INDONESIA TOURISM

Tangkuban Perahu, West Java

04.10 | by Aulia Raditya

Photographed by Feureau who lives in a high ap...

Tangkuban Perahu seen from Bandung

Tangkuban Perahu (or Tangkuban Parahu in local Sundanese dialect) is a volcanic mountain, located about 30km north of Bandung City, West Java. Tangkuban Perahu Mt looks like an inverted boat if viewed from Bandung. Tangkuban means up-turned, and Perahu means boat. This mountain shapes inspire the old-age society to make a folk tale about the origin of Tangkuban Perahu according to The Legend of Sangkuriang.

Tangkuban Perahu

Many activities you can do here, such as; hiking, camping, or just stroll through the forest and enjoy its natural beauty. It has three craters, these are: Kawah Ratu (Queen Crater), Kawah Domas (Domas Crater) and Kawah Upas (Upas Crater). Tourists can go down into the Kawah Domas that has a lot of geysers. Kawah Ratu is still active and sometimes release poisonous gases, so we can not go down into the crater. Kawah Upas, is the oldest crater, it's constantly release sulfurous gases which is destroy the surrounding vegetation.

Kawah Ratu - Queen Crater

geyser - Kawah Domas (Domas Crater)

tourists at Kawah Domas

Kawah Upas - Upas Crater

This volcano is still active. Mild eruptions occurred in 1969, when Kawah Ratu spewed ash and barrages 500 m high. In September 1992 this mountain was closed to the public for a few days because unusually high seismic activity leads volcanologist to fear a new eruption. On the mountain's northern flank is an area called Death Valley, so named for its frequent accumulation of poisonous gases.

INDONESIAN FESTIVALS : Part 2

08.19 | by Aulia Raditya

Toba Lake Festival

The caldera of Lake Toba, with a resurgent dom...

Image via Wikipedia

Toba Lake_Satellite Image

Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, there is a volcanic island in the middle of the lake called Samosir Island. Take place in Lake Toba, the festival was held to promote the arts, culture and traditions of Northern Sumatra. Various events have been prepared by the festival committee, including exhibitions, sports activities, arts-cultural activities and other supporting events.

Ornamental Ships Carnival at Lake Toba

paddle boat race

Tor-Tor Dance

Traditional Music Instrument of Northern Sumatra

Sentani Lake Festival

Sentani Lake_Satellite Image

Sentani Lake, the largest lake in Papua. The festival was held in Khalkote, Asei, East Sentani, Jayapura District, Papua. Sentani Lake Festival is an annual event organized by the Jayapura District Government. The purpose of this festival is to attract local and foreign tourists and also introduced the culture of Papua. This festival featuring cultural performance and traditional culinary of local people, there are also booths selling souvenirs such as Koteka, Noken, etc.

sunset at Sentani Lake

The exhibition devoted to the promotion, investment and trade through booths that showcase the economic potential in Papua such as mining, forestry, fishery, plantation and tourism.

Baliem Valley Festival

Baliem Valley

The second biggest mountain-valley in Papua, The legendary Baliem Valley is the home of the Dani tribe. Indigenous peoples are introduced to the outside world as a peasant fighters. They lived in farming, but likes to fight. Baliem festival featuring performances tribal warfare, crafts, and traditional dances of Dani tribe. Various village re-demonstrate various cases of war between their village. Complete with throwing spears and shooting arrows. But they do not hurt each other.

war festival-throwing spears

Dani tribe-with arrows

Bromo Festival

Mount Bromo (front)

Take place in Mount Bromo (in ancient Javanese language ; Brahma, one of the major Hindu Gods) East Java, this festival features Tengger tribes traditional arts performances, mass Kuda Lumping dance, Reog dance and the main event ; Bromo Million Fire Festival.

tengger tribes, ceremony at Bromo desert

INDONESIAN FESTIVALS : Part 1

07.25 | by Aulia Raditya

INDONESIA is often referred as the sleeping giant of Southeast Asia, and the epithet was indeed appropriate. With more than 18 thousand islands, this archipelago has a remarkable diversity of what you can see or do while on vacation there.

Indonesia offers a variety of festivals that are very distinctive feature of their cultures, reflecting the ethnic diversity and traditions from various parts of the archipelago. You'll find it in various typical Indonesian festivals, for example celebration af arts, batik, dance, ceremony, etc. If possible, you can see one of the festival during a visit in Indonesia.

Krakatau Festival (Lampung, Sumatra)

Krakatau Festival is an annual festival held in Lampung, was held to celebrate the volcanic island of the same name, Krakatau (Krakatoa). Mount Krakatau erupted in 1927, then the eruption was create a new small island named Anak Krakatau.

During the festival, visitors can enjoy variety shows like Carnival Tuping (Lampung Mask Carnival), elephant and various dances from Lampung and surrounding cities. Series of events ended with a visit to the volcanic island that still active but was sleeping soundly.

Bali Arts Festival (Bali)

One of the largest annual celebration of art and culture in Indonesia, Bali Arts Festival is always full packed. During the month, various arts performances, exhibitions, and other cultural activities will take place in Bali, offering dances, musics and beauty of their cultures.

The celebration featured performances such as traditional dances that have been almost forgotten, the trail from a remote area in Bali, foods, handicrafts, as well as new creations from Dance School in Denpasar and contemporary choreography of national and international artists.

Solo Batik Carnival (Solo / Surakarta, Central Java)

From the first, Batik tradition was deeply embedded in Solo~(as known as Surakarta) and even has become an icon and identity, reflect the beauty of its Royal and hospitality of its people. Solo Batik Carnival is held to strengthen that tradition, and also to promote Batik globally.

This event is a combination of ceremonies, fashion shows, and carnivals, with Batik as theme. There is also a Bazaar that offers various kinds of batik and the unique souvenir from Solo.

Grebeg Maulud (Yogyakarta, Central Java)

In the Java language, Grebeg means crowd of people and Maulud is one of the month name in Javanese calendar. This celebration was also known as Sekaten, to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. This procession lasted a full day and features performances of Gamelan which paraded toward the Masjid Agung (grand mosque).

Night Bazaar is held in the north of town square, right place to taste the cuisine of Java and Yogyakarta and also hunting some souvenirs.

Visit Indonesia; Know it, Love It

Batik : Traditional Fabric of Indonesia

04.56 | by Aulia Raditya

Javanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta, has special meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahmā, Visnu, and Śiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.

Other regions of Indonesia have their own unique patterns that normally take themes from everyday lives, incorporating patterns such as flowers, nature, animals, folklore or people. The colours of pesisir batik, from the coastal cities of northern Java, is especially vibrant, and it absorbs influence from the Javanese, Arab, Chinese and Dutch culture. In the colonial times pesisir batik was a favorite of the Peranakan Chinese, Dutch and Eurasians.

UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanityon October 2, 2009. As part of the acknowledgment, UNESCO insisted that Indonesia preserve their heritage.

Javanese Kraton Batik (Javanese court Batik)

Javanese keraton (court) Batik is the oldest batik tradition known in Java. Also known as Batik Pedalaman (inland batik) in contrast withBatik Pesisiran (coastal batik). This type of batik has earthy color tones such as black, brown, and dark yellow (sogan), sometimes against a white background. The motifs of traditional court batik have symbolic meanings. Some designs are restricted: larger motifs can only be worn by royalty; and certain motifs are not suitable for women, or for specific occasions (e.g., weddings).

The palace courts (keratonan) in two cities in central Java are known for preserving and fostering batik traditions:

Surakarta (Solo City) Batik. Traditional Surakarta court batik is preserved and fostered by the Susuhunan and Mangkunegaran courts. The main areas that produce Solo batik are the Laweyan and Kauman districts of the city. Solo batik typically has sogan as the background color. Pasar Klewer near the Susuhunan palace is a retail trade center.
Yogyakarta Batik. Traditional Yogya batik is preserved and fostered by the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the Pakualaman court. Usually Yogya Batik has white as the background color. Fine batik is produced at Kampung Taman district. Beringharjo market near Malioborostreet is well known as a retail batik trade center in Yogyakarta.

Batik Designs

Although there are thousands of different batik designs, particular designs have traditionally been associated with traditional festivals and specific religious ceremonies. Previously, it was thought that certain cloth had mystical powers to ward off ill fortune, while other pieces could bring good luck.
Wedding Batik

Certain batik designs are reserved for brides and bridegrooms as well as their families. Other designs are reserved for the Sultan and his family or their attendants. A person's rank could be determined by the pattern of the batik he/she wore.
In general, there are two categories of batik design: geometric motifs (which tend to be the earlier designs) and free form designs, which are based on stylized patterns of natural forms or imitations of a woven texture. Nitik is the most famous design illustrating this effect.
Certain areas are known for a predominance of certain designs. Central Javanese designs are influenced by traditional patterns and colors. Batik from the north coast of Java, near Pekalongan and Cirebon, have been greatly influenced by Chinese culture and effect brighter colors and more intricate flower and cloud designs.
High fashion designs drawn on silk are very popular with wealthy Indonesians. These exceptionally high-quality pieces can take months to create and costs hundreds of dollars.

Kawung

Kawung is another very old design consisting of intersecting circles, known in Java since at least the thirteenth century. This design has appeared carved into the walls of many temples throughout Java such as Prambanan near Jogjakarta and Kediri in East Java. For many years, this pattern was reserved for the royal court of the Sultan of Jogjakarta. The circles are sometimes embellished inside with two or more small crosses or other ornaments such as intersecting lines or dots. It has been suggested that the ovals might represent flora such as the fruit of the kapok (silk cotton) tree or the aren (sugar palm).

Ceplok

Ceplok is a general name for a whole series of geometric designs based on squares, rhombs, circles, stars, etc. Although fundamentally geometric, ceplok can also represent abstractions and stylization of flowers, buds, seeds and even animals. Variations in color intensity can create illusions of depth and the overall effect is not unlike medallion patterns seen on Turkish tribal rugs. The Indonesian population is largely Muslim, a religion that forbids the portrayal of animal and human forms in a realistic manner. To get around this prohibition, the batik worker does not attempt to express this matter in a realistic form. A single element of the form is chosen and then that element is repeated again and again in the pattern.

Parang

Parang was once used exclusively by the royal courts of Central Java. It has several suggested meanings such as 'rugged rock', 'knife pattern' or 'broken blade'. The Parang design consists of slanting rows of thick knife-like segments running in parallel diagonal bands. Parang usually alternated with narrower bands in a darker contrasting color. These darker bands contain another design element, a line of lozenge-shaped motifs call mlinjon. There are many variations of this basic striped pattern with its elegant sweeping lines, with over forty parang designs recorded. The most famous is the 'Parang Rusak' which in its most classical form consisting of rows of softly folded parang. This motif also appears in media other than batik, including woodcarving and as ornamentation on gamelan musical instruments.