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

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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.

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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.