all of which can be its model, if it makes someone entertained, said as entertainment. then it can be said as entertainment. Furthermore, entertainment in According to that definition, principle is human nature, meaning that therefore entertainment is universal and everyone likes entertainment, has the right Patanjala, ISSN 2085-9937 (print), ISSN: 2598-1242 (online) 142 Patanjala Vol. 12 No. 2 Oktober 2020: 141-157 to obtain entertainment, and needs words, entertainment can be interpreted as entertainment as a counterweight to any activity that can entertain ones like physical needs. But there are times when visiting an entertaining place. these spiritual necessities must be set aside Entertainment is a daily activity that to fulfill primary needs. For the lower is part of the lifestyle, Sartono opines that classes with a mediocre economic life, lifestyle can be seen by referring to several fulfilling the needs of entertainment is no aspects namely residence, eating habits, more important than meeting the needs of clothing, entertainment, beliefs, and life such as food, shelter, and other solidarity (Kartodirjo & Pusposaputro, primary needs. Thus, the economic ability 1993). David Chaney, an expert who is one indicator of seeking entertainment. concerns lifestyle, claims that it is cultural Economic capability is also a forms that comprise style, manners, how to distinguishing factor in the entertainment use particular items, places and times, that of upper, middle, and lower classes as well are in accordance with particular group as in the social structure of the characteristics (Chaney, 2004). Minangkabau community: ordinary The traditional entertainment natives, traditional elites, and modern context that is interpreted in this writing is elites. Besides that, other factors that also a variety of arts and pamenan anak influence one’s entertainment choices are nagari1 which are the culture of the the social environment and education Minangkabau people and function to (mindset). entertain. The modern entertainment is a Interaction of the Minangkabau variety of Dutch entertainment that people with other nations who came to developed in the community and became Minangkabau had brought changes in the part of the Minangkabau culture. culture of the community, including the In the historiography of West entertainment aspects which are the focus Sumatera or Minangkabau, studies on of this paper. One significant influence lifestyle and entertainment issues have not was brought by the Dutch to Minangkabau yet done and appreciated widely. Studies since the 19th century. The arrival of the of the economic, political, and cultural Dutch brought a change in the aspects of the Minangkabau have received entertainment world of the Minangkabau substantial attention from researchers. people. Minangkabau people were exposed Among the works that discuss to various types of entertainment as well as Minangkabau or West Sumatra during the modern entertainment venues. Dutch period is a book entitled Asal Usul Consequently, in the midst of society were Elit Minangkabau Modern: Respons developing two types of entertainment Terhadap Kolonial Belanda Abad XX ( The namely traditional entertainment and Origins of Modern Minangkabau Elites: modern entertainment. Response to Dutch Colonial in The Based on the explanation above, this Twentieth Century) (Graves, 2007) which article elaborates on the entertainment describes the response of the people of world of the Minangkabau people, as well West Sumatera to the secular education as analyzing how the Dutch’s influence on system adopted by the Netherlands, entertainment was developing in the taxation policy and the planting of coffee, community, which groups were the actors and the response to the government of traditional entertainment and modern regulation that was implemented by the entertainment? Entertainment in the Indonesian 1 Pamenan anak nagari (anak nagari’s games) Dictionary (KBBI) is defined as something are not literally games but various forms of art or deeds that can entertain the heart performances that exist in nagari-nagari in (forgetting sadness and so on), in other Minangkabau. Patanjala, ISSN 2085-9937 (print), ISSN: 2598-1242 (online) The Entertainment World of Minangkabau… (Meri Erawati, I Ketut Surajaya, Linda Sunarti) 143 colonial government. Some policies that XX (Samidi, 2017). He explains that ultimately reap positive responses are the industrialization had transformed Surabaya establishment of a secular education into a modern city. According to him, the system. change was followed by the emergence of Another book is entitled Schools and the symbol of city modernity which was Politics: The Kaum Muda Movement in assumed to influence lifestyle changes and West Sumatra (1927-1933) which has been cause the strengthening of Arek translated into Sekolah dan Politik: Surabaya’s cultural identity. Pergerakan Kaum Muda di Sumatera Themes on lifestyle issues at the Barat (1927-1933) (Abdullah, 2018). This global level have received considerable paper discusses how young people attention, for example, the book Outward dominate the social and political Appearances (Schulte Nordholt & Aziz, movements in Minangkabau and the 2005). This book is a collection of articles involvement of young people in matters of from several writers such as Van Dijk and religion and education amid the strong grip Taylor who write about the meaning of of the Dutch colonialism in West Sumatra. clothing in social relations, Elisabeth The next article entitled Cina Padang Locher-Scholten who writes about clothing Dalam Dinamika Masyarakat and food, and Henk Maier who writes Minangkabau: Daru Revolusi sampai about lighting (electric light adverts) in the Reformasi (Erniwati, 2011) which explains colonial era. the existence of the Chinese in the From several previous studies on Minangkabau community, namely the role West Sumatera and Minangkabau and of China when Indonesia became a new lifestyle, there has not been a specific country and the Chinese ethnic that were study on entertainment, except as part of the Minangkabau people during the mentioned only as a supplementary PRRI upheaval. explanation in a particular theme, therefore As for the study of new lifestyles this article seeks to fill the void of the found in the article on Gaya Hidup Elite study. Minangkabau di Afdeeling Agam (1837- 1942) (Lestari, Lubis, & Mulyadi, 2017). B. RESEARCH METHODS This article describes the lifestyle changes The method used in this paper is a of the traditional elite and intellectual elite. historical research method that covers four According to them, the lifestyle of the stages specifically heuristics, criticism, Minangkabau elite in Afdeeling Agam in interpretation, and historiography 1837-1942 did not change completely, but (Daliman, 2012). The primary sources there was acculturation between the exerted in this research are written sources Minangkabau natives and Western culture. derived from books, scientific works