Candi Rejo Village - Community Based Tourism Project in Central Java

He explained briefly the history of eco-tourism in Candi Rejo. Only a few years ago an Indonesian NGO approached the village and introduced the concept of community-based ecotourism. After many village meetings, the community in Candi Rejo embraced the idea. The village also has the benefit of being very close to Borobudur, the biggest Buddhist temple in Indonesia and a great wonder of the ancient world. They have a river that can be used for white water rafting, and also has a nice trail called Watu Kendil, which is the path to Kendil Hill. From the top of this hill, one can view 5 volcanoes and also the whole construction of Borobudur Temple.

No doubt that the ecotourism project has increased the village's economy. Since Candi Rejo gained its official "tourism village" status in 2003, it has developed into a cleaner and wealthier village. The village chief has ordered every home in the village to grow "Rambutan", a tropical fruit tree in front of their houses. The result is: this village is becoming very green and shady. The weather in Central Java can get very hot, so these big trees can protect pedestrians from the burning sun

We left Candi Rejo with fond memories of this village. We would go back in a heartbeat. Hopefully next time we could take our travelers there with us. We're proud that the ecotourism and community-based tourism movement in Indonesia is developing rapidly. We hope these projects can alleviate poverty, create more job opportunities and most importantly sustain Indonesia's ecology.

Sir Galigi Played Wayang: The Inestimable Charm Of Wayang Kulit, Or Indonesian Puppet Dancing

Pariangan is a neat little village on the slopes of Mount Marapi in Indonesia. They say that the Minangkabau people of Indonesia first arrived here after their ship landed on this mountain when the world was submerged in water and only the mountain’s peak was visible (That’s some kind of cruise!).  Well…sitting in that old village, with the evening just setting in, I could almost believe that familiar fable. This place was pretty different from the city lights of Chicago, where I live. You could feel that oddly tangible sense of history around here.

They were just setting up the puppet show. I had come all the way from Chicago to see this thing. It is called the Wayang Kulit, and it is an ancient Indonesian art form. “Wayang” literally means “shadow,” and you can understand why they call it that if you see how the puppet show works. I have seen puppet shows elsewhere, but most of them have actual puppets being moved around by a set of strings. The Wayang Kulit is different; here you don’t see the actual puppets. You just see their shadows.

They set up a backlit screen. The screen looks like it is made with Japanese rice paper; it has that peculiar texture. The light behind the screen is a diffuse yellow. The puppets are placed between the light and the screen and what you get to see, sitting before the screen, are their shadows. There’s a very different visual impact of this “shadow dancing” from the usual sticks-n-strings puppet shows I had seen before. Things look more black and white, and visually, the show is very powerful.

I had read up on Wayang Kulit, of course. It is a peculiar Hindu art form of very ancient Indian origin. Wayang Kulit did not originate in Indonesia; it was brought here by Hindu colonialists in the 8^th or 9^th century CE. The first performance of Wayang Kulit is mentioned in a 930 CE inscription here which says “si Giligi mayawang” or “Sir Giligi played Wayang.” Apparently, this “Sir Giligi” (Sir?!) was a famous wandering entertainer around these parts. The theme of Sir Giligi’s ancient puppet show has not changed much even today. These themes are almost always stories from ancient Indian epics, and they talk about ancient war heroes, gods, demons, and not a few princesses, I guess. The actual religion-oriented themes didn’t interest me much, to be honest; but I was fascinated by the continuity of this art form, and the strong visual impact of the shadows dancing on the yellow screen.

The show starts off with peculiarly resonant drum music. If you have heard drummers beating to the tune of the Balinese dance music (YouTube?), you will see what I mean. This is a small drum with a wide base, and the sound has a strong high bass note to it. I can well imagine some of our Chicago rapper brothers getting hold of this thing; they would love it; I did.

Then they start off with the actual puppet dancing. There is a sort of “soul” music that goes on with it. It is done in a strangely nasal voice; I guess they are talking about the stories and themes of the show. I am not sure I understand what is going on, so I just stop worrying about it and focus on the shadows.

The shadow puppets are mesmerizing. The puppets themselves are very well designed, with lots of details in the peculiar headdresses and the style of clothing. They move with a fine grace. If you are watching this thing at night, in an unknown, strange village like this, you are bound to feel something different. What can I say – it’s a very out-of-the-world experience!

The Wayang Kulit continued for an hour into the night. There we were, about two hundred ethnic Indonesians, one extremely garrulous Padang cab driver and an American from Chicago, and we all sat engrossed in the strange beat of that drum, that weird, interesting music, and the shadow puppets dancing away on the screen.

The cabby was unnaturally quiet on the way back to the hotel, as if he could see the little shadow puppets dancing around the car in the darkness of the Indonesian night, and had to focus on the road so he didn’t hit one of them.

batik are indonesian cultures

we’re all know that malaysia always try and keep indonesian cultures. no! batik is not yours dude!!! batik are not just as culture to us, or just as ornament or fashion, but it had deep philosophy on it. read this :

Philosophy of Batik for Indonesian
by : Erny Setyawati

batik pattern

Indonesia has thousands islands that spread from Sabang to Meuroke. Every island has difference language, culture and ethnic and traditional life. Batik as traditional cloth that has been created since century ago, become specific cloth cold not be separated from Indonesian life. You will find Batik almost in every regencies and Municipalities at Indonesia.

Batik is not only used as fashion, but has philosophy for Indonesian daily life. Indonesians always wear Batik when they are born until death. Indonesian mothers always carry on their baby using Batik for lullaby their baby, so that the baby feel comfortable. The baby feel tender and smooth because Batik is made from Mori cloth. The processed of making Batik will take three months at least, even few highest Batik quality will take long time to process.

Wisdom mother always choose Batik with good hope philosophy to carry on baby , in order the baby always health, strong and good future for their family and nation. New bride couple will wear Batik, called jarit when getting marriage ceremonial. The design of jarit reflect good hope for happy marriage and avoid Parang design, because Parang design reflect sword for battle.

You will see varieties design Batik in Indonesia; because every island creates Batik depend on culture, philosophy, Way of life and spirit of life. Different island has different philosophy, design and purposes. Batik is also used to cover corpse when people pass away, the design must reflect eternity. Batik is used in varieties purposes so that the Batik designers create Batik for different purpose also.

The Government as motivator and facilitator of Batik, give and support capital stimulant and find market for Batik, even few Regencies and Municipalities make policy to wear Batik for local government employers. Few popular designers create Batik more fashionable so that the young people are not ashamed and look trendy to wear it. The efforts that have been doing by stake holders and Government, improve Batik popularity and price higher than before. The fashionable Batik motivates Batik entrepreneurs to find niche market and find strategies to market Batik, include marketing on the net.

BALI – INDONESIA

Bali is an island in Indonesia, and became one of the provinces of Indonesia. Bali lies between Java and Lombok Island. the capital province city is Denpasar, located on the southern island. Bali is a majority of the population embraces Hinduism. The world famous Bali is as a tourism destination with a unique variety of art-culture, especially for the Japanese and Australian tourists. Bali is also known as Pulau Dewata or paradise island.

music
a balinese gamelan.

Balinese traditional music has similarities with the traditional music in many other areas in Indonesia, for example in the use of gamelan instruments and various other music tabuh. However, there are specific techniques in the play, for example, in the form of Kecak, the libretto of the same shape that it seems fake monkey voice. Similarly, the various gamelan played also unique, for example Jegog Gamelan, Gamelan Gong Gede, Gambang Gamelan, Gamelan Selunding, and Gamelan Semar Pegulingan. there is also angklung played music for the ceremony of  Ngaben, and Bebonangan music played in a variety of other ceremonies.
There is a modern form of traditional music from Bali, such as the Gamelan Gong Kebyar which is dance music that developed during the colonial Dutch, and the start Joged Bumbung popular in Bali since the era of 1950s. Balinese music in general is a combination of various musical instrument metal percution (metalofon), gong, wood and percution (xilofon). Because the relationship of social, political and cultural, traditional music or games gamelan Bali Bali style to give effect or influence each other in the area surrounding culture, for example, in the traditional music community and music Banyuwangi traditional community Lombok.
* Gamelan
* Jegog
* Genggong
* Bali Silat
dancing
Bali dance art in general can be catogorized into three groups; the guardian or sacred art of dance performance, art or dance bebali performance for the ceremony and also for visitors, and balih-balihan art or dance entertainment for visitors.
Specialist art dance Bali are I Made Bandem  in the early 1980s had sort dances in Bali, among others, belong to the guardian for example in Berutuk, Sang Hyang Dedari, Rejang and Gede line, among other bebali is Gambuh, Topeng Pajegan, and Wayang Wong, whereas balih-balihan, among others, is the Legong, Parwa, Arja, Prembon and Joged, and various other modern dance choreography.
One of the dances that are popular for tourists is the Kecak Dance. Around 1930’s, Wayan Limbak working with German painter Walter Spies to create dance is based on tradition and Sanghyang parts Ramayana story. Wayan Limbak popularize dance this time around the world with the troupe of dancers Bali

rumah gadang the artistic house from sumatra indonesia

indonesia are well known had a rich culture, thats why malaysian always try to stole it from us. one of it are rumah gadang from padang.

                                                                 rumah gadang

Rumah Gadang is one of Minangkabau’s symbol, the most common housing forms have traditionally been wooden and raised on piles, built of locally gathered materials, with steeply pitched, roofs. Their culture is matrilineal, with property and land being passed down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the province of men. The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their own ethnic traditions, or adat. Minangkabau adat was derived from animistic and Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and remnants of animistic beliefs still exist even among some practicing Muslims. As such, women are customarily the property owners; husbands are only tolerated in the house at certain times and under special conditions, and must return to their sisters’ house to sleep.

The external walls of a rumah gadang are covered with various motifs, each having a symbolic meaning. A communal rumah gadang is a long house, rectangular in plan, with multiple gables and upsweeping ridges, forming buffalo horn-like ends. They normally have three-tiered projections, each with varying floor levels. They are broad and set on wooden piles that can reach as high as 3 meters (10 feet) off the ground; sometimes with a verandah running along the front face of the house which is used as a reception and dining area, and as a sleeping place for guests. Unlike the Toba Batak homes, where the roof essentially creates the living space, the Minangkabau roof rests on conventional walls. Cooking and storage areas are often in separate buildings.

The house is largely constructed of wood; an exception being the being the rear longitudinal wall which is a plain lattice woven in a chequered pattern from split bamboo. The roof is of a truss and cross-beam construction, and is typically covered with thatch from the fibre of the sugar palm (ijuk), the toughest thatch material available and said to last a hundred years.The thatch is laid in bundles which can be easily fitted to the curved, multi-gabled roof. Contemporary homes, however, are more frequently using corrugated iron in place of thatch. Roof finials are formed from thatch bound by decorative metal bindings and drawn into points said to resemble buffalo horns – an illusion to a legend concerning a bullfight from which the ‘Minangkabau’ name is thought to have been derived. The roof peaks themselves are built up out of many small battens and rafters.

The women who share the house have sleeping quarters set into alcoves – traditionally odd in number – that are set in a row against the rear wall, and curtained off by the vast interior space of the main living area. Traditionally, large communal rumah gadang will be surrounded by smaller homes built for married sisters and daughters of the parent family. It is the responsibility of the women’s maternal uncle to ensure that each marriageable woman in the family has a room of her own and to this end will build either a new house or more commonly additionally annexes to the original one. It is said that the number of married daughters in a home can be told by the counting its horn-like extensions; as they are not always added symmetrically, rumah gadang can sometimes look unbalanced.