Sail Banda kicks off

Themuch awaited international marine event of Sail Banda kicked off in Darwin onSaturday.

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono flagged off49 of 106 foreign yachts to mark the start of the Sail Banda 2010 at Darwin'sCullen Bay, Antara news agency reported.

Spokesperson for the Maluku Culture and Tourism Office Florence Sahusilawanesaid participants of the event were scheduled to reach Banda Neira in on July27.

Sahusilawane said all the yachts would also participate in a series of culturalfestivals at different stopovers in Indonesia in the next three months,including the islands of Timor, Banda, Ambon, Buton, Lembata, Wakatobi, Flores,Sulawesi, Bali, Java, Borneo, Belitung and Batam or Bintan.

Located about 132 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital of Ambon,Banda Islands are made up of three larger islands and seven smaller onesperched on the rim of Indonesia`s deepest sea, the Banda Sea.

A reception ceremony attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will beheld on Aug. 3 for the participants.

Maluku governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said his administration would ensureorder and security during the event.

Indonesia poised to become global home of batik

Batiklovers must not miss this upcoming event - a World Batik Summit to be held atthe Jakarta Convention Center, from September 28 to October 2, 2011.

To be organized by the Indonesian Batik Foundation (YBI) in cooperation withthe government, the Batik Summit will consist of two main events: the WorldBatik Exhibition (WBE) and the World Batik Conference (WBC).

The World Batik Summit (WBS) themed "Indonesia: Global Home of Batik"will be officially opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according toOrganizing Committee Chairwoman of the World Batik Exhibition Murniati Widodoin Jakarta on Friday (Sept. 23).

The biennial World Batik Exhibition will have three themes, namely:"Multi-Partnership: Bringing Batik To The World", "Batik`sContribution to the Creative Economy", and "Batik as a CulturalHeritage: Conservation and Modernization".

"Up to now, 641 people from a number of countries have already registeredfor participation in the summit. It is double the figure last year,"Murniati said, adding that the number of participants might reach over 700.

The WBE is designed to become a promotion forum for batik producers,practitioners, craftsmen, and businessmen.

The organizing committee of the World Batik Summit (WBS) hopes to record Rp22billion worth of transactions during the five-day event.

"We hope to achieve an increase in the value of transactions compared totwo years ago when the figure was Rp18 billion,"

The conference will be highlighted with a cultural night and a fashion show tobe participated in by national and international batik designers.

Some master pieces of Indonesian designer Iwan Tirta will also be displayed inthe batik exhibition to remember the noted designer who died in July 2010.

A number of photos of foreign heads of state and government who are fond ofwearing batik, will be displayed in the exhibition. The works of junior highschool students participating in a batik design contest, will also beexhibited.

First Lady Ani Yudhoyono is expected to attend the peak activity of theNational Batik Day which will be organized at Pekalongan batik center inCentral Java, on October 3, 2011.

Batik is considered Indonesia`s most famous artistic and cultural legacy andhas developed a global reputation over centuries.

Since the inclusion of batik by UNESCO in "Intangible Cultural Heritage ofHumanity" items on September 30, 2009, the government has been activelypromoting batik domestically and internationally.

Because batik is now getting popular and on high demand, the government is mullinga master plan for the mass production of batik as a culture-based industry.

The master plan being prepared by the industry ministry, would be ready in thenext two months, Industry Minister MS Hidayat said at the presidential officerecently.

The value of Indonesia`s batik market reaches only Rp3 trillion currently. Andtherefore, the batik production must be directed toward mass products if thenation wanted to raise the batik market value, the minister said.

"Once it becomes mass products, the system of our industry will run well.Now, batik products are produced individually by batik industry handicraftcenters, which sometimes prioritize sense of art rather than the publictaste," he said.

The government will issue an appeal to government and private offices toinstruct their employees to wear batik dresses/shirts twice a week at least, inorder to support the planned batik mass production.

The government offices and a number of private offices have instructed theiremployees to wear batik at least once a week, namely on every Friday.

No batik industry in Indonesia has so far made mass productions althoughprominent batik companies such as Danarhadi and Batik Keris have exported theirbatik products to several countries in Asia.

Several regions such as Yogyakarta, West Java, Central Java, and East Java willbe prepared to support the planned batik mass productions.

According to data of the Indonesian Batik Foundation, the interest ofIndonesian people in batik has increased 40 percent since 2009.

"We got the data from the number of new batik producers and the batikconsumption throughout Indonesia," Doddy Soepardi, a member of thefoundation`s advisory board, said on Friday (Sept 23).

Indonesian batik is competitive and able to maintain its market share becauseof its high production standards.

"Indonesian batik has a specific character which does not exist in othertextiles with batik designs. It has its own philosophy, production process anddesigns," Indonesian Batik Foundation Chairperson Jultin GinandjarKartasasmita said.

Because of its high quality standards , Indonesian batik continues to be inhigh demand although its prices are higher than similar products from othercountries, she said.

"Domestic batik producers must not be worried because the governmentthrough the industry ministry has set certain standards for textiles to becalled batik, print textile is not genuine batik," she said.

The standards include a ruling that the batik production process should includethe use of "canting" or paintings and stamps, or a combination ofboth. Fully printed textile is not batik, she said.

The price of Indonesian batik is comparatively high because its basic materialis cotton that has to be imported.

So far Batik is mostly produced in Pekalongan, Solo (Central Java), Yogyakartaand Cirebon (West Java), but now batik production has developed in at least 23provinces of Indonesia.

Batik, which has been developed for centuries particularly on Java Island, iscloth which traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. But,thanks to modern advances in the textile industry, the term has been extendedto include fabrics which incorporate traditional batik patterns.

UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization)describes Indonesian Batik as: The techniques, symbolism and culturesurrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batikpermeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried inbatik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and thedead are shrouded in funerary batik.

The government has given a legal protection and identity through batik markcalled "Batik Indonesia" which has been registered at the legal andhuman rights ministry`s intellectual property rights directorate general, toget patent rights, according to Industry Minister Hidayat recently.

South Korean retailer Lotte Mart plans to introduce batik products to SouthKorean consumers.

Managing Director of Lotte Mart South East Asia Moon Young Pyo said that allLotte Mart employees would be requested to wear batik during the Indonesianbatik promotion in South Korea next November.

"So at the same time they will introduce batik," he said on thesidelines of a Business Forum on "Indonesian Product Exhibition for LotteMart Korea" held at the trade ministry.

Merchandising Director of Lotte Mart Korea Kim Young Gyoon said he would alsowear batik during the promotion in Seoul.

"I like batik because it`s comfortable, and has beautiful colors anddesigns. I think modern batik will sell well in Korea," Moon Young Pyokatasaid.

East Kalimantan

Gantar Dancing

This dance comes from Dayak Benuaq andTonyooi tribes. This dance is known as a social dance among the youth and alsoa welcome dance. This dance describes gladness and joy in plant paddies/rice.Gantar is a cut of bamboo which is filled with paddies/rice seeds and a longstick named "asek" to make holes to plant paddies/rice.

It also describes a graceful of Dayaktribes to welcome the guests who come to East Kalimantan as tourists orinvestors or the other respected guests then they will be inviting to partaketo dance. The clothes which the dancers use named Ulap "Doyo", realclothes of Dayak Benuaq tribe that taken from doyo fibres. 

Kancet Tebengang Madang

which in Indonesian means EnggangTerbang Dance (Hornbill Flies Dance). This dance comes from Dayak Kenyah tribewhich describe about their transferred from Apau Kayan by disseminating to allof the areas in East Kalimantan to find the better life. 

The Hornbills always follow its leader'scommand, and so do the Dayak Kenyah people. Hornbill also represents a symbolof peace. This dance starts with “lemaloq” which is an idyll in Dayak Kenyahlanguage that represents a story about their journey. This dance is brought gracefullyby the Dayak girls like the Hornbills that fly. 

Hudog Dancing 

This dance comes from Dayak Bahau andModang tribe that represents a dance to chase away the crop pests or bad/evilspirit. Usually, the dancers wear the scary mask to chase away the crop pestsand the bad spirit.

Kancet Hudog Aban 

This dance comes from Dayak Kenyahtribe. Same with the Dayak Bahau tribe, this dance is also meant to chase awaythe crop pests and bad/evil spirit which annoying. The difference is just themasks that wore by the dancers, and the dancers from Hudoq Aban are women thatwear a veil of beads (Aban).

Belian Bawo Dancing

Belian is one of the cultures of theDayak Dayak Benuaq Tonyooi and tribes to cure ill people. There are many Belianso there are many costumes, moves and music that this dance that follow suitwith the aims of Belian itself. “Pemelian” or shamans act as Mediators amongpeople and the evil / bad spirit in treats the ill people. 

Kancet Pepatai Dancing 

Kancet Pepatai is a dance from DayakKenyah tribe. It describes about the brave men (Ajai) from Dayak Kenyah tribein war. This dance tells about the beginning of war until the given titleceremony for the Ajai which have succeeded to won the war. 

Leleng Dancing

Leleng in Kenyah Ianguage means to turnaround (to and fro). There is Utan Along (a name of a motherless girl) whohesitates because of her lover went and didn't come yet. Turn around means ofher hesitating. Just like a hesitate people that usual to and fro, and then sodo with Utan Along. That's why it names Leleng Dance. This Dance starts withthe song of Leleng which tells about the Utan Along's story. 

Ngelawai Dancing 

Thisdance accompanies by “Rendete” music, a typical music of Dayak Tonyoi-Benuaqtribes. This dance brings by beautiful girls that wears a long shawl and dancegracefully. This dance usually brought as a welcome dance.

Yogyakarta celebrates 255th anniversary in Javanese style

Excitementwas palpable across downtown Yogyakarta on Friday as people from all differentwalks of life took to the streets to celebrate the city's 255th anniversary.

Revelers ranged from city administration officials, teachers and students tocart drivers and parking attendants, all dressed in Javanese attire of batikcloth and kebaya blouses for women and of batik and surjan shirts for men.

"Happy anniversary," a teacher at a private junior high schoolgreeted a colleague while preparing to join a school ceremony to commemoratethe anniversary on Friday.

The date of the anniversary, publicly marked for the first time in 2004, wasdecided upon when the first ruler of Yogyakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, movedfrom Ambarketawang Palace to Yogyakarta Palace.

While municipal administration officials marked the anniversary at City Hall,teachers and students attended ceremonies in their respective schools. All wereheld in Javanese style and language.

"It's really fun to have the ceremony in Javanese. Even the state ideologyPancasila was read out in Javanese," said Salsabila, a seventh grader atSMPN 8 state junior high school after attending a ceremony at the school.

Friday's City Hall ceremony was also attended by 22 participants of the KonradAdenauer Stiftung's school for young politicians in Asia.

They came from Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, thePhilippines, Singapore and Thailand.

They were visiting the city to learn more about the successes of the Yogyakartamunicipal administration, especially in development planning.

"Yogyakarta is considered the right place to learn more about localdevelopment planning. It has set a good example on that," a participant ofthe school, Megha Sarmah from Singapore, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Also held were a subdistrict festival involving all 45 subdistricts in themunicipality, panjat pinang (tree climbing contest) and a mosaic parade held inthe afternoon from Alun-Alun Utara Square to City Hall.

The peak of the celebration will be on the night of Oct. 22, with the JogjaJava Carnival, which will present street performances on mobile stagesinvolving all elements of communities and international participants.

Koreato host Korea-Indonesia cultural week in Jakarta

Relationsbetween two of Asia’s most dynamic countries – Indonesia and South Korea – havebeen growing at a rapid speed in recent years. But there is a new dimensionthat is making relations much stronger and long-lasting, says Korean Ambassadorto Indonesia Kim Young-sun.

What could be that particular dimension?
“Bali is a very popular holiday destination for young Korean couples. It’s aparadise for our honeymooners. As a result, thousands of Koreans are being madein Indonesia. This is making our relationship with Indonesia not only specialbut also long-lasting,” said Ambassador Kim jokingly.

Last year, 300,000 Koreans visited Indonesia, with more than 50 percent of themvisiting the Island of the Gods. With more than 50,000 Koreans in the country,it is the biggest expat community in Indonesia.

Kim wants to link the people of both countries not just economically andpolitically but also culturally.The Korean Embassy in Jakarta is organizing various events under the platformof “Korea-Indonesia Week” at Gandaria City mall in Jakarta from Sept. 28 toOct. 3, 2011. 

 
“The main purpose of this Korean cultural week is to introduce our culture toIndonesians. There is a growing interest among Indonesians to know more aboutKorea, its products, culture, especially the popular K-Pop,” Korean CulturalCenter’s director Kim Hyun-ki told The Jakarta Post.

The main highlights of the week, Kim Hyun-ki said, will be a concert of Hallyu(Korean Wave) singers, featuring heartthrobs like Lee Sun-ho (Shinhwa Group),Lee Jun-ki. Lee Dong-Geon, Choi Jin, Park Hyo-shin, Yu Seung Chan, CheongJae-il and others.Korean Wave’s energetic female percussion group Drum Cat will mesmerize fansfrom Jakarta with their energy, talent and beauty. For Indonesians, there willbe a K-Pop contest, with the winner being sent to Seoul to participate in theglobal contest.Besides music, Kim Hyun-ki said, there will be also a Korean food festival, taekwon do competition, painting exhibition, film festival and much more. Morethan 100 artistes from Korea will take part in the event.

Indonesian kitchen: Nutmeg in your pot

Whohas never heard of nutmeg?

Merchants and adventurers sailing from the western hemisphere and seekingfortunes in the East once considered this spice one of the top commodities nextto cloves.

But where does nutmeg actually come from? According to history books, theregion of Maluku and the small island of Banda are places where the nutmegtrade began in times gone by.

People in the region regard the nutmeg tree and its fruit as one of the mostbeautiful and useful plants around. On opening the fruit, we can see thenet-shaped fuli (mace), which has a blazing deep red-orange color. This notonly serves as a flavor enhancer but can also be used as a very attractivedecoration for dark-colored dishes such as semur (stew), which is usuallyprepared with the addition of sweet soy sauce.

Many different stews in Indonesian cuisine have a pinch of nutmeg or some macein them to enhance the flavor. In fact, most Indonesian stews are of westernculinary influence, such as semur, the name of which is derived from the wordschmoren from the German word meaning "braising".

The Germans must have introduced their schmoren technique to the region viamissionaries spreading Christianity in the area, or who went to the Netherlandsand taught locals there how to make the German dish schmorbraten. From theNetherlands, the Dutch then took this dish to the Dutch East Indies(Indonesia).

Anyway, semur is now a well known dish in Indonesia, and some regions havespecific regional varieties of it. In many cases, semur is flavored with apinch of nutmeg. In most cases, semur varieties are made with a spice pastecomprising shallots, garlic, pepper, sweet soy sauce and a pinch of nutmeg.

These ingredients are stir fried until they become aromatic.

After preparing these basic ground spices and soy sauce, the dish is easy tomake. With its main ingredients ready it can be made in less than half an hour.The classic semur dish uses beef or chicken. And for those who like toexperiment, semur can be prepared with tofu or vegetables such as eggplant(aubergine).

Semur Betawi from Jakarta (made with beef or buffalo meat) is one of the morefamous examples, using shallots, garlic, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, groundpepper (black or white), ground cloves and semi-sweet soy sauce.

Whereas Semur Jawa from Central Java omits the cinnamon and only uses shallots,garlic, nutmeg, ground pepper, and whole cloves. The Semur Medan meanwhile,uses shallots, garlic, finely sliced red chili, ground pepper and nutmegwithout cinnamon and cloves - and for the soy sauce, a semi-sweet, rather saltyvariety is used.

Want to taste an excellent semur dish made with mace? According to many peoplethe Manado-style Smor Ikang (braised fish) has a very interesting spice mix.

Cut 500g clean freshwater fish into 2. Coat with 1 tsp salt. Cut 500g peeledpotatoes into serving pieces. Fry the potato and fish alternately in 300mlcooking oil until done and brownish. Drain. Grind 4 shallots, 3 cloves garlicand 15g ginger. Stir fry in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until aromatic. Add 3whole mace, 5 whole cloves, and pour in 300 ml water. Let it come to the boil.Add 3 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce and 2 sliced tomatoes. Season with 1 tspsalt (or to taste), 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and a pinch of granulated sugar. Letcome to the boil again. Just before removing the mixture from flame, add friedfish, fried potato and 50 g soaked glass noodles. Serves 4.

In many places, the fruit flesh is sweetened and called Manisan Pala. For thosehaving a taste of the preserved fruit flesh for the first time a rather tangytaste will be obvious. Some people suggest not to eat Manisan Pala too muchbecause it is addictive. It can also apparently induce drowsiness and if eatenin excess can have the same fatal result as an overdose of sleeping pills. Butnevertheless it is a very popular snack.

Bogor with its cool, rainy climate is one of Indonesia's most famous places forManisan Pala, where it is sold wet and dry. If you want to see what nutmeglooks like fresh, go to Bogor where you'll find nutmeg galore at thetraditional wet markets. If you feel inspired you could even check out Bogorplant sellers who sell nutmeg trees from 30cm high - perfect in an earthenwarepot to complement the sunny side of your terrace.

Nutmeg trees are also wonderful male and female trees. A male tree is able tofertilize ten to twenty female trees and they are called therefore "theharem" tree (a term coined by French botanist Nicolas Cere). And accordingto A Taste of India, (by Mary S. Atwood) the Shah of Persia, Sultan Husain1711, declared himself "The Sun of Glory and the nutmeg of Delight".

Indonesia's tourism ambassador to perform Mandau Dance

Indonesia’sTourism ambassador 2010 Alessandra Khadijah Usman, who will represent Indonesiaat the 2011 Miss Asia-Pacific World Competition in South Korea on Saturday,will perform the Dayak tribe Mandau Dance.

She had begun preparations to perform the Mandau Dance, which she learned atthe Central Kalimantan pavilion at the Indonesia Miniature Park (TMII) in EastJakarta a few months before the event. The dance will become a primary part ofher talent show.

She will also wear various Indonesian traditional costumes, such as exoticBatik patterns combining themes from Solo and Bali as well as Batik from ParangKencana and other clothes from the Delami Group.

“This is the first event where I represent Indonesia. This is a real challengebecause this competition does not only measure our beauty, but also talent andother skills,” she said Friday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

At Sail Banda 2010, SBY Sees Hope For Maluku

Theheavy downpours may have battered the port of Ambon during Tuesday’s peak eventof Sail Banda 2010, but it failed to temper the excitement felt by thousands ofAmbonese residents. The port was crowded with people trying to catch a glimpseof President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono.

In great anticipation, the crowds lined both sides of the streets, includingschoolchildren, who were dismissed early to join the throngs of people, waitingpatiently in the rain.

In his speech Yudhoyono said that with Sail Banda 2010 the country would usethe momentum to promote Indonesian marine diversity and to help develop remoteislands.

Sail Banda 2010 is an international maritime event aimed at showcasing howMaluku has overcome years of conflict.

Yudhoyono declared Maluku — long famed as the “Spice Islands” — as the“National Fish Belt”. “These areas have the potential of producing 1.64 milliontons of fish a year. This is a huge potential that will benefit the welfare ofthe people,” Yudhoyono said.

A parade of naval ships from Indonesia and the participating countries tookplace as part of the maritime event.

Joint operations have been carried out by the navies of Indonesia, Singapore,Australia, New Zealand and the United States to offer free health treatment toresidents in the run-up to Sail Banda 2010.

Also, a choir sang the song Rinduku Padamu (My Longing For You). The song,written by Yudhoyono, is the title song of his first album launched in 2007.

Sail Banda 2010 will be completed on Indonesian Independence Day on Aug. 17.