Welcome to our hut, the place where people start with a simple Hi

30 September 2010

Conflict in Tarakan displaces 32,000 people

About 32,000 have been displaced by days of ethnic conflict in the Eask Kalimantan city of Tarakan.
The refugees are being sheltered at police and military facilities as well as school buildings across the city, a security officer said on Wednesday.
One of the displaced people, Rini, said she and her family sought shelter at the Tarakan police headquarters for safety reasons. “We feel secure here rather than staying at home,” she said as quoted by kompas.com.
Earlier in the day, Mayor Udin Hianggio visited the displaced people in a number of refugee centers to appease them.
“Please be patient. I, the police chief, security authorities and the governor will solve the problem as soon as possible so that peace and order can be restored,” he told the refugees.
At least three people have been killed in the clashes between indigenous Dayak ethnic group and Bugis migrants, which erupted on Sunday night. (jakartapost/30092010)

"no matter who are you, where do you come from, n what religion you are, lets live together in peace.
Don't make differences as a hindrance. Its supposed a reason for us for learn each other way of life n live side by side in earth."

29 September 2010

An Indian who Loves Indonesia .Navrekha Sharma intends to write a book about Indonesia.

VIVAnews - Navrekha Sharma’s love for Indonesia has brought her back to this country. However, her return did not regard her duty as a diplomat, but her mission to write a book.
“This is my third mission in Indonesia. Unlike my two other previous missions, which were state duties, this time my mission was based on personal interest which is writing a book on the contemporary relationship between India and Indonesia,” Sharma said at a discussion and a small reunion with scholars and Indonesian diplomats at the Postgraduate School of Diplomatic Sciences of Paramadina University, Jakarta on Thursday, November 19.
For Sharma, Indonesia is not a foreign country. The diplomat, who was born on January 7, 1948, first worked in Indonesia while serving as Indian Deputy Ambassador for the period of 1993-1996. On June 26, 2006, Sharma returned to Indonesia, as the ambassador.
That was the second time Sharma was trusted to lead Indian diplomatic corps overseas after previously becoming the ambassador for the Philippines. “The first assignment in Indonesia in 1993 was based on the appointment [from the leaders]. But, the second assignment in 2006 was my choice,” Sharma said.
It turns out that Indonesia was Sharma’s last resort in her career as a diplomat. After completing her duty in Indonesia in early 2008, the mother of two retired after 38 years serving Indian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Regardless, Sharma felt there was still one more thing to do. The thing that has been her obsession while working in Indonesia. “Now I have enough time to write about the relationship between Indonesia and India. I’m determined to gather data and write the book until at least next year,” Sharma said.
Her decision to write the book was based on the irony that she feels. There are more Indonesians who know India from the rapid flow of cultural products to the country such as Bollywood movies and various Indian literary works. Indonesia is also increasingly interested in other Indian products.
In the contrary, a lot of Indian leaders and residents do not know about Indonesia. “Literature on Indonesia is relatively rare. In book stores, Indonesia is only known from Lonely Planet Travel Guide,” Sharma said, referring to a popular tourism guidebook.
“Literature on Indonesia can also be found at Jawaharlal Nehru Library in New Delhi. But, references on Indonesia ceases at the story about the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955,” she said.
That is why Sharma’s upcoming book aims at introducing Indonesia to the Indian public and the world. “I wish my book could tell about the real Indonesia to the Indian leaders. I want them to know more about Indonesia,” the English and French speaking diplomat said.
In the book, Sharma will not only discuss about both countries’ political relations after the independence days, but also on various sides of the relationship during the last twenty years.
According to Sharma, after the 1955 conference in Bandung up to the end of 1980s, the relationship between the countries has been stagnant. During the period, India tends to close itself while Indonesia was facing political and economic instability.
Now, the countries are rising to be new powers in Asia. “India started to open up and actively influence global economy in 1990s while Indonesia keeps on developing since applying political and bureaucratic reform over the past ten years”.
“Both countries, together with China and other developing countries, have proved to be able to survive the global crisis based on their stable economic performances,” Sharma said.
However, it is impossible to maximally use the potentials of the countries as long as they have not known each other and formed solid collaboration. “Therefore, I think the key to improve the relationship is tourism promotion. Indonesia has the potential to attract Indian tourists because it has several historical sites of Hindu and Islamic heritages.
“I also expect that one day, there would be direct flights from Jakarta to New Delhi and the other way around, or other flights connecting other cities in India and Indonesia,” Sharma said.

--

source: vivanews

27 September 2010

The ancient games of thieves

The people of Tenganan Pengringsingan caught two thieves red-handed on a Saturday afternoon.

The pilferers, Kepra and Beben, were too busy stealing slices of pork meat dried on the village’s open community hall Bale Agung to notice the villagers had embushed them. The two youths tried to run away, but the villagers cornered them before they had any chance to escape.

As a punishment, the villagers forced the suspects to apply makeup on their faces. Slices of pork meats were tied to their heads, waists, wrists and ankles. The suspects were told to wear odd-looking crowns made up of dried coconut leaves and skirts out of dried banana leaves. The villagers finally colored the suspects’ bare chests with markers.

When they were done with the suspects, Kepra and Beben could have passed for transgender members of royalty from the Kingdom of Loonies.

The punishment didn’t end there. The suspects were escorted across the village, providing ample opportunities for villagers to mock them. Local residents, who lined the street, also had the right to add “fashionable” items to the suspects’ already bizarre costumes.

By the end of the march, the suspects met their heaviest penalty; Tenganan-style forced labor. The villagers had free reins to ask the suspects to do any chore as long as it was related to the preparation of the village’s major religious ritual.

“The suspects must perform whatever tasks the villagers require of them,” the village chief I Komang Karyawan said.

The catch? Kepra and Beben were not real thieves. These innocent young men were handpicked to impersonate thieves in the village’s ancient game of thieves.

Known as Maling-malingan, derived from the word maling (thief), the game is an integral part of the village’s annual religious festival Usaba Sambah, held on the fifth month of the Tenganan calendar, or June in the Gregorian calendar.

“The game is an annual ritual, which has been carried out over centuries,” Karyawan said.

Playtime: Young women in Tenganan play on the Ferris wheel-like, sacred wooden structure during the Usaba Sambah festival.Playtime: Young women in Tenganan play on the Ferris wheel-like, sacred wooden structure during the Usaba Sambah festival.

Karyawan didn’t know precisely when the first Maling-malingan was held. Local folklore only detailed the nature surrounding the first Maling-malingan.

“It was first held several centuries ago during a Usaba Sambah,” he said.

It is believed several villagers stole the meats reserved for sacred offerings during that festival. Locals then devised the game as a way to punish perpetrators.

“It was a sort of collective punishment aimed at humiliating the thieves,” he stressed.

This collective punishment still exists today. Citing an article in local customary law, Karyawan stated a thief would be given the same punishments as in the Maling-malingan.

“Fortunately, we haven’t witnessed any thefts for decades,” he said.

Tenganan Pegringsingan, located 70 kilometers east of Denpasar, is an ancient village home to Bali Aga, a term generally used to refer to indigenous Balinese although it literally means the mountain people of Bali.

Tenganan Pegringsingan’s Bali Aga observe different rituals and hold different religious beliefs from the majority of Balinese. While the large majority of Balinese follow the Trimurti concept of Hinduism, with its three main gods, Brahma the Creator, Wisnu the Sustainer and Siwa the Destroyer, cultural artifacts suggest the people of Tenganan are the last remaining worshippers of Indra, the lord of the sky and thunder in the Hindu pantheon.

The villagers observe strict monogamy. Those who marry outsiders or practice polygamy are banished from the village and stripped of all hereditary rights. The community owns most of the land and property, and the village vehemently protects the forest around the village.

The village is one of the island’s main tourist attractions, providing visitors with a chance to see the weavers of rare double ikat cloth Geringsing in action, as well as the Perang Pandan, during which local youths partake in a duel using clubs of thorny pandanus leaves.

source: Jakarta Post

Doa

“Allahumma mushorrifal quluub shorrif quluubanaa ‘ala tho’atik” [Ya Allah, Dzat yang memalingkan hati, palingkanlah hati kami kepada ketaatan beribadah kepada-Mu!]

Persahabatan yang dibangun atas dasar iman akan kekal hingga hari kiamat nanti, sebagaimana Allah Ta'ala berfirman yang artinya,"Teman-teman akrab pada hari (kiamat) nanti sebagiannya menjadi musuh bagi sebagian yang lain kecuali orang-orang yang bertakwa."(QS. Az Zukhruf : 67).