Cirebon puts best face on for 'Keraton' festival

The second Keraton (palace) Festival will be held in Cirebon, West Java, from July 1-7. The Jakarta Post's reporter K. Basrie interviewed officials and residents about preparations for the event during a recent trip to the ancient town.

CIREBON, West Java (JP): This small and usually quiet town is swarming with activity these days. Local officials and residents have been working hard to present Cirebon's best face to the world ahead of the week-long keraton festival.

Intensive renovation and construction work is underway on the town's three palaces -- Kasepuhan, Kacirebonan and Kanoman, three public squares and the venue of the festival.

The local authorities have beautified almost every inch of the town. Residents have painted their houses and shops, and cleaned up the yards. Business associations, including operators of hotels and restaurants, have spruced up their premises.

Dancers from different troupes are going through their steps to prepare for performances during the festival.

Colorful flags, banners and placards advertising the so-called Festival Keraton se-Nusantara II, or FKN II, adorn many main streets.

Unfortunately, all of this has not been supported by promotion nationally.

Few are aware of the event outside of Cirebon. There are no promotional postures and brochures one would expect to find in domestic airports.

"We have many times asked the central committee to bolster the promotion of next month's festival, but we still receive reports that promotion in big cities like Jakarta is far below our expectations," says chairman of Cirebon's Association of Hotel and Restaurant Owners (PHRI) Ahmad Husein.

Head of Cirebon's tourism office and secretary of the organizing committee Sri Kuncoro echoed his view.

"I've lodged similar inquiries and have yet to receive any comment," said Kuncoro.

A Jakarta agency, appointed by the provincial committee, is responsible for promoting the event, Kuncoro said.

Locals have not been disheartened by the lack of promotion.

"We've worked so hard in the past few months to make this festival a great success," Kuncoro said.

Rare event

The inaugural festival was held in Surakarta, also known as Solo, in 1995.

The festival may be dubbed a rare event as it brings together scores of former rulers, princes and princesses along with thousands of courtiers.

Many priceless heirlooms will be on display. A total of 120 ritual dances, normally performed only according to ritual keraton calendars, will be presented during the festival.

On the tentative schedule for the festival, Vice President Try Sutrisno is scheduled open the festival in the square in front of the 468-year-old Kasepuhan palace at 9 a.m on July 1.

Prior to the official opening, over 200 local dancers will present a momentous dance entitled Abyoring Dwaja Salaksa, depicting the role of palaces during and after the colonial era.

Designed to help preserve the palaces and all their attributes and traditions, the festival is expected to cost Rp 2.7 billion, said Kuncoro. Of this amount, Rp 500 billion has been donated by Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave.

The opening will be followed by a parade around town of soldiers from every participating palace.

Kuncoro listed the four main events of the festival as a dance contest, ritual parade, costume exhibition and heirloom display.

The first three events will take place at the Kasepuhan palace and neighboring Kacirebonan palace. The heirloom display will be held at the meeting room of the 409-year-old Kanoman palace.

All events are scheduled to be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. everyday during the week.

West Java traditional performing arts will be on show at the Kejaksaan Square and Kabumen Square every evening during the festival.

A huge traditional dance involving 225 people is scheduled to take place on the evenings of the first and second days of the festival at an open-air cultural stage in front of the 294-year- old Sunyaragi cave and park. The dance, entitled Kumandange Azan Pitu, celebrates diversity and unification and is choreographed by Subrata, Indonesia's director general of press and graphic affairs, who is a Cirebonese.

A meeting forum for the palace rulers, officials from national tourist board and the committee will be held on the second day at the Kasepuhan palace.

A fair offering a variety of gifts from participating palaces will run everyday at the Kejaksaan Square and the committee also plans a photo competition.

The closing ceremony will be held in the Kasepuhan palace in the evening.

Participants

Kuncoro said 24 of the 44 palaces in Indonesia had confirmed their participation.

"We're still awaiting confirmation from other palaces, as well as those from foreign countries like Malaysia and Singapore," Kuncoro added.

He estimated 32 palaces will participate in the festival. According to tentative registration data (see table), the 24 contingents alone already number 3,117 people.

"This town will be packed with kings, queens and all their royal families, courtiers, guards and dancers," said Kuncoro.

Ahmad Husein said hotel operators in the town have agreed not to provide discounts during the festival.

Hotel operators in Cirebon usually consider themselves lucky if they reach 40 percent occupancy rate despite offering sizable discounts. He said several hotels and motels in Cirebon were full with group and tourist reservations, particularly for the first few days of the event.

PHRI data shows that most of the tourists are from South Korea, the Netherlands and United States.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us here to see our rooms full," said Rondiati, general manager of the three-star Hotel Prima.

The highest rated hotels in Cirebon are three star. Husein said the number of Cirebon hotel rooms, excluding motels, is about 1,500.

"It is really impossible for all the rooms available to accommodate the visitors later, even though there are still many rooms as of today," he said.

"We therefore are encouraging residents to temporarily rent out rooms in their homes at an amicable rate to either participants or tourists during the week."

Although none of the residents interviewed said they knew about the proposal, they were enthusiastic.

"We never heard about the idea but we'll support it at whatever cost," said an elderly resident living near the Kanoman traditional market.

Getting to Cirebon is no problem as the town, which straddles the border between west and central Java, is served .

From Jakarta, it takes three hours by train with fares ranging from Rp 23,000 (executive class) to Rp 12,000 (economy). There are three services daily to and from Cirebon.

Bus service is available 24 hours per day from Jakarta at Rp 6,000 per person per trip. The journey takes about six hours.

Cirebon is a small town and the festival venues can be reached in minutes by taxi, public transportation vehicles or becak (three-wheel pedicab).

The city is of historical interest . Its name is believed to be derived from cai (air or water in Sundanese) and rebon (prawns) as the city is famous for its fishing industry.

Seafood lovers will rejoice at the array of catch from this point on the north coast of Java. Fast food restaurants, such as of Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and Wendy's, have set up business here. The city is also famed for its traditional cuisine, including Nasi Jamblang, Nasi Lengko, Sate Kalong and Tahu Kejrot.

Cirebon also has its own unique batik design. The swirling, circular motifs are distinct from the more staid patterns of Central Java. There is no better site to buy these textiles than here in their place of origin.