The Faculty of Cultural Sciences has many talented young students whose potential has been recognized by many people, one of them is Alya Ranti Azzahra. The student who is often called Alya, has succeeded in publishing 4 printed books which have been distributed on Gramedia, one of them has been filmed in cinemas & the other one has also been serialized on Genflix. This young woman from West Java is currently studying at the Indonesian Language and Literature department, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University. At just 22 years old, she has already achieved many achievements. She admitted that she had loved reading and writing since childhood. She often took part in competitions and won. That is what then motivated her to take her writing talent more seriously.

In 2018, the rise ofphenomenon made Alya interested in writing and publishing work on that platform. Her first work, entitled The Other Side, has so far been read 23 million times. Since then, her works began to be recognized by readers and she began to write consistently. In 2020, the novel entitled The Other Side was published by Pastel Books, PT Mizan Pustaka. The novel was then filmed nationally in Indonesian cinemas by PT. Lingkar Karya Pratama and broadcast on March 17th 2022. In addition, her work entitled Broken Memories was broadcast on Genflix and succeeded in occupying the second highest position in the most watched series.

Alya admits that she feels happy when writing. According to her, she can express whatever is in her head without having to communicate it directly. “Because my mind is quite full and I like to imagine many things, I feel that writing is a ‘container’ for me. On the other hand, I think writing is like sharing feelings with other people. I can also create a new world. Also, I can express myself through the characters I create in the story.” She said on January 25th 2024 when she was asked about the reason why she liked writing so much. Furthermore, she also shared several tips for writing and producing work, such as:

• Always write from heart! It sounds classic, but anything written from the heart will definitely reach other hearts. Write sincerely and position yourself as if you are the character you are writing about.
• Consistent! Consistency in writing stories is really necessary. Especially as a digital writer. Readers are more likely to read our writing when we consistently write stories.
• Want to learn. You can start by learning about writing from writing books, writing seminars, and writers who have written before to find out writing tips. Apart from that, you also want to learn to develop yourself. Because now social media is developing very quickly.
• Read lots of books! To become a writer, of course you have to read a lot of books to find inspiration and increase your vocabulary.
• Be open to all suggestions and criticism, often chat with lots of people, be more sensitive to the environment around us because many new and brilliant ideas come from it.

In closing, Alya gives advice to the prospective writers that when we decide to become writers, we give our whole body and soul to the writing. We have to really like the world of writing. Write a story honestly and from the heart. Always be open to suggestions and criticism, often chat with people, & never stop learning. Just have fun writing, but don’t forget to come from the heart! She hopes that her journey to achieve success can motivate and provide valuable lessons for many people.

Wednesday, January 24 2024, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences released 36 graduates from the Postgraduate Program of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada. This event took place at the Soegondo Auditorium at 13:00 Western Indonesian Time (GMT+7). The event began with an opening speech from the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, M.Si, followed by a speech from the representative of Postgraduate students, I Made Umbaran Jaya, from Archeology Master Program who achieved the highest GPA with a GPA of 3.98. There was also a special performance from Rampoe UGM, performing Tarek Pukat Dance, followed by submission of graduation documents, and ended with a joint prayer.

At this moment, the atmosphere was full of emotion and pride, which was also radiated on the faces of the graduates who have completed their study at postgraduate level. Each graduate received a recognition, which marked as the end of their study and the beginning of their new journey in a professional environment.

With this event, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences wrote a new history in preparing the young generation with intellectuals, ready to make a valuable contribution to the society. Hopefully they can continue to be an inspiration to many people. Congratulations on achieving your dreams!

On Wednesday, November 22, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM held a book review event named “Bedah Buku: Arung Samudera Nusantara dan Kosmopolis Rempah” in Room 709 of the Soegondo Building. This event is one of a series of the Seminar Series Kosmopolis Rempah, as the result of collaboration between the faculty along with Kundha Budaya DIY and the Tim Kosmopolis Rempah UGM.

This event was attended by Dr. Sri Margana, M. Hum. as a speaker and book author. Apart from that, there were three responders with different scientific backgrounds, namely Dr. Widya Fitria Ningsih, History lecturer at FIB UGM; Prof. Dr. M. Baiquni, M.A., Professor of Development Geography UGM; and Prof. Dr. Ir. Sri Gardjito, Spice Expert, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, UGM. There was also Prof. Dr. Mustofa, M.Kes., Professor of Pharmacology and Therapy FKKMK UGM and Head of the Tim Kosmopolis Rempah UGM, as the moderator.

Sri Margana started the event by explaining the background to the writing and substance of her book. He said that his book is a response to an application of “Jalur Rempah” as a world heritage by the Indonesian government and the establishment of the Spice Cosmopolis Research Unit at UGM. According to him, the term Jalur Rempah is problematic because it refers to a colonial trade route marked only by physical colonial remains, such as forts and ports. Starting from this issue, he proposed to highlight the influence of spices themselves, namely the creation of a culture of using spices. Therefore, he uses the term “cosmopolis” because the culture of spices has spread throughout the world. He also proposed the word “cosmopolis” to name the UGM Spice Cosmopolis Research Unit.

Widya as the first responder then highlighted this book from a historiographic perspective. According to her, the dominant use of foreign sources can be an opportunity for further studies to use local sources. By using local sources, local perspectives that are not recorded by foreign sources can be told. Apart from that, she also hopes that there will be further studies on spices in Indonesia from a gender perspective. According to her, the historiography on this matter is still dominated by narratives about men’s roles. In fact, spice culture cannot be separated from the role of women, such as in trading, planting and processing spices.

After that, the presentation was continued by Prof. Baiquni, emphasizing the strong connection between history and geography. From the spice trade, humans have established relationships with their environment. The role of spices in human life cannot be completely replaced by current technology. Therefore, spices can be a reminder for people to preserve their environment.

Relations between people from different islands to continents were also established through the spice trade. This relationship then produces a cultural product, one of which is food. Prof. Sri Gardjito explained that spices and the sea as trade intermediaries greatly influenced our food today. From spices and the sea, there is intercultural interaction which results in a combination of processing techniques, ingredients, and even the taste of food. This is considered to be the impact of the cosmopolitan spice trade. One example of the results of the spice trade is black pepper chili sauce, which still exists today and the spices have not changed.

The research results of the Pakpak Bharat survey and excavation team through its important heritage of mejan (an ancient relic) have been disseminated to all stakeholders in Pakpak Bharat Regency, North Sumatra, on Monday, 18 December 2023 in Salak, Pakpak Bharat, North Sumatra. Mejan is an ancestral heritage of Pakpak Bharat in the form of statues that are special and unique because they are not found in other regions and therefore deserve to be a proud identity of the Pakpak Bharat community.

The research team coordinator, Dr Mimi Savitri, M.A. outlined the importance of knowledge of the past life of the Pakpak Bharat community related to the existence of mejan. According to her, mejan is a marker, centre, or source of Pakpak people’s life in the past, because the social, economic, cultural, ritual, and gender equality of Pakpak Bharat’s ancestors is known from the remaining mejan that exist up to this moment. One important thing in studying the lives of Pakpak Bharat’s ancestors through mejan is the fact that their ancestor always embracing peace as the upmost value. Peace is one of the most crucial factor on successful development of a nation, which happened to be the goal in SDG’S 16.

Regional Secretary of Pakpak Bharat, Jalan Berutu, S.Pd. M.M. who was present representing the Regent expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Research Team from the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, because this collaboration is seen as a major step in the preservation of Pakpak Bharat Cultural Heritage. The cooperation between the two parties is an effort to achieve SDG’s 17 in the form of partnership to achieve goals. He also stated that this dissemination is important for determining the next development strategy of Pakpak Bharat in order to improve people’s welfare. This is in accordance with SDG’s 1 related to life without poverty and SDG’s 12 in the form of efforts to improve the quality of the environment in order to support the implementation of Development.

UGM celebrates its 74th anniversary on 19 December 2023. This year’s theme is Digital Transformation: Harmonising Innovation and Humanity, which highlights how humankind shall live side by side with the ‘digital life’ that seems more and more inevitable. Various activities were held to enliven this annual event. One of these events is Nitilaku.

The Nitilaku event is seen as a historical cultural symbolism in the form of a parade as a symbol of the establishment of Universitas Gadjah Mada. It started from a patch of land in Siti Hinggil of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace to became the UGM campus now in Bulaksumur. Over time, Nitilaku has transformed into a cultural event that combines various potentials from UGM, society, community, private sector, and government by highlighting historical elements of struggle and nationalism.

This year’s Nitilaku carries the theme “Kenduri Kebangsaan Merajut Tenun Ke-Indonesiaan” intending to maintain a good relationship with the Creator of the Universe. This event is carried out as a form of prayer for safety, avoiding disasters, and preventing all forms of badness that might occur due to human negligence. In addition, Nitilaku also serves as a medium for mutual awareness to maintain friendship among all nation’s citizens.

The Nitilaku event took place over two days, on 16-17 December 2023. In addition to the main event of Kenduri Kebangsaan, which includes speeches and interfaith prayer readings as well as the national carnival, Nitilaku also features various interesting activities. Art installations, kangen markets, MSME markets, and art stages will enliven the two days by involving various art and cultural communities. All of this is per the spirit of Nitilaku which mobilises broad participation from the community, especially the people of Yogyakarta.

Participation of Staff and Lecturers of FIB UGM

On Sunday, 17 December 2023, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences team participated in Nitilaku -which is one of a series of UGM 2023 Anniversary events-. On this occasion, the staff and lecturers of FIB UGM jointly participated in the parade with the route determined by the Dies committee. In line with the name of the faculty, the contingent of staff and lecturers from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences compactly wore traditional clothing from various regions. The contingent members also sang yells that ignited the spirit and made the atmosphere throughout the parade more exciting.