Ryo Araki: Exploring Sundanese Ethnicity
Jakarta – Ryo Araki, a Ph.D. candicate from the Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan, presented his research design at the Research Center for Regional Resources (P2SDR) of the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) on Thursday (Feb 4, 2016). Under the supervision of Dr. Fadjar I. Thufail, a senior researcher of the Center, Araki is going to conduct a field research in Indonesia for his dissertation entitled “Exploring Sundanese Ethnic Identity and Cultural Conversion- an Anthropological study on the Globalization and Modernization Era”.
The two years field research will be carried out in Cijengkol village, Lembang, northern part of Bandung, West Jawa. Bandung is choosen and not only because the city is famous for its tourist destinations and creative industry, but also for the fact that Bandung is facing a rapid change, turning into a well-developed urban city. “Physical changes in Bandung were also followed by the social and cultural changes. There are certain factors but the two major factors are modernization and Islamic revival”, said Araki.
Araki argues that the impact of modernization on Sundanese ethnicity can be clearly detected in changes of fashion, and how metropolitan lifestyle (especially Jakarta) is accepted in Bandung and its surrounding area. For instance, most of people in Cijengkol village are prefer to use Go-Jek (app-based motorbike taxi) than the conventional motorbike taxi. “Another example is the use of Sundanese language among its people. The trend has changed. People from middle and high class tend to use Bahasa Indonesia instead of speaking their own mother tounge. Fortunately those who is residing in the country area, are still speaking the language.
Araki has been writing and doing research on Sundanese culture for several times. His latest publications include, “The spreading discourse phenomenon Jilboobs in Indonesia” and “AA Gym as enormously popular preacher in Indonesia”. His works has been recently presented on American Anthropological Association 144th Meeting in Denver, Colorado, United States on November, 2015
