Festival marks reopening of Jakarta Historical Museum

JAKARTA (JP): A culture festival featuring local Betawi, Chinese and Indian cultures marked the reopening of the Jakarta Historical Museum at the Fatahillah square in downtown Kota on Sunday.

The event, to run until Wednesday, features cultural performances and traditional cooking from the Jakarta area, the Middle East, China and India under the banner of "Jakarta's Food Specialties Festival".

Joel, a young tourist from Canada, said he enjoyed the festival and looked forward to learning more about Jakarta's history at the museum.

"Kota is a little bit hectic but this festival and the museum is quite nice," he said.

Ramya, from the Gandhi Memorial International School, hoped this festival would establish better understanding between the different ethnic communities in Jakarta.

"We all are aware of the (recent) history of violence in Kota," Ramya said, referring to the May riots last year in which violence was directed at the Chinese ethnic group.

Besides offering spicy foods to visitors, the Indian contingent also performed a dance called Garba Dandia, a celebration dance from West India.

The festival intends to introduce Jakarta as a cultural meeting place for different ethnic groups which by and large all made up the old Batavia.

The main part of the festival, however, is devoted to the ethnic Jakartan contingent with food specialties like soto Betawi (chicken soup) and pletok "beer" (a beverage made of local herbs) and various handicrafts, traditional songs and performances, such as the giant ondel-ondel puppets.

Barong Sai dancers from the local Chinese community also entertained the audience at the ceremony at the museum.

Their performance marked the reopening of the museum, which has been closed for three month's of renovation.

Governor Sutiyoso, who inaugurated the reopening, called all parties to help care for the museum, which was once the City Hall of Batavia (the previous name for Jakarta).

The renovation works included the replacement of several beams, windows and the installation of new electricity cables.

The reopening also introduced a shift in the museum's concept from an object-oriented to a social-oriented museum, which, according to the museum's director Tinia Budiati, means creating a more public-friendly environment.

"A museum should not only preserve old objects but it should also open itself to the people so that they have a sense of appreciation toward museums," she explained.

She declined to mention how much was spent on the refurbishment but added that the museum often received help from other countries, though not in the form of financial aid. (03)