Pomp reigns at Kutai festival opening<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Tenggarong, East Kalimantan<\/p>\n
Tenggarong returned to festive mood on Saturday. The revelry that
\nwill last until Sept. 28 started with an intricate court ritual
\nled by Kutai Sultan Haji Adji Mohamad Solehoeddin II at his
\npalace.<\/p>\n
Conducted in silence, the ceremony consisted of erecting the
\n"Tiang Ayu", a decorated ancient wooden pole, in the palace
\ngrounds.<\/p>\n
Residents gathered in the palace, exhibition buildings and
\nrecreation centers throughout the day to see the start of Erau,
\nthe annual local cultural festival which is being held along with
\nthe Jepen\/Zapin International Festival.<\/p>\n
Erau is the traditional ceremony for Kutai kings and is
\nbelieved to date back to the coronation of Kutai's first king,
\nAji Batara Agung Dewa Sakti (1300-1325). In the course of time,
\nit has become a yearly folk festival as part of celebration of
\nKutai's founding anniversary that falls on Sept. 28.<\/p>\n
Jepen or Zapin is a typical Malay dance with Arab influences,
\nand is also found in neighboring countries with Malay
\npopulations, such as Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia.
\nThe Jepen festival brings together artists from China, Japan and
\nSouth Korea, which will present their own folk arts.<\/p>\n
Strategic areas of the town are decked out in large
\npromotional posters and colorful lights bathe the streets.
\nFireworks lit up the sky near the new modern suspension bridge
\nover River Mahakam.<\/p>\n
Kumala Island, which is a 76-hectare delta on the Mahakam
\nRiver across from the Kutai regent's office, sparkled with
\nChinese lanterns. The art is the contribution of the Chinese
\ndelegates, who have turned the area into a mini Suzhou, the
\nChinese mainland town famous for its lantern festival.<\/p>\n
The festival was officially opened by Minister of Culture and
\nTourism I Gde Ardika at Rondong Demang stadium, where a colossal
\ndance, Gilang Gemilang Kutai Kartanegara (Glorious Kutai
\nKartanegara), involving 1,200 dancers, was performed.<\/p>\n
"The festival aims at preserving Kutai Kartanegara's precious
\ncultural heritage and introducing it to the outside world," said
\nRegent Syaukani. "And that's why we also have representatives
\nfrom other provinces and foreign countries."<\/p>\n
The Erau festival showcases the cultural wealth of the ancient
\n"land of the kings", as locals proudly call Kutai Kartanegara.
\nOver the past few years, it has invited other provinces, and this
\nyear foreign countries, to win wider recognition for Kutai as one
\nof Indonesia's most important cultural centers.<\/p>\n
The festival will mainly present local traditional folk arts,
\nincluding some which are rarely performed in public, such as the
\nDayak Hudoq dance and court mask dance.<\/p>\n
Delegates from South Korea, Japan and China have arrived and
\nthose from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are expected next
\nweek. But neighboring Brunei is notably absent.<\/p>\n
"The time we gave them is probably too short, less than a year
\n(for the foreign countries) to prepare themselves," acknowledged
\nJudith J. Navarro Dipodiputro, the Kutai regent's adviser on
\nforeign relations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pomp-reigns-at-kutai-festival-opening-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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