Kuningan

Kuningan is a city and regency in eastern West Java, Indonesia, between Cirebon and Tasikmalaya, about 200 km east of Jakarta. The area is near Mount Cereme/Ciremai (3.078 m), the highest mountain in West Java. The mountain is located in the western part of the region. The eastern part is a valley. The city's landmark is a horse, called Kuda Kuningan and its motto is Kuningan Aman (Safe) Sehat (Healthy) Rindang (Leafy) Indah (Beautiful) which always be called Kuningan ASRI.

The population of the regency is about 1.1 million. Most of the people are Muslim and ethnically Sundanese.

Coordinates: 6°59′S 108°29′E

Kuningan Regency south of Cirebon City and Cirebon Regency in West Java.

History

Kuningan took part in Indonesian history when the Linggadjati Agreement was made between the Indonesian and Dutch governments on November 15, 1946. Linggardjati is a mountain village located in Kuningan.

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Culture of Indonesia

Indonesian culture has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is central along ancient trading routes between the Far East and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Islam, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures.

Examples of cultural fusion include the fusion of Islam with Hindu in Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha, and the fusion of Hinduism and animism in Kaharingan; others could be cited.

Indonesian art-forms express this cultural mix. Wayang, traditional theater-performed puppet shows, were a medium in the spread of Hinduism and Islam amongst Javan villagers. Both Javanese and Balinese dances have stories about ancient Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms, while Islamic art forms and architecture are present in Sumatra, especially in the Minangkabau and Aceh regions. Traditional art, music and sport are combined in a martial art form called Pencak Silat.

Western culture has influenced Indonesia most in modern entertainment such as television shows, movies and songs. India has notably influenced Indonesian songs and movies. A popular type of song is the Indian-rhythmical dangdut, which is often mixed with Arab and Malay folk music.

Despite the influences of foreign culture, some remote Indonesian regions still preserve uniquely indigenous culture. Indigenous ethnic groups of Mentawai, Asmat, Dani, Dayak, Toraja and many others are still practising their ethnic rituals, customs and wearing traditional clothes.

Statue of Dewi Sri in Ubud, Bali.

Minangkabau Rumah Gadang

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North Sumatra

North Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Utara) is a province of Indonesia. Its capital is Medan.

Geography and population

The province of North Sumatra stretches across the island of Sumatra between the Indian Ocean and the Strait Malacca. It borders Aceh province on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra provinces on the southeast. It has an area of 70787 km². The province contains a broad, low plain along the Strait of Malacca coast; the provincial capital, Medan, is located here. In the south and west, the land rises to the mountain range that runs the length of Sumatra; the mountains here are dominated by Lake Toba, formed from the caldera of an ancient volcano. Several large islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra are part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias, Tanah Bala, Tanah Masa, and Pini.

North Sumatra has a population of approximately 11.48 million (As of 2000 census).

Agriculture and economy

Sumatra Mandheling and Sumatra Lintong coffee beans are grown in North Sumatra and largely exported to the U.S. Mandheling is named after the similarly spelt Mandailing people located in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The name is the result of a misunderstanding by the first foreign purchaser of the variety, and no coffee is actually produced in the "Mandailing region". Lintong on the other hand, is named after the Lintong district, also located in North Sumatra.

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Grand Mosque of Medan, North Sumatra

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Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

Aceh (pronounced [ʔaˈtɕɛh], generally anglicized as IPA: /ˈɑːtʃeɪ/) is a special territory (daerah istimewa) of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Nanggröe Aceh Darussalam. Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.

It is thought to have been in Aceh where Islam was first established in Southeast Asia. In the early seventeenth century the Sultanate of Aceh was the most wealthy, powerful and cultivated state in the Malacca Straits region. Aceh has a history of political independence and fierce resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government. Aceh has substantial natural resources, including oil and gas - some estimates put Aceh gas reserves as being the largest in the world. Relative to most of Indonesia, it is a religiously conservative area.[3]

Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the massive 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that devastated much of the western coast of the region, including part of the capital of Banda Aceh. 167,736 Indonesians, the overwhelming majority in Aceh, were killed or missing and 500,000 made homeless.[4] This event helped trigger the peace agreement between the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), mediated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, with the signing of a MoU on August 15, 2005. With the assistance of the European Union through the Aceh monitoring mission as of December 2005, the peace has held.


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Bull Races: Madura Island

A very popular sport and spectacle, the bull races are held regularly at least twice a month during September through to October and generally start at 9am in the towns of Bangkalan, Sampang and Pameksan.

Madura Island is about a half hour ferry ride from Surabaya. Bull racing is enthralling and especially the annual races for the island championships which are usually held by the local administration after the harvest time in September or October. The finals are held in Pameksan.

Photo Courtesy: Nick O’Neill

Source: indonesialogue.com