The Poet of Linge Homeland

The Poet of Linge Homeland

Producer: Set Workshop and Ford Foundation
Director : Aryo Danusiri Supervising
Producer: Garin Nugroho Didong
Performance: the people of Pegasing, Central Aceh Running
Time : 25 mins
Language: Gayo and Indonesian with English subtitles

The Poet of the Linge Homeland is a portrait of the Gayonese didong poet, Ibrahim Kadir. Danusiri’s short succinct portrait of Kabir explores his life within its context in the lake town of Takengon in the Gayo Highlands of Central Aceh: the evolution of his poetry from the period of his childhood; its relation to his sense of nature; the role of didong performances and competitions within Takengon society; the repressive political atmosphere of the period of his youth; and particularly the importance to Kabir of the preservation of indigenous performance forms, oral culture and rituals specific to Takengon; and of the dangers confronting the survival of such performance skills in a period where there is so much competition from technologically and electronically reproduced media.