Ponorogo hosts 'reog' festival

PONOROGO, East Java: The eighth reog festival was held this weekend at the birthplace of the traditional dance, featuring 29 groups from provinces across the country.

On Saturday, State Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gde Ardika opened the annual festival, which precedes the Islamic New Year celebration this Friday.

"Through these festivities, we inform the Indonesian people that our culture is available for them to enjoy as well -- that it is not only for foreign tourists," Ardika said in the opening ceremony at the town's square.

Indonesian cultures, he added, should be promoted to the Indonesian people first, before foreigners, in the interest of preservation.

The main attraction of reog, which incorporates dance, music and mysticism, is a man shouldering a giant mask of a lion moving to the rhythm of traditional music. -- Antara