UCLA

After nearly thirty years of separatist conflict, Aceh, Indonesia was hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, a disaster that killed 230,000 and left 500,000 people homeless. Though numerous analyses have focused upon the immediate economic and political impact of the conflict and the tsunami upon Acehnese society, few studies have investigated the continuation of traumatic experience into the "aftermath" of these events and the efforts that Acehnese communities have made towards trauma recovery. My dissertation examines the significance of Acehnese performance traditions--including dance, music, and theater practices--for Acehnese trauma survivors. Focusing on the conflict, the tsunami, political and religious oppression, discrimination, and hardships experienced within the diaspora, my dissertation explores the benefits and limitations of Acehnese performance as a tool for resisting both large-scale and less visible forms of trauma.

Humanitarian workers and local artists who used Acehnese performance to facilitate trauma recovery following the conflict and the tsunami in Aceh found that the traditional arts offered individuals a safe space in which to openly discuss their grievances, to strengthen feelings of cultural belonging, and to build solidarity with community members. Outside of Aceh, Acehnese communities have used their performance practices to reconnect with their cultural identity and to combat discrimination, feelings of isolation, and other hardships experienced abroad. Women in contemporary Aceh have also found solace in performance, which can provide an opportunity to resist the restrictions imposed upon them by syariah (Islamic) law.

At the same time, efforts to use performance for trauma recovery must take into account the diverse healing needs of community members. Many of the performance workshops in Aceh failed to address the ways in which Acehnese women and girls were differentially affected by the violence and the tsunami. My research also suggests that Aceh's conservative religious atmosphere has limited Acehnese women's performance opportunities and has influenced the ways in which Acehnese women and girls, including those in the diaspora, interact with their performance traditions. Investigating how individuals' experiences with trauma, as well as the healing methods they employ, are inflected by gender, ethnicity, class, age, sexual identity, and geographical location, my dissertation addresses the complex possibilities of performance as a tool for resisting, if not recovering from, trauma.