Cirebon puts best face on for 'Keraton' festival

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.