30/06/2024

Banjarmasin – Students of the Indonesian Language and Literature Education Study Program (PBSI), Faculty of Teacher Training and Education (FKIP), Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) batch 2023 who took the Literature Appreciation course, held a traditional theater performance of Japin Bakisah. This activity is a form of final exam for this course as well as a project-based course output. This series of performances was held at the Balairung Sari building, South Kalimantan Cultural Park on Sunday, June 30 from 10.00-17.00 WITA.

Japin bakisah itself is a form of traditional theater based on the Malay art of japin dance. The main rule of Japin Bakisah is that the actors and actresses who play must dance Japin accompanied by panting music at the opening and closing and at each entrance and exit of the stage. The story of Japin Bakisah revolves around the daily problems of the community and usually among the actors there is a character who gives advice as part of the problem solving. The dialog in Japin Bakisah is spoken in the Banjar language.

Four groups of students performed four shows with the theme of the river as something close to the daily lives of the Banjar people. The four performances were titled “Papikat”, “Rigat”, “Macal” and “Banyu Mangidam”. The main issue raised in most of the performances was the diminishing function of the river due to pollution by the community itself.

According to the Coordinator of PS PBSI, Ahsani Taqwiem, the Japin Bakisah performance is not only an event to showcase the talents of the students, but also a dedication in preparing and reviving Banjar tradition and culture through literature in particular and art in general. “Creativity and experience in stage management, costumes, and skills gained in Japin dancing are expected to be useful for students. Hopefully this experience will inspire our students to continue working and achieving,” he said enthusiastically. (admin)