TIM forums unearth rich cultural traditions

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)