The 'Post' holds Dayak art, handicrafts expo

The 'Post' holds Dayak art, handicrafts expo

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Post is holding a week-long cultural exhibition of Dayak works of art and handicrafts to commemorate the Post's 12th anniversary this year.

The exhibition at the Bentara Budaya building on Jl. Palmerah Selatan in Central Jakarta was opened yesterday evening by Jusuf Wanandi, the president of PT Bina Media Tenggara, which manages The Jakarta Post.

The exhibition, entitled Domain of the Unseen, is designed to help preserve the Dayak culture of Kalimantan, previously called Borneo.

"We believe that elements of the Dayak's culture can be preserved, although some may have lost their sanctified role and have become disengaged from ancestral beliefs and traditions," Chief Editor Susanto Pudjomartono said yesterday.

The Post has organized a number of cultural exhibitions for its past anniversaries, including an exhibition of works by the Sentani people of Irian Jaya in 1992 and the Humba Hamu (Wonderful Sumba) cultural exhibition in 1993.

The 1992 and 1993 exhibitions were the first ever exhibitions of both Sentani and Sumba art in Jakarta.

"Through this exhibition we want to promote an awareness of the problem and encourage a dialog about this vanishing culture," added Susanto.

Many of the over 1,000 articles on exhibit, including dart quivers, gourd containers, blowpipes, baskets, decorated baby carriers, swords, ritual baskets, sword hilts, sun hats, ritual and floor mats, bark cloth, war jackets and Iban weavers, are also for sale.

During the opening ceremony yesterday, the visitors were entertained with a Dayak Kenyah traditional Hudoq dance performed by dancers from East Kalimantan.

Also on display at the exhibition, open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is a working replica of a traditional Dayak boat. (bsr)