Jakarta's 477th jubilee kicks off
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Governor Sutiyoso officiated the start of the commemoration of the capital's 477th anniversary in a ceremony at the Penggilingan small-scale industrial zone in East Jakarta on Sunday.
The ceremony was marked by a performance of Marawis, a Betawi (native Jakartan) traditional dance, by 3,722 dancers. The dance is usually performed during a Betawi wedding ceremony or to welcome distinguished guests. The dancers lined up for around 500 meters along the street to welcome guests entering the ceremony venue.
In the event, representatives of small-scale companies displayed a giant leather bag measuring 4.77 meters in width and 2.26 meters in height. The bag was declared the biggest in the country by the Indonesian Records Museum (Muri) chairman Jaya Suprana.
City spokesman Muhayat said the leather bag would be exhibited in the month-long Jakarta Fair, an annual event to mark the city's anniversary, at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
"The height of the bag represents the date and month of the city's anniversary which falls on June 22. While the width represents the age of the city," Muhayat said, adding that the leather bag cost around Rp 10 million (US$ 1,075) to produce.
Besides the bag, the Muri also declared Sunday's Marawis dance as a dance with the largest number of participating dancers in the country.
Muhayat said that raising the awareness of small and medium scale businesses during this year's commemoration was aimed at encouraging businesspeople to improve the quality of their products to enable them to compete with imported goods.
Thousands of guests were entertained by noted dangdut singers including Ikke Nurjanah and Iyeth Bustami. Fireworks also marked the ceremony.
Sutiyoso, Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo and some guests arrived in a horse carriage from a Kudus (a small town in Central Java) traditional home in Jatinegara, also in East Jakarta.
Muhayat said Sunday's ceremony cost the city around Rp 325 million, which was used for the fireworks, entertainment and the giant leather bag.