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Editorial and documentary visual stories from Jambi, Indonesia.

Bekarang Performance: A Staged Interpretation of Seasonal Tradition in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia

MUARO JAMBI, JAMBI, INDONESIA

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A staged visual interpretation inspired by Bekarang, a traditional seasonal mass fish-catching practice from Muaro Jambi, Jambi, Indonesia, explored through movement, smoke, and ritual gestures.

This project documents a staged performance inspired by Bekarang, a traditional seasonal mass fish-catching practice in Muaro Jambi practiced during the dry season when water levels recede.

Bekarang is practiced as a seasonal collective activity where communities gather to harvest fish from shallow waters in lakes and floodplains. It is guided by customary law, deliberation, mutual cooperation, and shared ecological responsibility.

This project documents the relationship between seasonal ecology, community practice, and collective memory in Muaro Jambi. Through staged documentary photography, Bekarang is interpreted not only as a mass fish-harvesting practice, but also as a cultural system shaped by environmental cycles and social coordination.

Rather than functioning as direct documentation, the images move between gesture, shadow, and disappearance — traces briefly emerging before fading back into darkness.

Traditional fish-catching tools used in Bekarang mass fish-catching practice in Muaro Jambi Indonesia during dry season
Traditional fish-catching tools used in Bekarang, a seasonal mass fish-catching practice in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia during the dry season.
Participant in Bekarang seasonal mass fish-catching ritual in Muaro Jambi Indonesia with smoke atmosphere
A participant sits surrounded by smoke during the Bekarang seasonal mass fish-catching ritual in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia.

Bekarang reflects collective agreements, mutual cooperation, and respect for seasonal waters governed by customary law in Muaro Jambi, Jambi, Indonesia. This mass fish-catching practice uses traditional tools such as tangkul, jalo, lukah, and serkap, which are closely connected to river and lake ecosystems.

Bekarang Tradition and Seasonal River Culture in Muaro Jambi

These tools are part of the Bekarang tradition, a seasonal knowledge system in Muaro Jambi where fish-harvesting activities are shaped by dry-season water recession, ecological cycles, and communal agreements.

Performer in staged Bekarang interpretation with smoke atmosphere in Muaro Jambi Indonesia
Seasonal movement during Bekarang, a dry-season mass fish-catching activity in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia.

The movements appear briefly through blur, shadow, and light — never fully fixed, constantly shifting before disappearing again.

Staged Performance and Collective Memory

Movement during staged performance inspired by Bekarang tradition in Muaro Jambi Indonesia
Bodies become traces as the seasonal Bekarang performance unfolds in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia, reflecting ecological memory and collective practice.
Staged documentary performance interpreting Bekarang tradition in Muaro Jambi Indonesia
Smoke and movement slowly disappear into darkness during the Bekarang seasonal performance in Muaro Jambi, Indonesia.

Bekarang, a traditional seasonal mass fish-catching practice from Muaro Jambi, preserves ritual knowledge through collective memory passed across generations in Jambi, Indonesia.

Sekolah Alam Lubuk Pusako