Preserving the Balinese Language for Generations to ComeDivya PridhnaniJanuary 25, 2016 by Divya PridhnaniJanuary 25, 201602069Language represents culture. In culturally-rich Indonesia this is especially true; being an archipelago of over 17,000 islands with around 300...
Saudara Dalam Sejarah: Exposing the Story of Indonesia’s Forgotten ExilesOliviana HandayaniJanuary 11, 2016January 11, 2016 by Oliviana HandayaniJanuary 11, 2016January 11, 201611627In the 1960s, Sukarno sent thousands of students to study abroad, including in China. After the 1965 anti-communist massacre, in...
The Outdoor Museum of Taman Prasasti ? a Window to the PastHans RooseboomNovember 30, 2015November 30, 2015 by Hans RooseboomNovember 30, 2015November 30, 201501765We take a trip to the Taman Prasasti cemetery in Jakarta, where Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles’ wife, along with many...
The Ancient Temple of Gunung PadangDachlan CartwrightNovember 2, 2015May 26, 2016 by Dachlan CartwrightNovember 2, 2015May 26, 201602071The recent revelation that Gunung Padang, a megalithic site south of Cianjur in West Java, almost certainly conceals a step...
Indonesia’s War on DrugsHans RooseboomOctober 3, 2015August 1, 2017 by Hans RooseboomOctober 3, 2015August 1, 201702670Nearly all UN members have endorsed the 1961, 1971 and 1988 conventions on the prohibition of the main illegal recreational...
Swapping shirts with Plato: Kicking the Atlantis Football AroundDachlan CartwrightAugust 21, 2015August 4, 2017 by Dachlan CartwrightAugust 21, 2015August 4, 201711708cIn contrast, popular publishers love it, as its inclusion in a book title is a powerful selling point. Recently there...
The Big Apple and the Spice IslandsMartin JenkinsAugust 7, 2015August 4, 2017 by Martin JenkinsAugust 7, 2015August 4, 201701950For whatever reason, New York picked up the appellation ‘Big Apple’ – is it even appropriate? Unbeknownst to most people,...
West of the South-Eastern IslandsHans RooseboomJuly 10, 2015August 4, 2017 by Hans RooseboomJuly 10, 2015August 4, 201701058Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) is one of Indonesia’s 34 provinces. Wedged between Bali and the tiny island of Komodo, it...
Ende, Flores: The Womb that Conceived IndonesiaGrace SusetyoJune 25, 2015August 4, 2017 by Grace SusetyoJune 25, 2015August 4, 201701654Grace Susetyo takes a trip to Ende, where Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno, was exiled between 1934-1938. President Sukarno used his...
Going, Going, Gone: In Search of the Ultimate LonghouseQraved TeamJune 12, 2015August 4, 2017 by Qraved TeamJune 12, 2015August 4, 201702852Along with blowpipes, traditional tattooing, mastery of plaiting crafts, canoe-building and the custom of wearing huge bunches of metal earrings...
The Mysterious, Phantasmagoric World of Javanese Wayang TheatreQraved TeamMay 29, 2015August 8, 2017 by Qraved TeamMay 29, 2015August 8, 201714144The morality and messages conveyed in Wayang Kulit plays still permeate Javanese thought and daily life. The spellbound audience is...
Operation Starfish: The Untold Story of Australian Commandos in Lombok, 1945Rosie MilneApril 20, 2015August 8, 2017 by Rosie MilneApril 20, 2015August 8, 201702299The Lombok Strait averages about a thousand metres in depth, though in places it is far deeper. And not only...
The Pasola Festival of Sumba | When the Worms Didn?t ComeTess JoyceFebruary 23, 2015August 23, 2017 by Tess JoyceFebruary 23, 2015August 23, 201701756In 1994, when travel journalist Ron Gluckman observed the Pasola ritual in Sumba, all of the “signs” were good –...
Sins of the Father?Terry CollinsJanuary 13, 2015August 8, 2017 by Terry CollinsJanuary 13, 2015August 8, 20172 590“The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father.” – Bible: Ezekiel 18:20 When I was 17 in mid-sixties...
Roehana Koeddoes: A Heroine of Education and JournalismDonny SyofyanDecember 15, 2014August 8, 2017 by Donny SyofyanDecember 15, 2014August 8, 201702288In Indonesia, Mother’s Day is celebrated on 22 December. Although it is neither a major celebration nor part of the...
Galungan: Biggest Day of the YearQraved TeamDecember 15, 2014August 8, 2017 by Qraved TeamDecember 15, 2014August 8, 201701274Celebrating the creation of the world by the supreme god and the victory of goodness or virtue (dharma) over evil...
Comedy, Comics and Sketches of Real LifeTess JoyceDecember 1, 2014August 8, 2017 by Tess JoyceDecember 1, 2014August 8, 201702065You might already be familiar with Sacha Stevenson’s How to Act Indonesian YouTube videos in which Sacha makes some astute,...
Changing Faces of BatikTess JoyceOctober 7, 2014August 8, 2017 by Tess JoyceOctober 7, 2014August 8, 201701087I first met Serbian artist Mikro Kosmos (Miroslav Dukic) in Borneo earlier this year. He played a didgeridoo which he...
Java’s First Photographer: Kassian Cephas (1845-1912)Hans RooseboomSeptember 8, 2014April 4, 2024 by Hans RooseboomSeptember 8, 2014April 4, 202403388The first rather rambling title for this article ran nearly three lines as it tried to convey that Kassian Cephas...
The History of Coffee in IndonesiaHans RooseboomAugust 22, 2014December 5, 2020 by Hans RooseboomAugust 22, 2014December 5, 202003965Imagine a world without coffee! Even if you are not a coffee drinker, imagine the shopping centres and high streets...
Embracing the Spirit of RamadhanKenneth YeungJuly 15, 2014August 11, 2017 by Kenneth YeungJuly 15, 2014August 11, 201702805The Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan is now in full swing. For recently arrived non-Muslim expatriates in Indonesia, it can...