Indonesian Immigrants in
South Philadelphia
Folklore 321: Spring 2007
Community Service-Learning
as Cultural Brokerage
Bridging Cultures, Bridging Communities
Between Two Countries
Indonesia
And here in the U.S.….
South Philadelphia
Their new home…
The Question;
How do they make Philadelphia “Home”?
Our Client
•
Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School
(FACTS) in Chinatown
FACT School’s Missions
“To
respect for
“Folkteach
arts serves
everyone’s cultural
heritage, for the
knowledge of our
elders, and for the
power of
community-based
arts”
Their Request
“We want to know
Philadelphia’s
“Folk arts serves
Indonesian immigrants’
needs and resources for
their cultural and
linguistic maintenance
to better serve
Indonesian children at
our school”
-- Deborah Wei, the
Principal of the FACT
school.
Bridging Four Organizations
•Center for Folklore and Ethnography,
University of Pennsylvania
•Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS)
•Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
•South Philadelphia High School ESOL Program
Exploring the Community;
Indonesian RAs’ at
South Philadelphia High School
as Cultural Brokers…
Bridging Communities
Identifying Windows to the Community
Local Indonesian
Stores in S. Philly
Indonesian Foodways
“Foods in Indonesia
are really really
delicious—even using
the same recipe, it
tastes different.”
--Frederick,
11th grade RA student
Traditional Arts
Gamelan,
Indonesian Traditional
Orchestra at
Swarthmore College
Traditional Arts
Wayang,
Indonesian Traditional
Puppet Shows
Language:
More Languages, More Opportunities
“I’m glad to be able to
understand two
languages at such a
young age. ”
-- Pricilia, 10th grade
RA student
Old Javanese Script
Community Health:
Traditional Medicine and Massage
“I get Indonesian
massage often here,
because I work harder
than I did in Indonesia,
and my body aches.”
Jamu: Traditional Herb Medicine
--Deddy, Indonesian
informant
Indonesian Pop Music:
Dangdut
“You think dangdut is stupid,
but you listen to it anyway
because you are homesick.”
--A series of jokes, “You are
Indonesian, when…”
Dangdut in America performance in Blue Bell -March 2007
Celebration of Indonesian
Independence Day
“Oh, how good if all
Indonesians were like our
group here in
Philadelphia!”
2004 Indonesian Independence Day
--Father Astanto,
Indonesian Catholic
Priest, in his comments
about the success of the
event
Cultural Encounters
between Communities
And
Expressive Cultures Crossing Boundaries
Dangdut In America
“I want to see Americans
learn dangdut, our
traditional pop music.”
--Rissa Asnan, director of
Dangdut in America show
One of the finalists for the Dangdut in America Show
Staging Reciprocity
One of our students, Yuki Yamaguchi performing for
Dangdut in America Show in March, 2007.
Speaking across Differences
through Arts
Free Style
Wayang
Shadow Puppet
Show to convey
evangelical
messages
-- Philadelphia
Praise Center
Learning Other Cultures
“Doing
ethnography is to
see the world from
others’
perspectives”
–Rachel FiskeCipriani, a student
of the course
Learning about Selves
“I started to feel myself
proud to be Indonesian…”
Learning about Selves
“Because you
want to learn
about our
culture…”
Learning about Selves
“I myself start to
learn Indonesian
culture again.”
--Vincent, 12th
grade RA.
Music:
Gamelan Semara Santi,
Performance on April 15, 2007
at Swarthmore College.
Photos:
Mary T. Hufford
Yoonhee Kang
Alexandra
Merrilyn
Ully
William
Vincent
Ivana
Thomas
Barcy
Vidya
Priscilia
Pryscilla
Frederick
Exploring Memory and Tradition in Philacelphia
Communities:
Rachel Fiske-Cipriani
Beth Gingold
Aaron Shapiro
Yuki Yamaguchi
James Yoakum
Laura Zieji