At the same time during Inacade 2022,

International Conference also held from  7th of November 2022,

There are 4 keynote speakers during the session

Both sessions were participated by 300 participants via zoom

Mita Purbasari W. as faculty member of GDNM were presenting her topic which is called

The Magnificent Betawi.

She shared a small part of her long research journey about 2 things that related to Peranakan in Betawi, Jakarta.

This research came from her heart since she was born and raised in Betawi culture.

She mentioned about

  1. Ondel-ondel (the giant puppet signature of Betawi) that was known as Barongan long time ago. It was created to repel the calamity at that time.

The Female face is painted in white while the male in red. Their shape probably was adapted from Barong Landung, Bali.

The female barong is believed to represent the daughter of a wealthy trader from China who is famous for her beauty. White face symbolizes beauty and tenderness in Betawi.

The Ondel-Ondel song popularized by legendary Betawi artist and comedian Benyamin Sueb. Tell the story of ondel-ondel child.

It might have been related to a belief in Chinese cultures, called the child of Ambar: a child who is actually dead but is still considered alive (maintaining the spirit of a death child).

Treated as if they were still there or alive. In China, it is believed as luck or wealth, while in Betawi to maintain spiritual balance.

 

  1. Rolling Dice, Kopyok gambling is a gambling by using three rolling dices to determine the number or image on the surface. At that time, there were two types of gambling among the Chinese: card and dice gambling or Po.

This game is interesting for her not for the sake of the fun site of game but because of it relations to color naming in Betawi.

Related to the gamble live in Betawi, there are some interesting things that came up and be a part of Betawi’s life:

The red color on the dots creates the name of the typical Betawi color: Merah Dadu (Merah means red, Dadu means Dice)

The gambling is close to the prostitution, where the women dress up flirty to seduce men by wearing bright red lipstick. This color is then known by the name: Merah Gincu.(Merah means Red, Gincu means lipstick).

 

Another well-known color is Blao.

Derived from Chinese Betawi tradition to use cooling powder to maintain body temperature when sick with mumps and to withstand the sun’s heat.

The tradition of using blao (whitening agent for fabric), it created the name biru blao (blue chalk).