Krisna Jiwanggi Banyu (Jibon)’s artwork with the title “Tragedi Banyuwangi”.
©Bayu/Bal
This article was originally written and published in Indonesian on May 21, 2023.
Reformasi has not only a single face. Reformasi was not solely about a massive demonstration demanding the downfall of the oppressive regime that had been in place for more than three decades. Reformasi perpetually was not about Jakarta, Soeharto, and demonstrators. Reformasi was an effect of social, economic, and political dynamics. The burst reached its peak when Soeharto was overthrown on May 21, 1998–25 years ago.
Other regional events are also intertwined with reform. In people’s memories, these events are set down in the face of reform. Those memories are preserved from generation to generation as a legendary saga in every region in Indonesia. Each saga recaps various narratives in the form of memories and feelings that occurred, establishing various faces of Reformasi. These faces can be in the guise of cruelty, triumphs, disagreement, occultism, and so on.
Epically, these faces are echoed throughout the various artworks in an exhibition entitled “Mengingat 25 Tahun Reformasi (M25TR)”, initiated by Cemeti–Institute for Art and Society. In the exhibition hall, we met Dwiki Nugroho Mukti, a curator from Banyuwangi who was involved in the M25TR exhibition. He explained that the commemoration of the reformation exhibition, which was completed on April 15, 2023, deliberately avoids canonizing major events in Jakarta. “I think the narratives from the ‘outskirts’ are also important, no less important than those in big cities,” Dwiki stated.
the art installation from Sudut Kalisat with the title “Ruang Tamu Kelabu”.
©Bayu/Bal
At the corner of the exhibition room was a set of Jepara-style teak wooden chairs with a matching table in the center. A portrait of a Muslim leader we did not recognize was hanging on the wall alongside two Arabic calligraphy frames with Allah and Muhammad’s script. As we got closer, we realized that there was a neatly sheathed machete on top of the table. Next to it, there was a thick old album. A yellow bamboo stick was leaning at the edges of the room.
“The artwork in the corner [Ruang Tamu Kelabu-ed] is about the santet* shaman’s massacre in East Java,” Dwiki explained to us about the art installation entitled “Ruang Tamu Kelabu”. Dwiki said that Sudut Kalisat, a collective art space from Jember, made the art installation. Furthermore, he said that the installation speaks about the condition of the living room during the santet shaman’s terrorizing massacre, an event that accompanied the initial turmoil of Reformasi.
Like viruses, the terror tragedy that originated in Banyuwangi spread rapidly throughout the Tapal Kuda territory in East Java. Majalah Tempo covered this incident in an article entitled “Babak Baru Geger Santet: Konflik Politik?” published October 19, 1998. In it, reported data from the East Java Regional Police said that from January to October 1998, 170 people were killed, 14 seriously injured, and 17 slightly injured. In contrast, the Banyuwangi branch of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) came with different data. In the same year, 148 people were counted as victims of the santet shaman’s massacre, 101 of whom died. Of the victims, 96 of them were NU members, such as branch administrators, mosque administrators, and Quran teachers.
Dwiki had felt the terror-filled atmosphere of the santet shaman’s massacre in Banyuwangi. He said that during the geger gedhen**, the tense atmosphere was always acquainted with the night breeze. Behind the dark veil of the night, it seemed as if the black ninja was always carefully overseeing every target, waiting for the proper execution time. For it, men routinely stand guard at the night post, intercepting every visit that wanted to enter the village. “Those who wanted to enter the village are always asked for their ID cards first,” said Dwiki.
Krisna Jiwanggi Banyu (Jibon)’s artwork with the title “Ninja Kampung”.
©Bayu/Bal
The portrait of memoirs from the santet shaman’s horror massacre also appears in other artwork. Krisna Jiwanggi Banyu, an artist from Banyuwangi who’s familiarly called Jibon, skillfully presented the frightening memories of the santet shaman’s massacre on canvas. By a soft pastel water-based coloring technique, he exhibits the subtle glow in the splotches and strokes of paint on his canvas. Jibon successfully presented a tense atmosphere and terror implicit in the silence with every brush stroke. Jibon’s work on display at M25TR consists of three separate canvases that are continuous with each other. “Each work entitled ‘Tragedi Banyuwangi’, ‘Ninja Agen’, and ‘Ninja Kampung’,” he said.
The ninja’s figure in Jibon’s artwork does not refer to the ninja in the Japanese cartoon series. Nor is it someone who has the power of a nine-tailed fox within him. Ninja is a term for an executor who became a terror actor in the massacre of santet shaman. Through an online interview, Jibon told us that there were two types of ninjas at that time: ninja agen, a group of assassins created by the government, and ninja kampung. The two had very different motives and backgrounds.
According to Jibon, the origin of these ninjas is still confusing. However, profiteering from the book Politik Santet by Budi Osing, Jibon said that there was an indication that the santet shaman’s massacre in East Java, especially Banyuwangi, was a conspiracy from the authorities to disrupt political stability at that time. In fact, during Jibon’s research in the process of his artwork, he found that government elements were involved in determining the execution targets. “They [ninja agen-ed] targeted the santet shamans, recidivist, and local religious leader,” Jibon says.
On the other hand, Jibon narrated that ninja kampung himself appeared by taking advantage of the chaos that had been brought about by the ninja agen. A few people carried out many motives of crime and revenge by taking advantage of the ninja kampung’s existence as an assassin. They hire young male villagers to disguise themselves as ninjas to kill victims who are usually vilified as santet shamans. “They [young male villagers-ed] will be instigated, paid, and given ombenan or alcoholic drinks so they want to become a ninja,” Jibon explains.
While lighting the cigarette, Jibon further describes that a ninja was usually equipped with sikep or aji-aji as a magical move like a Japanese ninja’s ninjutsu. According to him, a ninja could stick to the walls and roofs of the houses. A ninja can also transform himself into an animal to trick and disguise himself, such as turning into a cat or mongoose. This seems to intensify the mystical chaos surrounding this ninja phenomenon.
Kharisma Adi’s artwork with the title “Saksi Hidup”.
©Bayu/Bal
A mystical aura also radiates from another artwork by a young artist from Pasuruan, Kharisma Adi, or known as Aris. In his work entitled “Saksi Hidup”, he talks about a ninja phenomenon in Pasuruan Regency. The dim light covered his artwork, depicting the mysticism clearly. The application of moringa leaf extracted natural colorant, using paper made from bamboo fiber, and a series of yellow bamboo convey this impression accurately. “I also talk about my art through the media and materials I use. My work will talk a lot about mystical and magical things in the future, ” Aris said when we met him at his residence.
During Aris’s creative and research process regarding memories extraction of the santet shaman’s massacre, he gets mystified and unique stories about ninjas at Pasuruan. He shared a story about chaos that appeared one night in an Islamic boarding school in 1998. Several students caught a mongoose with human eyes who was said to be a ninja in disguise. Due to these suspicions, the mongoose suddenly became bullion material for the students. However, like an invulnerability believer, the mongoose seems fine after being beaten badly. “The students beat the mongoose with yellow bamboo, which had been chanted by one of the ustadz ( and finally, the mongoose was beaten to a pulp-weakly and defenseless,” Aris ended his story.
Translator’s Note:
*Santet is a form of black magic with a medium to hurt people from afar.
**Geger gedhen is a term in Javanese to describe massive clashes.
Authors: Gayuh Hana Waskito and Fransicus Xaferius Christnaldi Ramadani
Editor: Cahya Saputra
Photographer: Bayu Tri Hanggara
Translator: Ester Veny