Shamans hired to 'secure' summit

Shamans hired to 'secure' summit

Out of the 12,000 police officers, 1,300 organizing committee members and 300 performers readying themselves for the Asian- African Commemorative Summit in Bandung, the success of the event could ultimately rest on five inconspicuous shamans hired by the city administration to make sure that it doesn't rain during proceedings.

Rain would be the most tragic enemy of the planned event, which will be highlighted by a 50-meter historical morning walk by over five dozen leaders from the Savoy Homann Hotel along Jl. Asia-Africa toward the Merdeka building.

Like Jakarta, Bandung has seen unusually heavy downpours for the month of April. On Thursday, the city was gloomy as dark clouds hovered for most of the day. A heavy downpour occurred late in the afternoon and continued for over three hours.

The five shamans, brought in from Bogor, Cirebon and Garut, were selected due to their famed reputations across West Java for being able to either stop or divert the rain. They will each be placed to counter clouds in the north, south, east, west and center of Bandung.

For now dark clouds still linger on the horizon. The local weather bureau forecasts some showers on Sunday.

"Don't worry though," said one local. "It usually rains only in the late afternoon." --JP