There are a few things in life that we do only once a year. And I just realized it yesterday that "panjat pinang" is actually one of those things. In Indonesia, we only do it on August 17th, on our Independence Day. "Panjat pinang" is a game where groups of people must climb a betel palm tree to get the prizes on its top. The only problem is the tree is spread with oil. So, in order to win they have to work together and do some acrobatic movement. The prizes range from a basket of food to a bike!
There are some other games that are usually played on the Independence Day such as "makan krupuk" (eating crackers that are hanged in front of your face while your hands are tied), "balap karung" (sack racing) or "tarik tambang" (tug of war), etc. But unlike "panjat pinang", these other games can easily be found in any social gatherings. You cannot see "panjat pinang" on other dates but August 17th.
Why bother talking about games on such an important day? Well, why not? Why should we spend energy on a dreary topic like what makes us proud to be Indonesian. I'm afraid I'll get frustrated on trying to find the answers. The recent poll (14-15 August, 2007) by Kompas shows that 34% of respondents in 2007 are not proud to be Indonesians whereas only 5.1% of respondents in 2002 felt that way. Oh dear!
6 comments:
great pictures!! (that goes for the rest on ur flickr page too :))
i've never been to ri on independence day -- would really love too!
why be proud of indonesia? don't get me wrong, i love many of the ppl that live in indonesia. but indonesia seems to me a bit of a failure -- compare the dreams of those at the beginning of project indonesia, and what there is now...
You must've gone quite far to the countryside to see the traditional events. I used to love them too when I was a kid, when there were still soccer fields in the neighborhood. Now they're all gone and replaced by houses and shops. Inevitable side effects of the pembangunan?
thanks john
"indonesia seems to me a bit of a failure --"
tell me about it ;-)) ... sad but true. there are so many things to complain about ... which at the same time means so many things to do here ;-)...
yes de. it was not easy to find those traditional ways of celebrating independence day nowadays. and you can only find them in kampoong or urban slums. to most people it's just another holiday.
let's see 5 or 10 years from now ...
Hi Lian! Nice pics... actually in my neighborhood in Bandung we still have this type of panjat pinang and lomba makan krupuk. The panjat pinang is always in full force at Bumi Sangkuriang in Bandung. Lomba makan krupuk is usually at schools and stuff. :)
Nice to find your page!
heeey tari ... thanks ya. glad to hear that they still keep that "tradition" in bandung. but it's getting more difficult to find panjat pinang in jakarta. really quiet this year ... let's blame it on long weekend ;-).
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