was presently threatened with extinction (15, 35, 14 and 10 /67).
2.b.	Threat and risk assessment This section should identify and describe the threats to th e element's continued transmi ssion and enactment and describe the severity and immediacy of those threats. Not to exceed 500 words.
1. Television Media . Many respondents mentioned TV as a threat to the continuation of Saman culture. Parabolic TV antennas are seen installed on top of many houses both in towns and Fig.11 villages in Gayo Lues district . With such an antenna, many broadcasts of national and overseas can be received. VCD and DVD are also sold everywhere. As a result, watching television is becoming the entertainment of choice for all age groups, replacing the traditional art of Saman. This clearly threatens the future of Saman, and its transmission to the younger generation. Saman trainers and players prefer to sit in their own homes and watch television or Fig.12 videos than play or train Saman . There is a local TV station in Blangkejeren (LTV), but it rarely broadcasts Saman. 2. Globalization and Modernization . Gayo Lues and Serbejadi (Lukup) were remote and 6 isolated for centuries, and thus Saman did not undergo much change . Before restructuring of districts and acceleration of development, the orientation of most of the people of Gayo Lues was local. After that, especially after Gayo Lues became a District in 2002 and the development 3 of the area was accelerated , interaction with other districts and with the outside world became more open. Thus the orientation of the people, especially the younger generation, began to shift, and the visibility of Saman culture began to decline, compared to previously. 3. Lack of Funds . Many respondents mentioned lack of funds as one of the threats to safeguarding of Saman culture. Saman costumes are not cheap. To make a set of hand- embroidered Saman costumes consisting of 18 sets of costumes - hat, two throat cloths, shirt, Fig.22,23 traditional sarong, trousers and wrist cloths - takes around 2 months (Maria, Kerawang Traditional Tailors, Interview, Blangkejeren,16/02/10). Similarly Saman performances, especially those on a big scale or which involve transportation to far off places, require funds. To invite another village as guests for a Saman competition over 2 days and 2 nights requires Fig.3,4,20 considerable expense by the party inviting and by the party invited . 4. Diminishing of Saman knowledge . From the interviews, although many respondents could perform Saman, yet only a few (5%) were able to name the nine parts of a Saman performance, 5% could name 7-9 parts, 27% could mention 4-6 parts, 32% 1.-3 parts, and 32% did not know any of the parts of a Saman performance, out of 79 respondents. These figures indicate that knowledge of Saman is diminishing, and safeguarding efforts are needed to preserve it. Fig.20 5. Commercially oriented Saman performances have developed , according to 60% of respondents (46/77). These performances are not aimed at carrying on a tradition, and indicate a shift in meaning which could threaten safeguarding of Saman culture if not balanced with efforts to transmit Saman cultural values. 6. Teachers are Elderly . Respondents report that many of the teachers/trainers having genuine Fig.25 knowledge of Saman are elderly without any successors for passing on their knowledge. Therefore, efforts to inventory and prepare teaching materials of Saman are urgently needed.

USL11 - No. 00509 - page 7