ethnic tourism

It‘s like a scene from one of the Indiana Jones movies. Trekking through the dense jungle, the guide ahead wielding his machete left an right, hacks a narrow path trough the undergrowth. Ascending the last few metres up a steep rise we arrive at a small clearing. There, in the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest canopy, stands a carved megalithic statue - a human figure,perhaps thousands of years old, its impenetrable gaze staring out across the valley and across the centuries.  It’s not a movie though, we’re in the Besoa Valley of Central Sulawesi inside the Lore Lindu National Park. And this kind of adventure travel is typical of the myriad of exciting destinations just waiting to be discovered in Indonesia - the world’s largest archipelago.

Central Sulawesi isn’t a province that you hear a lot about. I have to admit that I didn’t even know where Palu wasbefore consulting a map. With major developed tourism areas in the south (Tana Toraja) and in the north (Manado and Bunaken) Central Sulawesi is quite often overlooked by travel writers and tourism operators. Situated on the west coast at the end of a picturesque horseshoe bay, the capital city of Palu is the main gatewayto the treasures of Central Sulawesi. It’s a fairly busy little place with just about everything that you couldneed. A handful of decent hotels, restaurants and banks, plus a museum and a helpful tourist information centre (Jl. Dewi Sartika). For the traveller however the real interest lies to the south east in the magnificent Lore LinduNational Park.

Travelling here isn’t easy. It’s not your typical airconditioned-bus-to-dinner-followed-by-a-cultural-show kind of deal. It’s more like long-bumpy-rides-in-a-4WD Landcruiser=on-roads-that-aren’t-always-there. There aren’t anyhotels either. In fact in some cases there isn’t any kind of formal accommodation at all. But if you’ve got a good pair of walking boots and a sense of adventure you’ll discover some stunning scenery, a unique mix of fading cultures and prehistoric relics that can compare to the megaliths of Easter island or the Valley of Jars in Laos.

For visitors, the Besoa and Bada Valleys are the most common destinations. To get to Bada take a minibus down the western border of the park until you get to Gimpu, where the paved road ends. From there it’s a two-day hike along a good trail, mostly through the forest with some spectacular panoramic views and suspension bridges crossing the Lariang river. Bada Valley has several sites with megaliths, the largest being `Palindo’ a menhir standing ataround four metres.

To get to the Besoa Valley take a minibus from Palu to the village of Wuasa. There’s a losmen there if you need tospend the night. From Wuasa, 4WD vehicles do the bonejolting three-hour drive over the mountains and into the valley. The road turns into a mudslide when it rains, which it does a lot. When you finally arrive in Besoa though,it’s like finding a hidden valley lost in time. Nestled into a perfect bowl of mountains the valley contains fourtraditional villages; Doda, Beriri, Lempe and Hangirah. There’s a kind of guesthouse in Doda, or you can findaccommodation with local families in the other villages. Ask for the KD (pronounced “Kah-Day” meaning kepala desa,or village chief), he should be able to help you find a place to stay and also arrange a guide for your excursions into the surrounding areas.

In the Besoa Valley there are several sites where you can find megaliths. One place near Hangirah has a collection of about 20 huge urns, each carved from a single piece of stone. Despite studies by anthropologists, the exact age and purpose of the megaliths is still clouded in mystery. Some say they were vessels for the deceased, others say they were used in sacrificial ceremonies. It’s still uncertain, but one thing is for sure they are magnificent and their unknown origins add to their mysterious and awe-inspiring appeal. Scattered around the grassy plain they almost look like discarded cups from the table of some enormous giant.

Near Doda is another small group of urns and figures in a field of long grass. There’s a traditional hut here where we are told people can stay overnight. It’s a beautifully peaceful spot with the spectacular backdrop of the cloud-capped mountains and only metres away from the centuries-old megalithic relics. Our guide mentioned thathuman remains had been found inside one of the urns here lending support to the theory that they were a kind of tomb. One of them still has its lid firmly sealed in place and we’re told that it has never been opened despite several attempts by the locals.For me the most exciting find was near the village of Lempe. After eating a hearty lunch of duck’s eggs and fresh corn on the cob, we headed off through the swampy rice-fields past thatch-roofed huts, tethered pigs and waterbuffalo. Eventually hitting the side of the valley the path turned vertical. Half walking, half climbing, we struggled our way over moss-covered rocks and fallen logs, our guide hacking a path through the jungle,until we came to a small clearing. There, in line were two humanoid megaliths, one about 10 metres further up the slope from the other. Both were facing north across the valley. It almost felt as though we were discovering them for the first time, and our guide told us that they had actually only been found around two years ago. In any other country, these thousand-year-old relics would be a developedtourist attraction complete with visitor’s centre and souvenir shop selling mini-megalith key chains. Here we literally had to hack our way through the forest to find them.But then that’s the allure of Indonesia. It’s mysterious, wild and adventurous …eat your heart out Dr Jones.

Encroachment

Lore Lindu was declared a National Park in 1982 as it was deemed to be representative of the intermediate to upper montane forest of Central Sulawesi. On paper, National Park status gives the area full protection from tampering, destruction or the introduction of new species. In reality however, I can say that I saw signs of encroachment in every place that I visited, and in some cases blatant commercial-scale exploitation and destruction of the forest. The most common practices are slashing and burning of forest to make room to plant crops such as coffee, cacao, corn, and vanilla. Also the wholesale extraction of timber and rattan tofeed the furniture industry in Java is widespread. These illegal actions are steadily eating away at the park’sborders and causing the areas of primary forest to shrink drastically. Having seen first-hand the chainsawing of trees and truckloads of rattan being taken from the park it is safe to say that encroachment practices are rampant.

Also rampant are corruption, ignorance and poverty, all of which contribute to the Park’s demise.Mr Agung Wibowo of Yayasan Alam Nusantara (YPAN) a non-governmental organization working in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) explained that the problem is a complex one. “We have seen an increase in the numbers of people living along the park’s borders. Some of them are refugees from Poso. They need to eat, so they go to work cutting timber and rattan or planting new crops.. Police and authorities are scared to act, fearing violence. In some cases the police and army are even involved. We need to educate people about the importance of the park, which is a habitat for endemic species such as the hornbill, babirusa and maleo. But we also need to provide some kind of viable economic alternatives for the people who rely on the forest. In this area we are developing initiatives for butterfly breeding, wild honey processing, and ecotourism. We also need to raise general awareness and put pressure on governments and authorities to take action.”

[View with PicLens]

Jewel of The East, Lombok Island

Stepping off the gleaming Mabua Express after two hours of powering across the Lombok Strait you could be forgiven for thinking you had not only made good time but also travelled through it. The busy and often chaotic streets of southern Bali are replaced by empty stretches of road where the only visible traffic consists of colourful horse drawn carts which trot carefree along the asphalt. No honking of horns, screeching of tires or terrorizing trucks, just the jingle jangle of bells as the trusty steeds negotiate their way through families of chickens and the occasional sleeping dog. The countryside looks a little different too the verdant fertile greens of Bali seem to exist here only in small pockets while the rest of the island is covered with the dry wild landscape found in the northern regions of Australia. I am obviously not the first to recognize this someone equally intrigued by this dramatic difference was British explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who travelled in these parts in the late 19th century. Wallace was amazed that two islands, separated by only 35 kilometres of water, could be so different climatically and have such different animal life. He concluded that there was a boundary in the deep Lombok Strait which separated the tropical climates of the west from the drier climate of Australasia to the east. This invisible division became known as the Wallace line and any visitor to Bali’s little eastern sister will immediately see that she is indeed different in just about every way.

We are heading towards Senggigi, the centre of tourism in Lombok situated on the sparkling western coast, about a 45 minute drive from the port. If `centre of tourism’ conjures up images of clogged streets, noisy overcrowded bars and general mayhem, think again. Senggigi is a charming beach town built on a winding coastal road which reveals perfect empty sandy bays at every turn. Traffic is non existant, the beaches are practically deserted and the people are friendly and genuinely pleased to see you. Add to this a wide choice of accommodation with everything from cheap guest-houses to five star resorts like the Sheraton and you have all the ingredients for a perfect relaxing holiday in the sun.

Lombok’s reputation has been built on her unspoilt white sand beaches and laid-back pace but there is much more to see and experience if you want to be a little more active. The southern part of the island around Kuta is blessed with magnificient beaches, great surfing and pockets of luxury like the amazing Novotel resort.

The northern part of the island is dominated by the towering Mount Rinjani, Indonesia’s third highest peak, and one of the most stunning ascents in Asia. Getting to the top and back takes three of four days, depending on your fitness, and must be undertaken with a guide, but the view from the summit makes it all worthwhile. Following reports of bandits operating in the area, the police have beefed up their presence with positive results but climbers should always be careful with their personal belongings and avoid taking anything too valuable. If the thought of three days trekking seems a little daunting, there are numerous `soft treks’ which can be organized from hotels or tour desks. The waterfalls at Sendang Gile on the north coast are an easy option; the first cascade is just a 15 minute descent from the road. A slightly more strenuous stroll takes you through thick forest and across the river to a second falls

where you can cool down in the pure mountain spring water in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The drive to Sendang Gile from Senggigi along the coastal road is a visual adventure in itself. Virtually the only car on the road, we passed through small villages, busy street-side markets and rolling dry barren hills. Cutting inland we were suddenly surrounded by the greens of rice paddies and tobacco fields for an instant before returning to the parched red earth at the next turn. At Bayan we cut inland again and immediately were enveloped in green, Rinjani’s flowing rivers and streams providing the perfect irrigation for the rice harvest. The village of Senaru has a `traditional’ area visitors can walk around which consists of the tall-roofed thatched lumbung huts also
found in Sade in the southern part of the island. Nearby is the oldest mosque to be found in Lombok which dates back to 1634 and overlooks a beautiful valley. Built entirely of wood and still housing some ancient artifacts, this is worth a quick look and the enthusiastic guide is very helpful.

As we returned to Senggigi in the evening we were treated to a dramatic sunset over the Gili Islands which lie just off Lombok’s north west coast. These three pearls in the ocean, Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air, offer some of the best diving in Indonesia. The emerald sea which surrounds these small paradise islands boasts one of the most diverse collection of marine species in the world and this has lead to a thriving dive industry complemented by very competitive prices.

Determined to experience this marine life up close, the following day we booked a day’s diving from Dream Diver’s (0370 693 738) office in Senggigi. Met at our hotel in the early hours of the morning, we set off to Bangsal where we boarded one of the Dream Diver’s fleet of traditional boats and made our way over a surging ocean to Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three islands and the diving centre. Dream Divers, a five star Padi Dive Centre, offer a selection of different courses including the popular Open Water Diver Course and the new two-day Scuba Diver Course. Started by a German couple, Astrid and Gerd, the company takes safety very seriously and we definitely felt in safe hands as we descended into the underwater realm of turtles, trevally, white tip reef sharks and giant barracudas. The marine life here is truly spectacular and I recommend all divers, snorkellers and general fish enthusiasts to jump in and take a look.

Diving aside, the Gili islands are a perfect place to relax and unwind. There are no roads, no traffic and no pollution with the popular cidomo (horse drawn cart) the only transport.

The adventurous can hike around the islands on foot and Gili Trawangan has a small hill, which rewards the climber with great panoramic views of the three parallel shore lines.

There is accommodation available on the islands but we were glad to head back to the mainland to our room at the newly opened Pool Villas Club (tel 0370 693 210) at the Senggigi Beach Hotel. These beautiful two storey villas have been available to the public for just over six months and offer visitors the most stylish and luxurious accommodation in town. Situated around a large freeform swimming pool to which each villa has private access, the villas are extremely spacious, beautifully designed and are kitted out with all the `mod cons’ (satellite TV, stereo, VCD, Jacuzzi, espresso machine etc) to make your stay a pleasurable one. The surrounding gardens are alive with flowers in full bloom, the service is impeccable and we immediately felt special, very well looked after and in the end very sorry to leave.

A trip to Lombok is highly recommended to anyone who has come to Indonesia to get away from it all but still wants a wide range of activities to choose from. With white water rafting, trekking, golf, diving and surfing for the active, pottery, carving and textiles for the shoppers and endless miles of white sands for the sun worshippers, this island has more than enough to keep its guests happy.

[View with PicLens]

The nineteenth-century Viennese traveller Ida Pfeiffer went backpacking through Indonesia before the term backpacking was invented. Gabriele Habinger tells the story of a remarkable woman who was the first white person to travel in the interior of Borneo.

“At one place, indeed, things looked more serious. More than 80 armed men stood in the pathway and barred our passage, and before we were aware of it their spear-men had formed a circle round me and shut me in. they were all tall robust men, full six feet high; their features showed the most violent agitation and their huge mouths and projecting teeth had really more resamblance to the jaws of a wild beast than to any thing human, they yelled and made a dreadful noise about me, and had i not been in some measure familiar with such scenes, i should have felt sure that my last hour was at hand. i was really uneasy, however, the scene was too frightfull, but i never lost my presence of mind.”

So wrote the Viennese traveller Ida Pfeiffer in describing one of her most adventurous experiences, an attempt to reach Lake Toba, in Sumatra, by traversing the land of the fiercely-independent Batak people.

” At first i sat down on a stone that lay near, endeavouring to look as composed and confident as i could, but some rajahs then came up to me with very threatening looks and gestures and gave me clearly to understand that if i did not turn back they would kill and eat me. their words, indeed, i did not comprehend, but their action left no manner of doubt, for they pointed with their knives to my throat and gnashed their teeth at my arm, moving their jaws as if they already had them full of my flesh.”

Even in such a perilous situation, this extraordinarily intrepid, if nondescript, former Viennese housewife was able to maintain her composure-a cool-headedness that was to ensure her survival. For just such an occasion she had memorised a sentence, delivered half in Malay and half in Batak.
She promptly slapped the shoulder of the wildest of the men who surrounded her and said with a smiling faith:

” Why, you don’t mean to say you would kill and eat a woman- especially such an old one as i am! I must be very hard and tough!”

It worked. The Batak surrounding Pfeiffer started to laugh and she was allowed to continue on her way, although she was forced to turn back with just one ridge of hills separating her from her destination.

Pfeiffer’s sense of irony had become well-honed by the age of 54, when she had commenced her journey to Lake Toba at a time when there was no safe or even scheduled transport, no guide books, and group travel was still largely a concept. Even today, many younger people would not dream of attempting journeys so rigorous or dangerous.

Still, Pfeiffer’s journeys through Indonesia were not all so troublesome and by the time she reached the archipelago, mid-way through last century, a certain measure of reknown had preceded her. Her adventures were followed closely in both Austrian and international newspapers and her impressions of her travels enjoyed great popularity. In the Dutch-controlled areas of Indonesia, this reputation benefited her. In the form of hospitality, free passage and the patronage of local Indonesian dignitaries.

Pfeiffer became the focus of a strong public fascination. How could this woman of plain looks and modest appearance have become such an adventurer?. She was born in 1797 and, as the daughter of a rich merchant, most of her early life was far from adventurous. During childhood she had tried to rebel against the role she was expected to play as a woman and her father, being a little eccentric, supported her. When she was a little girl, she wore only boy’s clothes and was as wild and bright as her five brothers. Her father also let her believe that she would be able to have a military career.
After her father’s death, however, Pfeiffer’s mother introduced her to the idea of a proper girl’s education and so Pfeiffer sought solace in travel literature which, at that time, was a popular form of distraction. Pfeiffer was eventually forced to marry a man 20 years her senior and when Anton Pfeiffer went bankrupt, she had to bring up her two sons in circumstances of great privation. However she, continued to dream of travelling and, when her sons were able to fend for themselves, she was able to put her plans into action.

In 1842, she set out on her first big adventure-to the Holy Land, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. When the impressions of that journey were published, they enjoyed a great popularity-one that has continued to the present day. Her travels started to become more daring. In 1845 Pfeiffer travelled to the far North, including Iceland, and, in 1846, she embarked on her first world trip, which lasted two-and-a-half years and took her to Brazil, Tahiti, China, India, Persia and Mesopotamia.

There were brief thoughts of retirement when that journey was over but in 1851 she set off on another world trip-a journey that was to take her across the length and breadth of the Indonesian archipelago.

On March 18, 1851, Pfeiffer left Vienna for London to meet the famous geographer August Peterman and discuss her travel plans with him. Her initial plan was to start from Cape Town and work her way into the unknown interior of the African continent, but financial constraints forced it to be abandoned. She decided, instead, to embark for Singapore, because “at Singapore you may find ships to all the regions of the earth”. She had been there already during her `first world trip and had made many friends. Now she spent pleasant days there wandering through the jungle and gathering insects to sell to European museums.

” Here merry little monkeys were springing form bough to bough, there brightly-plumed birds flew suddenly out, plants that seemed to have their roots in the trunks of the trees, twined their flowers and blossoms among the branches, or peeped out from the thick foliage, and then, again, the trees themselves excited my admiration by their size, their height, and their wonderfull forms, Never shall i forget the happy days i passed in that singapore jungle.”

Once again, it was financial constraints that forced her to abandon a plan to travel from Singapore to Australia. So she spent the next two-and-a-half years exploring the islands of the Malay Archipelago, as always travelling with little more luggage than she would be able to carry herself if necessary. Sometimes she ate only rice and drank only water and had to endure arduous tramps through a mosquito-infested jungle where there were no previous paths and only a local guide to assist her.

First she went to Sarawak, in western Borneo, which had been ruled with a strong hand since 1841 by James Brooke, the “White Rajah”. Accompanied by Brooke’s nephew, she visited the local Dayaks for the first time and was especially taken with their sword dance:

“…two parangs were laid crosswise upon the ground and two gayly-decorated young warriors presented themselves as dancers…
The dance was very gracefull and decorous, and gave employment to feet as well as hands and arms; the performers threw themselves into fine attitudes, and executed very skillfull movements. First they danced for a few minutes round the swords, appearing as if desirous of lifting them up, but, whenever they moved forward to take them, sprang back as if seized with sudden horror, untill they at length really seized them, and manoeuvered them in the most masterly manner, like well-practised fencers. It was certainly the finest dance i had ever seen performed by savages…”

In Borneo Pfeiffer succeeded in a remarkable way. She was the first white person to traverse the island’s interior, establishing a route that was to be used later by many other explorers. Her journey was also dangerous, with only Rajah Brooke’s flag saving her on one occasion from a group of Dayaks, many of whom were still practising head-hunters.

Finally, Pfeiffer reached Padang, the main base for the Dutch territories in Sumatra, via Jakarta, then called Batavia. Here she planned to visit the
Bataks-in spite of innumerable warnings about their hostility to outsiders-in order to reach Lake Toba, which was the focus for many expeditions in the nineteenth century. Europeans knew of its existence, but the Toba-Bataks resolutely refused to allow foreigners to reach it.

Pfeiffer was no exception, although she came closer to the lake than anyone had previously. Perhaps her cool-headedness, as evidenced in the passage above, had saved her, or maybe the fact that she was a woman.
But certainly her fearless and resolute attitude in times of crisis was a quality so evident that it was able to cross cultural boundaries and bring her respect from all quarters. Pfeiffer described her journey through Sumatra as the most interesting of all her travels up till then, in spite of all the dangers and difficulties.
She journeyed on through Indonesia for many years and at the end of her time there wrote: “As long as i live will the remembrance of this journey never be effaced from my mind…”

The quotations are from the English translation of Ida Pfeiffer’s book “A Lady’s Second Journey Round The World”, published in New York in 1856. The original was published in Vienna in 1856 as “Meine Zweite Weltreise” (a new edition of which was published in 1993 as
“Abenteuer Inselwelt. Die Reise 1851 durch Borneo, Sumatra, Java”). Gabriele Habinger is editor of “Edition Frauenfahrten”, the historical impressions of women travellers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, published by Viennese company Promedia

[View with PicLens]

Saung Angklung Udjo, Battle Between Traditional culture vs Factory Outlet

Bandung, the capital city as a cultural sundanese, indeed, have many treasury of traditional art and culture. One of them is the art of traditional instrumental Angklung. Flutter between modernity and elegance in the form of infecting a tour of clothing factory outlets, Saung Angklung Mang Udjo still survive. Even with government support, performance art of Angklung often performed in several parts of the world.

Wilujeng Sumping. The Blue bus is moving slowly through the streets of the city of Bandung. City of Paris van Java title, such as in the narrow end of each week. Roads and a wide zigzag that is crowded by most vehicles numbered police outside the city. In the left and right road, standing line restaurants Italy, anekarasa restaurants, pubs and cafes, kiosks, mobile phones, traders, five feet, to store clothing similar large malls called factory outlets. Gedung Sate Beyond the unique historic, the Museum of Geology place a replica of callus pithecantropus erectus - that runs Java human portrait - be buried and the Holy Road, which was famous as the home center industry shirt printing, blue bus and then turn left to enter. The road width is not more than two and a half ordinary sedan. In a Kavling numbered 118, turn the area into a vast terrain surrounded by bamboo plant. At the entrance is standing two teenage girls clothing conduit a la sundanese blue young, driven miniature Angklung neck to each visitor, while the brochure agenda visit the event.

Right at the top of their stand, depending on a pelang from the polished wood titled “Wilujeng Sumping” which means welcome in the Sunda language, as a bookmark that visitors have arrived in Games Angklung Anyway Udjo. In addition to the right tunnel entrance, there is a large cage that is inhabited by bats or bat prefer dark colored life-size adult cat. Some visitors stop and observe amazed giant bat, which according to one staff Anyway Udjo is of the old area. Anyway Games Udjo is used is that many bamboo forests inhabited bat. Rather into, one by one visitor is presented a sundanese special drink ; bandrek based coconut milk, palm sugar and ginger. If in Makassar, the drink is called Sarabba. Bandrek hot this sizeable chest favor for the warm weather should be covered from the cold water conditioner bus.

In front of the terrace after a gulp bandrek hot, direct visitors greeted by various Pernod (merchandise) and crafts typically displayed on the terrace, which also functions as a kind of showroom; puppet show various sizes, Sarinande Angklung, shirt and picture Angklung PLAYERS, and other key hanger. Price on each display vary, but generally still affordable pocket visitors.

There are all here. Visitors are welcome to the performance of the Straits of similar shapes Amphitheater. In front of the stage there with all kinds of musical instruments sundanese; jejeran Angklung, arumba, calung, dogdog, gamelan sundanese, drums. Right in front of the stage, jejeran puppet show about a place along the approximately three meters. In front of the stage, there is a wide field floor half the field basket. Jejeran around cement benches from the gradual formation formed a semi-circle, where the visitors sit witnessing relaxed performances are presented.

Initial impression is not the music or dance performances, but the art of making Angklung. Anyway Dede, a man aged around 50 years, standing in front of a small table with the chip-chip bamboo and rattan unfold at random before. Bamboo is used as basic materials making Angklung must pass through a selection process that is quite strict. Only the bamboo age 4-6 years can be Angklung. Bamboos is’ be ‘only when the dry season only, from 9 am to 3 pm hours. However, should the process during the week to reduce their water content. Bamboo, which is formed in accordance with standard form, and then chained in one framework with a solid ties. Occasionally he shake the bamboo, to listen and inspect the sound. Feeling satisfied, then shaped again. Shaked again, shaped again. Until a few times-repeated reset, and until his face presenting  satisfied smile. One piece Angklung with certain tone is created. When asked how long he has been in the making of Angklung, he replied with a smile. Recently, a new 26 years old! Next, each of the visitors were given the opportunity to structure a Angklung. Of course not whittle with, or install the bamboo, but only binds the bamboo with strong rattan and can be played.

After the short course event to make Angklung, visitors entertained by the puppet show performances with Cepot figure showing it as celebrity. Marionette puppet show is quite entertaining, other than because the story played associated with the daylife, also the figures played with the very entertaining. Then, switch to a traditional orchestra music sundanese; blend of drums, and arumba Angklung play in a symphony of various songs. Proceed with Angklung interactive, which also include visitors who each have been provided with Angklung not certain. Other events also quite entertaining is the emergence of dozens of children aged between 2-6 years old play traditional dances, pencak silat, and some play Angklung. They have been trained as demonstrating that musical instruments. Laughing and ran, with the simple patterns of whimsy and farcical, so visitors enjoy the entertainment. According to information from the guide, the children have started learning to play Angklung and traditional dance sundanese since the age of two years up to teenagers. Some are considered advanced academic and then selected to perform in the various countries. To learn dancing and playing Angklung, they do not charge any single money from the children. All education costs, including equipment and trainers are provided free of charge. Cost management of the Games Angklung comes from the results of the business Angklung Games themselves, plus a subsidy from the local government of West Java.

Angklung and Udjo Ngalagena. Based on Balinese mythology, Angklung consists of two words, namely, that figure means that the tone, Lung, and that means damaged, incomplete, or missing, so that the series of two words that mean the tone of the damaged or incomplete. By definition, Angklung interpreted as a traditional musical instrument made of bamboo, which generate a certain tone from the shock. Furthermore, Angklung scattered in all regions of West Java, and then enrich the traditional ceremony in Banten, Baduy, Sukabumi, Cirebon, etc.. Angklung has a special function related issues and religious ceremonies. In the beginning, Angklung played to attract interest as the goddess Dewi Sri fertility to fall to earth when people begin rice planting season. Angklung also played for the additional release of the soldiers sundanese which will be advanced to the battlefield. Angklung function as a spirit blower makes Dutch East Indies government (the colonial period) had prohibits the use of Angklung.
Anyway, the exinstence of Saung Angklung Udjo itself, can not be separated from the founder, Udjo Ngalagena. Mang Udjo, so he was familiar call, was born in the year 1932 as a 6th child from the pair Wiranta and Imi. Mang Udjo has advanced angklung skill since the age of four years. Angklung at the time, usually played only for the activities just like a traditional wedding or circumcision ceremony, with pentatonik composition, just like any javanese music. Bounded with a strong arts Sudanese, encouraged him to seriously develop his skill. Then he directly learn from sundanese musical instruments masters at the time; learning Kecapi music from Koko, Sundanese gamelan from Rd. Machyar Angga Kusumahdinata, and Angklung do-re-mi, or Angklung diatonic composition to Soetigna Daeng, the inventor Angklung Modern Padaeng. Angklung diatonik also known as Modern Angklung and modern harmony with the composition of modern music, so this type of Angklung can play all types of traditional music, pop, dangdut, to classical music.
In 1955, participants in the Congress before the Bandung Asia Africa, Mang Udjo with Daeng Soetigna lead the presentation Angklung played by students of Kartini Elementary School Teacher of Bandung. Since then, the arts Angklung and start growing. In 1958, Mang Udjo begin to develop the business of Angklung in Bandung rally with local residents. In the early months 1967, he with his wife officially established Saung Angklung Udjo. This saung then used as a kind of workshop of making Angklung and learning Angklung music and other art sundanese.

Mang Udjo, with full dedication to preserve, develop and introduce the art and culture from the traditional sundanese throuh his saung, became one of the tourism site in West Java region. Under his guide, appear several generations of advanced artist who can play traditional music of Sunda, as well as classical sundanese dancing. Some of the performance event held in and outside the country. Mang Udjo, who understand English, Dutch, French, German, Japanese and Chinese during this life has received many awards from the government over the business preserving traditional Sundanese arts. Mang Udjo, that during his life always teaches simplicity and hard work to all the students, then passed away in January 2001 with thousands of students resulted that spread across the country. One of the inheritance is still often stockholders neatly in Saung Mang Udjo are wisdom words, advice, that he write and install themselves in several places in the walls of Saung. One of his writings on the wall ring Games, “Ceuceub ka hiji jalmi hartosna nyiksa ka diri sorangan, kukituna dunya jadi heurin. Naon rugelna jadi jalmi anu someah. Naon rugelna jadi jalmi anu leah” which means: keep hatred in the heart just like torture yourself, making your world not cozy. It is not wrong to become someone noble. It is not wrong to become the wise and respect each other.

Bandung is not only the Factory Outlet
Bandung, the breadth 168 square km, or approximately a whole city of Makassar, every weekend, such as contract and tighten. The atmosphere was calm with a refreshing air of clean clothes is a way to become a city teeming with dust and smoke exhaust meet air space. Cars from all over the city crowded the narrow roads, especially in front of the factory outlets that stand in the corner of the city. Some old buildings, including historic buildings servant is the post office building, has been used for factory outlets. This is the luxury of a century millennium Bandung try to doctrinize the visitors. The city which originally designed only as a relaxation city, suddenly suffered capitalism pollutant.

Saung Mang Udjo appears as wilderness between modernities infecting the city of Bandung. Sales tourism is the main reason the city is tourism expenditure clothes, but also culinary. Siliwangi valley, or Valley of the forest area is originally the city and a region of drain water, main city planned to build a large restaurant on it.

http://www.ethnicmusics.info/saung-angklung-udjo-battle-between-traditional-culture-vs-factory-outlet/

Periplus Adventure Guides, Various authors and contributors.
Publisher: Periplus Editions

This invaluable series of books on Indonesia from Periplus is gradually being completely revised and updated. Their Travel Guides have now become Adventure Guides but the changes are far more than merely cosmetic. The Travel /Adventure Guides are, as owners of any of the existing books will know, far more than just guides to travelling in the particular region covered. Travelling or not, the books are worth reading for their own sake. The historical vignettes are especially enjoyable.
The Hollandia (now Jayapura) headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur apparently caused some envy and resentment: “War correspondents, not always in awe of the quick-tempered MacArthur, filed a story about the general’s million-dollar mansion with lavish furnishings and a custom-built drive. MacArthur was furious. After the Philippines had been secured, his wife decided to stop at Hollandia on her way to Manila to be reunited with her husband. She wired him, “I want to see that mansion you built-the one where I’m supposed to have been living in luxury!” Those present did not dare record even a censored version of MacArthur’s reply„
That is from the Irian Jaya book but they are all as good, filled with fascinating essays from experts in their field.
Here is Ilsa Sharp in the Sumatra book, writing on the endangered Sumatran rhino: “This “pocket rhino” is the smallest of the world’s five rhino species and displays an aptly Asian personality-being far less aggressive than its African counterparts. It is a harmless vegetarian that exhibits a certain charm: the young are known to bleat and squeak like lambs.”
From the same book, Robert Cribb brings the Krakatau volcanic explosion of a century ago dramatically to life for us: “Finally, early in the afternoon of August 26th, 1883, Krakatau exploded with a series of roars heard around the world-from Rangoon, Burma, to Perth, Australia. A pillar of ash and pumice towered 26 km into the sky. Rock and dust rained over the surrounding region, forming a blanket cloud which turned day into night for 150 km in every direction. Ash from the eruption gradually spread through out the atmosphere, creating spectacular sunsets across the world for two years.
“The finale came the following morning, when a gaping maw in the earth’s crust-hollowed out by the expulsion of 18 cubic km of ash and rock-collapsed on itself. The sea rushed in and began to boil immediately on contact with the molten rock, throwing up tsunamis (tidal waves) 10 meters high. The waves could still be detected a day and a half later when they finally rolled against the coast of France.”
Between them, these sensibly-formatted guides cover most of the huge and diverse archipelago and this year’s revised editions include Irian Jaya and Sumatra.

Forgotten Islands of Indonesia-The Art & Culture of the Southeast Moluccas
By Nico de jonge & Toos van Dijk.
Editors: Martijn de Rooi, Thomas
G. Oey, Berenice B. Oey. Publisher:
Periplus Editions. 160pp.
ISBN 962-593-015-9.

In the afterword to this book, the authors state their intention: to demonstrate the richness and uniqueness of the material culture of the Southeast Moluccas. It was a laudable aim and, by any measure, they have succeeded admirably.
It was a big task. To put it in perspective, Maluku Tenggara-the Southeast Moluccas-is a remote chain of islands between Timor and New Guinea almost a thousand kilometres long. The region’s 300,000 or so inhabitants see relatively few visitors because it is so far off the tourist trail.
The book is in three parts. The first deals comprehensively but briefly with the past. Between colonists, missionaries and art collectors, it was not always a happy history.
The second section deals very largely with boat symbolism. Our understanding of this is critical to our comprehension of a seafaring people.
Many homes resemble boats and the analogy is carried further, to the point where whole villages are considered to be boats with passengers. The village leaders consider themselves to be a symbolic ship’s crew. This is satisfying anthropological investigation yet the writing is far from dry.
The third section concerns gold, cloth, pottery and plaited objects. Once again, we learn not to underestimate the power of adat in Indonesia-traditional local morals, beliefs and customs. The association of pottery with woman is so strong on Aru island that a woman’s “life breath” is believed to reside in her pot; if she accidentally causes the pot to break, her death will follow.
Beliefs like this abound. In an interesting variation on the’Western expression “throwing in the towel”, in former days on Aru a woman would throw her plaited sitting mat between two belligerent parties in order to cool down combat. By doing so the fight was ended. On other islands women would use cloths for the same purpose.
The book has an excellent glossary; good notes pointing out where the work of previous scholars is referred to; a full bibliography; but, surprisingly, a skimpy index of less than one page.
Finally, for travellers who may hope to pick up objets d’art from the region, there is a warning: many pieces available in Indonesia today are crude copies that discredit the splendid traditional culture of Maluku Tenggara.
This is a book scholars and general public alike will enjoy-those, anyway, who wish to scratch beneath the surface of a fascinating culture and gain considerable understanding of it in the process.
Aesthetically, too, it’s a delight, with good clean typography that makes reading easy. Forgotten Islands of Indonesia very intelligently puts in place another piece of the jigsaw of Indonesian culture.

Taking the weight off your legs, enjoy a ride on one of Asia’s oldest forms of transport.

It is midnight in a highland town in West Java. All is peaceful. The shops, which during the day were a hive of frenetic activity, have now long shut their doors to the darkness. Street vendors, whose goods covered the pavement, have packed away their array of herbal medicines, antiques and mountains of fruit. Even the dogs have finished scavenging.
All appears to have stopped in this sleeping town. Everything, that is, save for the tell-tale “clack, clack, clack” of the becak driver, advertising a comfortable ride home for anyone with aching legs.

From Peking to Poona, Rangoon to Rajasthan, the trishaw has evolved into hundreds of regional variations. The oldest forms were originally pulled by the driver from the front, the passenger sitting in a mounted chair, and these can still be found in India and China. Nowadays, pedalled versions like the becak (pronounced bay’chak) with the passenger in front are the norm throughout Asia.

The average life span of a becak is well over 25 years if adequately serviced, making the market for new becaks small. They are repainted in bright new colours and serviced almost daily as a result of the unrelenting strain they receive from rough terrain, potholes and being pushed through floods. When the steel eventually does give way, the becak must be repaired or replaced, so it comes to one of the few becak factories that also repair and refurbish the machines.

From a side street under a bridge beside the river in Java’s royal city of Yogyakarta comes the noise of men at work behind the wrought iron gates of the Cenderawasih Becak factory. Sparks fly from a welding torch and a cat, tail waving, rubs itself against the sweaty body of one of the workmen, blissfully unaware that its tail has only narrowly avoided sudden combustion. An old wreck is being rejuvenated with an iron-work job, while another is having its rust sanded off in preparation for a paint job. Standing out proudly in the front is a brand new becak, bright-red paint glinting in the sun, new rubber tyres and a beautifully-worked canvas hood, oiled and polished.

Becaks are hand-made and each is therefore unique. The most customised part of the becak is the artwork over the wheel guards, painted extravagantly either in the factory or by the owner or driver. The classical painting is of a misty mountain scene with a blue river winding through a landscape of mountains, a deep-blue sky and wispy clouds. Others have pictures of animals or carry slogans.

The design can also identify the maker-the Cenderawasih factory only paints four motifs of its own. What happens to this design after the becak leaves the factory is a different matter. When the original paintwork has worn off, the becaks are usually repainted by the driver in a way that allows him to express himself. Becaks adorned with slogans like: “Cinta putus, aku biasa. Rem putus, aku mati!” (roughly translated as: “I’m used to losing my love, but if I lose my brakes, I’m dead!”) are commonplace near Jakarta, for instance.

At dusk, in the evening rain of a Javanese city, a becak stands alone, its black hood drawn down and its plastic sheeting tied down against the rain. Within, a wiry old man lies curled up in his sarung, settling down for the night after a long and exhausting day pedalling miles of dirt tracks and weaving through the city traffic. It’s a well-earned rest for one of the hardest-working men in Indonesia.

[View with PicLens]

When you visit Yogyakarta then do not miss to buy the various fascinating batik clothing , with comfort material and the cheap price. Knowing Yogyakarta is not complete without knowing the batik cloth and have them.

Batik originated from Javanese language “amba” which means to write and “titik”, means points. The word batik refers to the cloth with a pattern produced by the “malam” (wax) which is applied to the top of the cloth, so that resists the insertion of a coloring material (dye), or in the English language “wax-resist dyeing”.

Batik is a craft that has a high value of art and has become part of the culture of Indonesia (particularly Java) since long. Javanese women in the past make this skill to get income for their livelihood, so that in the past, making batik is the work exclusively to women, until  has found which allows the inclusion of men in this field. There are some exceptions to this phenomenon, namely the coastal batik masculine features such as lines, which can be viewed on the color “Mega Mendung”, which in some coastal areas is common for man to make a batik.

Variety of batik patterns and colors influenced by various foreign influences. Originally, batik has limited protean style and color, and some patterns may only be used by certain social rank. However, coastal batik absorb various external influences, such as foreign traders and also in the end, the colonists. Bright colors such as red popularizes by the Chinese, who also popularize phoenix pattern. European imperialist also take interest in the batik, and the result is a floral pattern which is previously unknown such as tulip flower and also the things that was brought by colonists (the building or horse-drawn carriage), including the colors of their favorite color as blue. The traditional batik still keep the patterns, and is still used in traditional ceremonies, usually because each color has a symbolism of each.

Batik techniques have been known since thousands years ago. There is no quite clear description about the history of origins of batik. Some suspect this technique comes from the Sumerian nation, and developed in Java after brought by Indian traders. At this time batik can be found in many countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Iran. In addition to Asia, batik is also very popular in some countries in the African continent. However, batik, which is very famous in the world of batik is from Indonesia, mainly from Java.

Making batik tradition usually a tradition from generation to generation, so that sometimes a motif can be identified comes from a batik family. Some batik motif can indicate the status of someone. Even now, some batik pattern only used by the family of Yogyakarta and Surakarta Palaces.

The making
Originally, batik created with white cloth material namely “mori”. For now on, the batik also made on other materials such as silk, polyester, rayon and other synthetic materials. Batik motif formed with liquid wax using a tool called a canting for fine or smooth patterns, with brush for large motif,so that the wax liquid can seep in to cloth fiber. Cloth that has been painted with wax and then dyed with the desired color, usually starting from the youth colors. Immersion the applied, and then made to another motif with color or black older. After through some coloring process, the fabric that has been batik-ing processes then washed with some chemicals liquid to have the wax being dissolved.

Type of batik
Handdrawn Batik, If motif is formed with the hands
Batik cap/stamped, If motif formed with the cap/stamp (usually made of copper).

Batik Course, Dive in to Batik Tulis Culture
Visiting Yogyakarta, could not only enjoy the adorable batik art works, but also the opportunity to learn the making techniques of batik. This valuable opportunity is packed with tourism package with short duration and affordable price, it would be very exciting.

Batik variety which can be learned diverse from batik tulis, batik cap and also batik lukis (painting). Any places offer each specifications, usually have distinctive type of batik taught. During the day, usually divided into two sessions, you will learn the entire process of the making of batik, which generally consists of making patterns, coloring the fabric, “ngorot malam” (washing the fabric from the wax) process, and drying.
The patterns making begins when all of the materials, especially “mori” fabric, have been prepared. Making patterns is done with the main materials are waxes. If you want to make a batik tulis, then making patterns will be done by using canting, while batik cap needs stamp which has been designed according to the desired motif.

Usually, you have a choice of patterns which would be made. Unique motives which usually made such as “ceplok” motif, “cecek sawut”, and semen motif. All these motives could be found in the historic buildings in Indonesia. Ceplok motif could be found in the Borobudur temple, cecek sawut could be found in the decoration on the bronze drum of bronze age which have been found by archeological ministry of Indonesian Government. While semen motif could be found in the tomb of Queen Kalinyamat.

The process continued with the coloring of cloth. How, cloth that has been motified sink in the bucket which contains pigment. This process seems simple, but actually quite difficult, especially when you want a batik which has more than two colors. Many batik maker still use natural dye made from certain natural materials, but many also use a synthetic dye.
After coloring the fabric spreadly, then the process of washing the wax (nglorot malam) will begin. Initially, boiling water mixed with liquid soda have to be prepared. Then the fabric will be sink in it untill all wax dissolved in water.

Final stage is washing. If using natural colors, the washing process can not involved detergents. They will destroy the colors. Once it washed, it must be dried by natural dryer which is use wind, not sun element.
You can see the differences between batik with natural colors or sysnthetic by looking their colors, natural colors result usually looks more opaque.

Courses institutions in any places in Yogyakarta have professional instructors so that they can create advanced courses even though in just a short time. Some places also have english literally instructors, making easier for to learn.

Sanggar Kalpika is one of the places that offers this course. Located in Kampung Taman (Taman Village), west side of Tamansari. There, woul will learn batik painting (lukis).
For those who want to learn batik tulis and batik cap, Balai Batik is the right place to go. Institution which located at Jalan Kusumanegara, will offer short course for whom want to learn batik. They have skillfull instructors and special room for this learning process. costs incurred varies, according the desired duration of the course, in the range of 250.000 IDR to 1.500.000 IDR.

In addition of learning batik making, you can also observe the activities and the works of batik makers in Kampung Taman, who developing batik painting since the past 30 years ago. You can also see various works of batik from all around Indonesia Region that displayed in Balai Batik Tulis.

[View with PicLens]

Up A Lazy River

The name Borneo has resonated since Victorian times with images of Dayak headhunters, poisonous blowpipes and the White Raj. Fortunately, the place is more hospitable these days. Kalimantan,the name derives from Malay words meaning “river of diamonds”, is the Indonesian part of Borneo.

The vast majority of Kalimantan’s five million inhabitants live in the coastal towns and along the rivers of this flat, non-volcanic island which grows each year as the mangrove fringe creeps to consolidate new land in the shallow Makassar Straits.

Kalimantan is rich in natural resources and the multinationals are there for the timber, coal, oil; gas and gold. Many are in Balikpapan, the boom town of East Kalimantan which overlooks the Makassar Straits. Against the sky, American and French oil and gas rigs stand silhouetted.

Most tourists come to Balikpapan to prepare for a trip upriver because, despite the intrusion of new ways and new technology, this is still Dayak country. Some 200 different communities of former headhunters live in traditional longhouses where they weave itak, cloth made of rattan coloured in soft, natural dyes. This is the land of the women with the long ears, of the black orchid, the hornbill, and the proboscis monkey.

The way to reach the Dayaks is to travel the biggest river through East Kalimantan, the Mahakam; 400 kilometres of navigable river from Longiran to Samarinda on the coast. The first 200 kilometres, springing out of the Miiller Range in central Borneo, wind through a series of dangerous rapids that choke off all river traffic except for the occasional longboat. As the hornbill flies it’s only 175 kilometres but the navigable river is old and takes its time, flowing in huge bends through the flat green jungle. Grass islands and rogue logs float in the current, threatening ships’ propellers.

Samarinda, at the mouth of the Mahakam, was the model for Joseph Conrad’s Almayer’s Folly (1895). Long before the British and Dutch traders, the Chinese were trading with Borneo for rhinoceros horns and hornbill ivory. More recently Malay and Chinese pirates were attracted to the river mouths by the funeral canoes of the inland Dayaks which came floating downriver with headless corpses, and packed with treasures of beads, gold and diamonds. Efforts to ascend these rivers to the source of the wealth were thwarted by the fierce tribes which ruled them.

Now the way inland is peaceful. People travel the ancient river roads in diesel-engined, double-decker wooden ferries. Sitting on the deck of our houseboat, you could sit and watch the river slide by. Maybe you’d catch a glimpse of the freshwater dolphins that live in the river or see the huge hornbill, swoop overhead. The hornbill’s call of hoots followed by whooping chuckles building to maniacal laughter has led to the locals calling it the “chop down your mother-in-law” bird.

Another sound along the river is the wailing call to prayer from the mosques, central to the life of the towns along the way. But where the river people are Muslim, the Dayaks are mainly Christian or follow the Kaharingan religion. Nowadays US based evangelical faiths have made inroads into even the most isolated communities. The Christian missionaries allowed a happy blend of traditional religions with the new.

All Dayak religions were concerned with attracting good spirits and chasing away evil ones. Head-hunting, which was effectively stopped after the Second World War, was an essential part of this spirit manipulation. The spirit of the severed head was cajoled or forced to help the captors, helped along with offerings of food, drink and tobacco. Heads could ensure a good crop, ward off disease and generally bring success to the village.

They were an essential part of all the important rituals of everyday life. Head-hunting also allowed young men to show off to young women and their peers. Successful headhunters were allowed to wear special tattoos and decorations such as clouded leopard fang ear plugs.

The lethal weapon in head-hunting was the mandau, a machete-like sword made from local ore, its handle often made from carved deer antler and decorated with human hair. After the mandau the other important weapon was the blowpipe. A small sharp blade at the end of these two or three metre long pipes served as a spear. The pipes consisted of a single piece of hardwood filed down the centre to spin the dart on the straight course. The blowpipe is not straight but subtly curved to compensate for the downward sag resulting from holding by its extreme end. In the hands of a master it can be accurate to within a range of 70 metres and was an extremely effective and silent weapon in jungle warfare.

Dayak men walk about with a mandau and a small blowpipe slung from a belt around their waist. They may not have used them in anger for a long time but our guide assured us that they would feel undressed without them.

Almost all the region’s 400,000 Dayaks are now subsistence farmers whose rice-based diet is supplemented by hunting with dogs and fishing. The cash economy in the Dayak areas is minimal and gathering rattan and working for timber companies are the most important sources of income.
Most used to live in longhouses, built on three-metre stilts and sometimes 20-metres long, but recent administrations have made efforts to break up these communal dwellings where up to 50 or more families share one building. Within the longhouse each family has its own sleeping room and kitchen at the back. The remaining half of the building, a long gallery running its entire length, was like the back street where children could play and women weave rattan and gossip and men could carve wood and plan the hunt. Each longhouse is protected by its own totems consisting of intricately-carved fierce men and women and the animals and birds of their world. You can stay in a longhouse at Tanjung Isuy. You leave behind the houseboat for a day and a night and take a motorised canoe with tarpaulin cover against the sun and sudden squalls. You cross Lake Jempang, vast and blue under a Turneresque sky which merges with a ribbon of land on the other side.

There live the Benuaq and Tunjung communities of Tanjung Isuy. Despite the efforts of the churches, the incidence of illiteracy and stillbirth among the Benuaq is the highest of all Kalimantan’s Dayak groups.

In the longhouse, while you settle yourself into the guest rooms, the resident Dayaks patiently set out their carvings, rattan baskets, itak cloth, blowpipes, mandaus, beads, drums made from wood and deerhide. You can also buy baby carriers, sometimes encrusted with beads, coins, bear claws and dog teeth as magical shields against psychic and physical dangers.

The Dayak carvings are often in black wood and show long-eared, androgynous squatting people with a snake or crocodile curving from the mouth down between their legs to join a monkey on their back. The rattan shoulder baskets are intricately-patterned and practical, made from a tough, parasitic vine hundreds
of metres long which clings to the forest with many thorned tentacles. The black dye to make the patterns comes from a local plant. Shapes and symbols vary from community to community but, distressingly, you can now find “Souvenir from Balikpapan” woven into some.

You can try your hand at the two-metre-long blowpipe in the village of Mancong, across Lake Jempang and along the Ohong river. The river is narrow and edged with an intense variety of trees often standing in the hot, thick water, which is brown and shiny like chocolate sauce. This is the jungle.

Tiny macaques watch you from the trees and suddenly in the still heat you’ll hear the crash of proboscis monkeys hurling themselves about, too quick to be caught in a photo.

In the Dayak community at Mancong the longhouse has been rebuilt and the local people dance their traditional dances to the sounds of the gamelan orchestra. Witch doctors in their colourful, strongly patterned skirts and headdresses dance and chant and touch your forehead, benvolently it seemed. Boys perform the behempas, a traditional fight using rattan sticks and wicker shields. They show their welts afterwards with pride.

Farther upriver you may see the two art forms which are practised on the human body: the long ears and tattoos. Long ears were considered objects of great beauty. Women wouldpierce their ear and add weighty bronze earrings to stretch the lobes. But it is a dying practice. Nowadays younger women don’t do this. Our guide told us that older women with long ears living in Samarinda cut off their stretched lobes.

Tattooing also belongs to an earlier time: all the major experiences of a Dayak’s life, whether a dream or an adventure, were commemorated with a ritual tattoo. Men wore tattoos on their chests, throats and arms, women on the wrists, feet and ankles. Tattooists worked as a couple, the man to trace the symbol and the woman to open up the wound and hammer in the carbonised wood dye.

Disembark at Melak, a day’s sailing from Longiram, for the two-hour drive to Eheng where a traditional Dayak Tunjung community still lives in its long house. At Eheng the people keep their animals under the longhouse including the black fat-bel-lied pigs.

Modern technology is present in the chief’s house in the one television and satellite dish, donated by the government. Nearby is the weekly market where travelling Javanese sell clothes, headache pills, plastic brushes. Here you can buy some amazing Tshirts. The spirits of the Dayak communities will need all their guile to manage the onslaught of the new technologies to protect what is valuable in their traditional way of life.

[View with PicLens]