DIASTIKA

NYSU: How are you feeling? 

Diastika: Pretty good. I don't know. I'm [feeling] my roots right now. 

What makes you feel in tune with your roots? 

Usually when I put on weird traditional music at home or dance in front of the mirror, I’m by myself in private because I probably look like a clown. It’s nice [and] refreshing to be able to do that in front of a camera with pretty lights and pretty props. It makes me feel like maybe it's not so crazy. 

I think you have a different [kind of Indonesian cultural wear] but I know you're also Muslim, so I think there's a fusion of cultures here. What does that mean – as a woman of both culture and religion – what does that mean to you? 

It's an ongoing journey. I would say Islam came to Indonesia in an interesting way. It wasn't necessarily like an Ottoman Empire came over and colonized. It was introduced in a really beautiful way.

Some things were introduced that kept cultures, but [there’s also] my faith. For me, it's [been this] ongoing journey of figuring out what’s culture and what’s faith, and where the two intertwine. That has really been an amazing little process for me. 

Throughout history, [similar ideals related to my culture and my faith] were mixed together. [Values like] respecting your elders, [for example], is really beautiful but also pressuring at times. Sometimes when you want to set boundaries with parents or grandparents, it gets a little tricky. And that's where my faith comes in. That's like, “Okay, in Islam, you only believe in one God. You only worship one God.” [That reminder] kind of helps me go through my day-to-day life, especially relationships with my elders about what’s culture and what’s faith. Being able to set my boundaries and respect both without taking away any parts of it — that’s a beautiful part about [this ongoing journey].  

That's actually really beautiful to see that you believe there isn’t exactly a dichotomy, but rather [asking yourself], what is your North Star or your compass? Especially in the way you describe it as it’s not just culture versus faith, but rather, it's a blending of the two. It seems like that's how you've kind of created your own identity in that too, right? You've found yourself in the mix of it. 

I think another thing that I've been really loving is that there's a misconception in Islam where women come second, or that they’re the gender under husbands, fathers, or whoever [represents] the man of the house. 

I come from a tribe that's a matriarch. We Sumatran [have] a matriarch system. The leader of my tribe, the Bodi Caniago, is actually my grandmother. [She is] taking care of the tribe, being a good spokesperson, and [embodies] the image of what that tribe is. 

In Islam — if you read the Quran — there's a lot of respect for women. Women have rights and are educated. [Women are] very respected in Islam. With everything that's going on, especially with the kinds of struggles with hijabi women in Iran, women not being able to go to school, and all this stuff,  [this news] has created a misconception, I think, of what the [Islamic] faith is. 

In my culture, we put women on a pedestal — and we do that in my faith too. It’s just a really beautiful mix of both. [Understanding and representing my culture] has given me the tools to kind of prove people wrong when they have those misconceptions, if that makes sense. 

How do you feel like that has also influenced your own [unique] identity or sense of self, as well?

It fluctuates. Some days I feel super powerful. Some days I'm like, “Alright, let's go, let's go, let's go.” Other days, it feels like a lot of pressure. 

I am preparing for my wedding, which is next April. There’s this whole thing where basically the women — my grandmother, my mother and me, the matriarch — were supposed to talk to the elders of my tribe and all this stuff. It’s beautiful that we're keeping those traditions alive. But there's also so much effort in keeping honor to legacies and traditions. 

Every generation has their own way of [understanding] leadership or representation. What's important for you to continue to carry that? 

I think the first thing that comes to mind is how much pressure it is. I think I'm looking at my grandmother, I'm looking at my mother, and I can see the effects of what that pressure has done to their mental health. 

I think what's been an interesting process for me [is how] having faith as kind of a backup [in the midst of] that mental health struggle and pressure that has been really helpful.

My grandma tells me this story all the time: She says it in Sumatra, which is so much more poetic. [She says] the mother of the tribe — which is who she represents, and eventually [will be] me — is the butterfly in the garden of the tribe. We're not only taking care of the tribe, but we're [also] the symbol of the tribe. How you dress, your body language, and how you present yourself are very important. 

In my faith in Islam, you're not supposed to have a lifestyle. You're supposed to have good morals and be delighted, be kind and treat everyone with respect. Propping yourself up and making sure you look 100% beautiful all the time in a kind of superficial way is not something that's encouraged in my faith. I think the story of the butterfly is really beautiful because obviously you have a responsibility to make sure that you're not disrespecting your roots, you're not disrespecting where you come from. But I think it's slowly becoming this very image-based ideal that I think needs to be broken down back into what the core of it actually is. So again, yeah, just faith versus culture, that's really important. 

I know beauty standards in Asian cultures are especially insane. They're huge. What do [these beauty standards] even mean for us in this day and age? [How do we] keep on wearing our traditional wear, our cultural wear, where we tell ourselves, “This is who I am,” but also, not adhere to the beauty standards that that culture succumbs [us] to?

How do you feel when you're wearing your – how do I say what [this dress] is called? 

This is called a Batik. 

Indonesia is so diverse, but there's usually this kind of red line in Indonesia that we call “Benang Merah.” I don’t know what that is in English, but [Benang Merah] is something that connects [the Indonesian cultures] together. You have all your different points, but everything is connected by that margin kind of thing.

All the different tribes of Indonesia [are] super diverse, but we all have a version of Batik, more or less. If you look at the traditional houses, these are the same kind of patterns. They're all really poetic, not specifically. Let's see if I can recognize a pattern. [My Batik], for example, has to do with the roots, being respectful of my roots, and how that intertwines with everything. [Another pattern on my Batik] right here is about river moss. It’s the idea that we as humans need to be like the river moss or sea moss: We can just thrive wherever the current takes us. We move with the direction of the water, and the flow of the water as people. 

When you wear the Batik, what does that mean to you? 

I think these beautiful, really poetic, intricate designs are just a reminder for me of how I need to be as a person. It feels like home. It feels good. I can't really express what that is, but it feels all warm and fuzzy. 

What is your takeaway from your participating in the Roots & Radiance photoshoot and campaign? What does it mean to you? 

A lot. It means a lot. I think you said it in the beginning. I have a unique way of combining my arts, which is very contemporary. My music, which is R&B and pop are [mixed] with my traditional background. That's all really new for me. 

I think if you look at the music and campaigns that I did a few years ago, it was very westernized. I lived in LA so I was in a Theory dress in the middle of the LA river with a short bob [haircut]. And not that that [style is] western, but the idea that it's this new thing that I'm kind of going back to. A part of that is just the last time I went home, I brought my fiancé with me who's not Indonesian, and he was so in awe with everything. It made me feel really good to see an outsider look at this thing, and it's like he had a different kind of respect for it. 

Obviously I have a crush on him, so I want him to look at me doing what I naturally do, which [involves] my traditions — and wearing these traditional outfits feel very at home for me. To see him be in awe of that makes me feel really good and just makes me want to incorporate it into my music as much as possible. 

Even though the songs I'm singing are things I've written in the past when I didn't have this kind of outlook, I've realized that some of the notes that I've chosen, some of the lyrics that I've chosen, the melodies that I write, are very much bits and pieces and moments that are similar to traditional [Indonesian] music. You can see where that inspiration comes from. Wearing this Batik and having a photo shoot just feels natural, and it feels good. I don't feel like I'm faking anything, which took a while to get here. 

But you're here now, and you're doing it beautifully. 

Thank you.