International Journal of Cultural and Art Studies

Exploring Materials for Constructing Fancy Dress Masquerade Costumes in Winneba, Ghana (1958-2020)

2024-04-21T11:21:10+07:00

The representation of Fancy Dress masquerades in Ghana, particularly in Winneba, has been revered as part of the country’s popular culture. Fancy Dress masquerade performances, which originated in coastal towns of Ghana during the 18th century under the aegis of colonialism, are currently seen in popular parades and club competitions. Undoubtedly, the utilisation of costumes forms the cornerstone of Fancy Dress masquerading. Although Fancy Dress masquerade costumes add to the depth and breadth of the performance, little empirical study exists on the materials used to construct costumes for this performance. In this study, we explore materials used to construct Fancy Dress masquerade costumes in Winneba, Ghana, from 1958 to 2020. Using a qualitative approach, multiple instruments, and engaging thematic and document analytical frames to analyse the data, the findings of the study revealed the use of fabrics; leather and jute bags. The rest were foam; agricultural products; paper, strawboards and used packaging boxes; net, fibre and plastic sachets to construct costumes such as ‘cowboy’, ‘tigers’ and ‘hunters’. With a treasure trove of materials, fabrics were chiefly used due to their unique physical properties. On the heels of the finding, we recommend that practitioners explore non-conventional and sustainable materials to maintain ecological sustainability. Ultimately, the study advances the understanding of masquerade costumes by addressing gaps in the literature and providing new perspectives.

Horizon of Expectation of Mandarin Students Towards the Novel Huo Zhe (活着): Literary Reception Approach

2024-04-21T11:19:13+07:00

This study discusses the horizon of expectations of the students in the novel Huózhe (活着) by Yu Hua. This research aims to measure the horizon of expectations that readers have regarding the ideas conveyed by the novel Huo Zhe (活着), so it is hoped that this can contribute to the development of literary reception theory. The theory used is the literary reception theory which focuses on exploring the form of a horizon of expectation, so that the presence of a literary work can be accepted in society. The methodology used is qualitative descriptive method as a basis for determining variables, problem formulation, data collection techniques, data classification and data analysis. The research informants were 35 students majoring in the Mandarin Language from 6th and 8th semesters who had taken the concentration in literature. Informants will be asked to read Yu Hua's novel Huózhe (活着) and provide their responses through a questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that the novel Huózhe (活着) fulfils the 3 criteria carried in the Jauss theory, namely the values depicted in the text, the knowledge and experience of the readers, and the conflict between fiction and reality. Thus, it can be concluded that the reading informants from the 6th and 8th-semester students majoring in Chinese accept the novel Huózhe (活着) positively, The results of acceptance positively influence new views that are built into the reader's horizon of expectations in interpreting the meaning of the ideas conveyed by the novel.

Cultural Encounters: Puppetry Performing Arts (Wayang) and Dangdut Music as a Reflection of India-Indonesia Integration

2024-04-22T15:26:28+07:00

The purpose of this research is to reveal the relationship or social and cultural influence of the Indian nation on the expression of performing arts (wayang) and dangdut music in Indonesia. The hope of this research is to increase public awareness of the identity of national performing arts and music, which is rarely realized to be heavily influenced by Indian culture. Specifically, the aspects examined in this research include changes in the content of stories from Indian epics in the adaptation of Indonesian performing arts, as well as dangdut music that adapts the energetic spirit of music and dance from India. The method used in this research is qualitative with primary data sources derived from scientific articles and books related to the research. The data validation analysis technique used in this research is triangulation. Triangulation is used as a means of comparing the amount of data, to determine its consistency and accuracy, which will be displayed in the research. The results of this study show that, the culture brought by India is not really one hundred percent imitated or copied by the Indonesian people. The author concludes that the hybridity that occurs between Indian and Indonesian culture actually forms a new innovation in the field of art itself or can also be called a new work. The Mahabharata and Ramayana stories, which were originally the source of puppetry, changed and adapted to Indonesian culture. As a result, there are many compositions of the two epics, character changes, and the emergence of new characters that do not exist in the Mahabharata and Ramayana themselves, such as the punakawan characters that are closely related to the spread of Islam in Indonesia. The same goes for dangdut, a music that was originally based on the character of Malay music from Indonesia, now transformed into a new genre called dangdut due to the influence of India, through political elements and the spread of Indian movies in the 20th century.

Locally Taboo Words Within East Java Society: A Sociolinguistic Study

2024-04-17T07:44:13+07:00

Researchers can learn a lot about a culture's values, beliefs, and fears by looking at the things that people don't do. What a culture thinks is holy, dangerous, or rude can be shown by taboos. This can help us figure out how societies work and how they've changed over time. This article analyzes the use of taboos in the daily communication of the people of East Java, particularly adolescents. Rural and urban Javanese have differing perspectives on the usage of taboo language, respectively. This study intends to examine the opposition of views between rural and urban Javanese individuals who use taboo language to communicate, as well as the types of taboo words typically employed by Javanese people. The type of data obtained from the study is qualitative, thus the data that will be reported in this study will be in the context of the usage of taboo language by rural, urban, and East Java Province-dwelling Javanese. The data was also collected by Interviews: Talking to people from a wide range of backgrounds in depth. Ask them open-ended questions about how they feel about banned words when they're used, and how they make them feel. Since rural Javanese continue to use language and manners, their perspectives on taboo language analysis differ from those in urban areas. The East Javanese believe that profanity and restricted language should not be utilized in speech and social interactions.

The Combination of Culture and Art in Muludan Mask Dance as a Strategy for Preserving Tradition

2024-04-26T09:35:58+07:00

Festivals and celebrations are among many ways for a culture or tradition to be presented to society. Muludan Mask is a Surabaya culture where children often play with these masks when celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday. But unfortunately, this culture is starting to be eroded by the times along with the development of the globalization era. Many efforts have been made by both the Surabaya government and communities in Surabaya to preserve the Muludan mask tradition. One of the efforts made by the Arbaya Dance Community in 2017 and 2018 was to celebrate the Prophet's birthday at Balai Pemuda Surabaya by dancing the Muludan Mask dance together. The qualitative method with interviews as a data collection method was applied to collect data from within the Arbaya Dance Community as the source to determine how effective and sustainable the efforts to preserve the Muludan mask tradition are. This article wants to show how art and culture are combined to preserve a tradition since tradition is one of the components composing a place identity. The results of this research show that the existence of the Muludan Mask tradition needs to be reaffirmed so that it doesn’t fade completely from Surabaya society because it can affect the identity of Surabaya. This tradition's small number of cultural practitioners causes this article to have only one source from one community. It is hoped that this article can provide further information about the Muludan Mask and help this tradition to be noticed by the Surabaya people.

Exploring the Linguistic Landscape of Public Elementary Schools in Medan: Understanding Forms and Functions

2024-06-24T17:07:39+07:00

The linguistic landscape, or "schoolscape," in public elementary schools in Medan, Indonesia, is a relatively new area of study in linguistics. This descriptive qualitative research explores language use within the school environment, considering its social and cultural aspects. The study aims to analyze the linguistic forms, usage, and functions present in the linguistic landscape of these schools. Data from photographs capturing linguistic units was collected from four public elementary schools in Medan. This study employed systematic sampling, specifically purposive sampling, to select public elementary schools in Medan based on criteria related to the city's main areas with diverse linguistic units. The findings reveal various linguistic forms, including acronyms, words, phrases, sentences, and monolingual and bilingual texts. Language within the linguistic landscape serves informational and symbolic functions, providing information to readers and reflecting the relationship between language and power through linguistic signs associated with local leaders. While Indonesian is the dominant language used, there is a lack of representation of specific ethnic or cultural identities. The findings have global implications, revealing language's role in education and its impact on social and cultural dynamics. Understanding linguistic forms, usage, and functions provides valuable insights for education policies promoting language diversity, skills, and cultural inclusivity. The study suggests enriching the linguistic landscape by considering the use of local or minority languages existing in the region. This study contributes to understanding linguistic landscapes in Indonesian schools and highlights the importance of incorporating diverse languages to promote language proficiency and cultural preservation.