Van Gogh painting is proved genuine - 25 years after art world mocked collector who claimed it was lost masterpiece

A newly authenticated Van Gogh has gone on display 35 years after a discredited art collector bought it in Paris, convinced it was painted by the famed Dutch master but never able to prove it.
Le Blute-Fin Mill was painted in 1886, according to Louis Van Tilborgh, curator of research at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
It was bought in 1975 by Dirk Hannema, who was known as a brilliant museum curator but a fool when buying for his own collection. When he died in 1984 he claimed to have seven Vermeers, several Van Goghs and a few Rembrandts.

Reclaimed masterpiece: Le Blute-Fin Mill is the first Van Gogh painting to be authenticated since 1995

Artist: Vincent Van Gogh painted the lost masterpiece in Paris in 1886

He was right only about this painting, which went on show yesterday in the Museum de Fundatie in the town of Zwolle.
Mr Van Tilborgh said it was painted in 1886 when the artist was living in Paris. He said its large human figures are unusual for a Van Gogh landscape but it has his typically bright colours.
The canvas bore the stamp of an art store he was known to frequent, and used pigments that were common in other works.
The painting 'adds to his oeuvre', the curator said. 'You can link it to certain works of Van Gogh in that period, but not that many of them.'
It is the first Van Gogh to be authenticated since 1995 and the sixth to be added to the confirmed list of the artist's paintings since the latest edition of the standard catalog was published in 1970.
Van Gogh painted about 900 works in his brief career. Afflicted by mental illness, he died of a self-inflicted wound in 1890 at age 37.

On show: Ralph Keuning, director of the Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle, unveiled the painting to the public yesterday

Mr Hannema bought the painting in 1975 from an antique and art dealer in Paris who did not believe it was of much value.

Art curator: Dirk Hannema's claims the painting is a Van Gogh have finally been vindicated, 25 years after his death

But the Dutch collector did and paid 5,000 Dutch guilders (£800) for this and another unknown work, immediately insuring the painting for 16 times what he paid.
He touted the painting with 'absolute certainty' as a Van Gogh, but no one was listening. He had been discredited since he bought a Vermeer in 1937 that later was shown to be a forgery.
'He was the laughing stock of the art world,' van Tilborgh said. 'His tragedy was that he was always thinking in terms of the big names.'
Mr Hennema displayed the picture in his own house until he died in 1984, when it disappeared in the Museum de Fundatie depot, only to resurface shortly in 1993 and in 2007.
The museum had sought once before, in 1993, to have experts authenticate Le Blute-Fin Mill to prepare for an exhibition.
But the Amsterdam experts had no time, and the painting went on display as a work that Mr Hannema pronounced as a Van Gogh.
The art collector also claimed he owned three more Van Gogh paintings, but no prove has been found to support that.

The Roman Army Knife: Or how the ingenuity of the Swiss was beaten by 1,800 years

The world's first Swiss Army knife' has been revealed - made 1,800 years before its modern counterpart.
An intricately designed Roman implement, which dates back to 200AD, it is made from silver but has an iron blade.
It features a spoon, fork as well as a retractable spike, spatula and small tooth-pick.

Experts believe the spike may have been used by the Romans to extract meat from snails.

Inspired: The Roman army pen knife, a precursor to today's popular Swiss Army accessory

It is thought the spatula would have offered a means of poking cooking sauce out of narrow-necked bottles.
The 3in x 6in (8cm x 15cm) knife was excavated from the Mediterranean area more than 20 years ago and was obtained by the museum in 1991.
The unique item is among dozens of artefacts exhibited in a newly refurbished Greek and Roman antiquities gallery at the Fitzwilliam Museum, in Cambridge.
Experts believe it may have been carried by a wealthy traveller, who will have had the item custom made.
A spokesman said: 'This was probably made between AD 200 and AD 300, when the Roman empire was a great imperial power.

The knife is on display at the Greek and Roman antiquities gallery at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum

'The expansion of Rome - which, before 500 BC, had just been a small central Italian state - made some individuals, perhaps like our knife-owner, personally very wealthy.
'This could have been directly from the fruits of conquests, or indirectly, from the 'business opportunities' the empire offered.
'We know almost nothing about the person who owned this ingenious knife, but perhaps he was one of those who profited from the vast expansion of Rome - he would have been wealthy to have such a real luxury item.
'Perhaps he was a traveller, who required a practical compound utensil like this on his journeys.'
The spokesman added: 'While many less elaborate folding knives survive in bronze, this one's complexity and the fact that it is made of silver suggest it is a luxury item.
'Perhaps a useful gadget for a wealthy traveller.' 
Modern Swiss Army knives originated in Ibach Schwyz, Switzerland, in 1897 and were created by Karl Elsener.
The knives which provide soldiers with a 'battlefield toolkit' have since become standard issue for many modern day fighting forces thanks to their toughness and quality.
Nationalist Elsener decided to design the knives after he realised the Swiss army were being issued with blades manufactured in neighbouring Germany.
Other popular artefacts include an intricately designed Greek make-up box which was custom made almost 3000 years ago for a women of 'wealth and status'.
The round clay make-up container from Athens dates back to 740BC and experts believe it may have been stored in a grave in the Ancient Greek city for the last 2,700 years.
The six inch high and 12 inch diameter box would have contained precious gems and make up from the era made from a variety of naturally occurring substances.

Burial cloth found in Jerusalem cave casts doubt on authenticity of Turin Shroud

Archaeologists have discovered the first known burial shroud in Jerusalem from the time of Christ's crucifixion - and say it casts serious doubt on the claimed authenticity of the Turin Shroud.
Ancient shrouds from the period have been found before in the Holy Land, but never in Jerusalem.

Researchers say the weave and design of the shroud discovered in a burial cave near Jerusalem's Old City are completely different to the Turin Shroud.

Discovery: The shrouded body of a man was found in this sealed chamber of a cave in the Hinnom Valley, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem

Radiocarbon tests and artefacts found in the cave prove almost beyond doubt that it was from the same time of Christ's death.

It was made with a simple two-way weave - not the twill weave used on the Turin Shroud, which textile experts say was introduced more than 1,000 years after Christ lived.

And instead of being a single sheet like the famous item in Turin, the Jerusalem shroud is made up of several sections, with a separate piece for the head.

Professor Shimon Gibson, the archaeologist who discovered the tomb, said ancient writings and contemporary shrouds from other areas had suggested this design, and the Jerusalem shroud finally provided the physical evidence.

The debate over the Turin Shroud will not go away. Last month a Vatican researcher said she had found the words 'Jesus Nazarene' on the shroud, proving it was the linen cloth which was wrapped around Christ's body.

Tests: DNA analysis of the fibres of the Jerusalem shroud, left, have revealed it dates back to the time of Christ's death. Experts say it casts doubt on the authenticity of the Turin Shroud, right

Barbara Frale said computer analysis of photographs of the shroud revealed extremely faint words written in Greek, Aramaic and Latin which attested to its authenticity.

But the shroud-wrapped body dated to the time of Christ discovered in Jerusalem seems to point in the opposite direction.

The shroud was found around the remains of a man in a sealed chamber of a burial cave in the Hinnom Valley overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem by archaeologists from the Hebrew University and the Albright Research Institute, both in Jerusalem.

DNA tests indicated the man had suffered from leprosy and died of tuberculosis.

That was probably why his burial cave was sealed - a move that preserved the shroud and even some of the man's hair for 2,000 years.

The Turin Shroud, which measures 14ft by 3ft, is unlike the burial practice of the time which used separate sheets for the head and body of the deceased

Find: The new shroud was discovered in a sealed cave in the Hinnom Valley near Jerusalem's Old City

Professor Gibson said the Turin Shroud did not fit what was known of burial practices in first-century Palestine - now confirmed by the Jerusalem shroud.

'The Turin shroud is a single sheet made with a twill weave.

'The twill weave is known from this part of the world only from the mediaeval period, so we're talking about something that's from the Middle Ages,' Gibson told the Daily Mail.

'But the Jerusalem shroud confirmed another local practice which casts even more doubt on the Turin artefact.

'It wasn't one continuous sheet,' said Gibson, pointing out the Turin Shroud is a single rectangular sheet measuring about 14ft by 3ft.

'What our shroud shows is that the practice of having a separate shroud or wrapping for the body and for the head was common practice.

'There was a separate wrapping for the head itself, which was very important because when they brought someone to burial they would place the head wrapping separately on the face in case the person wasn't actually dead and woke up again, they would be able to blow off the face wrapping and shout for help,' said Gibson.

Evidence: Archaeologist Shimon Gibson, centre, said tests had revealed the man suffered from leprosy and died from tuberculosis

'This did occur quite a lot in antiquity because they didn't have the medical means we have today.
'The idea was that if you enshrouded somebody, you had a separate set of wrappings for the body and a separate set of wrappings for the head,' he said.

Ancient rabbinical writings mention people who woke up, apparently miraculously and lived for years afterwards.

It was the custom at the time for the family to visit the tomb after three days to check their relative was indeed dead.

Gibson said this was probably the source of the Gospel story about Jesus's followers visiting his tomb three days after the Crucifixion, when they found it empty.

Historic: A diagram of where the body was found in the burial chamber. The chamber may have been sealed because he suffered from tuberculosis

The Hinnom Valley where the Jerusalem shroud was discovered has long been associated with death. The Gospel of Matthew calls it Akeldama or 'Field of Blood.'

It is dotted with Roman-era burial tombs carved out of caves in the rock face.

In ancient times, pagan tribes burned children alive there as offerings to the god Moloch.

The ancient Israelites called the valley Gehinnom - the Hebrew for 'Hell' - and it was the site where the scapegoat was driven over a cliff on the Day of Atonement in Solomon's Temple.

Statue Of Young Barack Obama Unveiled In Jakarta

Non-governemnt organization called Friends of Obama initiated the statue of young Barack Obama in Obama’s former neighborhood in Indonesia, Jakarta.

The young Barack Obama statue is erected at the playground of the elementary school in Menteng Dalam where U.S. President studied.

The statue is inaugurated on December 10, attended by Jakarta governor, U.S. ambassador to Indonesia and hundreds of children who studied in Obama’s former elementary school, SD Menteng 01 Besuki.

Under the sea: Ocean sculptures cause a splash

Deep under the seas of the Mexican Caribbean these statues look like relics of an ancient civilisation.

However this is not a forgotten lost race, but the beginnings of what will be the world's largest underwater sculpture museum.

Located in the National Marine Park, on the west coast of Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc, these life size sculptures are the first of 400 that will be laid on the seabed over the next 13 months.

Fish eye view: A sculpture entitled The Archive of Lost Dreams depicts a registrar looking over hundreds of messages in bottles

The project is the brainchild of Jaime Gonzalez Cano of The National Marine Park, Roberto Diaz of The Cancun Nautical Association and renowned British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.

Designed to celebrate the region's Mayan history it is hoped the underwater museum will heighten environmental awareness in the area, by creating an artificial reef in the hurricane hit region.

Laying the first three sculptures this December, the project has been 18 months in the making.

'It has been very challenging,' revealed 35-year-old Jason.

'It has taken about one-and-a-half years to plan, so to see the sculptures going in is great. It's wonderful seeing the fruits of all the labour.'  

Striking: Man on Fire depicts a lone figure standing upright and defiant. The sculpture is installed eight metres below the surface in the clear Caribbean waters surrounding the island of Mujeres

Using cranes and divers to submerge and place the sculptures, Jason has created three durable installations that will have a non-detrimental effect to the local eco-system.

La Jardinera de la Esperanza (The Gardener of Hope), El Coleccionista de los sueqos perdidos (The Archive of Lost Dreams) and Hombre en Llamas (Man on Fire) sit several metres below the surface.

Including propagated coral, it is hoped the sculptures will attract juvenile algae that will give the statues radiant colours.

The laying of the sculptures saw the completion of phase one of the project for the team.

Phase two will see the laying of a further 400 figurative sculptures. Casts for the these statues will be made from the local Mexican population.   


Entitled, La Evolucisn Silenciosa (The Silent Evolution), the huge park is due to be completed by the end of 2010.

In total, phases one and two will cost an initial $450,000 US (£277,000).  

The project has brought about its own unique challenges. 

The Garden of Hope: A young Mexican girl relaxes on patio steps

Jason said: 'We have to work out how the sculptures will fit on the seabed, how we lower them in and how the current affects them.

'The other major challenge is the fact you do not view them from the same angle as normal sculptures.

'Usually you are looking at eye level, but underwater you are above them and floating around the sides of them, so you have to think about how it will look from all angles.'  


With phase one now complete, Jason is already working away on phase two of the project.

If successful, Jason hopes the third and final phase of the project will see the creation of an independent trust and committee to manage the museum and commission new sculptures by local artists.   


Acting as the museum's artistic director, Jason hopes the underwater museum will create an environmental awareness for the area.

'The feedback has been really good,' said Jason.   'It is proving very popular not only with divers but snorkellers and people in glass bottom boats.

'As well as providing enjoyment, I am trying to create environmental awareness. There are messages about our interaction with the natural world.'  

Work in progress: The Archive of Lost Dreams is lowered carefully into the ocean

Rembrandt auction sets £20million world record

A Rembrandt masterpiece sold for a record £20million last night.


It is the highest price a painting by the Dutch artist has ever fetched at auction, beating the previous amount by £200,000.

Portrait of a Man, Half-length, With his Arms Akimbo, went under the hammer at Christie's and was bought by an anonymous client over the phone.

Portrait of a man, half-length, with his arms akimbo by Rembrandt which fetched £20,201,250, a world record price for the artist at auction, and the fourth highest price ever for an Old Master painting sold at auction

Until the work went on exhibition last week it had not been publicly displayed for 40 years.

 

It was the first time it had been sold at auction since 1930, when it was bought at £18,500, a considerable sum at the time.

The artist, believed to be one of the greatest painters of all time, completed the portrait in 1658.

Bids for the Rembrandt painting reached £20.2million, the highest price ever reached for a Rembrandt painting 

At the age of 52 he had just been declared bankrupt and was forced to clear his studio.

Despite the turmoil in his life, paintings dated from this time are now considered to be some of his most creative and inspirational pieces of work.

Until last night, the highest amount paid for a Rembrandt was £19.8 million - for Portrait of a Lady, Aged 62, sold in 2003.

The Raphael drawing, Head of a Muse, not seen in public for 50 years sold for a staggering £29.2million

Raphael's painting The Parnassus - in the fresco Apollo and the muses are surrounded by poets from antiquity and Raphael's own time

On the same night a drawing by Raphael, Head of a Muse, sold for £29.2 million, a world record price for any work on paper to go under the hammer, Christie's said.

It was also the second highest price for an Old Master painting or drawing sold at auction and a world record price for the artist.

Another painting by Domenichino also reached a world record price for the artist at auction, fetching £9.2 million.

Christie's Old Masters and 19th-century art sale fetched a total of £68,380,250 from 28 lots sold.
The auction house said it was the highest total for an auction of Old Masters.
The drawing by Raphael sold for £29,161,250.

Head of a Muse was drawn as a study for a figure in Parnassus, one of the series of four frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican which was commissioned by Pope Julius II and which was executed between 1508 and 1511.

Art work you can eat: Pastry chef with no formal training creates amazing cakes

Here are some tasty works of art that not only look good they taste good - that's because these incredible creations are in fact cakes.

They are the work of American pastry chef Mike McCarey who has never had any formal training in art and design.

He has had to invent and discover new ways to work with icing and, in particular, chocolate in order to create his pieces.

Each of his cakes is designed for a particular order and no two cakes are alike.

Not surprisingly, his company, based in Seattle, USA is called Mike's Amazing Cakes
.

Money in the bank: Here are some tasty works of art that not only look good - they taste good too

He set up his business in 1995 after spending two years at cookery school in Denver, Colorado, and then working his way around the US as a pastry chef for various hotels, restaurants, bakeries and caterers.

He says his cake art is guided by two principles - that the concept being presented should be as accurate and true to life as possible and that it should have as unique a perspective as he can conjure up.

He said: 'I realised I liked working with cake and that it has a large span of abilities.' 

Although he did not have any formal training with cake or art he says he got his degree from 'The School of Hard Knocks'.

His first Amazing Cake was a head of a Cartoon Cow.

He said his most challenging cake was one he made for the Disney company.
It was a replica of the Grand California Hotel in Disney Land.

Sweet tooth: The molar-shaped weet is certainly something to chew on. Right, a T Rex cake that is pretty scary

The cake was 10 feet long and had an amazing number of details.

He added: 'The thing that made this cake so difficult was the arches and the angles of the arches.

'It was definitely a feat to have accomplished such great architecture on the cake and capture it in the form of all edible ingredients.'  


One of the greatest experiences learned while making cakes for Mike is the many possibilities he has found that modelling chocolate poses.

He said he can find a way to make modeling chocolate work where and when it is needed on the cake.

He added: 'I can get so many details out of always discovering new techniques with it.

'We have found the way we apply modeling chocolate at the shop gives us a unique advantage when it come to making and sculpting cakes.'  But he has no doubt about the trickiest part of his job.

He explained: 'It is not making the cakes, it is defying gravity. Gravity is one of the biggest obstacles, if not the biggest one of them all.'

Who's a clever boy? Clients wanting one of Mike?s cakes, which use only natural ingredients, contact him with an idea of what is wanted and in return he prepares sketches which can be honed until a design is agreed

His cakes can be made with a range of different flavourings and styles including chocolate, lemon, vanilla, coconut, poppy seed and pecan.

The fillings include peanut butter, lemon curd and caramel
.

Clients wanting one of Mike?s cakes, which use only natural ingredients, contact him with an idea of what is wanted and in return he prepares sketches which can be honed until a design is agreed on.

As well as wedding cakes, he bakes them for all sorts of occasions with prices totally dependent on size and design time.

His celebrity clients have included Hollywood star Dustin Hoffman and golfing legend Arnold Palmer.

He has also made cakes for corporate clients such as Microsoft, coffee giant Starbucks and America's Smithsonian Institute.

Sorry we ate your great-great grandpa: Island cannibals apologise for killing missionary 170 years ago

In a jungle clearing on a small Pacific island, the descendants of a tribe of cannibals bow to a British pensioner and apologise for having his relative for dinner - literally.

The man they were apologising to was Charles Milner-Williams, 65, of Hampshire.

The meal they were apologising for was his great-great grandfather, the Reverend John Williams, who was killed on the island of Erromango, now part of Vanuatu, 170 years ago.

The people of Erromango hold a ceremony to apologise to Reverend Williams' family about his untimely death

A portrait of Reverend John Williams, who was killed and eaten by cannibals in the 1830s

Williams, a prominent missionary of the 1830s, travelled through the dangerous islands of the South Pacific trying to convert pagan tribes to Christianity.

With fellow missionary James Harris, he stepped ashore from the ship Camden on to Erromango, part of what Captain James Cook had named as the New Hebrides.

When the natives saw the two white men walking up the beach they set upon them with spears, clubs and arrows.

 

The captain of the missionary ship reported later that Harris, who was the furthest inland, was clubbed down and killed.

Mr Milner-Williams said: 'John Williams turned and ran towards the sea. They caught up with him on the sea shore.

'They clubbed him and shot him with arrows and he died there in the shallows.

'It was a Royal Navy ship that went back to the island. The islanders then said that yes, they had killed and eaten both Harris and Williams.'

Seventeen decades later, it was a far more friendly group of islanders who greeted Mr Milner-Williams and 17 members of his family, who arrived on Erromango to receive the formal apology.
In the sombre ceremony that followed, islanders bowed before the visitors and grasped their hands, clearing their consciences of past deeds.

Mr Milner-Williams also agreed to accept responsibility for the education of a seven-year-old girl who was ceremonially handed to him in exchange for the loss of his greatgreat grandfather.

He said: 'I thought I would be dispassionate after 170 years, but the raw emotion, the genuine contrition, the heart-rending sorrow, has been hugely moving.'

The tribe also said they believed the act lifted a curse that had dwelt among them, although they did not say what that was.

The reconciliation event marked the 170th anniversary of the death of Williams and Harris.
'Erromango needs it very much,' said Mr Iolo Johnson Abbil, president of Vanuatu.

He told the BBC, which showed the ceremony on Inside Out, BBC1, last night: 'People always look upon them that they killed a missionary.

'They think that it has a sort of curse on Erromango and that's why it's very important for them to have this reconciliation.'

Anthropologist Ralph Regenvanu, who is also a member of the Vanuatu parliament, said: 'Saying sorry is part of it, but all reconciliation ceremonies require something from each side - there's always that element of exchange.

'Cannibalism, contrary to what a lot of people think, was traditionally a very ritualistic and sacred practice.

'It was not something like, you know, have your neighbour for lunch.

'It was practised in a very ritualistic way and was considered to be a very sacred activity.'


Anthropologists believe Williams and Harris were eaten because they represented a threat as an enemy - an incursion of European civilisation that was coming into Erromango.

Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

The "Wailing Wall" (also: Western Wall) located in Jerusalem, is considered by both Jews and Muslims as a significant and holy site. For the Jews, it is one of the last remaining portions of the ancient Temple of Solomon (an outer wall, in fact). The original length is estimated to have been around 485 meters; today what remains is just 60 meters long. The largest stone is 45 feet long, 15 feet deep, 15 feet high, and has an estimated weight of more than one million pounds.

No one knows when it the Jewish tradition of offering prayers there, but it is believed that this portion of the Temple was not destroyed because the Shekhinah (divine presence) continues to reside there. Thus, praying there is like praying directly to God through the wall. Originally called simply the Western Wall, it acquired the name Wailing Wall because of the nature of the prayers said there. In addition to spoken prayers, it is also common for prayers to be written on slips are paper (kvitlach) which are slipped into the cracks.

There is a large plaza here open 24 hours a day. In the middle is a fence (mechitza) separating men from women - Orthodox Jewish men don't believe that it is acceptable to pray right alongside women. Men, of course, are given the much larger area for prayers.

For Muslims, it is not only part of the huge platform which forms the foundation of the Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, but it is also believed to be the gate through which Muhammad was carried by a mythical creature known as the Buraq when he arrived at Jerusalem for his ascent to heaven (miraj).

Control of the Wailing Wall is a contentious issue between Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem. When that portion of Jerusalem was under Arab control, it was difficult for Jews to visit the Wailing Wall to pray. Now that it is under Israeli control, both Muslims and Jews have access. However, there are many Jews who regard the reconstruction of Solomon's Temple as a primary goal and this would require the destruction of the mosques above.

       

Wailing Wall in Jerusalem

Lok Baintan, The Last Floating Market

The middle-aged lady rowed her boat, parting the morning mist along the river. Fresh oranges and local vegetables tigarun were piled on her boat. A few other ladies followed, and their jukungs - the local name for their little boats - marched, each carrying the harvest goods to be sold at the floating market of Lok Baintan village, in Sungai Tabuk subdistrict, Banjar Regency, South Borneo (Kalimantan).

November coincides with the oranges harvest season. The oranges were so abundant that the villagers sold them in heaps. They also sold traditional cakes, food, and basic daily needs such as rice, coconut oil, and even clothes. The morning market was crowded.

To reach this floating market, it took an hour's journey through the river from Banjarmasin city, South Borneo. The land route can be taken by motor-bike, with the same length of time, but the river-way was more scenic.

The market started around 8 AM on a part of the Martapura River. The market came to life as the merchants came and rowed their jukungs, one by one converging on one spot. The unique part was that the market moved in line with the river's current, and the hustle bustle of it peaked around 9 AM.

Transactions are set on the river. It is a little hard to tell apart buyers and sellers as the merchants mingle with buyers at the same time.

The best time to see the radiance of this market is during the orange or rambutan (nephelium fruit) harvest between September and December. Unfortunately the fruit harvest is often unpredictable as the rain and dry seasons are now also difficult to forecast.

But this doesn't mean we can't visit the market beyond those times. But please note that during the rice harvesting season the market tends to be quieter, because most of the people and merchants spend more time on the paddy fields.

The unpredictable seasons, the quality and quantity of harvests, all these factors affect the market. Aside from that the market is also influenced from the culture shift from the culture on the river to land. The floating market in this village in the last one in South Borneo.Markets like this used to be numerous, but now they're extinct. Even the city of Banjarmasin used to have the floating market of Kuin, but that has been replaced by the regular land market. A lot of tourists visiting Kuin must bear their disappointment for not witnessing that exotic water-surface market.

The disappearance of traditional markets in the "thousand river" region is triggered by the flourishing land culture, which is supported by the regional developments that are always land-oriented. The river-ways and canals are perishing, replaced by the ease of land transport. The people that used to have jukungs, are now proud of possessing own motor-bikes or cars.

Luckily the market in Lok Baintan village is coping. That village is the heir of the greatest river-culture legacy in South Borneo. The river still supports the local economy.

West Papua

Speaking about West Papua Culture is a very difficult job, since they almost have no culture, every group, or every clique has their own specific behavior or customs that is not related, even between house to house. There are a great variation, of culture from those having slight relation from one to an other up to those having definitely no observable relation. Their relation is basically based on genealogy relation which is mostly also disordered. This is added again by the dozens of different languages spoken by each clique or group, as a real big stone block to understand the whole situation.

Among those there are some simple cultures already well known such as Baliem tribe, Dani tribe, Yali tribe, and Agat tribe. But almost all of them physically have the same characteristics. In the past most of them were living deep in inner land and on foot of mountain, some of them build their nest on the trees. With the unity of West Papua into Republic Indonesia, government have tried to persuade them to live a more settled manner with cultivated land, so some of them went down to the open areas and more cultivated areas, and adjust themselves to the new life which is pioneered by the migrant from other parts of Indonesia, such as around North coast, cities and centers of local governments.

The people of West Papua shows a great variety of culture and languages, although physically the whole ethnics that live today look the same, that they show Melanosoid Characteristics. Seen from the variety of their culture the whole people of west Papua can be grouped very roughly based on the area such as ; Cendrawasih area, Cendrawasih beach and it's islands resident of North mangrove area, resident around Jaya Wijaya high land, people live on Savannah of South area. Among them some ethnic have been given the name and known well such as the Dani, The Agat and the Yali. The variation of their culture can be seen from their living or economy, art, and social system besides there are a great variation of language. In General the variation of language shows the group of Melanesian family and there are specific of West Papua languages which among West Papuan language itself showing a further great variation. The Melanesian language is part of a widely spoken language called Austronesian. This group of language is spoken on area from Madagascar to Paas island on Pacific ocean and to the north in bordered by Taiwan. An inventory of West Papua languages which are not grouped as Melanesian languages has been reported by faculty of Anthropology, University of Indonesia in 1963, edited by Prof. Koentjaraningrat and Harsja W. Bachtiar. The area of Cendrawasih Bay and along the northern shore of West Papua are known as the areas having various languages groups with small number of speakers, the member of a certain language group can be 100 persons or even less. This extreme variation can be traced back into prehistory when their time of migration from one place to their current resident. Since then a condition of isolated life among each others continues until the independence of Indonesia . Linguistic theory of isolation has been explaining about similarity of main words and development to further variation of most of the words. Even an Indian and linguist used a theory of geometry to estimate the time of a language start to break into different group by analyzing the basic 200 vocabulary. Along the northern coast of West Papua flow some rivers such as Woska, Tor, Bier, Biri, Wirowai, Toarim, and Semowai. The rivers originate from goutier mountain, Karamour, and Bonggo.

Multi various ethnic groups now living along the shore of West Papua originated from highland deep at the river sources. The started to migrated around 300 years ago, and some started 2 generations ago. The phenomena of moving from highland to the beach is still continuing. They built their settlements behind the sand beach on the marshy area. In 1920 there were around 24 settlements and relocated by force by the Dutch to settle on the beach with the health reason and control facility. For 24 settlements by language can be grouped into 7 languages which were belong to Melanesian group. During the period of observation between 1940 to 1963 the birth rate was very low with the migration of people to the town, the number of population on north shore had been decreasing their houses are built on wooden poles with total height around 4.5 meters, and 4x5 meters wide. A house consist of 2 or 1 rooms for sleeping, and another standing house for cooking the material for making house are wooden lodges, tied with rattan, wall mode of palm leaves, floor is made of mangrove skin, and roof is from palm leaves and branches of mangrove which is filed beautifully. In the phrases of constructing a house a big feast is needed, and exchange gifts for those who assist in the building is still a hard part of the process.

The main subsistence of the people on the north coast of West Papua is the Sagu (the essence of palm trees). Their sagu farm is the natural sagu forest located 4 to 5 kms deep inland. Each family do not have clear border of the farm where they have their own area or where is belong to others. Sagu tree with the age between 8 to 12 years is ready to be harvested. On the northern coast the work of harvesting sagu is both for men and women, while at the area of the river's source this is exclusively the work of women, while men are hunters and land cultivators. They hunt various animal such as mouse, pigs, casuary birds, kangaroo, snake, and lizards. Very small wish from them to cultivate land in more systematic way. They just plant in no good treatment among forest area, then leave the area untreated to open other places, the neglected land will not be taken over by other people although after long time the land get back it's fertility. This is probably the choice is still to big, and for them cultivating land is not interesting on not important. Coconut meal or copra is one product of Northern shore which was started in 1920 when Dutch government took the resident of Masimasi island as volunteer of growing coconut which resulted thousands of coconut trees decorated the shore. In the course of time this big plantation continuously degraded until 1962 it has been really in trouble and disappeared their kinship system is almost the same as other Indonesian society, with the smallest unit is family and their children an average of 4 person per family. Some family is a big family where the grandparents are living also in the same house. Their naming tradition got the influence of Dutch Christian so they used convert name beside family name which is taken from his/her father's name. Before the conversion into Christian the original kinship must had been exist proved by the terminology of "Auwet", within an auwet there were names showing the similarity. Most probable that this auwet kinship system was a patrilineal system. Marriage even also has introduced exchange gift as other Indonesian traditional ethnics, especially the family of the youth must give an exchange to the girl family. Feasts during social events are also known just like many traditional area of Indonesia. These auwets are said to have specialization such as the auwet of Bagre and Maban have members who were skilful in warfare. Auwet Kibuan and Abowei who lived on high dry land were skill in cultivating land. Each auwet had their big house on poles where the important and relic of the family were preserved such as flutes. During relocation in 1920 from the marshy area to the beach all their houses were burnt, and the tradition of auwet and their heritages become disappeared during registration by the teachers from Ambon, it was found that certain group bearing the similarity of name and this group was called "fam". The preparation of a youth to merry a girl is the collection of shell arranged into a decor of big shell called "krae" a necklace arranged from dog teeth, belt made of jewelry, and rope made of wood skin. In the present of imported goods which are sold by Chinese, they also collect plates, kitchen tools, foods, especially canned and others. All these material will be used in exchange to the girl. It is a big and hard thing to do, that is why a youth got aid from the brother of his mother in collecting this gift and often need a long time. This wealth is given to the family of the girl after the marriage ceremony is completed and followed by special feast. After this traditional feast there is one ceremony again in the church. According to the tradition a new wedding couple should build a new house, but this something that too hard, beside the cost of building also the feast that is needed is a hell. So in the fact to many new couple live verilocally (stay with husband family), yet some are living uxorilocally (with wife family) which actually uncommon among the society.

Social life on the whole villages of Northern coast is really very weak and like there is big aphatism among members. Government instruction for the maintenance of village environment, economic life and social are considered already completed when it have been announced. No further self initiative of better life. There is no leader arising among them. Most leaders that could mobilize them are ambonese, Chinese, and other people from central Indonesia who work there. This is indeed a great barrier to develop the society. They do not respond to the modernization planned by the government. This is indeed they will be very easy to be provocated by person or countries to insert their interest in West Papua.

Some United State Congress members that do not know about what development in West Papua used this situation of their moves, as if they are savages of the provocated West Papua resident. Besides that the separated groups that might descended from the same ancestor which numbers are quiet plenty now have always been prone of war. In the past the wars were so many, and after independence of Indonesia the army suppressed them not to play warefare, as the war always causing many deaths. Thier war system is that if 1 group lost 1 person, then the war will continue without end until their opponent also lost 1 persons. If the balance of lost is not reached than the war can be very severe. In 2006 and 2008 at least 5 wars happened again among those groups, and the army and the police of Indonesia did not suppressed them because they affraid of being blamed to put the local people under violation by some countries and persons who do not like Indonesia. If the balance of lost can be achieved that the peace gathering will be done by burning stones.

Traditions of 'Cina Benteng' still alive, well in Tangerang

Those who consider Chinese Indonesians identical to middle and upper-class society would be surprised to learn that much of the ethnicgroup lives in several suburban areas of Tangerang.

The community of the Cina Benteng (literally Chinese of the Fort) -- as many people call them -- have their own way of life and characteristics, entirely different to those of other Chinese in greater Jakarta area.

It's even quite difficult to differentiate them from indigenous Indonesians as most of Cina Benteng have dark skin and don't have almond-shaped eyes.

It's unclear where the words Cina Benteng come from. But locals and the community itself agree that it refers to rugged Chinese Indonesians from udik (remote villages).

They are also regarded as speakers of the rough Betawi (native Jakartan) dialect.

But the Cina Benteng say they don't object to this negative image since it is a fact that no one can doubt.

""It is our way of life, what else can we say,"" said community figure TjanLian Hong, 43, who has a Confucianist temple in the yard of his house in the Sewan Kebon area.

Chinese Indonesians can be found in several suburban areas in Tangerang, about 30 kilometers west of Jakarta, such as Sewan Kebon, Rawa Kucing, Kampung Melayu, Tanah Cepe and Tanah Gocap.

""I think the Chinese people can be found in any of the villages in Tangerang,"" said Lian Hong.

There have been no official figures on the number of Cina Benteng. But 70percent or 80 percent of the entire population in areas like Sewan Kebon are dominated by Cina Benteng, he claimed.

According to an expert on Chinese architecture, Edison Yulius, from Tarumanagara University, the communities are the offspring of escapees fromthe walled city of Batavia (Kota in West Jakarta) during the 1740 Chinese revolt.

""Some of the Chinese escaped to several areas in Tangerang and (other parts of) Java,"" he said.

The word benteng, he said, comes from the fact that Tangerang was home tomany forts built by the Dutch colonials at the time.

In the past, most of them worked as farmers. Today, the Cina Benteng havevarious kind of jobs, from casual workers to businessmen.

Some of them work as employees at private companies in Jakarta, retainingtheir unique characteristics.

According to Lian Hong, their wedding ceremony is slightly different to those held by the other Chinese, who have luxurious and ""modern"" wedding fiestas, and often hire bands.

""I like modern music but I won't hire a music group for a wedding celebration. People in my community can't accept it as they consider it tacky,"" he said.

The Cina Benteng, instead, enliven the ceremony with Cokek dances and Gambang Kromong music, Lian Hong explained, referring to an erotic dance inwhich all guests join the dance while drinking beer, followed by the Betawian Gambang Kromong music orchestra.

The celebrations usually take place at Rumah Kawin (wedding halls), run by local business people. Most of them are named after the owner, like thatin Rawa Kucing: ""Rumah Kawin Lim Liang Hok"".

The hall is actually just a simple big ""hut"" with a wire-netting veranda.A wedding fiesta along with the dance usually lasts for at least two days, according to Lian Hong.

Like many Chinese Indonesians, the Cina Benteng bride and groom wear western shirts and gowns for the wedding ceremony.

""But they still follow the rituals,"" Hok Kiang said.

In almost all houses in the community there is traditional Chinese paraphernalia adorning the entrances and also shrines inside the houses.

Most of their houses are modest with sago palm as their roofs.

""There are also rich families who like to have modest houses, but they have an abundance of valuable wealth inside,"" Hok Kiang said.

Like Lian Hong and Hok Kiang, many of the community members prefer to useChinese names.

""Some of us have, indeed, Indonesian names in our official letters but the name is not used during our everyday lives,"" Hok Kiang said.

About their dark-colored skin, many Cina Benteng believe that it is either because their ancestors worked as farmers and were under the sun or as a result of mixed marriages.

RELATED POST

Theater Troupe ‘Teater Koma’ Still Raging Against the Regime

When Suharto stepped down in 1998, Teater Koma — a theater company that often performed a veiled crusade against his government — saw the news as both a victory and a challenge.

With its main antagonist out of the picture, what would that mean for Teater Koma? Was it time to turn in a new direction or just celebrate and rest?

“We were actually grateful for Suharto as he was a respectable enemy,” said Nano Riantiarno, the founder of the troupe, in his house-turned-studio in Bintaro, South Jakarta.

Sitting next to him, his wife and Teater Koma’s production manager, Ratna Riantiarno, echoed that sentiment.

“It was fun to have an enemy,” Ratna said, reminiscing.

“Even though Suharto was a dictator, he was our source of inspiration.”

Teater Koma was founded in 1977, at the height of Suharto’s New Order regime, when creative voices were being muzzled by censorship.

Nano — who wrote all 116 of the company’s productions — often used elliptical story lines and the cover provided by songs, dances and costumes to make subtle jabs at the New Order, and he continues to critique those in high places today.

Wearing a black T-shirt and black cargo pants, Nano, who was born in Cirebon, West Java, took a philosophical approach when discussing his troupe’s post-Suharto focus.

“The main enemy of humanity is greed, something that the leaders, the government, are more susceptible to,” he said.

“The greed that existed in the New Order era has emerged again in the succeeding regime. The packaging may be different, but the core issues are the same.”

Teater Koma’s 117th production, set to be staged in February, is once again strongly critical of the government.

The theater piece, is named for and based on the story of Sie Jin Kwie, a soldier whose heroic deeds are overshadowed by a corrupt military chief, who is a favorite of the king.

“[Sie Jin Kwie] is about patriotism, something that many of us no longer consider important,” Nano said.

“A lot of people cannot advance in their careers, just because they don’t want to be complicit in [government activity],” he said.

In January, Teater Koma staged “Republik Petruk” — the last instalment in its wayang-inspired republic trilogy — at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts complex in Central Jakarta.

The story centers around the character of Petruk, who conquers the kingdom of Lojitengara using a misappropriated tailsman.

Under Petruk’s rule, the kingdom undergoes a series of reforms. But despite the changes, the kingdom’s rulers continue to behave in an immoral way and corruption reaches unprecedented levels.

Bandung-based theater critic Silvester Petara Hurit reviewed the play in the January edition of arts and culture magazine Gong, writing that “Republik Petruk” raises the problem of “Indonesian leaders in the past 10 years”.

The play highlights problems such as rampant police corruption, as alluded to in the line: “We reported to the police on our lost chicken, we lost our lamb instead.”

It also talks about how the government allows foreigners to take over the country’s assets.

Silvester argued that the play was meant to send a message prior to the presidential election in July this year.

“Don’t choose someone like Petruk, who will become just a clown,” he wrote, quoting from the play.

“Especially not someone who is indebted to the person from whom they borrowed their campaign funds.”

Critics have said that the first two instalments of the republic trilogy also contained messages directed against the government.

“Republik Bagong,” staged in 2001, was perceived by critics as a spoof on the struggle of power during the transitional period from the New Order to the Reformation era, while “Republik Togog” staged four years later, “talks about the hypocrisy of the country’s leaders, and their failure to fulfill their promises to the people,” Nano said. Dindon WS, the founder of Teater Kubur and a member of the Jakarta Arts Council, said Teater Koma had not changed significantly over the years but its targets had become more general since the fall of Suharto.

For a production to be approved under the New Order, Nano had to attain signatures of 12 different government authority figures. Members of the troupe were routinely interrogated by the police and the Army, and were aware of intelligence agents waiting in the wings at performances.

In the late 1990s, “Suksesi” (“Succession”), which many interpreted as a satire on the power struggle among Suharto’s children, was banned on the 11th day of its scheduled 14-day run.

The second run of “Opera Kecoa” (“Cockroach Opera”) in December that same year was also cancelled, and the group was refused the travel documents it needed to perform by invitation for the Japan Foundation in Japan the following year.

Ratna said the group embraced such scrutiny as a blessing in disguise. “It was like free publicity for us,” she said. “The police made us famous.”

But one particular incident shook the group to its core.

In August 1985, the group performed “Opera Kecoa,” about the lives of prostitutes, scavengers, transvestites and other habitants of the slums, at the Rumentang Siang building in Bandung, West Java.

On the morning of the show, the building management received a phone call saying that a bomb had been planted inside the building.

Nano reported the threat to police, who sent in the bomb squad. No bomb was found, Teater Koma went on with the show and the caller was never identified.

These days, life is no longer as risky for the group.

In 2001, Nano and company performed “Republik Bagong,” in which Bagong, similar to Petruk, assumes power only to find his supporters have abandoned him.

Australian scholar Helen Pausacker wrote in the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies in 2004 that Bagong is a portrayal of former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid. “This play was performed two months before Gus Dur was forced to resign and reflected the spirit of the times,” she wrote.

What was interesting was that Gus Dur actually attended one of the shows, “laughing and applauding at the send-up of himself,” as documented by Pausacker — something that would never have happened under the New Order regime.

But the lack of reaction by the government does not mean Teater Koma is no longer relevant, Nano said.

In July 2003, at the Jakarta Arts Building, Teater Koma performed “Opera Kecoa” before the public for the first time since the 1985 bomb scare and a subsequent 1990 ban on performing the piece.

“I was expecting that nobody would watch the show as it talks about corruption, eviction, injustice and bribery,” Nano said. “It turned out that there were always full houses. They could still relate to all the things raised in the play, which they believe still exist around them.”

Nano said that this was a testament that, even with the advent of the reformation era, people are still unsatisfied with the government.

The 60-year-old father of two said that there might never be another figure as influential as Suharto in Indonesia, “but when you combine Suharto-like acts done by other leaders in this country, those are enough for us [to use] as sources of inspiration.”

“Greed is our enemy, and it will never die,” he said. “Only when it does will I write about the stones and the wind.”

Borobudur at the crossroads

The best time to visit Borobudur Temple is at dawn. That is when Central Java’s magnificent World Heritage monument is enveloped in cool mist and peace.

That is when you will be able to climb the ancient stones in near solitude and be rewarded with a view of the candi’s rotund stupas – 72 in total – rising majestically out of the mist with the first rays of the sun.

Of course, you don’t actually have Borobudur to yourself. When I went, I was surprised to find 20 to 30 others on the highest terrace of the monument, waiting impatiently for the sun to come up.

They were mostly foreign tourists, some with fancy cameras on tripods, some with little children. However, it was relatively quiet and I felt very fortunate to be able to visit this historic gem in such serene circumstances.

This was my second visit to Borobudur, and how different it was from the first. I had come the day before and made the mistake of coming on a Sunday. The entrance at the foot of the monument was already buzzing with people eager to set foot on the monument and as I looked across the length of Borobudur Park, I could see a never-ending stream of people making their way toward the entrance.

Once past the entrance, it was quite a challenge trying to navigate the stairways. The narrow stone stairways were choc-a-bloc with people, so climbing was a slow process, often with a view of nothing else but someone else’s posterior. When I got to the top, several visitors, mostly teenagers or children, were seated on top of the stupas, despite signs forbidding visitors to do so.

Strewn across the floors of Borobudur’s many terraces was litter – cigarette butts, empty bottles of mineral water, plastic bags. The few dustbins that were available were already full to the brim. It was not a pretty sight.

According to the authorities, Borobudur gets about 2.5 million visitors a year, the bulk of whom are Indonesians. When I went, schools were on their year-end break so a high proportion of the visitors that day were large groups of excited students on school outings. The rest were mostly families from neighboring provinces who had come on holiday, and a handful of foreign tourists accompanied by their guides (or guidebooks).

It is comforting to know that so many people make the effort to visit Borobudur. After all, the monument is a present-day window to Indonesia’s glorious past. It is also an enduring memento of the advanced level of craftsmanship that prevailed in Java at a time when Western Europe was struggling through its Dark Ages.

Built in the eighth and ninth centuries, Borobudur houses a staggering 2,672 relief panels, many exquisitely detailed, as well as 504 Buddha statues. At the summit, a gigantic central stupa rests on a massive lotus-shaped base half a meter thick, making this the largest Buddhist stupa in the world.

Borobudur is a place of pilgrimage for those of the Buddhist faith. Its passages were designed for monks to circumambulate the edifice in silent prayer. Along the lower square terraces, they would be flanked by carvings such as the biography of the Lord Buddha, from his descent from heaven until his enlightenment, which is depicted on the main wall of the first gallery.

As they ascended to the higher circular terraces, they would be surrounded by unembellished stone walls, representing Buddhism’s Sphere of Formlessness. Above them, the main stupa – which is empty, signifying Nirvana – would soar into the sky. Today, Buddhist rituals are still carried out at Borobudur on auspicious days such as Waisak.

On top of this, Borobudur lies amid great natural beauty. As I stood atop the candi’s highest tier, I was almost eye to eye with Mount Merapi, the still-active volcano that soars 2,911 meters in the northeast. It was wrapped in fluffy clouds, while on the ground, green rice paddies stretched for miles.

On the western and southern edges, the Menoreh hills rose and fell. This is the geographical center of Java. Called the Kedu Plain, it is also known as the Garden of Java as it has been made unusually fertile and lush by volcanic earth and the intersection of two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

Little wonder, then, that so many are drawn to Borobudur, which is already under threat, even without the crowds. According to the Borobudur Heritage Conservation Institute, acid rain has damaged some of the carvings, while global warming could cause more fissures and cracks in the monument’s stones.

The growing number of tourists to Borobudur, which is managed by PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko, add further strain. Litter is not just unsightly; the remnants of cigarettes or sugary drinks could damage the porous surfaces of the monument’s stones. Overcrowding along the steep stairs holds the risk of accidents, should a child or elderly person slip and fall.

Poorly supervised youngsters mean unnecessary touching of carvings, or worse, climbing onto statues and stupas, contributing to erosion of its more fragile surfaces. Painstakingly restored in the ‘70s and ‘80s with help from UNESCO, the Borobudur temple is a grand inheritance that every Indonesian should be proud of, regardless of religion. It would be a shame to let it succumb today to modern-day tourism.

Keeping in Step With Bali Dance

Ten-year-old Safa is dressed in a white T-shirt and blue sarong belted with a wide black sash. She stands in front of her teacher, her long, curly hair tied back with a pink elastic band. When her teacher gives the word, Safa bends her knees and lifts her arms. She twists her fingers and twirls her wrists as she moves up and down, nodding her head, her eyes rolling from left to right.

Safa is performing manuk rawa, a Balinese dance that tells a story about birds living near a swamp. This is the fourth dance that every student learns at Sanggar Saraswati, a Balinese dance school based in Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta. The center is run by Bali natives I Gusti Kompiang Raka and his wife, I Gusti Agung Ayu Ratnawati, and was established in 1968. New students have to first learn the pendet, panji semirang and tenun, and perform the basic moves to pass an exam. It is Safa’s second year at the school and she can recall every move, even without music.

About 60 children gather in the front lobby of the cinema here to practice Balinese dances every Friday and Sunday. They are divided into groups, some of which may have to use extra props. For example, students in the pendet group have to bring a silver bokor, the bowl used for offerings to the gods.

Although most students are female, boys can also study Balinese dance. Third graders Arya and Putu Bagus are among the few boys who take classes at the school. Male dancers also wear the black sash, only with a shorter sarong.

“We have new people almost every week,” Ratnawati said, adding that she prefers to teach younger children.

“Usually, it is easier for them to pick up the moves,” she said.

Ratnawati learned Balinese dance when she was in elementary school.

“Back then, every child in Bali had to learn to dance,” she said.

There were no dance centers, but dance was taught in elementary schools. These days, Ratnawati said, Balinese dance is still included in the school curriculum, and there are also many dance centers and competitions across the country that are focused on preserving the cultural art.

“I think the Balinese have a high appreciation of art, including dancing. It’s in their soul,” she said. When she moved to Jakarta with her husband, they opened Sanggar Saraswati to introduce the island’s traditional dances to people outside of Bali.

Ni Luh Sutirthasari, or Sari, another dance instructor, also established a dance school when she moved from Bali to the capital. Sanggar Tirthasari opened in 1970 and provides lessons for traditional dances from Bali, Betawi, East Java, West Java and Sumatra. Sari occasionally teaches modern dance also.

“But no ballet or hip-hop,” she said.

Sari says she likes arjuna wiwaha and subali sugriwa, which are Balinese dances traditionally created for men.

“I like the dances because I like to look tough and strong,” she said.

Sari said Balinese dances were the most difficult to learn.

“With Balinese dance, all of your body parts have to move,” she said. “You have to be able to move your hips while bending your knees, and even your eyes have to move.”

Sari said most Balinese dances were traditionally performed at either pura (Hindu holy places) or palaces, and were a sign of gracious expression to the gods.

“Pendet, for example, is performed at pura during holy rituals,” she said.

Kompiang said there were three kinds of Balinese dances: wali dances are only to be performed at holy places, such as pura; bebali dances are to complement wali dances in holy ceremonies; and balih-balihan are for entertainment purposes.

The development of Balinese dance saw a growth spurt in the 1920s, following a similar increase in demand for gamelan music. In 1952, a dance troupe of young girls from Bali took the world by storm with their sell-out performances on London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. Organized by John Coast, an Englishman who had married a Javanese woman, the Peliatan group, as it was known, was responsible for introducing traditional Balinese dance to the world.

Over the following decade, there was an explosion in the number of dance schools being established in Indonesia. Kompiang said he believed that these new schools were responsible for creating a number of the dances being taught in schools today.

Both Sanggar Saraswati and Tirthasari, which hire students and graduates from art institutes in Bali as dance teachers, often receive requests to perform. Four of Tirthasari’s dancers are available for corporate functions and Saraswati students recently performed at an event hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

“Usually they want us to perform the pendet dance,” Sari said.

“Maybe they are eager to know what the pendet dance looks like, after everyone protested against the Malaysian ad,” Kompiang added, referring to a recent controversy that saw Indonesians accusing Malaysia, falsely, as it turned out, of claiming the dance as part of its own cultural heritage.

Annisa Allaina, 24, used to practice Balinese dance as a child but gave it up. When she finished school, she realized that dancing was her passion and signed up at two schools, Sanggar Saraswati for Balinese dance and Namarina for ballet.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to learn ballet but my parents wouldn’t let me, because the clothes are revealing,” she said. Annisa is a Muslim and covers her head with a scarf. “But they cannot stop me anymore,” she says. When she practices, she wears her dance uniform over a long-sleeved T-shirt and leggings.

“There’s something about performing Balinese dance on stage,” she said. “I like the clothes and the makeup, it’s so beautiful.”

One recent Sunday, film student Keisha, 22, arrived at Sanggar Saraswati for her first class.

“I used to dance Javanese when I was a child,” Keisha said. Wearing a light blue sarong, she stood behind a group of young girls who had started before her. Keisha moved her head while trying hard to keep her knees bent. Sweat ran down her forehead.

“I thought it would be easier for me because I have practiced Javanese dance before,” Keisha said after the lesson.

“Apparently, this is a lot harder than I thought.”


Sanggar Saraswati
Taman Ismail Marzuki
Jl. Cikini Raya, Menteng,
Central Jakarta
Tel. 021 420 2437

Sanggar Tirthasari
Jl. Tongkol No. 32 Rawamangun,
East Jakarta
Tel. 021 68981362

World’s First Robotic Gamelan Orchestra Gaining Fans in US

Taylor Kuffner and a friend came up with the idea to build to the world’s first fully robotic gamelan orchestra. (Photos courtesy of GamelaTron)

What do you get when you cross a cyborg with a set of ancient Indonesian musical instruments? GamelaTron, of course.

A love for music and a fascination for robotics prompted Eric Singer and Taylor Kuffner from Brooklyn to come up with the idea to build to the world’s first fully robotic gamelan orchestra.

Modeled after traditional Balinese and Javanese gamelan orchestras, GamelaTron is the result of a collaboration between the Brooklyn-based League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots and Kuffner, a composer.

“The GamelaTron is a collection of Indonesian instruments, known as a gamelan. We add the add the ‘tron’ to it and that becomes an electronic version of the gamelan,” Lemur founder Singer said.

Gamelan music dates back to the 13th century, and includes a variety of instruments including metallophones, xylophones, drums, gongs and chimes.

Some of the instruments featured in GamelaTron are as much as 100 years old, but there’s a modern twist: they’re played by robots.

“What we have is 117 mechanical arms which are essentially mallets that are networked together and controlled from a laptop. So there’s no humanoid-looking robot behind it, it’s a network of mechanical arms,” Kuffner said.

Singer said a microprocessor, or a very small computer, was at the core of every instrument or every group of instruments, that interpreted musical signals that might come from a computer, a keyboard or some other type of musical electronic instrument.

That microprocessor then controls electrical impulses that go to various electro-mechanical devices.

“Those might be motors or they might be solenoids which are devices we use in a lot of our instruments. A solenoid is an electromagnet that basically is like an electromagnetic plunger and what it does is it enables us to make a lever and that lever is used to hit a drum or a chime,” he said.

Although robots are nothing new, having replaced humans on assembly lines to produce everything from cars to computer chips, the concept of musical cyborgs has left some scratching their heads, according to Singer.

“When I tell people what I do, there’s usually a kind of a pause and maybe a turn of the head . . . and a ‘What exactly does that mean?”

“Some people get excited when they hear robot they think it’s going to be R2D2 or C3PO behind the Gamelan with 800 arms,” Kuffner laughed.

Like any emerging artist, GamelaTron is busy getting its music ‘out there,’ and slowly building a fan base.

It’s already performed at more than a dozen venues throughout New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland since its creation last year. Reuters

Heritage and paradox

Wayang Golek is proclaimed a masterpiece, but what is its future?

Sarah Anaïs Andrieu

The puppeteer Dadan Sunandar Sunarya performing the story Cepot Kembar

As often happens in West Java during November, rain had been falling all day, so Bandung’s central public space, known as the Gasibu, was half-flooded. A large temporary stage had been erected, in front of which stood a large tent sheltering about two hundred chairs. Forty chairs were prepared with white covers for use by government officials, but only about ten were present. Only a few spectators sat behind them. TV and radio crews busied themselves trying to protect their equipment from the rain.

Dawala (left) and Cepot (right). Cepot     is the most popular character amongst     Sundanese audiences

A performance of wayang golek, the traditional rod puppet theatre from West Java, was scheduled to take place for the entire night. The troupe was already on stage waiting patiently behind their gamelan instruments. The show should have already started, and a crowd should have already gathered around the stage as customarily happens, but very few people had dared to brave the rain and the cold on this night. The improvised market that always appears besides wayang golek performances was barely visible, with only a few sellers offering food and snacks from the shelter of huge umbrellas.

At last, the show started at around half past nine with speeches reminding the audience of the purpose of the performance, namely the protection of the national cultural heritage, of which wayang golek is officially a part. After the audience was reminded too that the event had been sponsored by the National Department of Culture and Tourism and its provincial subdivision in West Java, the committee finally gave a sign to the puppeteer, or dalang, that he could start performing the story entitled Cepot’s Twin (Cepot Kembar).

But soon after the first scene, the dalang stopped and introduced three famous Sundanese comedians who launched into an interactive dialogue with the audience. Spectators asked questions via SMS, which were relayed by the comedians to specialists from cultural and governmental institutions to be answered. After an hour of jokes and questions, the humourists retired from the stage and the wayang performance continued. The dalang recommenced his task of guiding the well-known characters through diverse intrigues and adventures. The rain had stopped, but there were still only a few spectators. Even fewer stayed until the performance ended at three o’clock in the morning.

The structure of the performance, something usually subject to quite strict convention, was upset by the intervention of the humourists just after the story commenced

What happened that night raises many questions about contemporary wayang golek. Government officials left the performance – if they came at all – long before its end. Much more seriously, the structure of the performance, something usually subject to quite strict convention, was upset by the intervention of humourists just after the story commenced. Such a thing could not happen in performances sponsored by rural communities or households. Moreover, the radio and TV broadcasts stopped after the comedians had withdrawn from the stage, even though the wayang performance would continue for a further three hours. For the broadcasters, the entire performance was too long and convoluted.

Local heritage, global value

There is some irony in the rather shabby treatment granted to the performers on this occasion, for it was not long ago that wayang was given its own space on the world’s cultural stage. In 2003, UNESCO proclaimed ‘Wayang Indonesia’ as a ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’. Indonesia’s cultural bureaucrats responded to this recognition: the performers at the Gasibu were advised by the organisers that the performance was being held to honour Indonesia’s commitment to the preservation of humanity’s cultural heritage. But the events of the evening indicated that wayang golek, despite its global value, was encountering difficulties negotiating its status in contemporary West Java and Indonesia.

A patron inserts money in Cepot’s clothing

Wayang golek is still considered an essential social and political media, as well as a mark of Sundanese identity within the national context. It also forms the basis for proud family heritages, as artists typically learn their puppetry skills directly from individual teachers who are often their own fathers. The UNESCO proclamation gave these performers hope of a worldwide audience, and since then, they have tried to have some say in the destiny of wayang golek.

How does wayang golek negotiate its status in contemporary Sundanese and Indonesian societies?

However, they feel it loses out on a national stage dominated by the culture of Central Java. The government, on the other hand, sees wayang golek as not only a distinctive regional genre, but also as something shared by the national Indonesian community. Since Indonesian independence in 1945, national cultural policy has attempted to gather the most important, aesthetic and spectacular traditions of each region as part of a unifying Indonesian culture. These icons are then disseminated throughout the country by the mass media and educational institutions as distinctive hallmarks of the regions – a practice that freezes regional culture and contributes to its standardisation. The UNESCO Proclamation enhances this process: after it was made, the government proposed a national action plan that included the creation of wayang schools, which would dispense standard teaching about wayang with adjustments for each regional ‘variant’.

Only bait

The Bandung performance illustrates an important paradox. On one hand, the government’s emphasis on heritage legitimises and supports the continued practice of wayang golek. But, on the other hand, it turns the puppet performances into a (profitable) museum exhibit, standardising them and preventing them from evolving.

Very few of the white chairs prepared for government officials were filled

On that November night, the wayang were simply bait, used to attract the audience’s interest, then all too quickly relegated to the background as ethnic scenery for the transmission of other messages. In the process, this event intended to support and safeguard traditional cultural heritage was turned into a demonstration of the government’s lack of confidence in wayang golek.     ii

Sarah Anaïs Andrieu (sarahanais@gmail.com) is a PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology and Ethnology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris where she is writing her doctoral dissertation about the political anthropology of the Sundanese wayang golek and its process of patrimonialisation.

All photos by Sarah Anaïs Andrieu.

http://insideindonesia.org