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Examining claims of cultural proprietorship
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Joyful ride: Girls in Tenganan enjoy a ride on a traditional Meayun-ayunan during the Pandanus War ritual in Tenganan Pengringsingan, Karangasem, Bali. Tenganan Pengringsingan is home to the pre-Hindu Tenganan community, which strictly adheres to a traditional life of ritual and ceremony. (The Jakarta Post/Agung Parameswara)
T
he Culture Directorate General of the Education and Culture Ministry will organize a congress of culture in Jakarta on Dec.7-9. One of the concerns to be addressed are claims over the ownership of cultures that we have heard over the last few years across Indonesia and the region.
In early January 2014, for instance, South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin planned to patent empek-empek (minced fish cake) as a specialty of the city of Palembang to safeguard the origin of the culinary product. The move came after people and the administration in neighboring Jambi claimed empek-empek as part of their culture. Yet, Jambi was reportedly too late to act as South Sumatra had initiated the cultural claim earlier.
Several regions producing batik once came up with the idea of recording and registering batik motifs. It was seemingly assumed that such an attempt would directly protect the motifs from potential claimants. It seemed those who proposed the idea of protection had expected an immediate inflow of financial profits.
Some years earlier, many people in Indonesia were offended and even angered by the news that the popular tor-tor dance from North Sumatra and reog (mask dance) from the East Java town of Ponorogo were to be listed as part of the cultural legacy of neighboring Malaysia, with which Indonesia shares various Malay cultures and traditions.
