Storytelling has come a long way since the bygone days when people – young and old – used to sit around a venerable figure under a big banyan tree and listen rapturously to exciting tales of heroism, adventure and mystery. Oral storytelling was and remains in a few rural areas still untouched by modern technology, an essential part of the local culture throughout Indonesia. It is part entertainment, part lessons of life, about good and evil, right and wrong. As kids, we loved listening, again and again, to the story of ‘Si Kancil,’ the mythical mouse-deer, and the many ways he would outwit farmers to steal from their vegetable gardens.
In time, other genres of storytelling evolved. Puppetry is probably the best known and best-loved, particularly when it depicts episodes from the Hindu classics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. There is also the traditional Javanese opera-ballet, narrating stories from the two great epics.
Then came the movies, followed by television and YouTube. The choices are endless. We now sit across from a screen and watch stories unfold, leaving oral storytelling to fall by the wayside. It is truly sad to see the children and the youth of today glued to their handphones or their laptops for entertainment.
So, it was a pleasant surprise to see Jakarta’s National Museum hosting a two-day Storytelling Festival earlier this month. More than 50 local and international storytellers performed in front of thousands of people of all ages, who came to watch various renditions of ‘Stories of Heroes’, the theme of the festival. There were four separate stages presenting puppetry, dance and theater performances, a few of them in English. The organizers seemed confident that interest in the festival – the seventh of its kind in Indonesia — will gain momentum, just like the book and literacy fairs cropping up around the country.
One reason may be because the technique of storytelling is making a comeback, passing on new ideas, personal experiences and life-lessons in a way that evokes powerful emotions and insights. Indeed, studies have shown that storytelling methods yield better results in teaching school children how to listen and to express themselves.
In the effort to contribute towards the preservation of Indonesia’s oral storytelling tradition, Lontar has, over the years, recorded and documented 30 oral performances in video form. We will continue to add to this collection, to preserve local wisdom and local knowledge for future generations. As such, we hope you will join us in this project, one of Lontar’s many, by donating generously to the foundation.