Carnival enlivens Zheng He celebration

Suherdjoko and Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post/Semarang

After waiting in vain for the Sam Poo carnival procession on a side street here, Unun realizes that she has made a mistake. The procession had passed Jl. Pemuda, the street where she was sitting down with her nine-year-old daughter under a tree, earlier in the morning on Thursday.

"I wanted to see the procession because I was told that the Solo royal carriage is taking part," she told The Jakarta Post, "besides the carnival itself would be exciting to watch".

Her daughter who looked disappointed said: "I had skipped my class today to see the procession".

Some people in the street, however, seemed to be unaware about the procession.

A newspaper vendor and a side-street cigarette seller said they were not sure what time the procession was going to take place.

Unun later decided to go to the Sam Poo Kong temple at Gedung Batu where participants of the procession rested for a few hours before making the same five-kilometer journey to Tay Kak Sie temple in Chinatown where the procession began at 5 a.m. in the morning.

For Tjahjono Rahardjo, a professor of environmental science at the Sugijaprata Catholic University, the annual Sam Poo carnival, is a familiar event.

"I came to the Tay Kak Sie temple at four o'clock in the morning. I always take part in the procession wherever I can," he told the Post.

Lion dancers including those from the Diponegoro Military Headquarters led the procession followed by dozens of people with painted faces that made it look like they were wearing Chinese masks. The people wore black trousers and long-sleeved shirts with gold embroidery depicting Zheng He's horse attendants (Che- Kun) as well as those grateful people who had their wishes fulfilled by the gods (Bhe-Kun).

Three altars carrying offerings from Chinese temples including those from Tay Kak Sie followed, carried on the shoulders by devotees, the way people bore traditional chair sedans in the past.

"Zheng He" himself, dressed in a brilliant red and golden yellow battle dress with a sword on his side, rode a handsome horse flanked by his two guards on horseback in similar suits, preceded by the Semarang police corps on horses.

The black horse-drawn royal carriages from Solo came later followed by the famous Ponorogo reog dance from East Java at the end of the procession.

Except at a few narrow bends, the procession barely disturbed the flow of traffic as motorists were able to maneuver their way along the side of the procession.

The procession was greeted by Minister of Trade and Industry Mari E. Pangestu, West Java Governor Mardiyanto and Semarang Mayor Sukawi Sutarip at the office of the mayor on its way home to Tay Kak Sie temple.

Abdul Latief, a Chinese-Indonesian Muslim visitor from Cirebon, said that as a Muslim he was very proud of Zheng He.

"Islam recognizes three stages of faith. They are iman (belief), Islam and ichsan (virtue)," Abdul said.

Bintoro, a Chinese-Indonesian who resides in Semarang hailed the Zheng He celebration.

"The Chinese admiral", he said, "could serve as a model for Chinese-Indonesians in terms of peace and friendship".

Dr. Leung Kam Ching, a professor of astronomy at the University of Nebraska who came all the way from the United States, said he was stunned by the ignorance of the people about Zheng He.

"Most Semarang people only know about Sam Poo Kong, which is the famous temple in the city," he said.

Tjahjono lamented the absence of an Indonesian translation of the text of what otherwise would have been a very enlightening photographic exhibition at the Central Java Trade and Promotion Center (PRPP).

"The photo captions were only in English. I am convinced that the message would not reach the public. If I had come with my son, I would have had to translate them for him," he said.

The huge PRPP complex, which houses several exhibits including Zheng He's photo exhibition by internationally acclaimed photographer Michael Yamashita and a trade and handicraft exhibition, looked deserted on Thursday morning.

A festive mood was in the air up to midnight on Wednesday when residents were able to choose between entertainment at either Sam Poo Kong, Tay Kak Sie or PRPP sites as the three places offered international standard cultural shows.

Singers and dancers entertained huge audiences at the three locations featuring a Wu Shu martial arts show, Chinese acrobats and Islamic dances from Xin Chiang city.

But the hundreds of revelers had to jostle for at least 10 minutes on the narrow riverside road on the way to Tay Kak Sie temple before they were able to position themselves in front of a make-shift stage aboard a replica of Zheng He's boat anchored in the narrow Semarang river.

Minister Mari said on Wednesday that Zheng He's celebration could be exploited as an opportunity to promote trade.

"It so happens that Zheng He's mission was trade," the minister said of the trade and diplomatic emissary of the Ming dynasty.