New Ruling Accords Balinese Women Rights to Inheritance

Denpasar. The century-old patriarchal traditions that govern Balinese family life were on Wednesday amended to finally grant women the right to inherit assets from their parents.

The High Council of Customary Villages (MUDP), the highest authority on Balinese traditional regulations, issued the ruling.

“This is a significant development in the 110 years [since traditional values were formally regulated] during which Balinese women were not entitled to a single rupiah of inheritance,” said Wayan Windia, head of research and development at the council.

However, Windia said the ruling would apply only to married Hindu Balinese women who had not converted to another faith.

“In such cases, the parents can still provide for their daughters at their own discretion,” he said.

Women will only be entitled to half of what male heirs receive.

The new ruling also strips men of automatic custody of children or conjugal assets in the event of a divorce.

Women will now be allowed to keep the children until a certain age, which would be determined during divorce proceedings.

Men will also be obliged to give their ex-wives money for child support.

Additionally, conjugal assets would now be divided equally.

Windia said the challenge now was to introduce the new ruling to the 1,471 customary villages across Bali that abide by the island’s traditional regulations.

“Our hope is that because these changes were made by the MUDP, the highest authority, the people will accept them without objection,” he said.

“But it won’t be easy or quick, because there’s bound to be some opposition.”

Ni Nyoman Nilawati, a women’s rights activist with the Hindu Dharma Women’s Association (WHDI), said the changes marked major progress toward gender equity in Balinese society.

“For more than a century now, women have been deprived of their rightful inheritance because of the patrilinear system in place here,” she said.

She attributed the progress to the greater role women now play in responding to social issues.

“Seven women now serve on the MUDP, whereas before they were prohibited from doing so,” Nilawati said.

Ni Luh Putu Anggreni, from the Mitra Kasih nongovernmental organization, said she hoped the changes would help stop domestic violence against women.

She said most women put up with the harsh treatment because they could lose their children and property through divorce.

Anggreni said she hoped divorce court judges would immediately adopt the ruling.

Made Arya Kencana

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‘Ethnicity Now’: much wishful thinking

Expectations were set high for the exhibition “Ethnicity Now”, currently on show at the National Gallery — particularly because of the tagline below the title linking Ethnicity to Indonesian Contemporary Art.

But sadly, the show turned out to be a disappointment.

It seems the organizers and the show’s curator were carried away by an increasingly strong vision in the art world that acknowledges the cultural and the local in contemporary art.

For me, the local, traditional or ethnic for that matter, must challenge the creative, innovative, imaginative and artistic forces of an artist to create fascinating forms and shapes that, while breathing a touch or trace of its original heritage, are basically new, d
ifferent and reflecting the spirit of the time.

That such was mostly missing in this show, is distressing, but not entirely the responsibility of the artists.
Samuel Indratmo, for instance, admitted he did not know what it meant to re-invent.

All he wanted was to honor the many traditional craftsmen who used to help him. His work became a kind of bazaar of local (read Yogyakarta) artefacts.

Worse was that some artists in this show were not even aware of what the exhibition was about. Angki Purbandono, for instance, said he only found out the title five days before the opening.

He had been led to believe it was about urban culture. His work — a 350 x 700 centimeter neon box installation of 234 digital prints — was the most interesting, but has little to do with the issue of ethnicity in contemporary art.
Neither has Yudi Sulistya creation, or so it seems. But an interview with Yudi revealed that he understood ethnicity as something from the olden times.

In his work, he places a machine gun on a plain carriage or pantzer from World War I, on which a note states: “in progress”. We don’t know how it will end up once it is finished.

In the case of I Wayan Bendi, an artist known for his excellence in making works in the Balinese style, one wonders whether the inclusion of the name or image of Diana Spencer and the British flag really transforms what used to be called traditional into the contemporary.

Meanwhile the paintings by Heri Dono belie the creative and wildly imaginative that once ruled his works with the most fantastic images that would in fact perfectly fit this exhibition. But what we see here instead are works so very unlike him.

Featuring appropriations of self-portraits of Raden Saleh with some images of Heri’s earlier works seems besides the issue of the show, and makes one wonder what has happened to his imaginative creativity.

Perhaps the most significant within the context of the show is the Nasirun’s work in the form of a bajaj (three-wheeled motor vehicle). The vehicle which was developed in India, is still popular in Indonesia.

Nasirun, who lives and works in Yogyakarta, gives it an overlay appearing like a cultural Yogyanese decoration.

Titled Bajaj Pasti Berlalu, a play on words from the Indonesian saying Badai Pasi Berlalu (the storm will certainly be over, or we shall overcome), the work shows creative artistry inherent in the artist and gives rise to various interpretations.

Nasirun’s installation of a plain, reworked traditional carriage with a white-winged horse is also interesting.
The first time curator Jim Supangkat attempted to bring to the fore the issue that contemporary art must be seen in its totality of aesthetic narratives from various cultures in the world was at CP Biennale 2003.

But his success which gave birth to “art with an accent”, a twist on English with an accent (which
is English anyway), is sorely missing in the current show that falls short of a clear focus and contextual elaboration.

The issue is not new. Already in 1989, Jean Hubert Martin organized the exhibition “Les Magiciens de la Terre” at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, embracing cultural aesthetics globally, including Asia, Africa, Australia and Latin America.

It was a reaction to the exhibition titled “Primitivism” in 1984 which critics condemned as purely providing an aesthetic version of works from native cultures.

Lorenzo Rudolf, picked up the issue when he organized “Art Paris +Guests” in 2009 including Indonesia and Africa.

As Southeast Asia, and Indonesia in particular, is increasingly attracting the attention of art lovers from outside the region, it will be interesting to follow ensuing debates.

— Carla Bianpoen

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Ethnicity Now

Indonesian Contemporary Art
Galerie Nasional
Dec. 3- 12

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