In a bid to promote its cultural wealth, the Yogyakarta palace
In a bid to promote its cultural wealth, the Yogyakarta palace will come off the wall in an exhibition at the historical Galangan VOC building in Sunda Kelapa, North Jakarta, next week.
Raden Mas Dinoesatomo from Keraton Yogyakarta said that the Palace will present its traditional costumes, which use batik as its basic materials.
Batik will obviously become the main attraction of the three- day event, as Yogyakarta is famous for. Batik constitutes symbolic expressions and in this province, the certain motifs are reserved for the kings and member of aristocracy, such as parang rusak (broken sword) motif.
In the past, batik was the symbol of social status of the people who wore them. Making batik was also a way to teach people about ethics and the philosophy of life.
Unfortunately, only a few people who currently have the knowledge about batik and can tell the difference of Yogyakarta batik from those made in other provinces. Worse, there is also a lack of support from public figures for the development of batik.
This fact has prompted three organization, the Yayasan Guntur Madu, the Yogyakarta society in Jakarta and the National Handicraft Council of Yogyakarta to stage the three-days event starting Sept. 12.
According to Sumono Wibowo of the handicraft council, the Yogyakarta batik should be promoted owing to the fact that many batik lovers have lost their interest in batik from the province. They view Yogyakarta batik is just like other batik from the other parts of Indonesia.
2. BIRD 1 line 30 counts
Villagers make a living from singing birds
The chirping from various birds perched on a big tree formed a melodious chorus, undisturbed by the tiptoeing of a boy behind a nearby tree beside the Serayu River in Banyumas, Central Java.
Motionless, he stared up at the birds.
"I'm afraid the birds that are already close to the cage will fly away if they see someone below them. I'll lose my catch," said Teguh Supriyanto, 13, who wore a nasty expression when The Jakarta Post approached.
What was he doing there? Why was he spending hours in such a place?
Teguh, who dropped out of school in his fifth year, is one of dozens of people who make a living by catching singing birds along the river bank.
Though the bird makes big buck, it is unclear as to why such activities are allowed in this area.
Like many other bird-catchers in the area, Teguh uses simple equipment: A small cage with a singing bird as the bait inside, and some tree sap. The sap is taken from certain kinds of tree, such as the jackfruit or benda, which produces sticky liquid like glue.
"This is a trap," Teguh explained.
3. ON THE SIDELINES
SIDES1 1 line 28 counts Chinese to celebrate Earth Goddess Day
SEMARANG: The Chinese-Indonesian community in Semarang, Surakarta and Jakarta, particularly the Confucianists, are to celebrate the Earth Goddess Day here on Wednesday and Thursday next week by organizing free acupuncture treatment and marching throughout parts of the city.
The highlight of the event will take place on Thursday with a procession from the Tay Kak Sie temple to Hoo Hok Bio temple in Chinatown.
The statues of Kiem Sien (Chinese god and goddess) and the Earth Goddess will be shown during the parade.
People may join the procession, which will pass Jl. Gang Warung, Jl. Kranggan, Jl. Plampitan, Jl. Sebandaran I, Jl. Jagalan, Jl .Pringgading, Jl. MT Haryono, Jl. Kapuran, Jl. Gang Besen, Jl. Wot Gandul Timur.
"In China this celebration is held by farmers during the great harvest to express their gratitude to the Goddess," Pek Hong Siong, vice chairman of the organizing committee, said.
SIDES2 1 line 28 counts Malaysian food at Melia Purosani
YOGYAKARTA: In observance of Malaysia's Independence Day, which fell on Aug. 31, Yogyakarta Melia Purosani Hotel on Jl. Suryotomo 31 is offering a range of selected Malaysian dishes for the whole month of September.
The Malaysian Culture and Food Festival was officially launched on Monday evening by head of Yogyakarta Tourism Office Budi Djoko Sulistyo. Also present at the launching ceremony was the director of Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, Roslan Othman.
In the first week, the hotel is offering both a buffet and an ala carte menu. The buffet costs Rp 98,000 for adults and Rp 49,000 for children, said hotel public relations manager Edna Sosiawanti.
For the rest of the month, she said, both lunch and dinner will be a la carte.