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R.A. Kartini’s Comemmoration: What We Need Was Beyond the Traditional Dresses Carnival



Couple days before March 21, I went to one of traditional dress rental. On there, I found the rental was so full of moms fitting the costume to their children, while the kids seemed not focus and wanted to end that activity as soon as possible. Then I asked to the rental owner if the peak season is coming, and she answered definitely yes.

We just got through commemoration of R.A. Kartini’s birthday (as known as Kartini), marked by the carnival of students wear traditional dress. Moreover, we would easily find most officers in all provinces over the country attempt to do so. I didn’t get the point why we have to commemorate Kartini’s fight with all those attributes, even men also wear the traditional dress on March 21. Is Kartini a designer of traditional dresses or something?

I actually love the traditional dress all the way they are and also like how children wear them as a symbol to appreciate the culture, but I believe that there must be a better method to commemorate Kartini. As a big fan of Kartini, I know her more than as a fighter of woman emancipation for gender equality. She was a great thinker, I amazed on how Kartini maximize her link as an aristocratic at that time to connect with the youth around the world through her influential words. Kartini has a high intelligence, smart, and great in literature. We can read from her letters how she has an ability to elaborate the suffering of Indonesian at that time honestly in beautiful words.  I would restate that she was not only an emancipation fighter, but also Indonesian great thinker and poet. As written in one of her letter in the early 1900, at any age and in any field, the pioneers always had great obstacles. That we already know. But, it’s good to have a goal. A call. Let's say we are the crazy people ... or anything ... But we cannot do otherwise. We have no right to stay ignorant, like the people who are not valuable. Nobility carries obligations.

Something that a bit annoyed me is the question about whether our generation well inform of a true figure of Kartini or not –beside they commonly know that she came from Java and regularly use kebaya-. If they don’t, it wasn’t their fault. I myself found the deeper information of her from books and other media that haven’t been introduced by my teacher at school. Then why in commemorate of Kartini’s birthday we are not trying to give that knowledge through creative program, instead of being busy with only the traditional costume. We can say that commemoration Katini’s birthday has been a ritual in our society. As stated by Steven Lukes on his paper Political Ritual and Social Integration that political rituals pictures them (on special day-red), not as promoting value integration, but as crucial elements in the `mobilization of bias'. I agree with that argument that the way we commemorate Kartini tend to create a bias of value in society. 

In my opinion, the more people know about Kartini the more they will be inspired by her thought and fight. Our kids of course able to still wear the traditional costume, but we need to walk far more to give them both symbol and value. 

I believe that when we make a difference movement on commemorate of Kartini’s birthday, it will impact on our next generation way of thinking. Later on, our kids will not only talk about shell, but they will also discuss about the essence, even beyond. Kartini has opened the gate, let us go deeper and explore more. 

First article on "Dibuang Sayang" Label, have been sent to national media but not published ;)
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