Birgit Berg
received a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from Brown University
in May 2007. In her dissertation, titled "The music of Arabs, the
sound of Islam: Hadrami ethnic and religious presence in Indonesia,"
she explored the cultural traditions of Arab descendants in Indonesia
and analyzed the role of Arab culture in popular Indonesian Islamic
arts. Her dissertation research was sponsored by a Fulbright-Hays
Doctoral Dissertation Award (DDRA), a grant from the Watson Institute
for International Studies, and a Blakemore Freeman Language Study
Fellowship. Birgit has also completed research on national forms of
Christian music in Indonesia (the topic of her M.A. thesis at Smith
College), and she has conducted field research on traditional arts in
the Indonesian regions of Gorontalo, Manado/Minahasa, and
Sangihe-Talaud. Currently, she is working in Washington, D.C. as the
Program Coordinator for Voice of America International Broadcasting's
East Asia Division.
Email: birgit.berg@gmail.com
Music Moves Religion
Syracuse University, April 18-20 2008
Syracuse University, April 18-20 2008
Birgit Berg, "The Music of Arabs, The Sound of Islam: Arab-Indonesian Music and Islamic Expression in Indonesia"
Embarking from Southern Arabia, Hadrami Arabs traveled, traded, and spread religion across the Indian Ocean world over the course of several centuries. In Indonesia today, descendants of Hadrami traders can be found living in urban communities commonly known as Arab Quarters (kampung Arab). Although Arab descendants in Indonesia have assimilated into Indonesian society in many ways, members of these ethnic communities preserve and maintain self-ascribed "Arab" traditions, including the performance of a lute and drum ensemble called gambus. In this presentation, I will introduce the story of Arab-Indonesian gambus tradition and show how younger generations of Arab Indonesians use music to reinvent their Arab ethnicity in reaction to both global flows and religious culture.
Questions? Please contact Juliana Finucane: jkfinuca@syr.edu