Journal of Contemporary Sociological Issues, Volume 1, Issue 1 (2021), pp. 1-16 doi: 10.19184/csi.v1i1.17712 ISSN 2723-3456 E-ISSN 2775-2895 On Air: Representing Osing Identity in Community Radio Windu Bramantio Wisnu Murti, Dien Vidia Rosa1 University of Jember [email protected] Abstract The purpose of this research is to describe the articulation of Osing’s culture on three community radios in Banyuwangi. Understanding language as an identity medium is essential to analyzing underlying cultural dynamics and the crucial vital they play. The Government policy reshaped Osing's identity as an added value to drive regional economic growth. This impacted local, cultural practices. The government created the Osing culture as the primary character used to differentiate them from other cultural practices. Notwithstanding, this research argues that culture is not an entity that can be organized and represented in a monolithic form. Using qualitative methods, this study found that the Osing culture, especially the practice of its language, became a medium of discourse that intertwined with various other cultures. Furthermore, radio has become a space for cultural encounters and a site for cultural submissions that are continually changing and discovering social contexts. Keywords: Osing languages, Osing community radio, Osing representations. Copyright © 2021 by Author(s) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. All writings published in this journal are personal views of the authors and do not represent the views of this journal and the author's affiliated institutions. HOW TO CITE: Murti, Windu B W &Dien Vidia Rosa. “On Air: Representing Osing Identity in Community Radio” (2021) 1:1 Contemporary Sociological Issues 1-16. Submitted : October 9, 2020 Accepted : January 2, 2021 Revised : November 22, 2020 Publish : February 5, 2021 1 Correspondent Author 2 | On Air: Representing Osing Identity in Community Radio I. INTRODUCTION In every cultural festival the presence of the Banyuwangi local government is almost always acts as the organizer. The local government is positioned as the guest of honor alongside cultural leaders who hold traditional ceremonies. This description of the identity of Osing which was reshaped by the local government is to eliminate the bad stigma regarding Banyuwangi in the past2. The chosen slogan "The Sunrise of Java", has become the message conveyed to the public that Banyuwangi has woken through tourism and the Osing culture. The emergence of the spirit to articulate culture in the economic space is part of the development movement in Banyuwangi3. Media development is a necessity following the existence of a cultural economy setting in celebration of Osing's identity. In the context of this research, radio becomes a pressure point for the presence of social spaces that celebrate identity in a dialogical manner. The dialogue model is not new in communicating on radio, but for community radio researchers in Banyuwangi it displays the plurality of Osing's culture. For the people of Banyuwangi, radio that displays the cultural character of Osing has a special place. Conventional radios such as Bintang Tenggara FM, Gandrung FM, Tawang Alun FM and Mandala FM have Osing gending programs. Audiences can get involved by sending a message to be read out by the broadcaster, through live telephone, or by directly visiting a radio and asking for the Osing song to be played. In the Radio context, these three options of sending message require to use the Osing language. It is interesting to see social relations displayed on the radio, for example, an Osing song karaoke program involving the audience via telephone. Sound or tone limitations seem to be put aside to emphasize the particularity of the Osing culture shared by the audience. Freud alludes to the internal aspects of the subject which are understood as instinctive or instinctive in relation to desire4. The Freudian conception of desire that appears through language becomes the entry point for the imagination of the form of identity, mediated by the subject and its social setting. With this assumption, parole represents the dominant identity of a particular area and the language forms used can present variants in Osing culture. The conflict began to emerge when Banyuwangi Radio Broadcast Network (JRSB) discovered a number of 'illegal' radio communities. The JRSB reported those communitties on allegations of interfering with flights, misusing radio frequencies and 2 Actor Relations in The Discourse Space of Cultural Policies in Banyuwangi MH Makmur, A Taufiq - KARSA: Journal of Social and Islamic Culture, 2015 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.19105/karsa.v22i2.575 3 Hery Prasetyo dan Dien Vidia Rosa, “Space For Cultural Articulation: Voising The Local in Commodity Transformation,” dalam Rethingking The Human Dignity and Nation Identity: A Review Perspective of Arts and Arts Education (Faculty of Language and Arts Yogyakarta State University, 2014). 4 E Fromm, The Art ofListening (Kritik Atas Psikoanalisis Sigmund Freud) (Yogyakarta: Immortal Publishing dan Octopus, 2002). 3 | The Journal of Contemporary Sociological Issues unauthorized ownership. The issue of legality in community radio needs to be underlined as an issue that should be viewed within a cultural economy frame. The establishment which was confirmed by the legality of conventional radio seemed to be shaken by those that relied on the strength of the community. In other words, the struggle for Osing's culture is part of affirming the formal legitimacy that conventional radio has. Apart from developing an allternative narrative, this study focuses on three Osing community radio stations that are located in the District of Singojuruh namely Adelia FM, in the District of Sempu with Ayu FM, and District of Rogojampi with Javas FM. The deliberate choice of three radio stations in different regions is intended to emphasize the cultural characteristics that differentiate one from another. However, in practice, some Javanese or Madurese is included. This research does not intend to portray the Osing language as autonomous, or even to be thought of as an exclusive cultural system, but rather to describe the spatial plurality of the Osing language. This community radio has local listeners who are active in its participation to send messages, sing or listen to daily radio5. The pattern of intimacy in every conversation is built up because the body is capable of feeling various emotions6. The sense of caring among listeners, for example to advise and entertain, to show intimacy or closeness between listeners, is established through community radio. On the other hand, certain things have not been accepted by community radio, namely the cultural and legal legitimacy of Osing. Culturally, they are not considered to have participated in the development of the Osing culture itself. Legally, they have not been granted an official permit. II. OSING IN THE HISTORY OF BANYUWANGI : AN ALTERNATIVE IN PUTTING LINGUISTIC PRACTICES Banyuwangi became famous with the song Genjer-Genjer, which was created and performed by the original Blambangan artist, Mohammad Arief. Those songs had formed a bad stigma of Banyuwangi in 1965 when there was a political dispute. The name Osing itself is still polemic among Banyuwangi cultural observers. " It is actually an agreement (U or O), the difference between Osing language and other languages is that there are actually 3 phonology aspects of pronunciation, diptongization 7 (i /ai), patalization (umah/umyah), and glotal (no/nok) 5 Bernard Arps, “Terwujudnya bahasa Using di Banyuwangi dan peranan media elektronik di dalamnya ( selayang pandang, 1970-2009),” Tokyo Research Instituties for Languages And Cultures Of Asia and Africa (ILCAA) Tokyo of Foreign Studies, 2010, 226–45. 6 J. A Tachi, Radio Sound As Material Culture In The Home (London: University College London, 1997). 7 Interview with Mr. Suhalik (Osing Cultural Practioner). Date : 10 March 2020 4 | On Air: Representing Osing Identity in Community Radio The phonological process (sound) in the practice of pronouncing the Osing language in everyday life also affects the use of U or O. In this writing, using Osing with the letter 'U' was chosen because of the influence of everyday life and transcripts as a source of writing. In the transcript, it is mentioned that the cultural observer Hasan Ali, who has persistently struggled to recognize the Osing language as a new language deliberately chooses to refer to Osing with 'U' instead of 'O'8. In the development of cultural identity, mention of Osing got a new form when Oseng writing appeared as part of the identity project. The variations in Osing writing leave problems for discussion. It is necessary to remember that the issue of discussion has become part of the debate of the elite group which seems far removed from how the Osing language lives in the daily life of the community. Agreement on the definite and even standardized form of writing Osing from elite groups is still far from being realized. In fact what can currently be seen is how elite groups use it to form some kind of linguistic exoticization9. As language introduces the concept of a nation, it must be intertwined and able to abstract in a concrete and close to everyday life10. So, the use of the Osing language in everyday life becomes a reinforcement of Osing's identity. In connection with the linguistic assumption, the choice of diction in a language such as the Banyuwangi gending is intended to emphasize the issue of social identity. Umbul-Umbul Blambangan is one of the patriotic songs, however, in the verse of the song the word 'Belambangan' is emphasized more than Banyuwangi. For researchers, the distinction between Blambangan and Banyuwangi becomes two things that represent the cultural meaning inherent in the Blambangan concept. Meanwhile Banyuwangi is more intended to picture a regional identity that is formed administratively. Ben Arps, argues that “Suwarane gendhing Belambangan” is defined as a desire for recognition (2010).