AAS: Critical Review Writing Exercise

Critical review on a journal article entitled Indonesian Food Culture mapping: a starter contribution to promote Indonesian Culinary Tourism. This journal is written by Sherli Wijaya, Ph.D, an Assistant Professor, FBE, Petra Christian University Surabaya. Reviewed by Ziadah Ziad for the EAP Refreshment Class. 

People often take food for granted or solely to fulfill their biological needs to nourish their body. In fact, however food is a product of a culture which can be tasted, smelled and enjoyed. Rich and complex history are hidden in the food served daily and occasionally. Acculturation, nature, and technological leaps have shaped the typical food that people eat, how the food is served and how it is eaten. In Indonesia, the combination of geographical features and cultural diversities create various types of food spreading across the archipelago and has produced unique fusion. Indonesian culinary is a picture of the diversity of tropical flora and fauna, of food processing and presentation, and the richness of Indonesian culture (Sukenti, 2014, p.55). These varied foods have made Indonesia as one of culinary destinations in Asia worth exploring.

In the Journal of Ethnic Foods 2019, Wijaya describes the cultural mapping of Indonesian food in relation to its contribution in promoting Indonesian culinary tourism by exploring cultural and historical perspective and the development of Indonesian culinary art from its origin to the contemporary phase. The author further identified and classified the characteristics of Indonesian cuisines into three regions, western part of Indonesia, central part of Indonesia and eastern part of Indonesia based on its geographical features, cultures (major ethnic groups, religion) and types of the food.  Although there are some gaps found in Wijaya’s claims, this article outlines socio-cultural values and how historically Indonesian food has been shaped by the influences of other cultures.

Wijaya started her 10 pages article by defining food and culture, and how they are connected in individual and in a collective context. In the individual level, food is regarded as a self-expression and it shows self-identity.  In the broader context, it shows where people from and their culture which make them different from others. For example, food can show people beliefs, where they are from, their education and their history (Wijaya, 2019 p.2). According to Wijaya, the exposure of Indonesian cuisines is still Java Sumatra centric which make international people not familiar with other Indonesian food from the other regions.

In conducting this study, Wijaya applied library research in which she reviewed journal articles, books, archives, magazines, and articles since the previous studies claimed that most references regarding to Indonesian cuisines are available in the form of books and articles. In addition, this paper used almost fifty references.

Wijaya focuses on the classification and the unique characteristics of Indonesian food in its relation to history, geographical area, cultures and values which is a crucial capital for marketing Indonesian Tourism. Therefore, Wijaya maps Indonesian cuisines into three parts. Those are western part of Indonesia covering Sumatra, Java, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, central part of Indonesia which consists of Kalimantan and Sulawesi, and eastern part of Indonesia covering East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and West Papua.

Sumatra and Java have typically the same geographical feature, hot, humid with many active volcanoes. Sumatran food is strongly influenced by Indian, Chinese and Arabic culture due to its historical function as a hub of trade. Further, the majority of Sumatran are Acehnese, Padangnese, Chinese Indonesian and Bataknese. Their beliefs also influence what they eat. The most popular cuisine is Rendang which is originally made by Padangnese. Rendang is not only popular in Sumatra but also in Indonesia and around the world. Meanwhile Javanese food is strongly influenced by the royal kingdom such as Mataram and Maja Pahit. Sundanese who live in the West Java, tends to eat more vegetables than others. Food from Central Java is known for its sweetness and the ones from East Java are less sweet and spicier than the ones from West Java.

Bali and West Nusa Tenggara’s dishes are influenced by Balinese and Dutch. Since Balinese are Hindus, pork is more popular than beef. In the drier part of Nusa Tenggara, sago, corn, cassava and taro are the staple food.

The cuisine from Kalimantan is influenced by the three major ethnic groups, those are Dayak, Malay and Chinese. In the West Kalimantan, the cuisines are significantly influenced by Chinese-related ingredients such as noodle, soy sauce and pork. The rest are dominated by Dayak food which consists of indigenous spices and fresh herbs.

Maritime culture of Sulawesi made them known as the producer of seafood cuisines such as grill fish with various spicy dipping sauces. In North Sulawesi, cuisines made from dogs, bat and forest rats are common. While, dry area like in Maluku and Papua consume papeda (sago congee) with yellow soup made from fish such as tuna and mubara fish.

Within one paragraph, Wijaya concludes that the history, the influence from other culture outside Indonesia and the diversity within Indonesia have produced Indonesian unique cuisines. 

Wijaya’s paper is generally well written and well-structured in which the author addresses the cultural and historical perspective on Indonesian food to promote Indonesian Tourism by presenting the evidence. The author significantly points out the relation of food, culture and its values.  However, there are several things that need to be taken into account, such as methodology, accuracy and the proportion of eastern Indonesia food within this paper.

One of the serious disadvantages of library research is the limitation of journal or articles about food that has never been written. Having a slight ethnographic approach can be helpful since it involves direct and sustained contact with human agents (O’reilly, 2004, p.10). Needless to say, food and culture are part of anthropology.

Another weakness of this study is its failure to address eastern Indonesian food deeply. It tends to be java centric and discuss more about Sumatera. In the introduction part, the author actually admits this issue, however, it is hard to avoid due to the limitation of library research. Moreover, to our knowledge, Ministry of Tourism are currently developing 10 new Balis in eastern Indonesia since 2016. These 15 places need to be considered as their sample in doing the mapping since this paper put the word “Tourism” in the tittle.

The system of classification is also in need of revision. It has to be more specific. It should not only provide the staple food but also the specific foods that make the food from particular place different from the other regions. In addition, the role of food as a tourist attraction can be developed to be one sub-title.

There is sn error/inaccuracy regarded to the statement about West Nusa Tenggara (Lombok), in which the author claimed that Lombok people are 50% Hindus and 50% Muslims, in fact, it contains up to 93% Muslims (Telle, p.422, 2016) and is known as the island of 1,000 mosques (Ramadhani, Kurniawati & Hadi, 2020, p.1). The second population is Hindus; the rest are Christians, Buddhist and Confucians. 

Lastly, one paragraph for conclusion is surprisingly short for a 10 pages article. It would have been better if the author’s conclusion includes how geographical areas strongly influence the type of food in Indonesia.

In summary, Indonesian food is a precious heritage which expresses identity of a place and its people. This is an intellectual property that can be used as the asset to promote Indonesia. Wijaya (2019) maps Indonesian food based on historical record, geographical feature, and the diversity of Indonesia. Through this mapping, Wijaya attempts to show the complexity and the richness of Indonesian cuisines that potentially support Indonesian Tourism development. This study implicates that there are still many Indonesian food that need to be covered and promoted.

References

Aulia Ramadhani, S., Kurniawati, M., & Hadi Nata, J. (2020). Effect of Destination Image and Subjective Norm toward Intention to Visit the World Best Halal Tourism Destination of Lombok Island in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences. Published. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v4i9.7318

 

I. (2021, May 5). The “10 new Bali” project in Indonesia: What is it, and why will it shape the future of Southeast Asia’s tourism industry? Invest Islands. https://invest-islands.com/ten-new-bali-project/

 

O’reilly, K. (2004). Ethnographic methods (2nd ed., Vol. 24). Creative Commons. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203864722

 

Sukenti, K. (2014). Gastronomy Tourism in Several Neighbor Countries of Indonesia: a Brief Review. Journal of Indonesian Tourism and Development Studies, 2(2), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.jitode.2014.002.02.03

 

Telle, K. (2016). Ritual Power: Risk, Rumours and Religious Pluralism on Lombok. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 17(5), 419–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2016.1206614

 

Wijaya, S. (2019). Indonesian food culture mapping: a starter contribution to promote Indonesian culinary tourism. Journal of Ethnic Foods, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-019-0009-3

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