As wildfires rage across Sumatra and Kalimantan, frustrated Indonesians are turning to performance art to call for greater government action and draw global attention to the destruction of both the country’s rainforests and rich cultural heritage.
In South Sumatra, local art collective Jaga Api recently launched a project titled Tarian Kehancuran Budaya (the Dance of Cultural Destruction), using traditional performance to convey the human and environmental toll of the fires, as reported by The Straits Times.
Filmed in a scorched forest outside the provincial capital of Palembang, one viral video shows a dancer wearing a gas mask and Aesan Paksangko – South Sumatra’s ceremonial bridal attire. Against a backdrop of burnt trees and ash, she performs the tari tanggai, a traditional welcome dance whose usual celebratory symbolism takes on a more sombre meaning amid the destruction.
The video has over 3,500 likes and 820 re-shares on social media, reflecting the attention the performance has received online.