TIM forums unearth rich cultural traditions

JAKARTA (JP): An international seminar and a festival on writing and oral traditions are two events exploring Indonesia's rich heritage to be held this week beginning on Tuesday at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in Central Jakarta.

The week-long event is part of the Nusantara Cultural Festival, which opened on Sept. 9 in Tirtagangga, Bali.

The two-day International Symposium on Indonesian Manuscripts organized by the Indonesian Manuscripts Society (Manassa) will begin on Tuesday.

The symposium is primarily aimed at exploring and revealing the hidden knowledge and information contained in ancient manuscripts scattered on hundreds of islands in Indonesia.

The seminar will be attended by eminent scholars from Indonesia and overseas. The guest list includes Achadiati Ikram from the University of Indonesia, Annabel Teh Gallop from the British Library, Ding Choo Ming from Malaysia, Sirtjo Koolhof from KITLV, Leiden and Uli Kozok from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

The Association of Oral Traditions will hold from Thursday through to Saturday a seminar and festival on oral traditions.

Oral traditions include songs, hymns, storytelling, poetry recitals and lullabies. All the traditions are believed to be precise expressions of the hearts and minds of each related community in Indonesia.

In addition to the forums, the festival will celebrate regional languages and host a variety of traditional performing arts from a variety of Indonesia's ethnic groups. (raw)