This article is second part from to series article about festival's in held in Indonesia. To read the previous article, just click here...
Sentani Lake Festival (Festival Danau Sentani)
Organized since 2007 and has become an annual festival and in the main tourism calendar. The festival is widely followed by Dutch tourists and locals alike.
Lake Sentani Festival was held in mid-June of each year for five consecutive days. The festival is filled with traditional dances on the boat, a typical war dance of Papua, traditional ceremonies such as the Ondoafi coronation, and serving a variety of Papua culinary.
Kasada Bromo
Uniqueness bromo panoramic surroundings with mystical atmosphere makes Mount Bromo as a famous tourist destination in the world.
Bromo mountain landscape beauty decorated with smoke rising from crater, and vast sea of sand that surrounds it
Photos of Mount Bromo has filled many travel magazines, newspapers, travel websites, post cards, brochures to tourism. Recently, CNN GO even put it in the 50 Natural Wonders: the Ultimate List of Scenic Splendor.
Besides the natural beauty, Bromo also have cultural appeal, namely Yadnya Kasada or Kasodo held every month Kasada day-14 in a traditional Hindu-Tengger lunar calendar.
This is an offering ceremony to Sang Hyang Widhi and ancestors, especially Roro Anteng (daughter of King Majapahit) and Joko Seger (son of Brahmana). This traditional ceremony held at the Poten Divine Temple, right at the foot of Mount Bromo, in the middle of the night to early morning.
Ceremonies Tengger tribe aims to raise shaman or healer that is in every village in the vicinity of Mount Bromo. In this festival Tengger tribe will throw offerings of vegetables, chicken, and even money to the crater of the volcano.
Bali Art Festival (Festival Kesenian Bali)
The Bali Arts Festival is a full month of daily performances, handicraft exhibitions and other related cultural and commercial activities during which literally the whole of Bali comes to the city to present its offerings of dance, music and beauty. On display are trances from remote mountain slopes, forgotten or recently revived village dances, food and offering contests, classical palace dances, stars of Balinese stage, odd musical performances, "kreasi baru" (new creations) from the dance schools of Denpasar, as well as contemporary choreography and dance companies from other islands and from abroad.
It is a month long revelry that perhaps no other place in the world can put up on such a low budget as the Balinese. Not only is their traditional culture alive and well, but they have a tremendous pride in it.
It begins in the villages, where the seka or cultural groups are selected and organized at the regency level, vie with each other to perform the Arts Festival and thus display in front of a large audience the uniqueness of their village of birth and resting place of their ancestors.
The Bali Arts Festival is the Denpasar cultural event of the year, perhaps it would no be too far fetched to suggest that it is the cultural event of Indonesia. The festival is thus a unique opportunity to see local village culture both "live" and at first hand. Tourists are warmly welcomed.
Bau Nyale Festival (Festival Bau Nyale)
One of Lombok’s most important and popular festivals is Bau Nyale, meaning “to catch the sea worms” in local Sasak language. It is a cultural tradition, deeply rooted in local legend and drama, and unique to the island of Lombok.
Bau Nyale, or the Nyale Festival, takes place every year in the tenth month of the Sasak calendar at a time close to the full moon, and was celebrated this year on 14 and 15 February on the south coast beaches of Lombok. The most popular site for celebrating Bau Nyale is at beautiful Seger Beach near Kuta; an area called Putri Nyale (Princess Nyale) by the people of Lombok.
The lead-up to the festivities started several days before the “core event” on 14 February, with peresean performances held in Kuta every afternoon from 11 February. Peresean is a local form of traditional fighting, using long rattan sticks, in which competitors try to strike each other while protecting their own bodies with shields made from toughened cow hide. It’s a fast and furious fight, always cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd.
The main Bau Nyale celebrations occurred on Saturday, beginning in the late afternoon on the beautiful beachfront in Kuta on Lombok’s south coast. Large groups of both local people and tourists gathered on the beachfront to be entertained by traditional music and dance performances hosted by the local southern communities. Stalls selling ice creams, drinks, balloons and other favours helped create a carnival atmosphere and provided some relief from the hot afternoon sun.
Tabot Festival (Festival Tabot)
The Tabot Festival is held every year in Bengkulu, usually from 1-10 Muharram in the Islamic calendar. It is a Shi'i ritual of mourning for Hasan and Hussin bin Ali bin Abi Thalib, grandsons of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatimah Az-Zahroh binti Muhammad. Hasan and Hussin were killed in the Battle of Karbala (now in Iraq) on 10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijriah (681 CE).
The name Tabot originates from the Arabic word of At-Taubat, which means as much as 'miniature of the real story to remember Hasan Husein'. The tradition of organising the festival was brought to Indonesia by Indians from the Punjab region, which arrived in Bengkulu in the year 1336. But the British Gurkha troops also brought the tradition to the area in 1685.
The essence of the Tabot ritual is remembrance of the Shi'is' struggle to gather Hasan and Hussin mortal remains from the battlefield, carry them in procession, and bury them on the Plain of Karbala. The tradition was brought to Bengkulu by the Bengali workmen, imported from southern India, who built Fort Marlborough when ‘Bencoolen' was in British hands. They passed the ritual on to their descendants, who gradually assimilated with the native people of Bengkulu.
Dieng Culture Festival (Festival Budaya Dieng)
Held annually as a community celebration, the festival presents various art and cultural performances, Dieng’s finest products exhibition, and to top it all is the unique dreadlock kids’ ritual ceremonies (or Ruwatan anak gembel/gimbal).
The Festival features Dieng’s own distinct traditional art forms such as the Rodad Dance, Lengger Dance, Rampak Yakso, Warokan, Barongsai, Cakil Dance, and Wayang Kulit or Javanese leather puppets show. Among the most interesting products that will be presented in the exhibition are the unique Mountain Papaya or Carica, and the highly nutritious herbal Purwaceng.
As main feature of the festival, the ceremonies of shaving off the hair of dreadlock kids are truly exceptional. While globally dreadlock hair is commonly known as Rastafarian style from Jamaica, in the highlands of Dieng, dreadlock, or matted hair is not a chosen style but rather a mystical feature which only occur in children. Dieng’s dreadlocks children are born normal, however at one point, their hair amazingly turns dreadlock by itself.
Various studies to scientifically investigate the cause have not found any logical explanations for the dreadlocks growth. According to local believe, these kids are somehow chosen by their ancestors to hold these gifts, and that the dreadlock must not be trimmed until the children ask for it, or the hair will continue to grow back. The precious moments when these dreadlock kids are shaven are celebrated in a series of ritual ceremonies known as the ruwatan anak gimbal.
Ambon Bay Festival (Festival Teluk Ambon)
A variety of traditional customs and traditions of the Maluku people are going to be displayed during the Ambon Bay Festival. These include traditional fishing competitions and Arumbae Manggurube or traditional boat races. Arumbae were once used as war vessels. There will also be the Semang Boat races which involve the traditional Maluku outrigger or known as Semang with women in traditional costumes manning the boats and race against each other. One of the most anticipated highlights of the event is a relay swim race starting from Ambon Bay (Martafons point) and finishing at the southern part of Ambon (Galala).
Batur Lake Festival (Festival Danau Batur)
To increase the number of tourists visiting Kintamani, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism work together with the government of Bangli District held a festival called the Batur Lake Festival.
Festival held for the first time is filled with various kinds of art performances begin Sekar Sandat dance, dance Baris Gede, until Kang Cing Wi dance creations, as well as singer Ebiet G. Ade and Koes Ploes. The festival is also held canoe races, food festivals, as well as fruit carving competition.
That is, some of the festivals that are held in some areas of Indonesia. actually there are many other festivals in Indonesia, which unfortunately has not been exposed. Dont worry, I let you know when I had the information about it :)
