Ondel Ondel (2024)
The displacement of the Betawi after Indonesia’s independence is an example of how processes of evictions in urban cities led to the essentialization of the indigenous culture and a loss of heritage. Urban displacement of Indigenous peoples can cause spatial dispersion, which can break their community’s cohesion apart, which in turn can result in a loss of knowledge and identity.
‘Ondel Ondel’ raises questions concerning the perseverance of the Betawi within Jakarta after their evictions. The film follows Yahya, Opan, Shafira, Nabila, and Suryadi, uncovering how they adapted to their new environments. While the viewer discovers each person’s way of expressing their heritage, part of their identity is unveiled.
‘Ondel Ondel’ argues that urban displacement negatively impacts the identity of the Betawi since they lost their collective legitimacy for a common identity. The story of the Betawi foregrounds the broader issues of displacement, community, and culture in a postcolonial and urbanized country.
About the ‘Ondel Ondel’ Project
Mai-Lu has been interested in different cultural conventions and knowledge systems from an early age. She remembers when she was younger, she was amazed by the family customs of her friends and classmates.
For the master’s thesis in anthropology, Mai-Lu was interested in Indonesia’s capital change from Jakarta to Nusantara. However, this project’s scope was too big. Her focus therefore shifted towards Jakarta and its inhabitants. What effect would the idea of a relocation have on them?
That is how she came across the Betawi, the indigenous peoples of Jakarta. She realized along the way that their story was not so much about the upcoming relocation, but more about the relocations in the past.
‘Ondel Ondel’ was produced by Mai-Lu Ensink in 2024 as part of the Master Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (CADS) with a specialization in Visual Ethnography at Leiden University.
