Traditional arts lure visitors to Jakarta Fair
By M. Arief Suditomo
JAKARTA (JP): The charm of the traditional arts displayed at the 23 provincial pavilions at the 1994 Jakarta Fair are drawing as many visitors as ever before.
At the weekend, the West Sumatra pavilion captivated the people drooping by with a display of glittering embroidery on velvet wedding gowns, traditional silk songket sarongs and ceramics.
Zahlul Yullers, the pavilion manager, told The Jakarta Post that the embroidery work is the most popular item there and lots of people had come to buy the wedding gowns at Rp. 350,000 (US$162) apiece.
He said that since the Fair opened on June 18, the pavilion had amassed Rp 5,2 million (US$2,410).
The pavilion also displays simple agricultural machinery produced by the West Sumatra Industrial Office under the sponsorship of the government of Germany.
Traditional art also dominates the displays at most of the other provincial pavilions. Dayak tribal wood carvings are featured in the decoration of the East Kalimantan pavilion, while the Central Java exhibition stall was patterned on the Joglo traditional wooden house.
Amanullah Ramli, the manager of the East Kalimantan pavilion, said that the public's attention to the province's traditional arts, handicrafts and home industry products has been overwhelming.
Many people could be seen purchasing the traditional accessories made of colorful beads.
Amanullah said that durian cake called lempok was almost sold out.
"We brought around 500 kilograms of lempok from Samarinda and now there are only 10 kilograms left," he said.
The cake is made of durian, Southeast Asia's king of fruits, mixed with brown sugar. The fruit's distinctive odor is very popular among people of this part of the world, but only certain Indonesian provinces produce the cake.
The most attractive items in the Central Java display are statues which are made from used cans, batik paintings and wood carvings.
Sunaryo, a staff member of Central Java's provincial administration, said that the items attracted mostly women.
Sadly, the traditional atmosphere was absent in Jakarta's pavilion, which displays only photographs and shows a ten-minute movie featuring women's activities.
The pavillion looks very much like a government office, with the decoration having a dearth of traditional touches.
The only Betawi (indigenous Jakarta) tradition apparent at the Fair is the two giant ondel-ondel puppets welcoming visitors at the main gate.
Four provinces are not taking part in this year's fair. They are Bali, Jambi, West Kalimantan and Southeast Sulawesi.
Visitors
The Jakarta Fair is no doubt becoming more popular among the public, in particular the school children, who are on holiday in this month and next.
There was a nine-percent increase in the number of visitors during the first seven days of the Fair compared to the same period last year. Over 394,592 people visited the Fair during the first week alone, while last year the number only reached 353,787.
About 71,705 came to see the opening ceremony, nearly doubling 1993's attendance figure.
Last Saturday night alone 142,448 people visited the Fair, the organizing committee said.
A major factor contributing to the increase may be the Dinosaur Park, which is attracting people of all ages.
Major problems that continue to frustrate visitors are traffic jams, lack of parking space surrounding the main gates and neglected litter scattered all over the ground.