W

hen we hear the word "peace," we often think about Mohandas Gandhi and the Dalai Lama, two pioneers of the peace movement. Dealing with peace, however, also means recognizing seeds of conflicts, preventing them from growing into full-blown ones, and eventually healing past and present conflicts.

In Indonesia there has been many conflicts. And due to its diversity and (predominantly) patriarchal social structure, Indonesia is a land of conflicts of various scales. However, as yet the study of peace and preventing and healing conflicts through artistic endeavors hasn't been considered seriously there.

The 1965 "communist eradication" massacre, which caused between 500,000 and 2 million deaths, is a colossal hidden conflict whose reconciliation hasn't been taken seriously. This can be seen from the ongoing strong stigmatization of relatives of PKI (then Indonesian Communist Party) members or those who were wrongfully accused of being "communist".

Other conflicts, such as those in East Timor, West Papua or Aceh, or incidents that occurred at the beginning of the reformation movement, such as the Semanggi I and II and May 1998 tragedies were equally as appalling and heartbreaking.

I am fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with 2009 Peacemaker Liza Lesis Saway, at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, San Diego University, to write her story as an indigenous people's female leader of the Talaandig tribe in Mindanao.

Locally, she is known as Bai Nanapnay, the mother of the tribe. She is also a strong activist in the Mindanao Peoples Caucus, which is an organization comprising the Bangsamoro, Christian settlers, and indigenous tribes.

In the Talaandig tribe, there are at least 15 documented tools and instruments for peace that either symbolize or are believed to have power to prevent or heal conflicts. These include mother's milk, women's skirts, chicks, advice, rituals, customary law, history, families, negotiation and mediation, research and investigation, language, communication, education, and the role of women and elders.

The keyword here is "believe" as a verb. Harmony among individuals, tribes, peoples, religions, living things and the environment is believed to be delivered through daily awareness of life as a part of nature. When delivered with awareness of harmony and peace, various artistic endeavors, such as dance, painting, storytelling, music and architecture can be used effectively to provide both ambiance and structure for peacebuilding.

In Indonesia, wayang (shadow puppet) performances have been used to deliver messages of conflict prevention, reconciliation and healing, as information is likely to be accepted better through visual and auditory senses.

Traditional musical instruments, such as angklung, kolintang and gamelan don't require specific skills other than good teamwork with other musical players. The keyword is awareness of others' existence and working together.

Other traditional and modern artistic endeavors, including high-tech ones, can be used to to deliver inspiration, compassion and peace messages without making them sound corny.

Films, for instance, have been used extensively to deliver messages of injustices and peace. One of the films presented at a recent arts festival, by 2009 Peacemaker Rubina Bhatti and the Taangh Wasaib Organization, was titled Wan'ni: Murdered Marriages.

This 28-minute documentary drama depicted how in a male-dominated society, Pakistani women have been suffering wan'ni, which is the practice of a murderer's family giving away a female family member to the victim's family as a form of restitution. Women have been used, literally, as traded commodities in resolving conflicts between families.

Awareness of cultural heritage has been receiving a lot of attention lately, particularly after the "Batik war" with Malaysia. We may as well use this momentum to increase people's awareness on the importance of using cultural heritage and artistic endeavors as peacebuilding tools and instruments.

We can start with documenting specific tools and instruments of peace, which can be found in every ethnicity and tribe throughout Indonesia. The following doable step would be creating working centers for peace, compassion and justice studies, and documenting important peacemakers' and activists' stories.

When conflicts are inevitable, peacebuilding activities are required to create balance. We all deserve peace, even when conflicts have subsided. The peaceful surface needs to be supported with internal peace, which is key to long-term peacefulness. And the tools and instruments for this are closer than we thought.