Cultural heritage claimed by other countries, what can our country do?
Read in Indonesian
Source: Paradise Parties Bali
One of the cases that inflicted a deep wound on Indonesians was when reog Ponorogo was claimed by Malaysia in 2007 as one of its cultural heritages. Reog Ponorogo is a traditional dance from East Java. The hallmark of the dance is in the attire which includes the head of a lion (known as Singo Barong) with peacock feather decoration.
At that time, Barongan dance which is similar to reog Ponorogo was claimed by Malaysia as their cultural heritage in a travel destination video titled “Malaysia Truly Asia”. In addition, the writing “Reog Ponorogo” which should have been featured on the Singo Barong was replaced by the word “Malaysia.”
Image: Tari Reog Ponogoro photographed in 2018
Batik was also claimed by China and Malaysia as their countries’ handcraft, which sent Indonesian netizens into a rage. In China’s case, the batik they referred to was the batik technique. Indeed, batik did not originate from Indonesia. This technique is widely used in other countries, such as Sri Lanka, India, China, Thailand, African countries, Japan and Malaysia.
The debate is regarding the motifs created with the batik technique. Unlike China, Malaysia in 2008 claimed the batik motif as Malaysia’s cultural heritage. The Indonesian government then took a countermeasure by registering batik motifs to the UNESCO. The dispute ended on 2 October 2009 when the UNESCO declared that batik is Indonesia’s cultural heritage. 2 October is now commemorated as National Batik Day in Indonesia.
However, it is also important to realise that protesting against a "taken" culture is not as easy as preserving the culture itself. This is where the role of the government is needed to give legal protection to Indonesian culture.
In the Copyright Law, protection to traditional culture is summarised in Part V on Traditional Cultural Expression (EBT) and Protected Creation. Protection to EBT covers, among other things, verbal and textual creation, music, movements, theatre, visual art and traditional ceremonies.
Afrillyanna Purba et al. in their book titled “TRIPs-WTO and Indonesia’s IPR Law” stated that an EBT can be protected if there are intellectual activities carried out by individuals or collectively which characterise the identity of a community which has been maintained and continues to be developed and is the responsibility to be carried out in accordance with the law or customs of the community.
Verbal and textual creation in EBT can come in the form of oral or written, such as literature works or informative narration, in various themes and messages. Pantun is an example of verbal cultural heritage.
Music consists of vocal, instrument, or the combination of both, such as the song Rasa Sayange which was also once claimed by Malaysia as their cultural heritage. Some familiar movements or traditional dances are saman, kecak and piring.
Traditional theatre are shown through, among other things, wayang (puppet theatre play) and sandiwara rakyat (traditional theatre). Wayang kulit has also been confirmed by the UNESCO as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. An example of visual arts in cultural heritage is wood sculpture artworks which we could find easily in Bali.
Uniquely enough, traditional ceremonies are classified as protected cultural heritage. Traditional ceremonies are part of cultural heritage because they have been carried out from generation to generation and plays a role in shaping the social behaviour of the local community. One of the famous traditional ceremonies is Rambu Solo, a traditional funeral ceremony of the Toraja community which obliges the bereaved to hold a festivity as a final form of respect for the deceased.
One of Toraja community leaders, Layuk Sarungallo explained, "Why do the Toraja people use all the remainder of their business for burial? Assets must be returned to the community in the form of a social activity, so that their (the deceased’s) children are not dependent on inheritance.” This is the kind of values that are sought to be preserved, so protection for traditional ceremonies are considered crucial.
Protection to EBT is held by the state and applies to works which creator is unknown. The protection is valid indefinitely. As the copyright holder, the state is obliged to make an inventory of, safeguard and maintain EBT. One form of inventory making or cultural preservation efforts carried out by the country is registering Indonesia's cultural heritage with the UNESCO every year.
The latest news from this effort is the acceptance of pencak silat (Indonesian martial arts) as Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO at the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Bogotá, Colombia on 12 December 2019.
Image: Indonesian martial art students are being tested for the level of courage test photographed by Slamet Mulyadi in 2019 via Shutterstock
In addition, the state has the authority to prohibit foreign parties from using protected culture for commercial purposes without permission. For example, foreigners who wish to run a batik or other traditional handicraft business must obtain a permit from the state (central or regional government or related agencies) or Indonesian citizen who holds the rights to certain creations. One example is when Dior uses endek (Balinese woven cloth) fabrics for its collection.
With the state's status as the copyright holder of EBT, it also represents the Indonesian people to control and use these works. Therefore, if we look further, songket (traditional hand-woven fabric from Sumatra) artisans from various areas do not need permission from the government to run their business. Their activity is considered a part of cultural heritage preservation efforts.
The Copyright Law also provides protection for any artwork that contains innovative elements derived from traditional culture, such as contemporary batik. Protection is still given because even though it is derived from existing works, contemporary batik still has its own artistic value in terms of motifs, patterns and colours.
Take, for example, contemporary batik brand Sejauh Mata Memandang, which is currently facing an alleged plagiarism case. The founder of Sejauh Mata Memandang can register their batik motifs with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights.
The difference is that the right to a contemporary batik is owned by the creator, not the state. The ‘creator’ refers to the brand owner or the designer, depending on the agreement. Protection for contemporary batik is given if it contains new creations that are different from traditional motifs and are adapted to the interest of consumers at that time. Thus, the creator has full control, both economically and morally, over their creation even though the batik has not been registered because protection provided by copyright is declarative.
