Ponorogo holds Reog Festival to preserve its indigenous culture

The Jakarta Post, Friday, January 11, 2008

Ponorogo, East Java

Not long after Malaysia agreed Indonesia's traditional mask dance Reog was not Malay in origin, the National Reog Festival XIV was held in Poprogo regency, East Java.

The four-day festival, which opened Saturday, was part of the Islamic New Year celebration known as Grebeg Suro.

The event was well attended despite floods being reported throughout the regency.

Forty-two groups took part in the festival, while last year there were only 31. A group from Wonogiri, Central Java, which was declared the best Reog group three years running -- from 2004-2007 -- was prevented from participating this year.

"The Wonogiri group may be absent, but the other groups are better prepared than in previous years," said Luhur Karsanto, the secretary of Ponorogo regency.

The participants came from various places like Probolinggo, Gresik, Surabaya, Jember, Batu, Kediri, Jakarta and other areas outside Java such as South Sumatera, Riau, Lampung and East Kalimantan.

In November, some 2,000 Reog dancers from Ponorogo, Wonogiri and Greater Jakarta held a rally in front of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, slamming Kuala Lumpur for promoting Reog, which originally comes from Ponorogo, in its tourism campaign.

The Malaysian ambassador responded by acknowledging the dance had been brought to Malaysia by Javanese people about 150 years ago.

Opening the Reog festival at Ponorogo Square, Regent Muhadi Suyono said the event was being held both to preserve the Reog culture and to support the national government initiative Visit Indonesia Year.

"Visit Indonesia Year consists of 100 national events, one of which is the National Reog Festival," Muhadi said.

The regency administration has been criticized for holding the festival amid the suffering caused by the flood.

Karsanto said he was surprised by such "facile" criticism.

He said the regency administration had been sheltering flood victims at its office compound where it had also established a public kitchen. "And we will continue to hold the Grebeg Suro celebration because it is important for the preservation of our culture."

At the opening of the festival, a number of Reog groups from outside Ponorogo handed over donations for the flood victims.

"It is important to remember that the festival is being held amid concerns (for the victims), thank you for your support," Muhadi said.

The Banyak islands in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
The Jakarta Post, Sunday, January 20, 2008

Banyak Island, Aceh

The small islands in Indonesia have started to become news again. Clandestinely, several islands in outer Indonesia have been offered to foreigners for private ownership. The buyers are interested because of the beauty of those islands. An example is the multitude of Island in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam called Banyak.

The islands are located at the Aceh Singkil regency. People can use small boats to reach the islands in two hours. "Banyak" means plenty. Before the tsunami, there were 99 islands. Now there are 63 islands left and the rest are inundated with water.

The biggest island is Tuanku Island, which is located in the middle of all the islands. The second biggest is called Bangkaru Island, which is also the farthest of them all. The other islands are Balai, Ujung Batu, Sawangla. Most of the people live on the Balai Island. The total population is 7,000 people, scattered among seven villages.

Banyak islands are a microcosm of Indonesia. Here the past has merged with the present. The majority of the people are fishermen. Fish, coconuts and coral reefs are the products that people normally trade. "Those who were born on Banyak Islands are destined to become fishermen," says Dahrusyid, a local.

Sadly, the people there have to use coral reefs as the element for construction. "What else can we do? There are no proper construction material. Only coral reefs here," says Nasrante from the Bale Island.

Despite living far away from urban areas, many houses in Banyak Islands have a satellite dish to watch both regional and national broadcasts. Without the dish, the screens on the television would only show scrambled dots. Therefore, people there also know the latest fashions or celebrity gossip from Jakarta.

Local cartoonists strike back with creative ideas
The Jakarta Post, Friday, January 25, 2008

Surabaya, East Java

Araya walked straight past the activists who had gathered outside the magazine office and were throwing stones at its windows.

They had accused the magazine of running "obscene" articles and the editor had asked Araya, a "deviant", to help settle the case.

Two members of the editorial team welcomed Araya warmly and one of the protesters stepped forward.

"You asked me to settle the case. What you need to do is to sort out my payment and leave the rest to me," Araya said, the tone of her voice rising.

All of a sudden, an object that looked like an octopus' tentacles appeared from her hand, twisting the three men's legs, lifting them up and forcing them to reconcile.

The editor agreed to change the content of the magazine and the men dispersed.

That is an episode from the comic book Deviant Execution by Marico, a newcomer to the world of comics. It was his first comic, printed in 2007.

His lack of experience, however, is not evident in the comic, which has a unique storyline.

Deviant is a profession that is a product of graphic designer Marico's imagination. A profession that will exist in the 28th century, according to Marico, a skinny guy who has a penchant for hats.

"Graphic designers are hired to solve their clients' problems, and so are deviants. The difference is, a deviant does not only solve visual puzzles, she has to solve all sorts of problems," he said.

Deviants exist in a country called Donisia (taken from Indonesia) with conflicts similar to those of Indonesia.

The problem facing Araya, for example, is much like what happened to Playboy Indonesia, which was attacked by the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) in Jakarta. But the settlement of the problem is, of course, different.

Marico's comics have clever storylines and are nicely presented.

The first edition of Deviant was printed on thick butcher's paper with a hard cover. The pictures were in black and white.

"I wanted this comic to be totally different," Marico said.

What is more, Marico bravely established his own publishing company for the comics. It is not an independent company, nor is it a major company. "(But) with my own company, I can express myself fully in my comics," he said.

Three thousand copies of each issue of Deviant are printed. "Because financially, that's all I can afford," he said.

Marico is not worried about book piracy.

"The more copies that are in circulation the better, because that means my comics are popular," he said.

Since the 1970s the country has had its own band of superheroes like Gundala, the Son of Thunder and Panji Tengkorak. In the 1980s, European comics like Tintin and Asterix entered the country, followed by American comics dominated by Marvel like Captain Amerika, Spiderman and Superman.

Comics from Hong Kong like Tapak Sakti (Mighty Steps) and Tiger Wong were later popular in the country. But it is the Japanese comics, Manga, that have really ruled the world of comics here, along with animation.

"Doraemon, Dragon Ball etcetera are popular because they are on television," said Is Yuniarto from Wind Rider Production.

Where were the Indonesian comics when the foreign cartoons were flooding the country? After disappearing for years, Indonesian comics entered the market again in the 1990s.

Unfortunately they were not really Indonesian because they featured European-style superheroes who fought like Americans and were presented like Japanese animation.

"Maybe they were like Wind Rider comics," Yuniarto said.

In his second comic, Knight of Apocalypse, which was printed in 2007, he tried to create a new genre in animation by combining Manga with an American style. "The market is at stake. But it seems that the market will accept any style, as long as the pictures are good," he said.

Cartoonist Beng Rahadian successfully commented on conditions in Yogyakarta in Selamat Pagi Urbaz (Good Morning Urbaz). "It is comical, but if you see it more deeply, (you will find that) like it or not, Yogjakarta has changed," he said.

Another cartoonist, Julian, the coordinator of the illustrators grouped under Megindo Production, made a breakthrough when he chose to present local values in European-style comics. His comics are presented in two languages.

"This allows (readers) to enjoy the pictures and learn English, while the values remain Indonesian," he said.

What a smart idea.

Sriwijaya, PSMS through to semifinals

The Jakarta Post, Sunday, January 27, 2008

I.D Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra

Sriwijaya FC of Palembang and PSMS of Medan cruised into the Djarum Indonesian Premier League semifinals Saturday with results that placed them at the top of the Group A standings.

Last year's Copa Dji Sam Soe champions Sriwijaya drew with Persiwa of Wamena 0-0 at Tambaksari Stadium in Surabaya, East Java.

However, the result was enough for Sriwijaya to retain its place at the top of the Group A standings.

Sriwijaya's head coach Rahmad Darmawan said he would focus on preparing his team to face Persija in the semifinal round next month at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Persija is expected to benefit from the support of its home fans.

"Last time we played Persija at Senayan (in a 2007 Copa Dji Sam Soe match) we lost 2-1," Rahmad said.

"I will have to keep the morale and fighting spirit of my players high so as we can win the match," he said.

Rahmad said he would train his strikers to improve their performances in attack.

In another Group A match at the Delta Putra Stadium in Sidoarjo, East Java, PSMS lost to 2005 and 2006 Copa Dji Sam Soe champions Arema of Malang 1-0 on Saturday. Despite the result, earlier wins still meant they finished second on the Group A table.

PSMS coach Freddy Muli offered few clues about how his team would prepare for its semifinal match against Persipura of Jayapura. Persipura was league champion in 2004.

"I prioritize letting my players recuperate after matches. I want them to regain their fitness ahead of other tough matches," he said.

After Saturday's results, Sriwijaya was at the top of the Group A standings with five points, followed by PSMS with four points. Despite also finishing with four points, Arema kicked less goals than PSMS and finished in third place. Persiwa finished in last place with two points.

The league winner this year will receive a trophy and Rp 1.5 billion (US$160,500) in prize money, while the runner-up will be awarded Rp 750 million.

The league will hold the grand final on Feb. 9, also at the Bung Karno Stadium.