The Aesthetic Diversity and Local Ideology

Abstract

Diversity is a socio-cultural phenomenon lived by the people of the archipelago. In Indonesia, tolerance and harmony prevail in social, cultural, political and civic life. Discrimination was known when colonialism came to Indonesia and divided the society into three groups, namely Europeans, foreigners, and nationals or natives. This article focuses on the study of the performing arts, which are packaged according to aesthetic principles and represent ideology and local political dynamics. The three performing arts are wayang, ludruk, and tayub. The study looks at traditional arts with stories or plays that represent the history and ideology of the supporting community. Ethnographic data were obtained through literature sources and field research, observation, participation, and interviews with selected informants, i.e., artists, cultural experts, and local community leaders. Analyses were conducted from data provision to presentation of analysis results.