Visitors find good time at Highland Gathering

JAKARTA (JP): The 22nd Jakarta Highland Gathering was a success yesterday, judging by the smiles on the 6,500 visitors' faces.

Norman Campbell, the organization committee chairman of the Scottish sports and cultural festival held at Senayan, was delighted that the gathering seemed successful.

Good weather, the variety of events, and a chance to visit Indonesia helped draw many foreign visitors -- mainly returnees.

"It was snowing the day I left Scotland," said Bruce Aitken, yesterday's champion of the Scottish traditional sports.

Aitken, who broke previous hammer throw records, as well as records for throwing the 56 lb (25 Kg) weight for distance and the shot putt, returned to the festival after a four year hiatus.

A Scottish expatriate, a member of the Thailand Tappers dance team, said that reviving her culture by dancing rejuvenated her spirit.

Alex Park, a Scott who lives in London, said gatherings held outside Scotland are usually less formal and therefore more attractive and fun.

"Traditionally, gatherings held in Scotland were intended only for the upper class, whereas here it's more for everyone," Alex said.

Main attraction

Boys from Nias demonstrated stone jumping, a new feature at the Jakarta gathering. The two-meter hurdle was made of plywood for yesterday's event.

Called hombo batu or zawo-zawo in Nias, stone jumping is a male initiation ritual. It is traditionally used as a yardstick to determine if a youth is mature enough to marry or to guard his kampong, the visiting group's leader Fons Hia told The Jakarta Post.

According to Hia, a boy who fails to leap the pile is likely to be injured and therefore unable to make a second attempt.

In addition to the stone jumping, a traditional dance troupe from Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh and a Maori troupe from New Zealand enlivened the festival with their far-from- Scottish performances.

The sheer number of events, however, left many visitors bewildered, not able to choose a performances really suited to their tastes. A first-time visitor, a university student, who wanted to take-in the entire gathering did not have enough time to satiate her curiosity.

"I wanted to do so many things at the same time and ended up not really enjoying anything," she complained. (14)