The diverse colors of Indonesia's arts and culture packaged in a parade in which each contingent presents its region's unique traditional attractions
On
25 November 2007, the fourth annual Kemilau Nusantara (Glittering Archipelago)
festival took place in Bandung, West Java. As in previous years, it
presented a wide array of artistic and cultural attractions from provinces
throughout Indonesia in a parade from Jalan Diponegoro to the Governor's
Office, known locally as Gedung Sate. The event opened the eyes of
the local public to the many arts and cultures of their own country,
and achieved the goal of displaying and introducing Indonesia's cultural
heritage both to its own people and to the world.
The enthusiasm of the local audience was, as always, a key element
to the success of the event and, as usual, the procession included
hundreds of performers from West Java itself.
This year's festival opened with the massive sound of rampak gendang
traditional drumming, accompanying a dance that combined Indonesian
pencak silat martial art moves with break dance, reflecting the fact
that while Bandung's young performers may be influenced by outside
culture, they still hold firm to their traditional roots.
The mood became even more excited when a group of young women presented the Tari Merak, or Peacock Dance. Their swaying movements and colorful costumes elicited a passionate response.
Behind the Gita Pakuan marching band, which participates each year, were the contingents from the many regions. This year, 20 provinces took part, as well as 25 regencies from within West Java.
Kota Baru regency in South Kalimantan opened the parade with a dance portraying the joy of a successful harvest, followed by the other provinces – Southeast Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara, West Java, East Java, Central Java, Central Kalimantan, Bangka Belitung, Banten, DKI Jakarta, West Sumatra, and many more. The overall appearance of each contingent was evaluated by a jury, which later selected winners.
The audience included not only local residents but also the ambassadors
of Singapore, Malaysia and Hungary and many foreign tourists.
Kemilau Nusantara 2007 also featured the launch of the Sadar Wisata or "Tourism Awareness" campaign by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, continuing a program initiated by a previous minister, Soesilo Soedarman. The day before the parade, the Sadar Wisata program featured a dialogue forum among observers and participants in the national tourism industry as well as tourism academy students, chaired by the Minister himself at a popular tourist venue, Saung Udjo.
This was also the launch for the "Visit West Java 2008" campaign, part of the "Visit Indonesia Year 2008" program. It is hoped that this program will attract 600,000 foreign visitors to West Java alone. And of course, 2008 will include another Kemilau Nusantara parade.
