Topeng Monyet: Culture, Animal Exploitation, and Dilemma as a Spectator.

There are pros and cons for several reasons.

Topeng Monyet is a traditional art form known in various regions of Indonesia. As the name suggests, this traditional performance features Monyet (a monkey). According to Wikipedia, Topeng Monyet can also be found in India, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Japan, and Korea–can anyone from one of those countries confirm this? Because I thought this performance is originally from Indonesia and only performed in our country.

Topeng Monyet is a form of art that features monkeys performing various activities that mimic human behavior, such as riding a bicycle, dressing up, going shopping, and even racing motorcycles. The monkeys are given props to perform these acts, and they are usually accompanied by gendang or gamelan music.

According to Wikipedia and other articles I’ve read, Topeng Monyet performanes have been around since the 1890s, when both Dutch and local people enjoyed watching them—this can be seen in the photo collection at the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands. This show can also be described as a miniature circus. It typically travels from one location to another in residential areas.

The arrival of Topeng Monyet is always greeted with joy by children. That is a blessing for the owner because the money given is a source of income for them to support their family. According to this article, almost all of the Topeng Monyet handlers who performing in various regions of Indonesia come from Kertosari Village, Geger District, Madiun City. And according to the village head, Topeng Monyet performance has been a source of income for the residents for generations.

Culture or Animal Exploitation?

This is where the line becomes blur. Some article I read stated that this performance originated from India, so it’s not our own traditional culture. But because this is the kind of performance we've watched since childhood, some people consider it worthy to be preserved. However, to ensure these monkeys can follow their handlers' instructions so skillfully, there's a price to pay.

Behind the entertaining performances, there's undoubtedly quite hard training to discipline the monkeys. Referring to the same article I mentioned earlier, for example to teach them to walk upright, their hands are tied behind their backs, or even suspended for hours. These monkeys are trained using a method of rewards and punishments. If the monkeys successfully perform, they are rewarded with food. However, if they fail, the trainers won't hesitate to hit them or pull the shackles around their necks until they choke.

Even writing about it feels so wrong. There's a sentence in the article that describes this situation very accurately: it says, "In a human environment, they are (the monkeys) made to no longer behave according to their natural instincts." That's so profound.

Dilemma as a spectator

According to this Article, Topeng Monyet violates several regulations, which has led to growing calls for its elimination—including the threat of danger resulting from physical contact between the monkeys and the audience. In 2013 or 2014, the organization called JAAN, Jakarta Animal Aid Network, fought against animal cruelty in Jakarta, which led the government to enact new regulations that threatened prison sentences for those found guilty of animal abuse. I think the regulation works because now Topeng Monyet performances are becoming increasingly rare and much less compared to several years ago.

But even in my city, we can find this performance still running and attracting quite a lot of enthusiasm because it's targeted at children. My dilemma as a spectator is, should I donate some money when this show is on? I don't want to support it in any way, but considering that this show is a source of income for the monkey owners, If they don't get enough money, does that mean these monkeys will also live more miserably than they already do?

That's always on my mind everytime I see this performance. I have the same concern and dilemma about what I should do. It's not that I feel like my actions will have some serious impact or anything like that, but “cancel culture” is something that can happen if we do it together, right? Sometimes I think that if we didn't support it by giving money, the monkey owners might consider quitting their jobs because they feel no one is interested anymore.

But that’s not always the case. Many people probably share the same dilemma: we fear that if we don't support this performance, instead of stopping the owner, we'll just make them torture the monkey even more, because it might be the only job that the owner can do. Can you understand what I’m talking about? It's worrying. For me personally, so far I’ve never given them money if I see them when I’m by myself. But I told my little sister to support them if she watches them with her friends.

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It's funny that I’m writting this because I saw this performance at Car Free Day I went earlier this month. And these things stuck in my head, so I wanted to get them out haha. I truly appreciate any healthy follow-up discussions in the comment section. We live to learn, so I’m always looking for more insight into something I'm interested in or concerned about. Anyway, thank you for reading :)