Category: Sulawesi Festivals

South Sulawesi, Lumense Traditional Dance

The word Lumense means flying high, it taken from the word Lume, which means flying; and Mense, which means high. This traditional dance is originating comes from Kabaena subdistrict, Bombana regency, Poso, Central Sulawesi. At early begin, this traditional dance was having purpose as a worship dance to the god, but today it presented as a welcome dance to the guest of honor in Bombana.

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Sulawesi , Maulid Nabi Festival, Cikoang, Takalar

http://matthew-oldfield-photography.com/photography/maulid-nabi-festival-cikoang-sulawesi-2/

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Maulid Nabi, or Mawlid, is a festival held to celebrate the birth of the prophet Muhammad and in Indonesia, has evolved into a celebration of sharing and the exchange of gifts – in particular, decorated eggs and other small items. The small village of Cikoang has taken this simple idea one step further, and hosts an annual celebration that is now famous across southern Sulawesi. The Cikoang Maulid Nabi is unique because it brings together villagers from both the offshore islands and the land, and the sharing of gifts between the two groups has evolved into a spectacular display of decorated boats. The islanders sail their boats to the village, whilst the people of Cikoang build giant model boats along the shoreline, all decorated with colourful sarongs as sails.

The festival is one big social event, with crowds of people admiring the boats and decorations, and shopping and eating in the market that grows along the shoreline. The men and teenage boys also work out a few rivalries with friendly arm-wrestling matches and light-hearted Silat fights – the aim of which is to steal your opponent’s hat. Both seem to end in huge water fights, with everyone – photographers included – getting covered in water and sand. A perfect way to end a celebration…

South Sulawesi, Gowa Festival

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Fort Somba Opu of Gowa

Located some 7 km. south of Makassar at the mouth of the Jeneberang river are the ruins of Fort Somba Opu, once the stronghold of the kingdom of Gowa. Next to the ruins is a park where various style houses of all South Sulawesi’s ethnic groups are displayed. The annual South Sulawesi Cultural Festival usually held in October is staged at this site.

Sulawesi Tong Tong Fair, The Haque,  Netherlands 2011

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The Tong Tong Fair (formerly known as Pasar Malam Besar) is the largest festival in the world for Indo (European-Indonesian) culture, held annually in The Netherlands. In 2009 it was renamed to ‘Tong Tong Fair’. Established in 1959 it is one of the oldest festivals and the fourth largest grand fair in The Netherlands. It is also the annual event with the highest number of paying visitors of the Dutch city of The Hague, having consistently attracted more than 100,000 visitors since 1993.

The name ‘Pasar Malam Besar’ is derived from the Indonesian/Malay language and literally means ‘Great Night Market’. The new name was chosen to emphasise its link with the ‘Tong Tong Foundation’ and its cultural mission. Another reason was to distinguish oneself from the many other fairs under the name pasar malam.

Every summer the ‘Tong Tong Fair’ formerly known as the ‘Pasar Malam Besar’ is raised on its dedicated fairground, called the ‘Malieveld’, close to the central train station of The Hague. 22.000 m² of festival terrain and many, mostly Indo, volunteers will facilitate visitors from both the Netherlands and abroad. The festival hosts three popular food courts, a culinary theatre, many large to medium stages for performance art, workshop areas, areas for lecture and interviews, market areas, as well as specific fair areas for trading merchandise.

Central Sulawesi, Festival Bamboo-Orcestra

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Bamboo-Orcestra Traditional music is the pride of the Lindu plain, Kulawi and Poso. These tribes settled in the province of Central Sulawesi as part of the cultural repertoire of the current still survive.

South Sulawesi, Bugis Wedding

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The Bugis are the predominant ethnic group inhabiting the southern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) in Indonesia. They speak a distinct language also called Bugis, although linguistically and culturally they are closely related to the neighboring Makassarese who are dominant in the southern tip of the peninsula. Their ethnic autonym—”To Ugi'”—derives from a village formerly on the Cenrana River. Other Indonesian ethnic groups often call them “To Bugi,” while the Indonesian label is “Bugis.”

Location. Within the province Sulawesi Selatan, Bugis are concentrated along the coasts of the southwestern peninsula and in the rice plains of its interior, north of the city of Ujung Pandang and south of the mountains of Tana Toraja (roughly between 5° and 4° S along a peninsula spine at 120° E). The region is composed of several agroclimatic zones. The west coast has its highest rainfall in December, while the east coast is wettest around May. Intermediate areas (e.g., interior rice plains) have a bimodal distribution with two dry seasons. Bugis have settled throughout the Indonesian archipelago as traders, fishermen, and farmers, especially in eastern Sumatra and the Riau Archipelago and along the entire shoreline of Sulawesi, as well as in coastal areas of Kalimantan, Buru, Ambon, Flores, and most of the islands of eastern Indonesia. The rhythm of both agriculture and trading has been affected by the prevailing monsoon seasons in all these settlements.

Demography. Extrapolating proportions from the 1930 census, the last to itemize ethnic groups, estimates of Bugis in South Sulawesi in the 1970s ranged around 3.2 million speakers. Given continuing population growth and the many Bugis outside the homeland, a current estimate of over 4 million is not unreasonable. Within the 72,781 square kilometers of the province, Sulawesi Selatan’s 1990 population is projected at 7,082,118, with an average population density of 91 persons per square kilometer and an annual growth rate of 1.74 percent. Continual out-migration keeps the growth rate below the national average; the sex ratio of 96 indicates the preponderance of males in this out-migration.

Linguistic Affiliation. Bugis, Makassarese, Mandar, Sa’dan Toraja, Pitu Ulunna Salo, Seko, and Massenrempulu (Duri) form a distinct South Sulawesi Subbranch within the Western Indonesian Branch of Austronesian languages. Sa’dan Toraja speakers are the closest linguistic relatives of the Bugis, while the speakers of Central Sulawesi languages to the north represent an indigenous population whose occupation preceded that of the South Sulawesi peoples. Bugis and Makassarese share a common script based on an Indic model. In this syllabic script, each of twenty-two symbols stands for a consonant, sometimes prenasalized, plus the inherent vowel a. The five other vowels are indicated by adding diacritics. One further symbol stands for a vowel without a preceding consonant. Writing was developed around 1400, but probably does not derive directly from Javanese kawi.

South Sulawesi, Bajau Wedding

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Marriage. Kin are favored as marriage partners. Exceptions are the children of brothers and those nursed by the same mother or nursemaid. Marriage is either parentally arranged or initiated by elopement or abduction. Arranged marriages are the ideal, but elopement is frequent. Marriage negotiations are normally set in motion by the man’s family, often with the help of a go-between. After a proposal is accepted, the bride’s father designates one of his kinsmen to act as his daughter’s guardian ( wakil ). The man chosen formally receives bride-wealth from the groom’s family and represents the woman’s side during the wedding ceremony. The religious component of the rite is conducted by an imam. Weddings usually take place in the guardian’s house, to which the couple is conducted in separate ceremonial processions, often with music and dancing. Divorce is frequent during the first two or three years of marriage and remarriage is relatively easy for both partners. After that, divorce tends to be infrequent. Following marriage, a couple is expected to set up its own household within two or three years, except for one child, usually the youngest, who normally remains to look after the parental couple in their old age. New houses are generally built close to the natal household of the bride. Polygyny is permitted but infrequent.

South Sulawesi, Makassar, Wedding

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Makassar, (Buginese-Makassarese language: sometimes spelled Macassar, Mangkasara) is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably. The port city is located at 5°8′S 119°25′ECoordinates: 5°8′S 119°25′E, on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.

Its area is 175.77 km² and has population of around 1.4 million.

Festival lake Poso Morowali

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Lake Poso
Covering an area of 32,300 hectares and reaching 450m in depth, Lake Poso is the third largest lake in Indonesia. It is located 600m above sea level, so the evenings are pleasantly cool without being too cold. This area is also famous for wild orchids, especially on the western shores near Bancea.

South Sulawesi, Makassar, festival budaya makassar

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Festival Budaya Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi Cultural Festival) – in commemoration of South Sulawesi’s anniversary, regions throughout South Sulawesi participates in this festival to promote local culture.