Spiritual tourism in Sidoarjo

Holy Sail: Throngs of fishermen sail to Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha SavitriHoly Sail: Throngs of fishermen sail to Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha Savitri

Sidoarjo regency is more likely to evoke painful thoughts of thousands of Lapindo mudflow victims still left in limbo rather than instill a desire to take a leisurely stroll around the area.

But aside from attracting attention as a prime location for natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, Sidoarjo has also become an increasingly popular destination for spiritual tourism.

In Kepetingan, Sawohan, Sidoarjo, East Java, there is a tomb believed to be final resting place of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga - the "Nine Saints" responsible for spreading Islam across Java.

The most common way to reach the tomb is a 90-minute trip by motor boat from one of the small piers in Bluru Kidul village near the Fish Market on Jl. West Circle, or from Karanggayam village. It is also possible to reach the tomb overland, however the route is quite risky during the wet season, as it follows paths criss-crossing a number of ponds.

Despite being relatively difficult to reach, the tomb is nevertheless attracting an increasing number of pilgrims. According to Haji Waras, a community leader in the village of Kepetingan, pilgrims are usually made up of fishermen, cultural experts, spiritual figures or tourists who have heard about the tomb through word of mouth.

In the 1980s, one or two visitors came to visit the tomb each week. Today, individuals and groups come to pay their respect to Dewi Sekardadu. "The number of visitors increases around the time of the nyadran ceremony, which is held twice a year," Haji said.Fishing communities from around Sidoarjo revere Sunan Giri's mother's grave.

Marching on: Boys carrying offerings walk to the tomb of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga – the “Nine Saints” responsible for spreading Islam across Java. JP/Alpha SavitriMarching on: Boys carrying offerings walk to the tomb of Dewi Sekardadu, the mother of Sunan Giri, one of the Wali Sanga – the “Nine Saints” responsible for spreading Islam across Java. JP/Alpha Savitri

Every Islamic new year (which this year fell in March), and near Ramadan, fishermen from Sidoarjo and their families get together to celebrate nyadran, which consists in thanking God for health and prosperity provided by the sea.

"Fishermen from villages in the area hold melarung ceremonies. They throw some tumpeng *cone-shaped rice dishes served with meat and vegetables* into the sea, and also take some more *tumpeng* to Dewi Sekardadu's tomb, where the fishermen and their families will eat it together.

But where does nyadran originate from? It is said the celebrations are related to Dewi Sekardadu's tomb. The story of the tomb is rich in legend.

He who holds the key: Samadi, the gatekeeper for Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha SavitriHe who holds the key: Samadi, the gatekeeper for Dewi Sekardadu’s tomb. JP/Alpha Savitri

The sacred site's custodian, Samadi, explains that Sekardadu was the daughter of King Menak Sembuyu, the 14th century ruler of Blambangan, Banyuwangi, East Java. According to legend, the area of Blambangan suffered outbreaks of diseases.

The king sought famous shamans to devise cures but to no avail.The king then organized a contest, promising his daughter's hand to whoever could cure her. But no one could heal the princess.

One night, King Menak dreamed the only person who could save his daughter was Islamic leader Syeh Maulana Iskak who had settled in Gresik, East Java.

He quickly summoned the preacher, who managed to cure the princess and took his prize.After tying the knot, they lived in Blambangan, where residents listened to Syeh Maulana preach.

One by one, villagers left their belief in Hinduism, and turned to Islam.This enraged members of the kingdom's powerful elite including, eventually, the king himself.

Even Dewi Sekardadu began to resent her husband. Syeh Maulana finally left the palace to preach elsewhere, leaving his wife, who was pregnant by then.

The baby, who was born in 1365 AD and named Raden Paku, was kidnapped by power hungry officials and placed in a box then nailed and threw into the sea.

Upon learning that her son had been thrown into the sea, Dewi Sekardadu attempted to swim after him but drowned as the box floated away.Fishermen from Balongdowo found the body of a beautiful woman, who they believed to be Sekardadu, floating in the sea.

The body was brought to shore, and then given a proper burial.It turns out Sekardadu's baby, Raden Paku, ended up surviving. A fishing boat rescued him, who today is known as Sunan Giri, one of nine saints of Islam.

- Photos by JP/Alpha Savitri

Where the dead lie

Trunyan: Where the dead lie
Simon Marcus Gower,

The island of Bali is generally thought of as an island full of life. When and where death does encroach, it often becomes a spectacle of cremations and elaborate ceremonies.

One small part of Bali however upholds an unusual and apparently quite ancient tradition pertaining to death.
Sitting at the edge of Lake Batur in Northern Bali is a small cemetery known as Trunyan, where people from the nearby village of Kuban “bring” their dead to rest on top of the ground.

This unusual practice has become something of a macabre tourist attraction. Perhaps it is not really an “attraction” but a place that pricks peoples’ curiosity. The local people, though, have clearly become used to tourists coming to this site and so haggling and near constant pestering for “donations” has to be dealt with.

Unusual ritual: Flimsy bamboo cages and cloths cover up the deceased. JP/Simon GowerUnusual ritual: Flimsy bamboo cages and cloths cover up the deceased. JP/Simon Gower

One can only reach this site by boat, a small fleet of which awaits visitors at the end of a wooden jetty where the stunning Mount Batur looks on.

Crossing the lake to Trunyan takes between 20 and 30 minutes and upon arrival a small huddle of men awaits any arriving boats.

The cemetery is small and there is little need or sign of maintenance. Although this is the final resting place for a number of people, a sense of respect for the dead does seem to be in short supply here.

Human skulls are lined up on stonewall shelves, which makes for a quite eerie sight to begin with but then the men here will invite visitors to pick a skull up and presumably pose for a photo; all of the visitors to this site on this occasion were quite quick to decline this invitation.

The views across the lake to Mount Batur are quite stunning and despite the annoying attendants, this is a peaceful place.

In this final resting place, the bodies of the deceased are just covered in cloth and rudimentary bamboo cages. These cages are flimsy and practically leave the body out in the open to the elements.

This creates an obvious concern; dead bodies left out in the open will of course decompose and the potential for unwelcome odors and even health concerns is real. However here, apparently, the presence of a banyan tree, described as holy, has warded off such concerns.

The huge banyan tree seems to stand as a guarding and protective figure of this cemetery. Its leafs carpet the ground around the gravesite and presumably this is part of the way in which the tree keeps the area free from unwelcome odors and so on.

Even with the hassle and haggling from the people that wait and wander about the cemetery, this is still a peaceful place that enjoys beautiful and powerful scenery. The lake dazzles in the Balinese sunlight and Mount Batur watches somewhat broodingly in the distance.

Returning across the lake local people are travelling by boat to the cemetery, it seems to pay their respects to the dead. They smile and wave as their boat glides on by; they seem to realize what a pleasant part of the world they live in and may rest in peace in one day.

Netherlands offers $20 million grant for free basic education

The Dutch Embassy in Jakarta has called on school administrators, teachers and parents to ensure a US$20 million grant from the Netherlands for the School Operational Aid (BOS) program be put to good use.

Ad Koekoek, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, said the grant, to be disbursed through the World Bank, was meant to support the Indonesian government's efforts to provide free basic education through to ninth grade for all children.

He added it would be used to inform the public about the purpose and function of the BOS program, strengthen the program's implementation at the school committee level, and ensure adequate monitoring and evaluation of the program.

"Of course it needs active parental and committee monitoring," Koekoek said during the awarding of the grant at Gunung Elementary School in South Jakarta on Monday.

The school is one of hundreds across the country that receive operational aid from the government.

"We are strongly committed to working together with the National Education Ministry to improve access to quality education for all children in Indonesia," Koekoek said, adding he was confident about the monitoring of the fund.

"The participation of parents and school committees will help to find whether the fund reaches the destination or not. We also hope the money not only really reaches the students, but can be effective," he said.

World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub said the World Bank and the Netherlands were working together in new ways with Indonesia through their support of an existing government program.

"The program represents an investment in the future of young Indonesian people," he said.

Bambang Indriyanto, secretary of the education ministry's directorate general of basic education, said the BOS program was a major element of financial support in education.

"We plan to boost the program's budget by 40 percent next year," he said. "The additional funds will be used for textbooks and school operational budgets."

In 2009, primary schools in municipalities will receive Rp 400,000 per student, and elementary schools in regencies Rp 397,000 per student, Bambang said.

"Junior high schools in municipalities will receive Rp 575,000 per student, while those in regencies will get Rp 570,000."

The current aid per student ranges from Rp 254,000 to Rp 354,000.

The Netherlands has previously given Indonesia more than Rp 570 billion for various programs in the education sector.

Arnold van Der Zanden, the Dutch Embassy's first secretary of education, said his government had also provided 200 scholarships for Indonesian students through the StuNed program. The embassy has increased the 2008/2009 budget for the scholarship by 2.7 million euros, a recent press release said. (naf)

Aiming high for the Island of the Gods

Aiming high for the Island of the Gods
The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 06/17/2010 8:19 AM | culture
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has an elusive dream — developing Bali as one of the world’s art and cultural center.

Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono Carrying tradition: Male dancers from Bangli regency perform a traditional dance during the opening of the annual festival.JP/Stanny Anggono

“If the international community has an annual World Economic Forum, it should also create an annual World Cultural Forum here in Bali,” Yudhoyono said during the opening of the annual Bali Arts Festival last weekend.

The annual arts festival, initiated by noted scholar and former Bali Governor Ida Bagus Mantra in 1978, has been a showcase for the island’s rich culture and tradition.

However, it will take more than organizing an art festival to develop the island into an international art venue.

Bali still lacks professional art management and international-standard art venues including well-equipped theater stages and concert halls. Supporting infrastructures are badly needed to make the island a world-class art venue.

The Art Center complex in downtown Denpasar — which is currently hosting the art festival — is no longer adequate to accommodate colossal art performances.

Furthermore, many artists and scholars have strongly criticized the festival committee’s lack of professionalism in handling the event.

The art festival, which created a Rp 5 billion hole in the provincial budget, has turned into a traditional market rather than a sophisticated art event.

Every Sekehe (community-based art troop) complained it could do much better if it had enough money to support artistic endeavors. Improving the management of the annual Pekan Kesenian Bali (PKB) Arts Festival could be the key to making the president’s dream come true.

Ready to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio AnggonoReady to dance: Female dancers are ready to perform at the 32nd Bali Arts Festival in Puputan field, Badung, Bali, on Saturday. About 3,000 artists from Bali and seven countries are participating in the cultural fiesta, which is taking place between June 11 and July 11. JP/Zul Trio Anggono

The local administration, with financial and technical support from the central government, should be able to turn this annual art event into international scale art gathering, by taking a closer look at how our neighbor Singapore handles annual festivals for example.

The one-month long festival, started from June 11 through July 11, has the potential to become one of the island’s most popular tourist attractions since it is held during school holidays and summer holidays for overseas visitors.

Kadek Suartaya, an art lecturer and expert in traditional music instruments, was of the opinion that PKB had become a significant secular cultural activity that could draw thousands of spectators if it wanted to.

“This [the festival] is the most awaited event for the majority of Balinese artists and commoners alike,” wrote Suartaya. Both amateur and professional artists see the festival as a landmark for their artistic careers.

PKB features more than three hundred performing arts — theater, dance, traditional and contemporary music and more importantly the island’s ancient and rare arts, preserved so well by its talented and dedicated artists.

Watching the two-kilometer long art procession prior to the opening of the festival on Saturday afternoon was thrilling.

It was a real multicultural event, a window into Balinese arts and culture as well as the culture of other ethnic groups of Indonesia. The active participation of seven foreign countries such as the United States, Sweden, India, Singapore and Japan further enriched and colored this festivity.

Who says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio AnggonoWho says you can’t laugh: Comedy dancers entertain spectators during a Calon Arang folklore performance in Denpasar.JP/Zul Trio Anggono

Under the sub-theme Bhuana Kerti, the purification of the Universe, the procession started with a special ritual carried out by Governor Made Mangku Pastika.

Beautiful and handsome musicians and dancers performed Adi Merdangga bale ganjur traditional percussion followed by Siwa Nata Raja dance theater.

Clad in glamorous and glittering Balinese traditional costumes, hundreds of artists mesmerized distinguished guests and spectators.

Delegations from the island’s eight regencies and representatives of artists from 20 provinces in Indonesia and seven foreign countries participated in the procession.

The festival itself is more than just a joyous art activity. It is a search for spiritual enlightenment. This year’s festival bears a specific theme Sudama: Searching for the purity of our conscience.

For the next 30 days, Bali will host hundreds of quality art performances that will enrich anybody watching them.

For Indonesians fed up with the current media hullabaloo, the Bali Arts Festival might just be the perfect antidote — an artistic as well as spiritual oasis.

Lake Sentani plans festival to bridge gap

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/01/2010 10:52 AM | National
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Want to know how Papuan “female divers” smoke while diving, or how to call a crocodile out of a river by whistling, or any of the other unique local wisdom of the Sentani people?

Then don’t miss the Lake Sentani Festival, Jayapura Regent Habel Melkias Suwae says.

Delivering his address at the opening of a Sentani photo exhibition here Friday, Habel said the festival, the third such festival since 2008, would be held from July 19 to 23 this year, and was
targeting not only to attract more foreign and domestic tourists to the regency, but also to improve ties between Papua and Indonesia’s other provinces and peoples.

“Ethnically we are different. You are part of the Melayu ethnicity, but we are Melanesian. However,
we are one in Indonesia. This festival is really a means to introduce Papuan people and our culture to you. We need to get to know each other better to strengthen our big national family and to build
mutual trust,” said Habel, wearing a Batik shirt.

The exhibition displayed hundreds of shots taken by freelance photographer Toni Sri, depicting the cultures and daily lives of 24 Papuan ethnic groups living around the lake. The exhibition was aimed to attract Jakartans to visit Papua during the upcoming festival. “Two eyes are not enough
to see and shoot the richness of Papuan culture and its beautiful panorama.”

Freelance writer Anto Dwiastoro also launched Doors to the Unknown: The story of Sentani in the Papuan regency of Jayapura, a book with photos, covering Papuan culture, environment and historical sites around Lake Sentani.

While the Lake Sentani Festival had cost Habel a lot to organize, he said he was proud of it and many other Papuan festivals.

The funding was peanuts in comparison to the cultural value and “political benefit” it had for the whole nation, he said.

“In 2008, the first festival attracted only around 2,000 foreign and domestic tourists, but the second brought in around 5,000. With the third we hope to see up to 10,000, because of the numerous pre-festival events both at home and overseas.”

Habel, a former elementary school teacher and local Golkar Party chairman, said that unlike other festivals, the Lake Sentani Festival would present guests with dance performances, local customs and antiques, as well as sightseeing tours to historical sites and a tourist village near the lake.

“We have prepared 1,500 dancers from 24 villages around the lake... while villagers have been prepared to accommodate guests in their own homes to show our sincere hospitality,” he said.

Festival promotions manager Mian Simanjuntak said his team was working to promote the festival through hotel associations and airlines, both at home and abroad, at cultural events in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the US.

The Gaza massacre and global amnesia

Donny Syofyan, Padang | Fri, 06/04/2010 11:22 AM | Opinion
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Again and again, Israel violated international law as it had shown off its flagrant aggression upon humanitarian aid boats in the past few days. Israeli commandos boarded the flotilla about 80 miles from Gaza’s coast, part of international waters.

Citizens of the world have been on the streets, opposing furiously and urging retaliation against the intentional massacre. Many international figures and organizations, such as United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, EU president Herman van Rompuy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the UN Security Council, have called for a broad and fair investigation.

Unfortunately, US President Barack Obama simply came up with mild response, sorrow for the loss of lives on one side and expressing the importance of immediately learning all the facts and circumstances around the tragic events.

The Palestinian issue is a never-ending humanitarian catastrophe. There seems to be a tendency that it is no longer typically a Muslim concern, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic

Conference. Rather, Palestinian calamity turns into the world’s concern regardless of religion and nation.

As for the flotilla, this is evident seen from various volunteers and passengers on board, including Swedish author Henning Mankell and the Irish Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire to mention just a few.

However, following long US support on Israel through its veto power in the UN for more than fifty years, the Palestinian issue has been and is always being neglected by the world. Indeed, it is subject to global amnesia at least for two reasons.

First, the Palestinian issue failed to establish global solidarity of Muslim countries, especially Arab countries. Arab governments have no great leader capable of unifying trivial splits among themselves, like what Gamal Abdel Nasser achieved during Arab-Israeli War in 1967.

This is not to mention that Muslim organizations such the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference are more like toothless tigers.

Waves of demonstrations in Arab countries and around the world now are more organized and carried out by Islamic or Muslim and human right organizations for fundraising. At the government level, Arab countries are only busy in condemning only, or publicly known as “NATO” (No Action Talk Only). They must go beyond their traditional stands, such as imposing economic embargoes on Israel and urging Egypt to open its border with Gaza Strip to channel humanitarian aid.

Second, the Palestinian issue is always associated with blaming the victims, not the aggressor. The humanitarian aid, including the six-boat flotilla, is necessary for Gaza because Gazans received nothing from the months of ceasefire. There was no restoration of a dignified existence. A couple of days before the flotilla tragedy, the UN Refugee Works Relief Agency’s (UNWRA) operations head for Palestinian refugees, John Ging, expressed that supplies were already restricted to the point where Palestinians were left in a very vulnerable and precarious position with very little food left.

It is ironic that humanitarian aid from the international community for starving Gazans are regarded by the Israeli government as delegitimizing its existence and endorsing terrorist, that is to say, Hamas.

Does it make sense that supplying the hungry Gazans means helping terrorists? Why is Hamas named a terrorist organization while it was democratically elected? How can we be in favor of Israel’s actions spurning Palestinians by dividing Gaza and the West Bank, co-opting Mamoud Abbas, inciting Fatah against Hamas, isolating Gaza, and pursuing a policy of aggression, killing, targeted assassination, mass incarceration, and torture with full support from Washington and the West?

Israel is a serial aggressor. Hamas responds in self-defense as international law allows. Article 51 of the UN Charter permits the “right of an individual or collective self-defense [against an armed attack] until the Security Council has taken measures to maintain international peace and security”.

Any attempt to stop Israel’s aggression is a must, not only to shape peace in the Middle East but also to pave the way for friendly relations between Islam and the West. Scapegoating Palestinians as victims and supporting Israel in an unconditional manner is nothing more than celebrating the birthday of a state founded on terrorism, massacre and the dispossession of more people from their land.

At last, the failure to figure out the Gaza tragedy on a fair footing will make dreams of global solidarity and integrity in the future even more unknown, unheard or unheeded.

The writer is a lecturer at Andalas University, Padang. He graduated from the University of Canberra, Australia.

Will Indonesia allow expats to own houses? Maybe after uphill battle, says VP

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua | Mon, 05/31/2010 9:25 AM | Headlines
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At an international property industry gathering in Bali last week, Indonesia was presented as an emerging market with great potential and growing demand for development in the real, residential and commercial property sectors.

Indonesia is doing what it can to open its real estate market to foreign ownership, Vice President Boediono said to delegates from more than 60 countries at the opening of the 61 world congress of the International Real Estate Federation (Fiabci).

However, it will be an uphill battle, he added.

Foreign ownership of property is impossible under Indonesian law. Non-nationals can now rent real estate for 25 years and may extend leases two subsequent times, for 20-and 25- year periods respectively.

Investors may lose the value of their investment over long-period leases, and many foreigners complain about corrupt offi cials and Indonesian bureaucracy when processing lease extensions.

Public Housing Minister Suharso Monoarfa said the bureaucratic issue stemmed from the regional governments’ narrow perspective on ways to generate government revenue from the property market.

A permit goes through layers of approvals, which makes the process subject to abuse by corrupt offi cials, he said.

Suharso said the central government was attempting to raise awareness among governors and regents of generating real estate revenues and regional economic growth through more creative ways, such as simplifying procedures and providing clear city planning.

Regional governments should also be open to foreign ownership, which will result from Indonesia’s
agrarian reform program, he added.

“This is the era of globalization. People move freely across the globe. Limiting foreign ownership is no longer the right approach,” Suharso said.

He said that opening Indonesia to foreign ownership would generate investment between US$3 billion
and $6 billion per year.

The government is drafting a regulation that will partially open the market to foreign investment in
certain types of real estate, such as luxury apartments and high-value properties.

The proposed regulations will permit foreigners to initially lease real estate for up to 70 years, instead
of extending the lease two additional times.

However other countries in the region allow foreigners to lease land for up to 90 years.

The government’s draft regulation will face a huge stumbling block because it must adhere to the agrarian and foreign investment laws, legislator Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

“The government tried a similar approach to manage investment by foreign corporations in 2008. They tried to simplify the land-use extension, but [the effort] was rejected by the Constitutional Court,” he said.

Ganjar said that the House of Representatives did not oppose foreign investment in the property market, but investment must be in-line with the national interest, which is defined by multiple parties.