TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsUncertain future hangs over ‘ondel-ondel’ buskers
Buskers might soon find themselves left on the streets without a means of earning an income if Jakarta's proposed ban on ondel-ondel comes to pass, though an expert has pointed out that the giant Betawi effigy is the very embodiment of "street art".
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A street performer in an ‘ondel-ondel’ costume pushes a makeshift cart fitted with a megaphone on June 2, 2025, as youths mingle in a roadside parking area on Jl. Matraman Raya in East Jakarta. Governor Pramono Anung has proposed banning the use of the giant effigies in street performances in a new regulation to preserve ‘ondel-ondel’ as a symbol of Betawi heritage.
(Antara/Asprilla Dwi Adha)
S
ince losing his janitorial job in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nuriman Firmansyah has been spending his nights donning ondel-ondel, performing on the streets of Jakarta to make a living.
But the 23-year-old is on the verge of losing his livelihood yet again, as the Jakarta administration is soon to issue a regulation that would ban the use of the giant effigy from Betawi culture in street performances.
One evening last week, the tune of “Sirih Kuning” (Yellow betel) emanated from a small speaker attached to the puppetlike costume as Nuriman swayed through the blaring traffic on Jl. Palmerah Barat in West Jakarta. The towering 5-kilogram costume is a hot, stuffy burden as he plies the busy streets from the late afternoon until close to midnight.
He is not alone: Didi and Iman Saputra accompany him, helping to navigate traffic and collect donations from passersby. The three friends usually set out from their modest rented apartment in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, and then head to Tanah Kusir in South Jakarta, sometimes even going as far as South Tangerang in neighboring Banten province.
Street performers dressed as ondel-ondel, clowns or other vibrant characters are a familiar sight in Jakarta’s dense neighborhoods and congested intersections. Typically, one person wears the costume while others follow with a jar or used can in hand for donations.
“As much as I hate working as a busker, it is the only job available to me,” said Nuriman. “There are not many options for people like us who didn’t get far in school”.
Read also: Sanctuary or dumping ground? Jakarta’s cat island plan gets tepid response
