Javanese Women Hybridity: Postcolonial Study of Nyonya Muluk in Damar Kurung Paintings

Abstract

Damar Kurung is a typical lantern of Gresik, made in the 16th century. In 2017 Damar Kurung was declared an intangible cultural heritage by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture. Masmundari (1904-2005) was a female artist who painted Damar Kurung based on skills learned from her ancestors. Among Masmundari's many paintings, Nyonya Muluk is the most frequently painted. Nyonya Muluk is described as a big woman wearing a dress and wings. Many people say that Nyonya Muluk is a picture of Queen Wilhemina that Masmundari has seen directly. To uncover Nyonya Muluk's identity, it is necessary to explain the image and meaning of this traditional art, the author uses Bahasa Rupa method (Tabrani, 2012), which analyzes the contents of the wimba, cara wimba, tata ungkapan and how to read wimba. Then, analyzed using postcolonial theory, specifically using the concepts of hybridity and mimicry to find out the identity of Nyonya Muluk. Finally, this research is to produce (1) A description of the relationship between the two cultures (East and West/invaders and colonized) which is manifested in the figure of Nyonya Muluk. (2) Nyonya Muluk is a representation of Javanese women's hybridity that illustrates the hopes and dreams of Masmundari (as an East representative) to be similar to the West.

Keywords

• damar kurung
• nyonya muluk
• women
• postcolonial
• hybridity