Temu Budaya Nusantara is an annual event of IMBASADI (Association of Regional Language and Literature Students throughout Indonesia), whose venue is rotated according to the plenary meeting. As a result of the XXIX Nusantara Culture Gathering National Conference at I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa State Hindu University, Bangli, on November 8, 2023, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) was chosen as the host of the Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX in 2024 under the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University.

The Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX in 2024 be held on November 11-15, 2024. Proudly, the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program welcomed the delegation guests. The participants enthusiastically followed the series of Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX 2024 events from the first day to the end of the event.

This year’s Temu Budaya Nusantara carries the theme “Manggala Gadjah Mada: Ancala Raksi Budaya”. With deep meaning to the majesty of Maha Patih Gajah Mada, and the fragrance of culture. As such, many activities were carried out that were closely related to the cultures of each delegation present. The delegations present included Bugis Makassar Regional Literature (Hassanudin University), Javanese Language Education (Sebelas Maret University), Javanese Language Education (PGRI Semarang University), Batak Literature (University of North Sumatra), Religious Literature and Balinese Language Education (I Gusti Bagus Sugriwa State Hindu University), Regional Literature (Sebelas Maret University), Balinese Language Education (Ganesha Education University), Javanese Language and Literature Education (Semarang State University), and finally, Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture (Gadjah Mada University).

Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX began with the opening of the event which was held directly at Soegondo Auditorium, 7th floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. Beginning with the Golek Ayun-Ayun Jugag dance, followed by showing the teaser of Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX and several remarks starting from the representative of the Head of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program, Dr. Sri Ratna Saktimulya, M.Hum., remarks from the chief executive of Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX, Bima Muslih, and others.

Performance of Golek Ayun-Ayun Jugag Dance by students of Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program.

Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX was opened with the symbolic opening of Gajah Mada’s wayang by the representative of the Head of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program, Dr. Sri Ratna Saktimulya, M.Hum. The opening was also enlivened by an exhibition of regional musical instruments and a traditional culinary festival from each delegation’s home region. Then the event continued with delegation orientation to get to know each other and perform their best yells. In the evening, the delegates participated in a series of Cultural Performances which contained performances of script readings in the regional language of each delegate.

Dr. Sri Ratna Saktimulya, M.Hum. symbolically opened the Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX.

There are a lot of competitions held in this Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX. The competitions that have been held include the Batik Design Competition which is carried out online with an assessment system through the calculation of the most likes on the Instagram account @manggala.gadjahmada. In addition to the batik design competition, Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX also held other competitions, including the National Scientific Writing competition, Fairy Tale Competition, TikTok Nusantara Competition, Documentary Competition, and Essay Competition. Another activity that is no less interesting is Tilik UGM, where delegation participants take a series of UGM campus tours and learn the history of Gadjah Mada University.

Awarding of competition winners was held on the fourth day of Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX. The awarding night also featured a puppet show called Gajahmada Kridha (Ra Kuti Balela) masterminded by a student of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program class of 2023, Ki Rafi Nur Fauzy. All delegates participated in the awarding night which was also the closing of the Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX. Many members of the public also watched the Gajadmada Kridha puppet show.

Trophies of the winners of the Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX series of competitions

On the last day, the delegates participated in a series of Cultural Tourism activities to Pakualaman Temple. The delegates and some of the organizers of Temu Budaya Nusantara toured Pura Pakualaman accompanied by several lecturers from the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program and ended with the return of the delegates to their hometowns.

Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX is a representation of the young generation who actively participate in preserving their respective cultures. Coming from different regional backgrounds, cultures, and customs, IMBASADI is able to unite this diversity. With the implementation of Temu Budaya Nusantara XXX, it shows that there are still many students who are concerned with regional culture and have the skills to develop it, it is fitting for the new generation to promote the diversity of regional cultures in Indonesia with their abilities.

[Public Relation Faculty of Cultural Science, Editor: Sandya Kirani]

Rafael Raga Budi Panuntun, a student of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program class of 2021, successfully became the scriptwriter and director of a theater entitled “Ngathabagama” with the theme Panji which brought Sleman Regency to win the overall champion and best presenter in the 2024 DIY Provincial Theater Festival. Ngathabagama Theater was nominated as the best presenter, best director, best music director, best artistic director, best ensemble, and brought home the rotating trophy of the DIY Theater Festival.

Quoted from instagram account @rafaelragabp

Raga’s success should be an inspiration, in the midst of his academic busyness, Raga can still work and create a beautiful theater and become the best presenter. The process carried out by Raga is quite long, starting from initiating ideas, writing scripts, and so on. Ngathabagama Theater is a theater that was formed by accident, starting from a theater festival at the Sleman Regency level. Kapanewon Minggir has been the champion in Sleman Regency for 2 consecutive years. In 2023, Kapanewon Minggir presented a theater titled “Hagbala” with the theme of Yogyakarta, History and, Romanticism which was also written and directed by Rafael Raga Budi Panuntun, even 50% of this theater is self-made, starting from production, music, artistic, fashion, and others. Hagbala succeeded in winning the 1st place at the Sleman Regency level and the 3rd place at the DIY Province level.

After successfully becoming a champion with Hagbala in 2023. In 2024, Rafael Raga and Kapanewon Minggir advance to participate in the theater festival again in Sleman Regency. Raising Ngathabagama as the title of the presented theater, again succeeded in becoming the champion. Raga revealed that he wrote his script and ideas during KKN (Real Work Lecture) activities. This shows that with all his busyness, Raga was able to create an extraordinary work that was unexpectedly led him to become the best presenter in the 2024 DIY Theater Festival.

The theme of the 2024 DIY Theater Festival refers to the technical instructions from the DIY Cultural Service (Kundha Kabudayan) which is Panji. Panji’s romance and love with Sekartaji are brought into a theater. However, Raga revealed that he wanted Ngathabagama to be taken from another point of view, namely that the story of Panji and Sekartaji who always got a blessing from a nature or can be called the absolute destiny of God. Raga did research and found that Panji and Sekartaji always get a destiny that separates them, whether separated by time, someone, or circumstances.

The script that Raga wrote did not escape Raga’s consultation with the lecturer of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program, Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A., an academic and Wayang Gedhog practitioner who uses the theme of Panji and Sekartaji. With the conversation that Raga did with Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A., will strengthen the story and can be held accountable for its validation.

After doing a lot of research and discussion, Raga found that Panji and Sekartaji are always separated by fate, one of them is separated by the god Bathara Kala which is represented as Kala is time. Raga got an unusual idea, which is working on the Panji theater this time by showing Bathari Durga or the mother of Bathara Kala who gives wiradat to Panji and Sekartaji and separates the two of them to get a stronger essence.

Raga crossed between Wayang Gedhog and Wayang Purwa to find out the weakness of Bathari Durga. The weakness of Bathari Durga is Semar or Sang Hyang Ismaya, Semar can defeat Bathari Durha by reciting the way of the guardian, to prevent further evil. Caraka walik is a Javanese script (Hanacaraka) that is read backwards, believed to be able to ward off bad things, Raga took the title of the theater this time from the first line of caraka walik, Ngathabagama.

Many Javanese chronicles, both fiction and non-fiction, place the central story of Panji and Sekartaji. Raga’s knowledge of various kinds of Javanese literary works made him confident to write this script. The story of Panji and Sekartaji has not only become the wealth of the Nusantara but for the whole of Southeast Asia. There are also many essences of Wayang Purwa that are raised for Ngathabagama theater, such as Semar, Bathari Durga, the role of the gods, the urning of the nature of the wiradat, a romance story that has many relationships with literary works, and local wisdom such as the use of caraka walik which is widely known to expel or restore bad circumstances.

Not only the presentation of Ngathabagama theater, Raga also created an original soundtrack for Ngathabagama with the title “Kalasmara” which supports the dialogue between Panji and Sekartaji. This Kalasmara was created by Raga to archive theatrical presentations that have been carried out so that they still have a different essence. Raga added that he did not want a stage to only end in 30 minutes to 1 hour on stage, but to have another form of work that can forever be a memory and archive in the future.

The story of Raga in the creation of performing arts based on Javanese literary works is expected to be able to inspire students of the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program to be able to create and utilize the knowledge that has been obtained. Many works of art can be created equipped with knowledge from the Javanese Language, Literature, and Culture Study Program.

Master of Linguistics Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada will receive a visit from the Language Center of Southeast Sulawesi Province on:

Day/Date: Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Time: 13.00 – 15.15 WIB

Place: Room 721, Soegondo Building 7th Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM

This meeting aims to discuss the Compilation of Bilingual Dictionary (Indonesia-Region) and Writing of Scientific Articles, as well as discuss other opportunities for cooperation between the two parties.

This activity will be attended by:

Dean of Faculty of Humanities

Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Vice Dean for Finance, Assets, and Human Resources

Head and Secretary of the Master of Linguistics Study Program

Delegates from the Language Center of Southeast Sulawesi Province (3 people)

Cooperation and Public Relations Unit (2 people)

Through this meeting, it is hoped that a good synergy can be established in developing linguistics, especially related to regional language documentation and improving the quality of scientific publications.

On Thursday, December 5, 2024, Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM) received a visit from Institut Teknologi Sumatera (ITERA) in order to benchmark the Tourism Study Program. The meeting took place at Soegondo Building, FIB UGM, and was attended by representatives of lecturers and students from both institutions.

This visit aims to deepen ITERA’s understanding of the management of the Tourism Study Program. During the discussion, representatives from the Tourism Study Program of FIB UGM explained their curriculum structure, including the number of credits and courses offered in each semester. ITERA got a detailed description of the learning patterns and various best practices applied at FIB UGM.

In addition, the discussion also covered the challenges faced in running the study program, such as curriculum development, implementation of field practice, and management of human resources and infrastructure. Both institutions exchanged ideas to overcome these obstacles, and discussed opportunities for future collaboration.

This activity is expected to provide inspiration for Institut Teknologi Sumatera in managing similar study programs, as well as strengthening the collaborative relationship between the two institutions in supporting the advancement of tourism education in Indonesia.

The Master of Linguistics Study Program would like to respectfully and proudly congratulate the distinguished academics of the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada on achieving the title of Professor:

✨ Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum

 ✨ Prof. Dr. Suhandano, M.A

 ✨ Prof. Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum

This achievement is a form of extraordinary dedication in the world of academics and science. Hopefully this achievement will be a driving force to continue working and make a greater contribution to the progress of the nation and inspire future generations of academics.

Congratulations and success always!