The Making of Suara Dunia

niskalateam
May 6, 2024

Behind the scenes from the Suara Dunia music video shoot with Niskala Studio. A storytelling of the creative process across islands, a remembrance of the gentle power of a mothers guidance, and the trust in community.

Note from the director, Wayan Martino:

Melalui perjalanan anak dan ibunya dari bukit menuju laut, saya turut menuturkan ulang tentang kuatnya sosok perempuan (seorang ibu) yang menghantar sukacita pada kita semua, anak-anaknya. Memaknai kembali perjuangan Mama Aleta dan masyarakat adat di Nusa Tenggara Timur dalam upaya menjaga bumi, tentang kepercayaan bahwa bumi seperti ibu kita, batu itu tulang, air itu darah, yang salah satunya tak boleh hilang. Suara dunia yang dilantunkan Sandrayati dengan begitu apik dan tulus, semoga bisa lebih dekat dengan penikmatnya lewat music video ini

Note from Sandrayati:

I have a deep sense of admiration and awe for the ways that Indigenous people all over the world relate to the earth and community. It is a relationship I long to remember in my own self, and am always learning from.

Part of the lyrics in this song are borrowed and re-phrased from the Mollo people in West Timor. They have a mantra, “Batu adalah tulang. Air adalah darah. Hutan adalah urat nadi. Dan tanah adalah daging.” It means, “This earth is our flesh, the rock is our bone, the water is our blood, the forests are our hair and skin,”, reflecting that our relationship with the earth is more than a connection, it’s an embodiment, a wholeness in being part of each other.

I wrote this song for the beauty of the Mollo people and their land, to the courage of Mama Aleta and her community, especially the women who weaved with their looms on the construction sites to protect their ancestral mountains after more than 10 years of struggle.