Indonesia Culture
Batik – an Intangible Heritage Wonder
Batik is a popular decorated textile but for Javanese, it means much more — it embodies a philosophy that holds importance from the cradle to the grave. It is still a common practice to wrap newborns in batik cloth, and a piece of batik selendang (scarf) is regularly used to carry the baby around. When someone dies, batik will cover the body of the deceased and seven pieces of batik are usually used to cushion the corpse. At this time, batik with a parang rusak pattern or a bird design are not supposed to be used. The values represented in Indonesian batik are considered significant enough by advocates to push the government to nominate it for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s list of intangible cultural heritage, which will be first inscripted in September 2009.
Date: May 26th, 2008 |
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Hari Raya Waisak: Indonesia
Today in Indonesia is Waisak Day. This is a Bhuddist holiday to celebrate the anniversary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Bhuddism. To all my friends that are Bhuddist I wish to express…
SELEMAT HARI RAYA WAISAK
Hari Waisak - Waisak Day
Date: May 19th, 2008 |
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Indonesians in Focus: Sofiah Peni Carito
These days, women can take on roles that were once thought to be the domain of men — be it as the country’s president, a political head, a minister or the leader of a musical group. But in the art of shadow puppetry, women still usually only feature only as a pesinden; a singer who accompanies the live gamelan orchestra. However, some women have broken traditional conventions by taking on the principal position of puppet master — like Sofiah Peni Carito, from Pringtutul village, Rawakele sub-district, in Kebumen Regency, Central Java.
Date: May 15th, 2008 |
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Craftsmen of Bejijong: Trowulan, East Java
Trowulan, located some 12 kilometers south of Mojokerto regency in East Java, has long been known as a historical site. The Hindu and Buddhist-influenced temples that dot the area are evidence of a rich cultural heritage, which also includes ceramic pieces, bronze and silver art and stone carvings. But the few craftsmen still engaged in creating works of art with religious themes are diminishing, and the few still holding on to their profession are finding it harder to preserve the ancient art they inherited from their ancestors.
Date: May 7th, 2008 |
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The Magic of Mount Kawi: East Java
Mount Kawi, a major tourist destination near Malang city in East Java, is renowned for attracting fortune seekers. People visit Mount Kawi to ask for blessings and wish for many different things — a successful business, to meet their life partner or for a good career. It is even common to see ambitious politicians who wish to obtain a high-ranking position hold hajatan (a prayer ritual) at Mount Kawi while offering gifts. Chinese descendants who live in the East Java town of Kediri, for instance, believe a visit to Mount Kawi, which is located in Wonosari village, will bring good fortune to their business. Ong Hok Liong, the late founder of the Bentoel cigarette factory in Malang, was reportedly among the frequent visitors to the location, arriving with his wife Liem Kiem Kwie Nio to meditate at the two sacred graves of Mbah Jugo and Mbah Imam Sujono on Mount Kawi’s slopes.
Date: April 28th, 2008 |
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Indonesians in Focus: Didik Nini Thowok
People usually look down on buskers or roadside performers, assuming they are too lazy to work and are content earning a few pennies on the street. But not Didik Nini Thowok, who believes busking can actually serve as a way to preserve cultural traditions and even attract tourists. Born in Temanggung, Central Java, the 54-year-old man said a group of traditional artists had recently been given a space to busk in the city center, on Jl. Malioboro. “Busking can become one of the ways to develop Yogyakarta as a culture-based tourist city,” said Didik. “But this activity has to be supported by all parties, since most groups of traditional artists are not financially secure,” he said. Didik said he believed that regular shows by traditional art groups would help both the artists and local cultures survive. He added busking by artistic groups could also become a powerful attraction for tourists, especially foreign visitors.
Date: May 23rd, 2008 |
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Upcoming Events in Indonesia
Along with the endorsement of 2008 as Visit Indonesia Year, a line-up of programs has been arranged to give visitors a closer encounter with the country’s magnificent culture. Here are some of the highlights to come in the next few months:
Date: May 15th, 2008 |
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Indonesians in Focus: Indo Deleng
A self-confident young woman strolls along in Lengkasa village deep in the forest in Tojo Una-Una regency, Central Sulawesi. Her age is 24. She voluntarily runs a traditional community school. The Lipu village school was set up by local people and the Red and White Palu Foundation to serve the children of the isolated Tau Taa Wana Bulang community, which follows traditional customs. The teacher is called Indo Deleng, after the name of her eldest child. Or she can use her mother’s name. But never her own.
Date: May 13th, 2008 |
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Indonesians in Focus: Tam Chen Siong
Tam Chen Siong, 36, an Indonesian of Chinese descent who is also known as Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Hartonodiningrat, has enjoyed success in his efforts to preserve one of the country’s most treasured forms of cultural art. Tam’s father, Tam Hwa Seng, a businessman from Surabaya, and mother Phun Djoei Hing, hoped their second child would carry on the family freight business. If that ambition could not be achieved, they hoped he would at least follow in the footsteps of his grandfather; an architect who was involved in a number of projects in Surabaya. Tam, who earned a technical engineering degree from Petra Christian University in Surabaya in 1992, however, chose to become a master craftsman of kris (a wavy-bladed Javanese dagger).
Date: May 2nd, 2008 |
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Future plans of the Lontar Foundation
After 20 years, the Lontar Foundation has decided on a major make-over as a modern multi-media Indonesian literary promotion agency. This means a new approach to marketing Indonesian literature in an age when printed books are losing out to the web. There is new interest in Indonesian language, literature and culture, in Asia and globally. This means a new lease of life for Lontar as it embraces on-line and print-on-demand technologies and brings in 21st century distribution concepts.
Date: April 28th, 2008 |
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