The composition of musical notes and tempo can easily be found in our daily life. It not only acts as an accompaniment but also a cultural product that shapes their original environment identity. Even at a certain level, it can transform into a combat weapon. Through the fusion of electronic technology and the people’s rituals in the central highlands of Papua, wisisi comes as a breath of fresh air. Our Wisisi Music (Arief Budiman, Harun Rumbarar, Bonny Lanny; 2023) shows the process behind wisisi music’s development through the eyes of Nikolas, Asep, and a few other youth-doers.
Living under one roof in a dormitory, Nikolas and Asep made their music independently. With what they have, they insist on keeping wisisi alive. Wisisi itself got its form and presentation form from Central Highlands, Papua. The name wisisi is an onomatopoeia of the traditional Papuan instrument, pesek/wikalu, which usually accompanies Papuan ritual traditions. The presence of wisisi music fills the hustle and bustle of the Papuan citizen life, from ritual practices, religious ceremonies, and background music of a Tiktok video to a weapon during protests.
The possibility of transmitting music–local, traditional, modern, and others–due to the development of information technology is an opportunity to create and distribute music effectively. Asep, Nikolas, and other wisisi music producers succeeded to penetrate in almost every activity of the Papuan society in 2019. Amidst the exciting Aster dance, the Papuan youth generation considers wisisi as a music that must be played at gatherings. This aligns with how the Papuan society conceives music as an accompaniment to traditional and cultural activity. Asep, as the new generation, managed to adapt and innovate wisisi without neglecting its roots as a music that was and will be inherited. A decade before wisisi gained popularity in Papua, the late Arnold AP and Edy Mofu introduced Membesak as music that shaped the cultural identity of Papua. Markus Rambino, a Papuan music composer, states that music has been in the Papuan people’s lives since a long time ago, and wisisi presents popular electronic music that evolves in its process.
As with the food chain, the music transition chain can only work if all variables in the music ecosystem function as they are supposed to. In the past, wisisi music, as a hybrid between electronic music (popular) and traditional music (pesek instrument), was only acceptable to Papuans. Now, wisisi presents an evolution still rooted in tradition that brings along innovations. Mixing the strums of pesek with the beats of popular electronic music is one of the ways Asep and his friends used to spread wisisi music. Our Wisisi Music (2023) shows how persistence and adaptability toward change are helpful tools for overcoming pressing situations.
In collaboration with Yes No Wave Music and Papuan Voices, this short documentary film presented by Project Multatuli and Sharjah Art Foundation will take you on a journey through wisisi music sure to get you swaying. The eclectic visual editing in the transition between frames in harmony with Asep’s music offers an unforgettable viewing experience. Our Wisisi Music (2023) is selected in Short Competition Festival Film Dokumenter 2023. Save the date and come Aster dancing with us! (bonivasios dwi) (Vanis/(Catharina Maida)
Film Details
Our Wisisi Music (Wisisi Nit Meke)
Arief Budiman, Harun Rumbarar, Bonny Lanny | 40 Minutes | 2023 | Papua, West Papua | Color | 13+
Screening Schedule
12.04 | Auditorium IFI-LIP | 19.00 WIB
12.08 | Gedung ex Bioskop Permata | 20.00 WIB
