Folklore is an inherited collective culture that comes in many forms, both oral and not (Danandjaja, 1986). In practice, its scope of includes in it not only stories and anecdotes, but also such things as traditions, songs, architecture, and local wisdom, which are all strongly tied to the local identity and is therefore an inevitable element in the making of a place.
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Azisa NOOR As stated by Jacobs (2004), the incorporation of Folklores into elements of design for the built landscape could more easily capture the essence of a landscape setting that resonates in the collective soul of the population to which they are addressed.
The added dimension of folklore would add a new layer of meaning and experience towards the sensing of a place that results in immersion for the outsider and a sense of belonging for the inhabitant
The utilization of folklores in placemaking requires an inevitable collaboration between the involved actors. Firstly, documentation, preservation and construction of the physical landscape by architects, town planners, and heritage conservation groups had to be done around a coherent identity concept. This would serve as a basis to be worked upon by artists and creative workers to propagate a translatable identity to outsiders
In line with the diversification of media and means of communication, folklores which formerly travelled solely by oral means would do well to adjust its method of dissemination. Audio, visual, sequential, and other medias possessing narrative qualities are prime platforms upon which folklores could be spread. To do this, folklores have to be transformed and presented in a more simplified form that utilizes sticky concepts and forms a coherent modern narrative.
The use of folklore in popular medias provides an arena where reader connects with the writer. Here they can experience together a sense of community through shared beliefs and history, thereby creating a community (Banks, 2000)
Creative reinterpretations of folklores could take many manifestations, both tangible and non-tangible. In some cases creative reinterpretations is integrated and planned into the built landscape, such as the treatment toward the water city of ZhouZhuang, China. Here, the area emulates various aspects of a bygone era through architecture and minor details of lifestyle. In some other cases, the focus is shifted to less physical 'image' or brand building that distill the primary elements of the folklore into products or narratives that can be disseminated independently from the actual location of the place. Examples of this include the exploitation of folklore in popular mediums, and their subsequent merchandizing, a phenomenon that has been on the rise in this past decade. From the Loch Ness monster’s abode to the alleged dwelling of the Blair Witch, such branding of places often attracts droves of people eager to experience the place in relation to a famous story or conception.
It should however be noted that although their approach might differ, both approach build on each other, since the first cannot be absorbed by outsiders without a translated narrative for them as a reference point, and the second cannot be propagated without the built landscape existing.
While the use of folklore as the defining local feature should be especially relevant in a country with a strong oral tradition like Indonesia, as local narratives has long been a strong unifying identity for its communities, this approach towards integrating folklore into the placemaking process is rarely encountered here.
There has been some emergent initiatives toward this direction, however they are currently mostly stand alone projects which needs integration under a coherent concept. One of them was probably the verbal creative reinterpretation of folklore in the form of nationally famous song “Jembatan Merah” (the Red Bridge) by the legendary composer Gesang which had created the placemaking phenomena whereas the Red Bridge practically identifies with the city of Surabaya.
Unfortunately, those observers would be immensely disappointed to witness the built landscape being only a nondescript bridge simply painted red in a seemingly non-historical site. One could not help thinking that such successful “perceived placemaking phenomena” which had been creatively reinterpreted by a song composer from the abundant folklore of the Red Bridge area could be further collaborated with other stakeholders, like architects, urban-planners and the like to achieve the “full-blown” phenomena of placemaking by correlating it strongly with a commensurate built-landscape.
CONCLUSION
This paper has elaborated and illustrated an argument on the use of creative reinterpretation of folklores as a common backdrop on a process of placemaking.
We described how folklores can potentially strengthen and give a new layer of meaning and experience to a placemaking process. They serve a double purpose as a focal point of belonging amongst the inhabitants of the place internally and as a distinctive identity for outsiders externally. Importantly we see two distinct, but related mechanisms of the manifestation of folklores in placemaking. The first one emphasizes the integration of creative interpretations into the built landscape while the other focuses on 'image' or brand building of a place in the form of creative narration and products. However these two manifestations build upon each other and both requires collaborative effort of the local community and stakeholders to propagate its identity towards outsiders.
The use of folklore as the defining local feature is especially relevant in a country with a strong oral tradition like Indonesia. However, it is in countries like Indonesia, with a strong tendency to imitate supposedly superior Western
‘templates’, that this concept is most notably underutilized. Therefore, this remains an avenue of future research and application.
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