Longing for Revival of Betawi Cultural Bastion
Setu Babakan is one of the last bastions still standing tall to safeguard the culture of Jakarta’s Betawi people.
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Aat Sudrajat, better known as Muut Lenong, a Betawi arts activist and leader of the Bunga Cempedak Studio, plays the gambang kromong (xylophone) in Setu Babakan, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Saturday (20/6/2020). Betawi art activities at the studio, including training and classes, are temporarily stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Setu Babakan is one of the last bastions still standing tall to safeguard the culture of Jakarta’s Betawi people, even as everything around it has been deeply affected by the unstoppable onslaught of modernization and urbanization. After months of inactivity due to the Covid-19 outbreak, its reopening is deeply longed for, especially by local artists aiming to preserve Betawi culture.
On Saturday (20/6/2020), beneath lush trees at Setu Babakan, 38-year-old Asri was enjoying her lunch with her husband and two children by the 30-hectare manmade lake.