'Imlek' rediscovered in Semarang<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko , The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java<\/p>\n
Wong Chao Sing was never as busy around this time of year just a
\ncouple of years ago. The owner of a shop located in Semarang's
\nold Chinatown on Jl. Wotgandul Timur, was seen frantically
\nserving customers trying to snap up paraphernalia to be used for
\nthe celebration of the Chinese New Year.<\/p>\n
Candles and gold paper used for offerings to Buddha, silver
\npapers to send prayers to ancestors and many other accessories in
\nrelation to the upcoming festivities are available in his shop.<\/p>\n
This will only be the third year that Chinese-Indonesians have
\nofficially been allowed to celebrate the New Year.<\/p>\n
In 1967 former president Soeharto issued a presidential decree
\nbanning all activities related to Chinese culture, following the
\n1965 coup attempt, that Soeharto blamed on the Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI), which he believed was associated with
\nCommunist China.<\/p>\n
The discriminative decree was lifted in 2000 by then president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Today the Chinese-Indonesians in Semarang, which make up about
\n80,000 (will be confirmed), are preparing themselves to celebrate
\nthe Chinese New Year, or Imlek, that falls on Jan. 22.<\/p>\n
A night market festival, called Pasar Imlek Semawis, is being
\nheld to welcome in the Year of the Monkey. It begins on Jan. 19
\nand will run through Jan. 21.<\/p>\n
In previous years, so many vendors and Chinese cultural groups
\ntook part in the festival that their tents and stalls virtually
\ncovered Jl. Wotgandul, Jl. Sebandaran and Jl. Beteng -- the area
\npreviously known as Cap Kao King.<\/p>\n
The event organizer Haryanto Halim said this year's event
\nwould feature the Chinatown culture in the past -- meant to be a
\nunique tourist attraction too, initiated by the Semarang
\nChinatown Community for Tourism or Kopi Semawis.<\/p>\n
Semawis is the royal Javanese term for Semarang. The name
\nitself indicates an effort to acknowledge the ties between the
\nChinese and Javanese cultures.<\/p>\n
The night market is also called ji kao meh. Ji kao is 29 and
\nmeh is night. The words mean that the event is being held on
\nnight of the 29th of the month.<\/p>\n
Among the activities held during the event are an exhibition,
\na food bazaar and various art attractions. The sale of Imlek
\naccessories and an exhibition of Chinese-Malay literature will be
\nheld on Gang Baru.<\/p>\n
The food bazaar will serve traditional food of Chinatown and
\nSemarang, like onde-onde, bakpao, and masakan nyonya (dishes
\ninfluenced by the Hokkien, Malay and Javanese, like lontong cap
\ngo meh and nasi bakmoy.<\/p>\n
Traditional beverages like jamu jun, jolobio and wedang tahu
\nare also available.<\/p>\n
\"We will also make the longest cakwee (fried salty cake) and
\nthe tallest incense stick, which will be recorded in the
\nIndonesian Records Museum,\" Haryanto said.<\/p>\n
The performing arts activities will include wayang potehi,
\nwushu, tan sin, yang khiem and gambang Semarang. Fortune tellers
\nand sinshe (Chinese healers) will also be present.<\/p>\n
The praying activities started a week before Imlek, with the
\nToa Pe Kong celebration, and will last until cap go meh or the
\n15th day of the New Year.<\/p>\n
The Imlek festivities are also felt outside of Chinatown. Just
\nlook at Wito, whose face was wet with sweat as he worked hard to
\nfinish a barongsai, a mythical beast which looks like a lion. The
\nBarongsai dance is a traditional Chinese art that has been widely
\nperformed in the celebration of the Chinese New Year across the
\ncountry since the beginning of the Reform Era in 1998.<\/p>\n
\"We received an order to make some 30 barongsai for the
\ncelebrations,\" Wito's boss, Oei Eng Tek alias Sutikno Wiroutomo,
\nan artist on Jl. Seteran Tengah, Semarang, told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The order came from various places, from Medan in North
\nSumatra to Toli Toli in Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Eng Tek, who usually receives an order of less than eight
\nbarongsai a month, sells them for Rp 1.5 million each.<\/p>\n
\"They are not expensive. There are six barongsai workshops (in
\ntown) and I have to work against some healthy competition,\" said
\nEng Tek, who is assisted by five employees.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the owner of Kie Ping candle factory, Yauw Ping
\nKwie alias Yoso Diharjo on Jl. Ciloksari said that his orders had
\nincreased by 30 percent ahead of the holidays.<\/p>\n
\"The order came from many towns in Java. The prices vary,
\ndepending on the size of the candles. A pack of the smallest
\ncandles, consisting of eight pairs, costs Rp 5,600, while the
\nbiggest one, two meters high, is Rp 3 million,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Eng Tek and Ping Kwie are among those who continued to
\npreserve the Chinese traditions despite the pressure under the
\nNew Order government that was in power for 32 years. They
\nsuffered a lot during the period.<\/p>\n
The ban of Chinese culture had greatly affected the buildings
\nwith Chinese architecture as well. This was particularly
\nnoticeable in Chinatown.<\/p>\n
Many buildings with Chinese architecture were partly
\ndemolished to make way for the road widening projects between
\n1970s and 1980s.<\/p>\n
And Chinatown seemed to lose its beauty and history. You could
\nstill see buildings with Chinese architecture from the side of a
\nriver that passes in the area. But they are gradually
\ndisappearing too.<\/p>\n
Temples are the ones that are well preserved. There are 24
\ntemples in Semarang, mostly located in Chinatown. Among the
\noldest one is Thay Kak Sie, which gives a glimpse about the
\nhistory of the arrival of the Chinese people on Java.<\/p>\n
However, with the new spirit which comes along this New Year,
\nbesides the enlivening small-scale businesses in relation with
\nthe festivity, it is also hoped that all will feel the need to
\npreserve the long neglected valuable archives here, including the
\nlegacies of culture, traditions and the property.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/imlek-rediscovered-in-semarang-1447893297",
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