Preserving South East Sulawesi’s Silat Culture, Dompet Dhuafa Launches Serambi Budaya

KENDARI, SULTRA — Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) has 11 intangible cultural heritages (WBTB) designated by the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) RI, one of which is traditional martial arts culture. Dompet Dhuafa launched the Serambi Budaya program on Sunday (2/10/2022) at the Dome 9 Hotel, Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi, in its commitment to preserving Southeast Sulawesi culture through traditional martial arts, 

The launch event was attended by Dompet Dhuafa Culture & Education GM Herman Budianto, Dompet Dhuafa Sultra Branch Leader Hassan Afif, Tourism & Culture of Kendari City Rasidin. In the talk show session led by Traditional Silat Activists from Halu Oleo University Academy Kendari, Agusmal, with the theme the Future of Southeast Sulawesi Traditional Silat, Dompet Dhuafa also invited several other speakers, including Southeast Sulawesi Culturalist Prof. Dr. La Niampe, Silat Activist Ewa Wuna Joko Priyono, Deputy Dean 1 of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Halu Oleo Kendari Akhmad Marhadi, and Secretary of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) Southeast Sulawesi Alimin.

In addition, several traditional martial arts communities and dance studios in Southeast Sulawesi were also invited to witness the inauguration of this Serambi Budaya. As many as 80 attendees attended this event.

Hassan Afif delivers his remarks.

 

Herman Budianto delivers his remarks.

Hassan Afif said, “Dompet Dhuafa seeks to preserve The Culture of Southeast Sulawesi through the Serambi Budaya program. Later there will also be a Sultra Silat Festival held at the beginning of the year. The implementation of the Serambi Budaya program comes from the zakat fund of Dompet Dhuafa donors”.

Adding Hassan’s words, Herman Budianto said that Dompet Dhuafa’s programs always aim to empower the community. One of them is by launching the Serambi Budaya program, which is expected to make people empowered through culture. In fact, so many Indonesian cultures have been abandoned and forgotten. Serambi Budaya Dompet Dhuafa is present and developed in the regional branches of Dompet Dhuafa. Currently, there are 12 Cultural Porches according to cultural advantages in their respective regions.

“The Serambi Budaya is not just a process of cultural preservation but also makes the order of society that is finally empowered through culture,” he said.

Performances from martial arts activists

 

Performances from martial arts activists

 

Performances from martial arts activists

After it was officially launched, Serambi Budaya presented martial arts performances from the Ewa Wuna Silat Gunung Jati College, Langkah, Kapitalao Art Studio, Ewa Wuna Comoneno, and Sangke Wuna. Dompet Dhuafa also gives appreciation to traditional martial arts activists from each university as Traditional Silat Heroes of Southeast Sulawesi. Later, Dompet Dhuafa will launch a martial arts conservation area, namely Kampung Silat Gunung Jati Dompet Dhuafa, as well as Kampung Silat Jampang in Bogor, West Java.

The Kendari City Tourism & Culture Office also greatly appreciated the Cultural Porch launch by Dompet Dhuafa. Rasidin said that the cultural progress strategy that must be carried out by the central and regional governments on a national and local scale has been answered by Dompet Dhuafa as an institution that upholds the culture of the archipelago.

Awarding awards to traditional martial arts heroes

 

During the Talkshow session, Dompet Dhuafa presented several speakers who were very concerned with cultural preservation.

 

Photos with speakers and invited guests from various communities and circles

In line with that information, Prof. Dr. La Niampe expressed his gratitude to Dompet Dhuafa for holding this extraordinary program. According to him, this program will be very useful for cultural activists, especially for martial arts in Southeast Sulawesi. He also emphasized that not only culturalists and martial arts activists are obliged to preserve culture, but also the government, NGOs, young people, and the entire community have a responsibility for culture.

“It’s not just for cultural people and martial arts activists. But also the government, NGOs, children, all are responsible for preserving culture,” he said. (Dompet Dhuafa / Muthohar)