Highland Gathering attracts huge crowd in Karawaci

TANGERANG (JP): Thousands of people thronged the Scottish annual spring festival at the sports field of Pelita Harapan University (UPH) in Lippo Karawaci here on Sunday.

According to the visitors, the 2000 Jakarta Highland Gathering offered lots of fun for everyone involved.

With the entrance ticket costing Rp 20,000 for adults and Rp 10,000 for children, the gathering -- which wasn't held for the past two years due to the instability in the country -- began with a mini marathon event in the morning.

It was followed by a field and track competition for adults and children and several other games, such as the tug-of-war match.

The highlights of the gathering included the parade of bagpipe bands, traditional Scottish dancing, 7-a-side rugby, and 'heavy' events such as caber tossing and hammer hurling.

Like in previous events, Australian axemen also showed their skills at wood chopping, using various kinds of axes and saws.

Visitor Suzanne McCarthy, a housewife, said this year's gathering was more interesting compared to those in the past.

"The atmosphere is nicer this year, perhaps because of the open air location. The stalls are also well placed, with more options to choose from," she said.

"But, unfortunately, it's raining this year. It's the first time we've had rain during a gathering," she added.

The heavy rain caused a messy situation. Water inundated the field, making it very muddy.

There were four bagpipe bands taking part in a quintet competition: Sri Dasmesh Malaysian Sikh Band, Republic of Singapore Police' Gurkha Contingent, Australia's Hawthorn City Pipe Band and Perth Highland Pipe Band.

"It's my first visit here but the band has been dozens of times. It's nice to be here, there's a huge crowd today," said Michael Stewart of Hawthorn City Pipe Band, whose team won first place in the open competition.

David Johnston of the Perth band said it was their eleventh performance at the event.

"We love it here, so we keep coming back," he said.

A similar comment was made by piper Indrajit Singh of the Malaysian band, which won first place in the South East Asia competition.

"This is our second appearance here after the 1997 gathering. It's nice to be here, just like home," he said.

The bands performed scores of Highland tunes in quintet and solo. They also played the tunes together.

There was a dance competition and dancers performed both Highland and Scottish country dances. Eight teams of dancers from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore took part in the dance competition.

Visitors also used the gathering to buy Scottish souvenirs like kilts and tartan outfits.

Although it was a Scottish event, there were also traditional dances of Balinese tari Pendet, Sundanese tari Merak (Peacock dance) and tari Ronggeng, and Dayak war dances.

There was even a karate martial art performance of kata (style) and embu (choreographed fighting).

Another highlight was 22 parachutists jumping down in three sorties to wild applause. One of them had a Scottish flag tied to his leg.

Organizing committee chairman, Gordon Benton, said the gathering was a place to have fun and forget all the political uncertainties.

"People are coming here to have fun and we have a great crowd today," he said.

"The gathering is also important in that it shows Indonesia is a safe place. Once the conditions get better here, foreigners will return with their investments," he added.

The tradition originated in Scotland's Highland eastern region of Braes of Mar in the 11th century. It was the meeting of all Scottish clans and evolved into an important function in the 17th century.

Jakarta saw its first gathering in 1975. This year's was the 24th gathering. It's estimated that there are about 1,000 Scottish families in Jakarta.

Sunday's event ended at 6 p.m. with a colorful fireworks display and the burning of a mock ship.

"We are expecting a huge gathering again next year," said Benton. (nvn)