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.
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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.
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To ensure the survival of their art, theatrical actors and actresses in Indonesia need to explore their creativity. As did Iin Mutmainah, 31, a theatrical actress from Lampung, who since 2002 has performed as story-teller. Initially, Iin took up story-telling to earn some extra cash so she could continue her theater activities. But eventually Iin decided to set up a story-telling group called “Sanggar Dakocan” (Dakocan Studio). Through this group, Iin found a channel for her acting talent and has been able to carry out a story-telling campaign for kindergarten pupils and teachers.
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“Come, come … please. You see Museum Kereta (carriage museum),” were the words of a guide at Yogyakarta’s Kraton (palace). He was most insistent that the visitor to the Kraton also came to the nearby Museum Kereta. The walk to the museum is not far and visitors may benefit from the shade created by the kraton walls. On arrival, a huddle of men chatting pause from their conversations and cigarettes to offer warm greetings and collect small entrance fees (Rp 3,000 and, if you want to use a camera, a further Rp 1,000 is required). Once inside, a visually impressive display awaits.
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Buffalo races take place all over Indonesia and their forms vary from place to place. Whereas buffalo races in Bali are done on an oval track, with riders in carts, the buffalo races I witnessed in Sumbawa were quite different. In Sumbawa, the buffalo were more in their natural environment — a muddy field. You see, water buffaloes have little hair. They are practically naked their entire lives, with just a tiny bit of hair sticking out of tough elephant-like gray skin. This is why they are called buffalo — they’re in the buff! Luckily, water buffalo are rather proud of their baldness and have never taken to the barcode look that balding men resort to when they comb all their remaining hair over their bald spot. No, with bald buffalo it’s different. They’re comfortable with their nakedness. And it’s a good thing, because you can just imagine the size a buffalo toupee would have to be.
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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).
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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.
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At first too shy to approach the prince directly, Princess Kadambari Was persuaded to honor her guest. She stretched out her hand. She placed the betel leaf in his. She offered the leaf as though she offered her heart. Banabhatta (A.D. 7) Kadambari
Last week I told you a tale about daluman, that “ominous green leafy drink that is revered by the Balinese”. But as the world, including Ubud, falls into a heap of ill health (have you noticed how many people are getting sick these days?), maybe it’s time to start getting into some serious tonics to ward off those “evil spirits” that wreak havoc with our lovely bodies. Or are the evil spirits simply ourselves? Enter daun sirih, or what is otherwise known as betel leaf. Heart-shaped and as glossy as a polished green apple, the betel leaf is surrounded by myths and magic. Its use can be traced as far back as 2,000 years and it is even described in the most ancient books of Sri Lanka. A native of India and south-east Asia, it traveled the high seas in those old sea-faring days, venturing as far as Madagascar and East Africa. And what an impact it made.
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In Indonesia, the media should be cautious when covering four topics — suku, agama, ras, antar golongan (ethnicity, religion, race and the relationship between groups), better known as the acronym SARA — to avoid any legal consequences. But in a new talk show on ANTV, guests must refrain from talking about weight, or else the host, Wimar Witoelar, may become angry. The host of the half-hour-long show Perspektif Wimar (Wimar’s Perspective) was recently offended when he thought his co-host, Cathy Sharon, commented on his large body size.
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Jambi province has been preparing local tourist sites and attractions as well as setting up support facilities and infrastructures in its effort to make the Indonesia Visit Year (VIY) 2008 program a success. Jambi Governor H Zulkifli Nurdin has brought all businesspeople dealing with the tourism sector in the province together calling on them to make concerted efforts to make the Visit Indonesia Year (VIY) and Visit Jambi Year (VJY) programs a success.
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