Congratulations to Doctor Alan Darmawan

11. Oktober 2021, von AAI Webmaster

Foto: unsplash

We warmly and wholeheartedly want to congratulate Alan Darmawan on his success of finishing and defending his PhD Thesis about the revival of a theatrical performance tradition in the Riau Islands, Indonesia. Alan came to Hamburg in 2016 where he soon settled in and started on his preliminary work on the research. He went to do field research in Indonesia in 2018 from which he returned with his wife and son who supported his work and made it a little easier for him to be away from home. His research progressed fine and he again went back to the field to check data and do more research in the area for his dissertation and a EU-funded Research Project CRISEA (2017-2020), which was partly managed by the Department at the AAI in Hamburg. For this project he co-wrote an article and co-directed a short documentary about the ongoing cultural identity configurations of the Malays in Riau, without losing track of his bigger project, his dissertation! He submitted his thesis this year and on 15 September 2021 at 16 o’clock the committee comprising his supervisors Prof. Dr. Christoph Antweiler from Bonn University and Prof. Dr. Jan van der Putten from our Department, together with Professor Elsa Clav  as the third reader, convened in the main building of the university for the defence.

Alan started to present the gist of his dissertation in the 20 minutes that were allocated for this, after which the professors started their critical assessment of the content of the thesis. Topics such as methodology, theoretical framework, political ramifications of the cultural work described and the role of religion in connection with the revival of the Mak Yong were discussed in a critical and lively manner for more than 90 minutes. Alan had prepared well and could counter all the points that were put to him by his assessors. Prior to the examination his written dissertation had been assessed well by the evaluators who overall evaluated the dissertation with a 1,0, which translates as magna cum laude in the academic grades used at the University of Hamburg.

Well done Alan! This is a great achievement, and the Department wishes you all the best in your future career and much happiness in your life with your wife and son!

Abstract of Alan’s dissertation:

A COUNTRY OF WORDS: The revival of mak yong theatrical performance and Malay identity formation in Indonesia’s Riau Islands

This study focuses on the revival of traditional culture and the formation of a distinctive Malay identity in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. Local authorities, cultural activists, and performers have promoted local historical narratives, tales, and performing arts to celebrate Malay identity by reconstructing a world shaped by stories, a localised Malay cultural realm that is best described as “a country of words.” I view the revitalisation of Malay heritage and the creation of iconic cultural representation through the revival of the theatre form mak yong by considering how it contributes to shaping Malay identity in the Riau Islands.

Focusing on performance and discourse practices, I find that mak yong’s revival is part of cultural revitalisation that materialises through the acts of heritagisation, traditionalisation, Malayisation, and regularisation of symbols and values. I argue that mak yong is being turned into heritage through the actions of its practitioners; it is linked to select narratives connecting Riau Islands with the past and supported by district and provincial governments; it is applied as a Malay identity marker both locally and transnationally; and its performances reflect distinctive values and ideals that are tied to place and identity. Mak yong’s revival in daily practices and stage performances contribute to shaping identity, reconstructing the cultural realm, and the (re)making a Malay subject.