'Cap Go Meh' brightens Jakarta's streets
Dewi Santoso The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Thousands of Jakartans flocked the streets in Kota area, West Jakarta, on Sunday morning to witness the colorful celebration of Cap Go Meh, the 15th day after Imlek or Chinese New Year.
The celebration was the second such event staged openly after the government declared Imlek an official national holiday in 2002.
The parade started at the 500-year-old temple Vihara Dharma Jaya, locally known as Toa Se Bio, on Jl. Kemenangan III. It started with a mass prayer to Thian (God) and Cheng Goan Cin Kun (Chinese Lord of the Sky), asking for a smooth and successful celebration, led by head of the organizing committee Husen Buntara Sjarifudin at 8 a.m.
"We ask God to allow us to hold a huge ceremony that will run smoothly and successfully as it will blend various cultures and bring different races together. We ask for harmony and peace. May God bless us," he prayed in front of the altar of Thian.
The crowd placed their offerings at the altar, burned incense and prayed in front of statues of the gods to solicit blessings and prosperity.
Fifteen minutes later, a parade started with a long line of revelers carrying six toapehkong (miniature statues of traditional gods) followed by Chinese dances such as the Liong (dragon dance) and Barongsai (lion dance), West Javanese sisingaan and jangkungan dances, Reog performance from Ponorogo, East Java, and Jakarta's ondel-ondel (giants) and tanjidor traditional orchestra.
Since this is the Year of the Monkey, a Sun Go Kong dance (epic hero who appears as a white monkey) was also performed.
The deafening beat of the Chinese drums and cymbals coupled with music from gamelan orchestra produced a beautiful fusion of sounds.
The parade began at the temple and continued through Jl. Toko Tiga Seberang, Jl. Pintu Kecil Raya, Jl. Asemka, Kota Railway Station, Jl. Pintu Besar Utara, Fatahillah Museum Park, Jl. Hayam Wuruk, Jl. Gajah Mada, Pancoran (Chinatown), Glodok and back to the temple.
Outside Fatahillah Museum, West Jakarta Mayor Sarimun Hadisaputra officiated the celebrations that were followed with cultural performances including the Liong and Barongsai, wushu (Chinese martial arts) and winners of the Koko (older brother) and Cici (older sister) pageant and the Abang None pageant.
Traffic along the streets in the area was congested for three hours because of the performances.
"This year, 2,500 people from different parts of the country, including Jakarta and Rengasdengklok, participated in the celebration, making it more colorful, merrier and livelier," Husen told The Jakarta Post.
According to Chinese belief, Cap Go Meh is the time when the gods descend from the heavens to grant wishes and spread good luck. This year, Cap Go Meh fell on Feb. 5 but for security and convenience, the celebration was held three days later.
Husen explained that the celebration was organized "as an effort to bring all Jakartans into harmony and peace regardless of their cultural and religious backgrounds."
"Indonesia has a lot of different cultures and races. These are the assets that we, as citizens, need to cultivate. We may come from different backgrounds, speak different dialects and belong to different religions. But in the end, we all have one country, Indonesia," he said.