page_title: Riau Islands
section_title: Arts and Performance
hierarchical_section_title: Riau Islands / Culture / Arts and Performance
caption_attribution_description: Bahasa Indonesia: Silat pengantin dari kabupaten Lingga provinsi Kepulauan RiauEnglish: Silat pengantin is martial dance for wedding ceremony in Riau, Indonesia
context_page_description: The Riau Islands is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes along the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, the province shares water borders with neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The Riau Islands also has a relatively large potential of mineral resources, energy, as well as marine resources. The capital of the province is Tanjung Pinang and the largest city is Batam.
  The Riau archipelago was once part of the Johor Sultanate, which was later partitioned between the Dutch East Indies and British Malaya after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, in which the archipelago fell under Dutch influence. A Dutch protectorate, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, was established in the region between 1824 and 1911 before being directly ruled by the Dutch East Indies. The archipelago became a part of Indonesia following the occupation of the Japanese Empire and the Indonesian National Revolution. The Riau Islands separated from the province of Riau in September 2002, becoming Indonesia's third-youngest province.
context_section_description: Various forms and types of arts found in the Riau region, namely theater, dance, music, singing, and literature. Artists in urban areas generally feel alien to traditional arts. Therefore, an appreciative link is needed by introducing all types and forms of traditional arts in urban areas. Thus, contemporary art that grows, lives, and develops in urban areas will have a solid and tidy foundation in contributing to national art.
  In the late 1890s, the Rusydiah Club was founded, an association for scholars, writers, and cultural figures. This association was established in the Riau Islands, precisely on Penyengat Island which at that time was the center of the government of the Sultanate of Riau-Lingga. In essence, this association is a cultural institution that includes art, performance and literature. Its activities began with the commemoration of Islamic holidays, such as Maulud Nabi, Isra-Mikraj, Nuzulul Quran, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and others which later developed to the publication of books by members of the association. All activities are supported by royal facilities in the form of the Marah Ahmadi Khanah Polar library and two Jawi printing presses, namely Mathba‘at al Ahmadiyah and Mathba‘at al Riauwiyah. The Rusydiah Klub is the first association of scholars in Indonesia. This association is not mentioned in national history, because of the lack of careful collection of historical material, or maybe because there is no input from those who know much about it. Rusydiah Club left behind a valuable heritage of creativity in the form of books of literature, religion, history and linguistics.
  The Riau region has long been an area of trade traffic in neighboring countries, so Riau has given birth to diverse cultural figures and colors. This is a burden, as well as a historical-geographical blessing. Riau seems to be a field of association of various artistic potentials, in which there are cultural influences in neighboring countries and other Indonesian cultures. Riau Malay art is very diverse, because small groups that exist in the community are also developing. The fact shows, the arts in Riau and the arts in Malay countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam mutually complement and influence each other. Likewise, Malay cultural regions such as Deli, Langkat, Serdang and Asahan in North Sumatra, Jambi, West Kalimantan, and others, were also affected by the Minangkabau, Mandailing, Bugis and Javanese cultures. Cultures influence that come from outside Indonesia such as India (Hindu-Buddhist), Arabic (Islam), Chinese, and Siamese influence. The flexibility of Malay culture is in line with the historical development and geographical location of Riau, making Riau very rich with a variety of artistic expressions. The development of Malay culture in Riau, in turn, can enrich national culture.
  Baju Kurung is one of the traditional clothes of the Malay community in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and southern Thailand. Baju Kurung is often associated with women. The hallmark of the clothes brackets is the loose design on the holes in the arms, abdomen, and chest. When worn, the bottom of the clothes bracket is parallel to the groin, but for rare cases there are also those that extend to knee level. Shirt brackets are not fitted with buttons, but are almost similar to t-shirts. Shirt brackets are also not collared, each end is crochet. Some parts are often decorated with gold embroidery. At first, the clothes of the brackets were usually worn for the great ceremony of Malay by women in the kingdom, used together with songket cloth to be used as a scabbard, various gold jewelry, and a small bag or fan. Since the majority of Malay communities embraced Islam, many women who wear clothes in brackets match them with the hijab, although there are also those who do not use them. Now the clothes of brackets are widely worn by ordinary people, used by children to read the Quran, or ladies to go to the market, without including accessories that seem luxurious.
  However, the main traditional dress of the people
caption: Malay men performing the Silat Pengantin traditional dance in a wedding ceremony at Lingga Islands
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