As we commemorate the Youth Pledge of 1928,
when our founding fathers declared Indonesian the unifying language, the future
of the almost one million Using language speaking people of Banyuwangi in the
eastern tip of Java is at stake.
Banyuwangi in East Java is known for its
unique culture which seems to have been uprooted from else where compared to
the neighboring regencies.
The
traditional music, the rituals, and the language are totally separated from the
rest of other Java’s regencies.
Its literature mostly spoken form of poem,
featured widely in rituals such as (trance dance) Seblang or erotic Gandrung
dance, is uttered in Using language.
And even charmed spells, locally known as ‘santet’
which Banyuwangi is also famous for, is done in Using language.
Thanks to the die-hard supporters among
others the late Hasan Ali, the local Using
language has been officially learnt in the classrooms since 2007. Ali, the
father of popular singer-cum-senator Emilia Contessa, also wrote a local 24,000-entry
Using-Indonesian dictionary and also
a book of Using grammar.
Using
language which was initially considered as a dialect of Javanese language, has
been identified as a language of its own since 1987. Udayana University
lecturer, Suparman Herusantosa, in that year wrote a thesis entitled “Using Language in Banyuwangi Regency”,
for his doctoral degree from University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
Herusantosa said that Javanese and Using language genealogically share the
same root. After studying words of Using
language and Javanese, Herusantosa found that the two languages come from the
same root but had developed on its own separate courses.
But the dark time lingers over the fate of Using language. Gubernatorial Decree No.
19/ 2014 issued in April this year, states that the government recognizes only
two local languages in East Java. Javanese, spoken in middle and western part
of East Java and Madurese, a language spoken in the island Madura and in the
regencies of Jember, Bondowoso, Situbondo and along northern coastal areas of the
province.
The two
local languages will be the only ones to serve as mandatory local languages
taught in schools.
The decree defies an earlier recommendation
from a Congress of Javanese Language in October 1996 which states that in
principle Using language may be taught
in schools as a local language.
The recommendation was signed by Drs. Atlan,
the then head of provincial education and culture agency of East Java.
The Regional Legislative Council issued
similar recommendation which promoted Usling language as part of the
curriculum. Even the ministry of Education and Culture in Jakarta has permitted
the teaching of the local language in schools.
Using language is the soul of the Using people who considered themselves separated from their
Javanese cousins. Geographically
Banyuwangi is separated from other Javanese regencies, with Baluran forest in
the north, Ijen mountains in the west and Kumitir forest in the south and Bali
Strait in the east.
Blambangan, an ancient kingdom in the area
now called Banyuwangi, was known for its fierce resistance to both the Dutch and
Mataram kingdom of Central Java. The Dutch colonial rulers brought in thousands
of people from Java and Madura to fight against
Banyuwangi people.
The refusal to cooperate with the Dutch has
created once a derogatory term ‘Using’ which means ‘No.’ From then on, the
Dutch labels the locals as “Usingers”.
The geographical situation has created
isolation. Unlike Javanese language which has structural functions to address
to different people of different social ranks, Banyuwangi’s Using language remain egalitarian
without any “polite form.”
In its cultural perfomances, Banyuwangi’s
culture does not draw a line to separate its art forms, unlike Javanese culture
which differentiates between the refined art of the palace and the art of common
people. Banyuwangi gamelan (traditional musical instrument) runs very fast
compared to the slow style of Java’s gamelan.
The most recent gubernatiorial decree has
sparked an outcry from several prominent figures in Banyuwangi. One of them is
Hasnan Singodimayan who says the days of Using language are numbered.
“Once it is ousted from schools, the people
of Using will soon be wiped out. The
culture will not survive without its language,” Singodimayan who is also a
leading novelist and guardian of Banyuwangi’s culture.
Without any help from the local government,
the language will soon be neglected and forgotten. “The decree will speed up
the process.”
The death of Gandrung, and other
rituals such as the Seblang trance danceand
Kebo-Keboan is inevitable, simply because they use Using language.
The Jakarta Post 1 Nov 2014
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