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10 Famous Buddhist Temple in The World

Buddhism takes as its goal the escape from suffering and from the cycle of rebirth: the attainment of nirvana. There are between 230 million and 500 million Buddhists worldwide. An overview of the most famous Buddhist temples in the world.

Dragon Village at Tasikmalaya, West Java

If you are tired of life in a metropolitan city with its sky scrapers, you should take a few days off to stay in the Dragon village within Neglasari village, Salawu sub-district, Tasikmalaya, West Java. This 1.5 hectares village is still 'green' and not influenced by modernization..

Exotic Dieng Plateau

The name ‘dieng’ which literally translates as ‘abode of the Gods’ says all you need to know about this collection small ancient temples set in the remarkable volcanic landscape of the Dieng Plateau.

Living in the shadow of Indonesia's volcanoes

All hell is about to break loose, but Udi, a 60-year-old farmer from the village of Kinarejo on the Indonesian island of Java, will not budge. Not even though a mere three miles (five kilometers) separates the smoldering peak of Mount Merapi from Kinarejo.

National Geographic : Merapi Eruption

Nationalgeographic.com Smoke rises Monday from Indonesia's Mount Merapi, one of the world's most volatile and dangerous volcanoes.

August 26, 2009

Grand Hyatt Hotel in Central Jakarta


Grand Hyatt Jakarta hotel is a five-star deluxe hotel located in Jakarta's prime downtown business district. Grand Hyatt Jakarta hotel is adjacent to Indonesia's most comprehensive and sophisticated shopping mall, Plaza Indonesia, and is convenient for access to government offices, museums and Jakarta's cultural attractions. This hotel in Jakarta Indonesia is just 40 minutes by car from Jakarta's International Airport.

Grand Hyatt Jakarta offers 428 beautifully appointed hotel guest rooms, suites and apartments that provide a subtle blend of comfort and functionality. Located on the hotel's upper floors, the exclusive Hyatt Grand Club Lounge offers specialized services for the more discerning hotel guest.

The hotels wide choice of restaurants features the daily changing menu of Grand Caf, Cs Steak and Seafood Restaurants fresh fare, and delicacies from Sumire, a traditional Japanese countryhouse restaurant. For the convenience of hotel guests, there are also a 24-hour Business Center, a Club Olympus Fitness Center and an outdoor lagoon swimming pool with swim-up bar in the hotels lush tropical garden.

2000 square of flexible function space comprises seven function rooms and a Grand Ballroom, all connected to each other and located on the same floor. The Grand Ballroom can seat 700 guests theatre-style or 450 guests for a sit-down dinner. Professional service includes comprehensive state-of-the-art audio, visual and lighting systems and soundproof walls. Also featured are ISDN lines and videoconferencing on request.

Grand Hyatt Jakarta
Address: Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30 Jakarta 10230
Ph. (62-21) 390 1234 Fax. (62-21) 319 34321
Website : http://www.jakarta.grand.hyatt.com

August 25, 2009

Kapoposang

Kapoposang is one of the largest of the Spermonde Islands, around 70 km northwest of Makassar, South Sulawesi. Kapoposang covers an area of around 50,000 hectares and is inhabited by around 100 families. Several other islands, both inhabited and uninhabited, lie near Kapoposang. The larger ones include Papandangan, Kondongbali, Suranti and Tambakulu.

Kapoposang and the nearby islands were declared a Nature Tourism Park by the Department of Forestry in 1999. Diving has been an important activity at Kapoposang since the mid 1990s, pioneered by several local divers including Sani Limbunan and Andi Januar Jaury. But because there were so few local divers at the time, and because of the distance from other well-known diving areas in Indonesia, Kapoposang has basically remained a secret.

Even now, there are only two accommodations at Kapoposang, managed by the Makasar Dive Centre and the Popsa Dive Club.

Your journey to Kapoposang Island starts from Popsa pier, near Fort Rotterdam, a historic fort surviving from the Gowa-Tallo kingdom.

The best time to visit Kapoposang is between April and November, when the seas are calm, the weather favorable, and the wind less fierce than in the other months. The trip takes two hours by speedboat; the ocean breezes help to cool your skin in the hot morning sun.

As you approach Pulau Kapoposang, you see the deep blue water, which suddenly meets an expanse of coral reefs between extensive shallows with white sands in the seabed. Sea grass also grows lushly near the shore. The sea bed at Kapoposang has a unique composition; near the island are some quite shallow contours, and then suddenly steep underwater cliffs leading to seemingly endless depths. The water is very clear; you can expect underwater visibility of over 15 meters – ideal conditions for divers.

We had to bring all our supplies from Makassar, because the accommodations on the island are not equipped with full logistical support. Luckily, we didn't have to bring a diving compressor, because this facility is provided at Kapoposang.

From Left to Right : Nudibranch – nembrotha, this type of nudibranch feeds on tunicates; tunicate “rhopalaea”, considered to be the most primitive sea quirt; whip gobi blended with host gorgonianAccording to the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (LIPI), which conducts monitoring and assessment near Kapoposang, in 2007 there were over 68 species of coral, and over 160 fish species.

Diving points are found along the west, north and east coasts of Kapoposang; some of the best known are "Killing Field", "Shark Point", "Mardjono Point", "Nakano Point", "Cave Point", "Turtle Point", "Aquarium", "Januar Point" and "Ian's Point".

We did our first dive at Cave Point, a favorite spot for underwater photographers because of the extremely high diversity of marine life found here. Our dive started from the inner part of a rock wall; at a depth of four meters, a cliff nearly 90 degrees downward was right in front of us. We slowly approached the escarpment and gazed down into the deep blue water. It reminded us of the diving contours at Bunaken, with steep, seemingly bottomless escarpments providing great diving challenges. The visibility, over 20 meters, makes a dive down to 30 meters feel not that deep.

There were many small gaps in the escarpment; this is why it's called "Cave Point". The gaps in the coral typically form small caves where you may see turtles sleeping. But it must not have been our lucky day, because we didn't see any turtles, though we did encounter some large pelagic fish, including jackfish and tuna.

Suddenly, out of one of these little caves darted a white-tip reef shark, giving us a bit of a fright, though these sharks are not actually dangerous to humans.

Our second dive was at Killing Field, just 15 minutes from where we were staying. Killing Field is next to another dive spot called "Shark Point", and more challenging than Cave Point. The seabed walls are not as deep as at Cave Point; at a depth of around 30 meters, it changes to a vast expanse of sand.
Clockwise from Top Left: A kind of jellyfish; tube anemone: a bottom dwelling solitary animal related to black coral; crab eye gobi; and shrimp species “Periclimenes Holthuisi”: this transparent shrimp co-exists symbiotically with the soft coral host.
The strong currents here attract large fish to feed. We came across a large Great Barracuda, perhaps a meter long. In the distance, we also saw several Eagle Rays, a type of stingray that swims in the open sea like pelagic fish; its head resembles and eagle's, and from a distance it does look like a flying bird.

We also did a night dive near the lodging, at a spot called "Aquarium". Our flashlights lit up the colorful coral reefs. Nudibranches, which are already quite colorful, seemed even more beautiful at night. We also encountered some sleeping puffer fishes. It's easier for divers to get close to fish at night, when they are less active. Aquarium is a very easy spot for diving, with depths of only around four to eight meters and almost no current.

At Ian's Point, concrete blocks have been planted to provide an environment for fish; these are called "fish aggregation devices", or in Indonesian, rumpon. The rumpon attract smaller fish, as here they can hide from predators. Eventually, coral will grow on them, and they will function as semi-artificial coral reefs.

Kapoposang's unique beauty makes it a useful asset for the local community, but it remains underutilized. Attention from the public and the local government will enable Kapoposang to become an icon for Indonesia and South Sulawesi.

This article from garuda magazine

August 20, 2009

Kendari The Ever-growing City

This city that surrounds Kendari Bay has a unique panorama. Every part of the city offers a different experience and unforgettable impressions.

The sky was still cloudy when I landed at Wolter Monginsidi Airport in Kendari. The weather in Kendari has been quite variable recently – sometimes suddenly going cloudy and rainy, and then clear and hot a few moments later. Hoping it would stay clear, I started to explore Kendari as evening began to set in.

It's about 50 kilometers from the airport to the center of town, where I arrived after an hour's journey; the streets were lined on both sides with shop houses and restaurants.
Following a friend's recommendation, I had dinner at the Medulu restaurant on Jalan Ahmad Yani. Local specialties of Kendari such as sinonggi, tawaoloho ayam and kambatu tinomisi were my introduction to the local cuisine; it was very much to my liking, and I fell in love with these dishes straightaway.

After dinner, I got ready to explore the town by night. My first destination was Kendari Beach. You would imagine from the name that Kendari Beach is a sandy area by the seashore, with pounding waves, but not at all; Kendari Beach lies along the shores of Kendari Bay and is crowded with small food tents where you can hang out, enjoy the evening breezes, and snack on pisang epe with a glass of sarraba to warm you up. From these food tents, I could see the lights of ships sailing or docking in Kendari Bay. The night became even more enchanting when the cloud cover cleared and the sky filled with stars, making it a perfect evening.

The next morning, in a corner of the Old City of Kendari Bay, I saw the bustling fish market. Fishermen, fish vendors, and housewives were all busily engaged in transactions. One unusual thing I noticed is that nearly all the women here cover their faces with a thick layer of bedak dingin, literally "cold powder", which is made from rice flour and protects their skin from the cruel rays of the sun.

From the fish market, I explored the city with my friends from WWF Indonesia in Kendari. Kendari, with an area of 295.89 square kilometers, lies along the bay, stretching in a long arc along the coast and its green mangrove forests, with roads running right next to the bay. Fishing boats of all colors created an exotic morning scene. From the old city, where many of the residents are ethnic Chinese, to the traditional markets and on to the inter-island harbor, we saw a lot that morning. The roads were still fairly quiet; the cool morning air and the warm smiles of the local people made me happy to be alive.

An odd tower-shaped building with a round room at the top attracted my attention. From a distance, it looked like a space ship ready to blast off. This monument is actually the Unity Tower, located in the former MTQ arena in Korumba Subdistrict, Kendara District. The tower was built for the 21st National Qur'an Reading Contest (Musabaqah Tilawatil Qur'an, MTQ) in June 2006. It's a lofty structure, on the same level as the "Tower of Elegance" in Gorontalo province. If the shape of the tower in Gorontalo is reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Unity Tower in Kendari resembles the tower in Shanghai.

It's named the Unity Tower because the multi-ethnic community of Kendari lives together in such harmony: the Tolaki, Muna, Buton and many other ethnic groups, each with their own language. The Unity Tower, with its futuristic architecture, is an icon for the people of Southeast Sulawesi. Everywhere I went – Kendari Bay, the city center, and even the dense mangrove forests – the tower could be seen, rising nobly above it all. Unfortunately, despite its enchanting architecture, the ex-MTQ arena is not very well maintained; parts of the buildings are peeling off, damaged and abandoned.

Kendari has much more to offer than just the beautiful coastal panorama with its lovely deep blue sea; there are other natural enchantments even more challenging to explore. So my next stop was Rawa Aopa National Park.

Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park (TNRAW), with an area of 105,194 hectares, comprises many of the ecosystem types found in Sulawesi: low mountain rain forest, mangrove forest, coastal forest, savanna, and fresh-water marsh forest. Rawa Aopa is around 120 km from Kendari, a two-hour drive. Sad to say, the road to the national park is a challenge in itself, as many stretches are badly damaged.

In the national park, I enjoyed some extraordinary natural beauty. I explored a 30,000-hectare marsh in a small wooden boat, or katingting. A vast expanse of white and red lotus flowers (Victoria spp.) stretched along much of the marsh; other vegetation included many ferns and woody plants such as uti (Bacchia frutescen), waru (hibiscus, Planchonia valia), and betao (Calophyllum soulatn), among many others.

Now and then waterfowl would emerge from the dense thickets of Aopa Marsh, looking for fish; up in the sky, a flock of teal (belibis) flew by in a charming formation. There was even a tense moment when I saw a freshwater crocodile swimming by, not far from my little boat in the middle of the marsh. My journey through the marsh was most impressive when I was right in the middle; I felt a great sense of peace, an inevitable unity with nature. Truly extraordinary.

My adventure didn't end at Rawa Aopa; the next stop was the Moramo waterfalls in the Tanjung Peropa Wildlife Refuge. This is around 70 km south of Kendari, a two-hour drive. The Moramo waterfall is a 100-meter-high cascade with seven main levels. Each level forms a pool, and in the pool at the second level, you can swim. The cliffs that form the various levels are unusual, in that the rocks are not slippery; visitors can climb up the levels all the way to the top without fear of falling. These pools of cold, clean, clear water, surrounded by forests of ebony, teak and banyan, are an ideal habitat for birds and other creatures. I had another moment of enchantment when the wind blew and leaves fell off the trees near the waterfall; it felt like a slice of paradise in the midst of the great forest.

On the way back, I stopped off at beautiful Nambo Beach, just 12 km from Kendari. You can also get to this beach by traditional boat (kole-kole); it's just a 15-minute trip along Kendari Bay from Kendari harbor.

This beach is quite popular with the local people, because it's fairly near the city, very calm, with gentle slopes of white sand. The weather is cool and the panorama spectacular, so it's a favorite spot for the people of Kendari to go on the weekends and try to forget their daily grind. I savored a fresh coconut drink while enjoying the sunset at this peaceful beach.

Another thing I noticed in Kendari is cashew plantations along the roads. There are currently around 91,700 hectares of productive land producing cashews in Southeast Sulawesi, yielding 400 kg/hectare. It's no surprise that Southeast Sulawesi is famous for producing the best cashews in Eastern Indonesia, as well as cocoa beans (cacao). Cashew production areas are found in the regencies of Muna, Buton, Konawe, and South Konawe.

No visit to Kendari is complete without a stop at Dekranas, on Jl. A. Yani, your one-stop shop for Southeast Sulawesi handicrafts. This is the place to pick up all kinds of local handicrafts – silver crafts, pearl jewelry, woven products, and so on. You can also watch craftspersons producing souvenirs from silver, traditional woven fabrics, and wicker handbags.

Gembol handicraft production provides a livelihood for one community here; they gather teak and sandalwood burls and roots from the forests, and then skillfully craft these into works of art. Their village is on Jalan Chairil Anwar, around two kilometers from Kendari; you can get there by public transport or private vehicle. In this complex, the craftspersons produce items such as wall clocks, tables and chairs, ashtrays, and other household goods.

Southeast Sulawesi regularly plays host to international-level events. From 11 to 14 August is the Muna International Kite Festival 2009, presenting a huge variety of kites, especially kites made from leaves (kagati), the specialty of Muna, and attracting participants from abroad.

Early this year, the local government and people of Kendari won the 2009 Adipura Trophy; this award is given to a clean, beautiful city each year. This was the greatest honor for the people and government of Kendari since the autonomous region was established in 1995.

Kendari, the provincial capital of Southeast Sulawesi, is preparing development in all sectors. The city is constantly growing and expanding, growing more beautiful so it can stand on the same level as other provincial capitals.

Text by Virgina Veryastuti Photos by Jan Dekker

August 17, 2009

64th Anniversary Indonesia

Since the police have uncovered terror plots targeted at heads of state, the president's security guards are taking the necessary steps to ensure the safety of all those attending Independence Day ceremonies at the State Palace on Aug. 17th.

Maj. Gen. Marciano Norman stated on Monday that the annual ceremony would be arranged in accordance with security measures to protect the president and all his guests.

“We hope many people will turn up for the commemoration and we will ensure their safety,” Marciano told Antara news agency in Nusa Dua, Bali.

He added that he would work with the Jakarta police and military to maintain security and order during the event.

When asked about the terror group’s threat to attack the president’s private residence in Cikeas in the West Java town of Bogor, Norman said there was no plan to relocate the president and his family.

August 10, 2009

Discovering the Thousand Islands

Kumpulan Burung di Pulau RambutAs the name suggests, these small islands offer a wide range of attractions, from tourism to marine life.

Pulau Seribu, the "Thousand Islands", extend northward from Jakarta in Jakarta Bay. Actually numbering only around 140, they nevertheless offer many points of interest, particularly maritime tourism with white sand beaches, calm waters, and underwater coral formations. Most of the islands lie within the Maritime National Park; only 37 islands are allowed to be used for commercial purposes.

Pulau Rambut ("Hair Island"), also known as Bird Kingdom Island, is one of the closest to the mainland of Java; you can get there in just an hour from Muara Angke harbor. The status of this uninhabited 45-hectare island has recently been upgraded from nature preserve to wildlife preserve, because of the rising level of damage within and around the Pulau Rambut area.

In addition to coastal forest, mangrove forest and mixed secondary forest, the Pulau Rambut Wildlife Preserve is also home to 25 species of water birds, among the 61 bird species found there. These include pecuk ular (oriental darter), kuntul (egret), cangak (heron), bangau (stork), and ibis.

A 20-meter bird observation tower stands near the middle of the island. As well as birds, reptiles also live on the island, including monitor lizards, pythons, and geckos. The only mammals found here are fruit bats. There's also a great diversity of plant life, with tree species including pidada, mangrove, key lime, and banyan.

Also found on this island is a bird species that migrates from Australia, the milky stork (bangau bluwok, Mycteria cinerea), which arrives here in January and leaves in August. Pulau Rambut is the only breeding ground for milky storks in Java.

Not far from Pulau Rambut lies Pulau Onrust, near Pulau Cipir and Pulau Kelor. Onrust contains the remains of buildings, including a shipyard, built by the Dutch during the 18th century. Construction at Onrust was started in 1618 by Governor General Jan Pieterszoon Coen. In addition to a pier, he built a shipyard with a windmill to operate the saws.


During the Dutch colonial period, this island was very busy as a port of call for ships of the Dutch East Indies Company (Verenidge Oost Indische Compagnie, VOC), hence the name Onrust, which means "Never Rests".

Beyond Onrust, another interesting island to visit is Pulau Kotok. The Pulau Kotok Tourist Resort is a good example of a tropical atoll, with the original vegetation, clear seas, and colorful coral formations, making it a popular destination for divers. This island is also a rescue and translocation center for protected wildlife species including the white-bellied sea eagle (elang laut perut putih, Haliaeetus leucogaster) and the brahminy kite (elang bondol, Haliaster indus), the mascot of the province of DKI Jakarta.

Further out, around three hours from Muara Angke Harbor, lies Pulau Pramuka. This island houses the Kepulauan Seribu National Park and the Rare Marine Biota Hatchery and Laboratory, where you can watch and learn about the cultivation of rare marine species.

Pulau Pramuka is a sea-turtle dissemination area for the island of Java, particularly Hawksbill turtles (penyu sisik). Twenty years ago, most of the sandy beaches on 108 of the islands provided places where turtles laid their eggs. With the steady increase in human activity and habitation, now the turtles only visit a few islands to lay their eggs, among them Pulau Peteloran Timur, Pulau Peteloran Barat, Pulau Penjaliran Barat and Pulau Penjaliran Timur.

The Hawksbill turtle preservation activities at Pulau Pramuka involve collecting the turtle eggs from the beach where they are naturally laid at Pulau Peteloran. The eggs are then taken to Pulau Pramuka, where they are kept in semi-natural incubation by burying them 40-50 cm deep. The eggs hatch after 40 to 60 days. This turtle conservation activity has made the Thousand Islands a destination for marine conservation and education tourism.

In addition to Hawksbill turtle conservation, other activities on the island include planting of coastal plants – butun, mangrove, and sea grass – and coral reef preservation. The butun trees are being planted in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of coastal forests on small islands. Mangrove planting is done using the Spaced Cluster method, the nationally-approved method for planting mangroves on small islands using coral sand as the medium.

The fabulous underwater panoramas and exoticism of Kepulauan Seribu offer you an action-packed weekend of swimming, snorkeling and diving – a delightful and unforgettable experience.

Text by Virgina Veryastuti Photos by Ati Kurnia From Garuda Inflight Magazine

August 6, 2009

Wayang Kulit, the Art from Nusantara

The Indonesian word 'wayang' is derived from a word meaning 'shadow' or 'ghost'. These intricately cut and perforated shadow puppets are made from buffalo hide. 'Kulit' means 'leather' or 'skin'. 'Wayang Kulit' has a documented history of existence of at least 800 years in the Indonesian archipelago.

This was an open air performance under the stars. A temporary bamboo platform had been constructed in the village square. It had a raised stage on which the puppeteer and musicians of the 'Gender Wayang' orchestra sat cross-legged. A fine cotton screen, called 'kelir', separates the dalang from his audience. This screen represents the universe and the light from a bronze oil lamp, called 'blencong' just in front of the dalang throws magical flickering shadows onto it.

There is no hiding the mechanics of the show as in Western theatre since the bamboo platform had no sides. The audience is free to sit either facing the screen, or can watch the dalang at work.

Before a play begins, the dalang undertakes several ceremonial acts and rituals to assure a successful performance. With great reverence, he taps three times on the wooden box containing all his puppets in order to wake them up. Figures of deities representing good and evil (sometimes over one hundred) are ranged in their prescribed place to the left and right hand sides of the screen. When quiescent, the puppets are spiked into the soft flesh of the trunk of a banana tree at the base of the cotton screen. This represents the earth.

The dalang underscores the action and the rhythm of his chanting while sitting cross-legged by tapping loudly with quickening tempo on the wooden puppet box at his back with a little bronze knob held between the toes of one foot. He also uses this device to conduct the small Gender Wayang orchestra of xylophones and gongs sitting behind him, all the time maintaining a number of different body rhythms as he manipulates the puppets.

The dalang is a highly venerated artist with exceptional powers over the elements at his command. He is a complete performer who excels in many things. He displays enormous physical and mental endurance. He is an orator with a prodigious memory who must be able to repeat many lengthy texts word for word but also improvise entire interludes ranging from ribald jokes to philosophical conversations. He is a scholar of literature and yet keeps himself abreast, not only of national events, but of everyday happenings in the district including the latest gossip and scandal. He must know all his figures, about one hundred or more, their nature and symbolic importance, and have such vocal dexterity as to give each its proper tone and pitch at times creating the illusion of conversation. He deftly composes scenes on the fly, all the while paying particular attention to the artistic arrangement of his figures. He poses them in stances appropriate to their character and situation and in keeping their relationship to each other. He has to compose and sing songs as well as direct the orchestra that accompanies him. Besides all this, he is a poet-playwright who shares new wisdom in a way that satisfies public taste.

So what is the effect of all this? When the puppet is pressed up against the cotton sheet, its shadow is sharp and steady. Where it curls away from the screen a little, the shadow rapidly softens. The flickering light from the uncertain oil lamp causes these indistinct portions to quiver and waver. Sometimes puppets are presented to the screen from behind the lamp instead of entering from the wings. When this happens, they seem to magically materialise out of the very air itself as soft indistinct forms darken, gathering form and substance as they near the screen. The effect is ethereal and utterly mesmerizing.

The compelling visual appeal of a Wayang Kulit show might easily be explained by the physical laws and properties of light. The spiritual and metaphysical dimensions of the shadow play are much harder for a Westerner to describe.

The shadow play is magically powerful. At times the dalang appears to be in a trance. It is commonly believed that the audience is protected from evil influences during a Wayang Kulit performance. Its vast repertoire of tales covers all aspects of life. As well as having an educational role in society, its stories provide spiritual guidance for the people. It is as though this translucent screen with its play of light and shadow is the interface between two realms of existence - a small rectangle in the fabric of the world mediated by the dalang from where spirit beings from other planes of existence impart the wisdom of the ages to mankind. Wayang characters provide types to be emulated, giving the young an idea of what qualities to strive for.

The balmy night air was sweet with the scent of clove cigarettes. The audience, from the very young to the very old, including one white man, was held spell bound by the skills of the dalang and the stories he told. Little children, cradled in their parent's arms, stared wide-eyed at the screen, transfixed by its magic. As the night wore on, they valiantly fought a losing battle against the relentlessness of sleep, their heads occasionally jerking, wanting so desperately to stay awake.

Exciting battle scenes are usually staged shortly after midnight. These are truly fantastic to watch and is technically one of the more exacting test's of the dalang's dexterity in manipulating his puppets. Some fight scenes require the physical engagement of characters, up to six at a time, and in others, opponents use a combination of weaponry and magical powers to achieve their ends. These sequences are rich with special effects. Cutouts representing balls of fire, lightening or tempest might be used. With a trick of light and shade and a deft exchange of the puppet, characters were made to transform before a wide-eyed audience into mystical beings, a garuda, a snake. There were moments of enthralling, almost cinematic action, which I thought compared favorably with the most exciting fast-paced fighting sequences from Hong Kong Kung Foo movies that you could imagine. Characters lunged at each other, their staccato jousting movements under scored by the rapid tapping of the brass knob between the dalang's toes. They wrestled back and forth across the screen, or were thrown bodily into the air to spin 360 degrees before being slammed into a dead stop against the screen by another puppet entering the fray from the back. As delicate as they look, the leather puppets are remarkably robust, and during fight scenes, are thrown roughly about the screen. At times the oil lamp is set swaying to heighten the chaos of the battlefield. This was better than television!

At other times the story demanded large formal chunks of dialogue spoken in Kawi, an ancient Javanese tongue derived from Sanskrit which nobody but the dalang understands. Such sequences are characterised by courtly speeches delivered with astonishing vocalisation. The dalang can modulate his voice from strong and powerful delivery to the very softly spoken. Sometimes shadow plays are broadcast on the radio without any imagery. The figures jerk forward ever so slightly when speaking and with restrained refined and measured gestures, use their outstretched hands to accent words. The technique is beautiful to watch. During these lengthy passages in ancient Kawi, the audience stretched weary bodies and moved about. Teenagers stood up and picked their way through the crowd to perhaps buy some roasted peanuts from the vendors gathered around, or a drink, or to chat with their boyfriends and girlfriends.

But it is the clowns such as, Semar, Bagong, Petruk, and in Bali, Togog and Bebrodesan, which are most loved by the audience, educated and illiterate alike, and with whom the Indonesian people most readily identify. They are cohorts allied to either the good or wicked. Since the clowns figures speak the everyday language of the people, they are also used to interpret the events within time-honoured stories told in ancient tongues. Witty, crude and forever trading crass insults and innuendoes, the buffoonery of these characters allows the dalang to launch into marvelous ad lib comic sequences that embellish stories with topical village gossip, political intrigue and scandal which can leave the audience clutching their stomachs in hysterical laughter.

August 2, 2009

The Origin Of Keris

The origin of the Keris still remains a mystery. Javanese temple bas-reliefs are rich of warrior representation, but with edged weapons that have more to do with the Indian world than with the specificity of the Malay Keris.

This chapter will attempt to summarize the latest scholarship knowledge about the Keris and its origin.

And now Keris is use for complementary fashion in Indonesia specially in family kingdom.


For more information please visit http://old.blades.free.fr/keris/introduction/origin/history.htm

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