Ondel-Ondel Culture: People's Perception on the Shifting in Function and Value Degradation

Lambok Hermanto Sihombing (1. Department of Communication, President University 2. Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia)

Humaniora
Vol 35, No 1 (2023)

Ondel-ondel is one of Jakarta’s most prominent cultures. It is a giant doll made of woods and decorated  with cotton clothes and human-like embellishments. However, there has been a shift in the way people perceive its role. Ondel-Ondel, which was initially used in significant ceremonial contexts, has evolved into a tool for busking or street entertainment, or more commonly known as Ondel-Ondel Ngamen. At the moment, Ondel-Ondel Ngamen has captured big interest of online users on YouTube. There is a variety of comments on YouTube regarding the existence and representation of Ondel-ondel Ngamen. In this study, the author aims to evaluate YouTube comments regarding people's perceptions of the Ondel-Ondel culture. The author applies a qualitative approach by providing the data from the top-three Indonesian news-related YouTube channels; CNN Indonesia, KompasTV, and Metrotvnews. The dataset is taken from any other scholarly articles that support this analysis. In this study, the author utilizes Stuart Hall's encoding-decoding and commodification theories to evaluate how people perceive Ondel-Ondel, which has undergone a shift in function and value degradation. This study's findings indicate that Ondel-Ondel is vulnerable to commodification. It is no longer regarded as a sacred aspect of rituals or noteworthy occasions.