Lampung & Krakatau Volcanic Island

Ancient Chinese travel chronicles refer to a place in the most southerly part of Sumatra called “Lampung” or “place of southerly winds”. The province is gene-rally flat with the highest mountains of Gunung Pesagi, Tanggamas, Seminiung, Sekincau and Raya all being dormant volcanoes. Bandar Lampung, the Provincial capital, was formerly two separate towns, Tanjungkarang and the port of Teluk Betung, which after the infamous eruption of Krakatau were both completely covered in volcanic ash. In the course of development, however this town have merged together to become one single city.

Tourist Office:
Jl. Ahmad Dahlan No. 79, Gunung Mas,
Bandar Lampung 35211
Phone. (0721) 263401, 361430
Fax. (0721) 266184

Getting there:
Domestic airlines have daily flight from Jakarta. Rajabasa bus terminal is one of the busiest in Sumatra, with a constant flow of departures. The trip from Jakarta takes eight hours which include crossing Sunda strait between Merak in Java and Bakaheuni Lampung by ferry. Three trains a day run from Palembang.

Tourism Events
Krakatau Festival. This annual event is held at the end of August 25-30 2008 the festival commemorate Krakatau’s eruption in the late 19th century. The volcano is located in the Sunda Strait, South of Lampung, in the southern tip of Sumatra.

Places of Interest=]

Bandar Lampung has a Museum and a Monument of Krakatau Eruption.

Krakatau Island

Krakatau is an inhabited island and located on the southern part of the Bay of Lampung. Krakatau is reachable in three hours by boat from Canti, a fishing village near Kalianda, South Lampung. Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) is still growing, first emerging from the sea in early 1928, 45 years after the legendary eruption in 1883.

Krakatau Island is currently among three destination in Indonesia that has been qualified in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign held by the New 7 Wonders Foundation (two other candidates is Lake Toba and and Komodo National Park). You could support Krakatau Island to become the New 7 Wonders of Nature by voting through the following the URL:

http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/liveranking/

Pugung Archaeological

Pugung Archaeological Site in Pugung Raharjo village, 40 kms northeast of Bandar Lampung is a site of megalith and prehistoric relics, as well those of the classical Hindu-Buddhist period.

Merak Belantung Beach

Merak Belantung Beach is 40 km south of Bandar Lampung, on the way to the seaport of Bakauheni, the beach is ideal for swimming and wind surfing. Cottages are available.

Traditional Occupation - Endangered Species

Traditional Occupation - Endangered Species

A couple “traditional occupation” that consider close to extinction. Some were deemed outdated, while others were regarded simply as ‘having no future’. One thing for sure, most of these jobs were gone because they could not compete with the advancement of new technologies which have caused a shift in the pattern of human’s behaviour.

Here their stories…

Becak driver

Becak (tricycle) Driver
Becak is a form of environmental-friendly transport. Once upon a time,becak was more favored type of public transport. Many people preferred to use becak as form of transportation to enjoy the city atmosphere. Even more, many schoolchildren were driven to and picked up by parent’s regularbecak driver.

Not only the number of becak decreasing, rarely the driver were still at young age. The younger generation prefer to be ojek (motorcycle-taxi) driver then a becak driver. Not only because driving a becak needs more man-power energy, but also the image of a becak driver itself were far from ’cool’, hence the discreditable popularity among youngster. If this attitude remains, it is almost certain that the profession of becak driver will be extinct because there is no regeneration while the elder were too old to drive.

Postman
There are times when the arrival of postman created a specific excitement among residents of the house. An incoming letter often creates thrill for the recipient. The letter can bring bad or good news, coming from a family, close friends or even lovers. Either one, each of residents at home presents their own enthusiasm to the postman for he has bought the letter to the house.

The advancement of communication technology presents us with e-mail, mobile phones and fax machine, thus providing easier, cheaper and faster modes of communication. ‘Snail’ mail o longer popular. Postmen have lost the enthusiasm of letter’s recipients, of house’s residents. Many of the envelopes he sends around were no longer personal letter but bills, invoices or advertisement. Nowadays, postmen compete with advertisement of technology to steal public’s heart.

Weight Scale-man
The man always brings weight scale every day walk around the neighborhood and yell out “Weight scale!” without paying attention to the burning sun. His service is to scale someone’s weight, and they have to pay Rp. 500-1,000,-. It is very cheap, indeed, especially nowadays when the price of weight scale has become cheaper in addition to commercially entertaining weight scale we can find in malls and department stores.

A weight scale man daily income is very small, they sometimes work as scavengers to be able to fulfill their basic needs. Usually, their regular customers are children. But now, almost every household have a weight scale, putting the weight scale-man’s job to rest.

Tukang Sayur (Vegetable/fresh Produce Seller)

Tukang Sayur (Vegetable/fresh Produce Seller)
In the last couple of years, we can still hear a vegetable-seller yelling out “veggies..veggies..” around our neighborhood. At that moment, housewives and housemaids were coming out of their homes approaching this seller to buy some fresh produce for daily consumes. The surging crowd clamoured for a negotiable price while selecting goods and sharing local neighborhood gossips spreading from the vegetable-cart.

With the rise of new technology, mobile vegetable sellers have become more and more difficult to find. The new advancement in technology more often than not has change individual habit and routines, including these sellers’ habit. They improve their services with the help of new technology. Now, their regular customers no longer have to wait for their arrival in the neighborhood, a short message through mobile phone to these vegetable sellers is enough. Then, the vegetable seller will send a courier to deliver their order right to their front door.

Photo Reproduction Kiosk

Photo Reproduction Kiosks
The advancement of photography technology has become more apparent nowadays, from the traditional photography with negative film to digital photography. With the new technology, photograph reproduction can be performed in a faster and more efficient manner. An outlet that provides photo reproduction services will be able to print a couple hundred photos in a couple hours. We only need to wait 1-2 hours to print a photo in that outlet. Even a home printer nowadays can print a photo with good resolution and a quality comparable to those photo reproduction service outlets.

Prior to the digital age, to print a photo in those outlets we need to wait up to 4 days long for it to be finished. Not a long time ago, several photo reproduction kiosks were standing in front of many well-known university. With conventional printing technique and pertomaks (a petrol-lantern) as its lighting, this service was quite popular. These kiosks offer their own benefits such as cheap and quick compared to big outlets.

Farmer - planting padi

Farmer
Farmer used to be the most important job in our country, Indonesia, with its overflowing natural resources and its fertile land where it needs these farmers attend to this blessing. However, the development of this country has left fewer fields for farmers to work on. Moreover, some possibilities may also be the reason why this job become marginalized, such as its low-ranking image, their unstable income, their exclusion from prosperity that has been ignored by the government and many other possibilities.

Now farmers are the old generations whose energy has been consumed by the burning sunlight and heavy works. Their children prefers to work as anojek driver, mechanic or technician or move to big cities to get a job, any job. Some of the young generation, who decided to work as farmers because of their love of their hometown, have become scarce.

Housemaid
A housemaid as a discourse urban society is a confirmation that modern society is unable to face the basic foundation of their life: domestic life. While life has become harder, technology will always make everything easier and user friendly.

Domestic duties, which were considered nuisance, nowadays can be completed in one touch. In a world of high technology rules where some robots have take over human’s ‘heavy’ duties… where would the housemaid belong?


Mobile Barber
He doesn’t work as a beauty salon or barbershop: he is a DPR(Di bawah Pohon Rindang = under the shades of trees) barber or a mobile barber moving around with his bicycle selling his haircut skill.

This type of job still exists around us, although threatened by its competition with barbershops, which offer comfortable places and similar price. The changing trends of hairstyles also become the reason there mobile barbers lose from the competition.

Their regular customers might be one of few reasons this occupation still exist. Some people sometimes trust only one barber to cut their hair, but this is about style.

The horse chart as a public transportation only used for a short distance in Bali

Horse-dawn Carriage Driver
Horse-dawn carriage was one of the main forms of transportation used by Indonesia people. However, with the rising popularity of fossil-fuel vehicles, horse-drawn carriage has been marginalized by those new technologies. Cars, motorcycles and carriages were competing for a space in the road. Moreover, the lack of regeneration has reduced the number of these carriages and only to be found in several areas.

WEST JAVA CULTURAL ART

WEST JAVA CULTURAL ART

Wayang golek (wooden puppet) performance contains the wisdom of the community life of people in West java

Culture can be defined as man’s creativity to survive, have children to continue his generation, and improve this welfare. Culture reflects the entire man’s knowledge as a social being used to deal with his environment and experience, utilizing his physic and natural surroundings. The Cultural image of West Java is well expressed by the beauty of the artistically esthetic and ethics among the community. The sharp little fingers movements, hidden smiles, almost melodious speeches, and dynamic composition of movement are the reflection of their art expressions. If one takes a good look at Sundanese and Cirebonan arts he can see the harmonies blends of intelligent life, wisdom, and freshness.

Cirebon Mask

A good example of acculturation showing the success of the community in the interaction process and accepting global new values without losing its identity can be seen through their arts expressions flourished well in the northern coastal areas of West Java such as Tanjidor in Bekasi, that once thought was originated from Betawi Culture, turned out to be the mixed Sundanese and European cultures. Other examples are Tarling, Topeng and Adzan Pitu art performances in Cirebon which can be classified as global cultural expressions in their specific format. While in the Northern of West Java the interactions and acceptances of global values transformation have been taking place, the arts reflecting people’s closeness to nature have also been taking place in the Southern of West java, including their religious expressions. A good example is Ubrug, a folk theater, other examples are Cianjuran and Kecapi suling performance.

Cirebon - Tari Topeng (Mask Dance)

More melodious and dimensional depth of art expressions grow well in other areas of Tatar Sunda (Sundanese plain), especially in Priangan or Parahyangan for example, Degung musical performance with its specific traditional musical instrument played by Nayagas Comical art and poetries (Bobodoran and Sisindiran) is another example performing fresh and comical dialogues. Rampak kendang, Kendang Pencak, and Jaipong, Sisingaan are perfect examples of the depth of dynamic life full off passion spirit.

Merak Dance (Dance of Peacock)

Specific traditional musical instrument is angklung, which is made of bamboos in different size to produce different tones and attached to a bamboo section, one can feel the rhythm and melody that mix together into a composition reflecting the depth of passion that people in West Java has to a harmonious life.

Angklung is a popular traditional musical instrument

Now, when the rapid process of changes is happening and the new millennium is beginning to enter the life of human being, the awareness of Sundanese community to expose themselves as Sundanese People seem to find the right moment and space. As a community they are aware that it is crucial to preserve the culture of Sunda with its traditional values and culture instead of merely showing a gesture of commitment toward the culture preservation. Sundanese community in West Java is more concerned with how to increase the community’s role and participation in preserving life environment in tatar Sunda, to encourage the local authority to draw a policy that protects and respects cultural work of art of Sundanese, to encourage the community to use, for their needs, the cultural information, to encourage the local authority to develop common people economy system, to persuade the concerns of national and international institutions and other independent organizations in a joint efforts to preserve the culture of Sunda and to insist that the local authority makes a policy regarding the protection and development of education in life’s environment.

Angklung (bamboo musical instruments) attraction at saung Angklung Mang Ujo, Bandung

In reality, the actual interaction process, when confronted with the global culture, has put Sundanese community in a situation where they cannot avoid the fact that they need to open rooms for transformation and culture interaction that formulate new charms of culture reflected in their daily life in many aspects.

Peaceful transformation of culture has made West Java a secured and relatively stable region and capable of introducing reformation based on the existing and growing norms of culture. The indicator to a success of this reformation in politics, economy and culture is when all of those aspects are realized. The religious and spiritual awareness increase and the reduction of the number of the poor are also good indicator of success.

There is a specific and typical policy of the local authority of West Java concerning this matter. It is condensed in the slogan DAKABALAREA (dahareun loba, kabeuli ku ra’yat, barudak bias sakola, tur ra’yat jagjag waringkas, layanan umum ningkat, reformasi dilaksanakan, anu airman nambahan any miskin gurangan).

DAKABALAREA is a real and concrete effort in materializing awareness and responsibility of the community and the local authority in dealing with crises. “Dahareun Loba” is a commitment to achieve the objective of maintaining the food sustainability proportionally. “Kabeuli ku ra’yat” meaning with a reasonable price or affordable for the common people to obtain it. “Barudak bisa sakola tur jagjag waringkas”, a commitment to provide education and health for each and everyone in the community.

The dynamic of the community civilization which is like the movement of a jaipong dancer following the rhythm of the drums and the musical instruments played by nayagas, is potential to be developed because of the cultural understanding and its implementation in a modern life at wayang golek (wooden puppet) performance and in many other art performances there is always a wisdom in coping with phenomenon and paradigm of the community life people in West java. Through kidungs (a ballad song) in various compositions such as sinom, dangdanggula, asmarandana, and others and also kecapi suling producing sounds of the souls that travel across the hills, valleys, and beaches, one can always detect the beauty of conscience and the expression of the finest thoughts among the common people.

The expression of the Culture of Sunda that accommodates the depth of the life’s philosophy, and the spiritual and esthetical journey is best shown in the art of glass painting, and batik painting such as batik Cirebon, batik garutan and Tasikmalaya embroideries.

Kujang is one of West Java traditional weapon

Sundanese is also known for their expertise in blacksmith making specific gong, and traditional weapons such as kujang, golok and others.

Pencak Silat, the traditional martial art of West Java

Design concept of Sundanese architecture makes the best use of materials taken from the nature such as the domestic traditional kitchen utensils made from bamboo and coconut leaves and this is a good example of a dynamic civilization of the culture of Sunda.

In the world of literature, pantun buhun has been known for years as the work of art containing philosophical thoughts and life attitude of Sundanese community in responding to the phenomenon and paradigm of their life in all aspects. Including the process of growth of the civilization from animism, polytheism, to monotheism. Therefore even though most of Sundanese are Moslems there is syncretism and mysticism among some of them.

Tourism is also potential to be developed to become an industry in the future. Especially when they are all laid side by side with specific sundanese cakes and cookies produced by products of agriculture.

Sundanese cuisines, beside the tradition of sundanese women to take a good care of their bodies that makes them beautiful and fresh, is potential to be developed and managed for prospective investment. The combination of traditional cuisine, high modern technology of cooking utensils, and equipments will make good restaurants whereas the tradition for body care among sundanese women allows the potential to establish industry in cosmetics using natural herbs as their ingredients.

Finally, the entire aspects of culture are united in the unification of culture that is continuously interactive along with the growth of culture transformation process with the illustration of sharp little fingers moving graciously with hidden smiles from sundanese beautiful girls, can represent the warmness, closeness and the beauty of the esthetic of culture presented by the culture of West Java, from which the doors to the civilization are open.

North Sumatera Cultural Art

North Sumatera Cultural Art

The native people consists of all kinds of ethnic groups namely the Malayans, Batak Toba, Simalungun, Karo, Pakpak Dairi, Pesisir, Mandailing and Nias. They reside in their own area, nevertheless there is an assimilation among the migrants in some areas especially in big cities.

The majority of the population earn their living by farming. In the coastal area there are a lot of them who live as fishermen. And some of them carry on trade, become labourers and officials especially cities and plantation areas.

Since a long time ago North Sumatera has been open for the outer world. This is not only caused by the existing communication facilities such as the ocean harbours Belawan and Sibolga and the airport of Polonia Medan but, also Indonesian ethnic groups especially many of those from Java have lived in this province since the opening of the plantation in Dutch Colonial time.

Even later they have assimilated with the native people. Also many foreign citizens live here; especially in big cities. Plantations form the most important economical potential of north Sumatera. A big plantation area is especially found in plains in the Eastern part.

Like the other areas in Indonesia, North Sumatera is characterized with all kinds of art. And caused by the regional condition, the existence of a particular style of art is of nothing incredible in every region. Also various kinds of ethnic groups found in North Sumatra, have created sorts of art showing where the ethnic groups come from.

As a really open area for comers it is obvious that the influence of outer culture will easily enter this area. This influence is seen obviously on the nature of art inherited up to the present. This doesn’t mean that the original form of their art has disappeared. The inheritance shows that some tribes, especially in the inlands still practice the art. Like art life in other areas, the birth and creation of art in North Sumatra contains magic/religious and aesthetic aspects. These two values appear in all kinds of arts.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

According to the myth of the tribes, there were all kinds of antecedents of the people of North Sumatera.

Batak tribe for example believes that their ancestors came down from heaven to the top of mouth Busuk Buhit, and lived in Sianjur area. It first around Samosir island and later its generation developed and spread everywhere in its surroundings. Nias tribe believes that their ancestors came from them most beautiful heaven called Tetoholi Ana’a, and went down to the Gomo area in the middle part of Nias and later spread to all part of the island. Some of the Malayan tribe believes they were originated from the descendants of Iskandar Zulkarnaen who came down on the hill of Siguntang in Palembang.

Nothing could fix the antecedents of the people of North Sumatera, however, according to the historical of the spreading of the tribes like the other Indonesian people the ancestors were supposed to come from further India coming to this area in groups. Therefore people consisting of all kinds of tribes developed by themselves in their own areas.

As the result of the pluralistic condition art as moral expression of the tribes, they have their own various style and kinds. Like the various kinds of its tribes in North Sumatra there are all kinds of traditional art, namely Malayan art, Batak Toba art, Simalungan art, Karo art, Pakpak Dairi art, Angkola mandailing art, coastal and Nias art. These traditional arts have their own kinds, style and local characteristics.

War Dance, Nias

The style and characteristics of ethnic art, are later influenced by outer culture. The influence of the older megalithic art is found in the cultural environment of the population of Nias archipelago. The Hindu influence is felt especially in the Batak ethnic environment whereas Islam influence in the coastal populated area. Megalithic art for example has left its remnants in Nias in the form of stone monuments and sacrificial ceremony by scarifying a pig. Also in several places around Samosir there are statues and cemeteries of the ancestors. The Hindu influence is around in all kinds of aspects of life in this area. In all kinds of spoken language and medical books of Batak called Pustaha there are Sanskrit words. Even the form of the original Batak characters are very much influenced by Hindu, so are the textile handicraft.

The temples found in South Tapanuli are proofs of Hindu remainder in architectural field. The temple complex spread in a large area.

Some names of “marga” in Dairi and Karo, are considered to have originated from the influence of social structure in Hindu culture, such as “marga-marga” Brahmana, Padia, and Colia. So are the influences of religion and Islam cultures. Especially in the art of this area, there are all kinds and sorts of typical Islamic items. Gambus, rebana, adrah, bordah and qasidah are Islamic art of music. Whereas in field of art dancing for example there is one called “tari zapin” which is liked by people of the coastal area.

Batak traditional house

Mosque and palace are the products of Islamic architecture. The Grand Mosque in Medan and Azizi Mosque in Tanjungpura, with their beautiful ornaments have a high Islamic architecture, so are the Maimun on palace in Medan and the Datuk Lime Laras Palace in Asahan.

The Dutch Colonial rule later built some buildings in European style such as City Hall and Post office. Since this era, the new art had developed as individualistic among the middle class people who was living in the city. Whereas the traditional art was still supported by the ethnic group although it was not developed by the colonial government.

In general the new art forms activities on literature and play which develop in Medan. The well known play groups at that time were Keris (creese) Opera, Blue White, Miss Alang etc. The period of the Japanese occupation formed a paralyzing period for art. The people potential supporting traditional art grew weaker and weaker. Some kinds of art had disappeared and the appreciation of the people toward art was decreasing. The daily stress of life which was so burdensome influences the attention and attitude of people toward their traditional art.

After the fight for freedom especially after 1960s’ traditional activity being neglected for a long time and as the result of change in attitude and progress of the era gradually could attract the interest of the people. Probably caused by the strength of the Batak people in holding and applying their tradition, the spreading of art from one area/tribe to the other became difficult. Consequently, particular style of art of each area/tribe was created.

Lampung Cultural Art

Lampung Cultural Art

The culture of Lampung has begun since prehistoric time based on the prehistoric inheritance of Lampung including the spreading area of megalith and bronze Culture, this is based on the discoveries of bronze drums or “nekara” and statues of ancestors of megalithic era in specific Pasemah style of Art.

At the beginning of the first century the Hindu influence was supposed to enter Indonesia. The influence of the Kingdom of Sriwijaya had left Hindu culture in Lampung which further developed until the era of the kingdom of Majapahit. The traditional of Lampung Community has an effect from Hindu and Buddha even up to the present. Such as the structure of its community, the way of thinking and the traditional ceremonies. Like other areas in Sumatra, the development of Islam was begun with trading activities which was then strengthened by the Kingdom authorities. Islam was supposed to enter Lampung from West Sumatra, however history has proved that the development of Islam in Lampung were among others caused by the fact that this area was used by preachers from Banten to practice the teaching of Islam under the reign of Sultan Hasanuddin. This does not mean the influence of Islam did not come from Sumatra. The Sultanate of Palembang in its trading activities particularly in pepper trading, had also given an Islamic culture effect in the Northern part of Lampung.

"Tulang Bawang" was known as Lampung pepper plantation which drew much attention to the traders from outside this area. It was not surprising that Lampung was the area where all kinds of cultural factors came from outside such as from Minangkabau, Malaya, Palembang, and Java, particularly from Banten. These cultural factors from outside have become the foundation of the traditional Culture of Lampung.

The ancient belief in prehistoric time formed a tradition of believing supernatural power, creatures and spirit of the ancestors. The belief in “Gali-Gasing”, giant of heaven which pounced on the moon, "Satatuha", a tiger as the substance of spirit of the ancestors; such a belief created incantations, prohibitions and all kinds of ceremonies which were obeyed as traditional cultural heritage. Some kinds of traditional village ceremonies showed mixture of both factors faith and religion. The "Gahak Pepadun" ceremony, a ceremony of achieving a title according to Lampung Pepadun Community, was one of the village ceremonies indicating sinkretism of some kinds of element of faith and religion. Since Islam rules were of most importance and very much respected, ceremonies according to the Islamic calender among others “Nyungsum Bulan” was held on the birthday of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. “Ngaru belas” was held on mauled of Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., beside other ceremonies like those generally found in other communities in Indonesia. The influence of Hindu and Islam could be seen in its literature legends, poems and epigrams from generation to generation.

The influence of Hindu is left on the story of Raden Jambat Mangkirat in the form of poem, the adaptations of the story of "Rama and Shinta", which later changed its theme and form caused by the influence of Islam. The old texts ever uncovered among others contained those story of animals and local events, beside those containing elements of education and history.

Proverbs or phrases in the form of epigrams or verses delivered on ceremonies. If the proverbs contains some advice or guidance of life epigrams become variation which was uttered by replying each other in the ceremony. The literature mentioned above was among others that which become the source of stage drama such as the legend of Raden Jambat. The story teller acted as the story reader or ”dalang” in the drama of "wayang kulit (leather puppet) by imitating, the movement or the words of every prominent figure being told.

The series of traditional ceremony in the region always involved activities in arts. Consequently traditional art in the region was supported by traditional rules on the community which were very much obeyed. Traditional classical dances of the Lampung region were displayed on traditional events such as wedding ceremonies, visitors welcome ceremonies, installation of title ceremonies (cakak pepadun) etc. This traditional dances was accompanied by musical instrument such as “kelintang Lampung” or “Talo and Rebana”. Traditional garment including supplements of facilities containing values of art of decoration and art of regional handicraft.
“Tari Ngambai/Sambai”, traditional classical dance from Aceh, displayed by young people in honour of guests. “Tari Kipas” known of its dynamic movements, “Tari Seruping”, or war dance; “Tari Piring” with all kinds of dance movements.

Beside the traditional classical dance mentioned above there is a certain new dance a greater part of which is based on the traditional pattern though not exactly bound to the rules and movement and rhythm of dance like that standardized in classical dance.
These dance are for example: tari Sembah, Tari Manjau, Tari Sebambangan, Tari Sorai, Serumpun etc, like in the art of dance, music of Lampung, either vocal or instrumental is based on tradition. The main basis of Lampung music is vocal music whereas instrumental music comes from outside.

Vocal music is art of recital which in several areas of Lampung is called Muanjay “Adi-adi Hatang” and “Pisaan” can be recited individually or in group. “Diker” or Zikir” which belongs to instrumental music is accompanied by instruments such as "kendang" and "rebana", it is by nature a religions music (Islam). The introduction of new musical instruments such as harmonium, guitar, violin, have created new songs which become popular among the community of Lampung. This new creation has developed in "gambus" orchestras, Malayan orchestra with Malayan and Indian rhythm of songs.

Classical music instrument in Lampung is ike a flute made of thin bamboo with one hole on the bottom and three holes on the upper side. "Kulintang" belongs to this bamboo made musical instrument which has been pushed aside by Javanese "gamelan" recently.

Historic Ubud - Bali (continues)

The Ayung River winds its way through several Ubud villages on its way to Sayan and on to the sea.

The Royals

Skipping ahead almost a millennium, we come to the founding of the royal house in the greater Ubud area. In the 17^th century, a rebellion occurred in the royal house of Gelgel, the then-capital of Bali, which started a surge of many small skirmishes and conflicts between royal houses. Nine kingdoms finally emerged (eight of which are now the established regencies in Bali, with the Mengwi kingdom absorbed into the others when it was defeated in battle in the 1880s).

In the early 1700s, the Dewa Agung Jambe (king) of Klungkung sent his son, the Dewa Agung Anom Wijayasunu, to Sukawati (called Timbul at the time) to found a palace there and establish a centre of power and beauty. Many artists and artisans from Klungkung and Mengwi came to build the palace in Sukawati, which was one of the finest in the land. Once their job was over, the artists did not want to go home and they remained there.

In the late 1700s, Puri Sukawati sent two of its retainers to the Ubud area as administrators to secure the area. Gusti Lanang Dauh formed the community of Padang Tegal (where Hanoman, Sugriwa and Jembawan streets now are) and the younger cousin Gusti Made Taman went further north to Taman (north of the main road in Ubud and east of the market). A fierce rivalry existed between them and fighting broke out between the two villages. In order to pacify the Tjokorde Ngurah Tabanan to Peliatan and Tjokorde Tangkeban to Sambahan, Ubud (a village north of the market and puri) to establish palaces and authority.

The younger brother of Dewa Agung Gede, king of Sukawati, I Dewa Agung, reigned in Peliatan from 1775-1800. It was here that he established a puri in Peliatan in order to guard against incursions from Mengwi and to expand the power base, again bringing with him an enclave of artists as well as people from every caste. His half-brother Tjokorde Batuan also built a puri in Peliatan. The kingdom of Peliatan ranged from Tegalalang to Mas and included Ubud village. Batuan’s older brother, Tjokorde Made Kandel, was sent to Mengwi to become sovereign there. The oldest son Tjokorde Putu kandel, went in search of holy water (tirthayatra).

Tjokorde Made kandel (who had ‘disappeared’) wanted to see the battlefield. The Pe;oatan troops numbered only 16, whereas Mengwi had thousands. Tjokorde Putu Kandel stepped onto the battlefield brandishing the keris Ki Betara Batukaru (said to have such magical powers that the enemy would flee) and the Mengwi army did indeed flee. Tjokorde made Kandel was not pleased with this and went to see why his soldiers had retreated. He got quite a shock when he realized that the Peliatan army was not being led by his uncle, Tjokorde Putu Kandel! They embraced and all was well. In fact, people fro Mengwi came to Ubud to help populate the area. All of this took place in the village now known as Tanggayuda (place of battle) around 1800.

From 1850-1880, the grandson of Tjokorde Putu Kandel, Tjokorde Rai Batur, became king and this is when Ubud began to really prosper. Batur was more inclined to steep himself in spiritual rather than military matters. The next sovereign was the pious Tjokorde Gede Sukawati (1880-1917). Rice was in abundance and the economy was booming. At this time a number of sacred in various temples around Ubud.

In the mid-19^th century, the new Dewa Agung (king) of Klungkung began and anti-Dutch campaign. Mengwi was defeated at this time and its land divided up between the victors. The punggawa (district leader) of Negara near Sukawati aligned himself with Klungkung and wanted to take over Sukawati, which extended throughout all of Western Gianyar, including Peliatan and Ubud.

The next ruler was a spiritual leader but, by default, became a great military man as well. By mustering forces from Peliatan, Ubud and Tegalalang, the Tjokorde Gede Sukawati, in 1890, was able to defeat Negara and occupy itslands all the way from Ketewel to Taro. The Tjokorde had a special keris, which, by simply piercing the earth would make the enemy run away. He also had a special power called bau siu whereby the enemy thinks it’s seeing many more soldiers than are actually there. Many more political intrigues and battles took place with the Dutch helping to fuel conflicts among the rivals.

Tourism and the First Westerners

The 1930’s saw the first real development of tourism on the island of Bali. Much of this was centre dint he Ubud area due to the entrepreneurial savvy of Tjokorde Gede Agung Sukawati. Tjokorde Gede Agung was born in 1910. At an early age he moved in with an uncle in Puri Belaluan in Denpasar, across the street from the Bali Hotel. At age fifteen, he stopped school and began his work as a ‘guide’ by approaching the guests at the nearby hotel and picked up English and Dutch languages. At the age of seventeen, he married (his first wife of eleven!) and moved back to Ubud where he established a small guest house in the Puri Saren Agung (now run by his son Tjokorde Gede Putra Sukawati). In that same year, 1972, his older brother Tjokorde Raka Sukawati from Puri Kantor across the street invited the composer-painter Walter Spies to come to Ubud to live, where he did for the next eleven years. Spies, along with other resident foreigners, such as Willem Hofker and Rudolf Bonnet, both painters, began to entertain celebrities from far and wide, including Charlie Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, H.G. Wells and Vicki Baum, who in turn told their friends about Ubud. The Tjokorde Agung was instrumental in developing tourism in Ubud as he made very visitor feel like family.

When the Balinese talking about magic, they mean actually something completely different. The power of magic is still revered to in Bali, where more than 90 percent of the population accept magic as a part of daily life.

Boom Times

In the ‘70s, backpackers and researches alike flocked to Ubud. The serene atmosphere was conductive for painters and one could study music and dance with some of the greats. It only took a brief fifteen years before Ubud changed from a sleepy, dirt road village of the past into the bustling tourist town it is today. Yet still Ubud remains a draw for artists, dancers, musicians, students and anthropologists of all stripes.

Even in the 21^st century, Balinese firmly believe in the power of the unseen world. There is a tiny tree with six branches on it that lives inside a box within the Pura Batukura temple in Ubud. This tree sprouts kepeng of Chinese coins on it which reflect the economic tenor of the times. The last time the box was opened, there were four coins in it. In the 1960s, during the economic crisis, there were just three. Tjokorde Gede Oka Sukawati stated that perhaps at the end of the 19th century, during his grandfather’s time, that there might have been six.

Rangda.. the Widow who turn herself into balck magic world and transformed herself into monster.

Another barometer of sorts for Ubud is a celulak mask, which is used in the tale of the black magic dance-drama, the Calonarang. This mask was given to a Western couple back in the 1960’s as a wedding gift. It traveled around the world with them, bringing nightmares to those in close proximity. The woman recipient was said to unhitch herself off walls and float around her house. Finally she has came to rest in Puri Saren and if you are out around one in the morning, you will see her lurking in front of the Puri. A paranormal told Ubudians that she has come here to protect the people of Ubud. There are numerous stories like these.

Kecak Dance - Ubud, Bali

Why is it that the Ubud area has such a rich artistic tradition? Some will tell you it is the beauty of the land, but there are places far more breathtaking than Ubud on the island. Others will tell you it is due to the spiritual energy created by the confluence of the river waters at Campuhan. Whatever it is, Rsi Markandeya was the first to discover what visitors have been coming back to for centuries.

Addapted from material prepared for the book ‘Ubud is a Mood’ by Rucina Ballinger

Architecture of South Sumatera Traditional House

Palembang architecture

Traditional architecture is usually built according to and following the norms inherited by their ancestors and followed by the local society.

Beside pile-houses, where living-rooms are over the ground-surface, and the space under the houses is for keeping tools and animals, other characteristics of the traditional building of South Sumatra (Palembang) are the differing heights of the floors.

The part with the highest floor at once indicates also the most important part. The house can be observed as being divided into 3 parts, namely the front-veranda in the front, the middle part and the rear-veranda, which are successively functioning as follows:
The front veranda for the guests and the sons, the centre is for the parents and room for the brides or for prominent guests, and the rear-veranda for the girls and the kitchen.

The parents are the most respected persons, therefore the highest place for them. A limasan roof covers the middle part, which is drawn forward and backward to covering the front and the rear-veranda, shapes the monumental form of the house.

The shape formed by the extension of the roof, confirms the concept of room-hierarchy inside the building.

As the traditional houses in other areas especially of the classic style, art elements are never forgotten, particularly in religious buildings, palaces and houses of nobles. The art elements not only function as decoration to beautify the building, but also bear symbolic meanings. Even social status factors are reflected inside.

Thus the case we observed on buildings in South Sumatra which are full of wood carving with golden colours. Chinese motives and European motives are blended in one with traditional motives, which further gave the birth of Pelembang characteristic motives.

Like most of the traditional buildings in Sumatra, the traditional house or adapt-house in South Sumatra shows characteristics of timber buildings with pole construction, i.e. house built on poles with space under the floor.

Building material is mostly lasting timber as the tembesu wood (Lat, Fragraca), the tenam (Anisoptera) or the seru (Schima bancana) which are usually utilized as mast, cross-bar, rib, frame and partition board. As roof they commonly use bamboo or gelumpai with palm fibre layers.

Based on the shape of the roof the traditional houses in South Sumatra are classified into the limas an (pyramidal) – type and the tatahan (encrusted) type. Viewed from the front, the limas an type has the shape of a pyramid. The tatahan type has a Minangkabau-styled shape of its roof, i.e. a pointed roof-ridge and a bent down roof-centre.

The volume and size of the house depend on the social status of the inhabitant. This can also be identified through the quantity of the interior decoration of the house.

As the case in the traditional house of Riau and Jambi, the ground plant of the house shows some divisions. The most front is the front-veranda introduced by the house-ladder. From the front-veranda we enter the men’s hall (jogan) and further to the main-room (kekijing). Behind the main0room there is the rear veranda (garang) with the kitchen. The floor of each room differs from the others, it means that the front part has a low floor and the main room has the highest floor.

Of the South Sumatra’s traditional house, its interior decoration is quite attractive. This decoration has the form of wood carving with a so called see-through transparent carving technique bearing plant motives as sunflower, bamboo shoot, etc.

Decoration art in a Palembang traditional house is an integration of elements of Javanese and Chinese arts. Wood carving decoration combined with contrast colours like gold-coating and red lac (lak).

Floor as sitting place with rug-underlayer, back-cushionsiopes with stars-motive.