The aroma of heated flour hits the senses. The heat from the smoldering furnace touched the surrounding air. Faintly, the dust of grains flew. The sound of the dough pounding resounded. Even though the sun was shining, it didn’t dampen the man’s spirit. It was Mumtaz Khan Chopan.
Mumtaz is a member of A Pond is the Reverse of the Island. This man hailed from Afghanistan and collaborated with Timbil Budiarto in making Naan, or flatbread, using Tannoor.
Tannoor is a clay oven that originated in Afghanistan. It’s usually heated to a certain temperature. However, the Tannoor presented at the Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021 is a little different. This time the Tannoor is made of iron shaped like a stove and the cooking process uses gas instead of firewood.
“I think one of the best ways to make people understand the community is to understand their culture,” said Mumtaz on the west side of the Jogja National Museum stage on Saturday (30/10).
According to Mumtaz, the purpose of making Naan is to make people understand a community by understanding said community’s culture. At this point, A Pond wants people to know that 60-70% of the refugees in Kalideres are from Afghanistan and that they have their own culture and character.
A Pond itself is a collective of solidarity networks that works with refugees in the Kalideres refugee village in Jakarta and other refugees throughout Indonesia. Following A Pond’s goal, developing artistic strategies to meet the daily needs of refugees in Kalideres, West Jakarta. The purpose of making this Naan Bread is to collect donations.
“So far, the donation collected is approximately four million rupiahs,” continued Mumtaz.
Mumtaz also held a workshop on how to make Naan for visitors. The goal is to collect donations. So far, the sold Naan has reached around one hundred and fifty.
“Many visitors like the dish. They also like to make the dough and make various shapes from it,” explained Mumtaz with a happy face.
The making Naan project with Tanoor will not stop at the Biennale Jogja XVI. In the future, Mumtaz and friends will send the Tannoor they have made to refugees in Kalideres so the refugees can continue to use the Tannoor.
