In Reply to: independance day posted by wendyian on Monday, 24. July 2006 at 14:38 Bali Time:
I wouldnt say just flag waving and marching ...
the best place to see the following activies would be in a "village area"
usually on the 16th of August at night they'll have a get together, with prayers maybe food etc.. to remember what has happened during the year, and of course remember all the "fallen" in the fight for independance... then at midnight they'll probably sing the national anthem.. this is usually called malam renungan...
Then the next morning the villages.. usually start the day with a local marathon..
then they'll move onto other traditional games for the day.. such as
tarik tambang.. - tug of war, Panjat Pinang (climbing the slippery post) balap karung = sack races.. makan krupuk = eat the krupuk hanging from something high ..
for the kids, best national dress, they could have a dance competition, poetry, etc etc. It depends on the amount of donations they get from the local people in the area.
Maybe in the afternoon (after the heat of midday) , they have a parade of the people in the village, walking around to other villages, with tradition clothing on etc.. I have taken part in one of these back in 1992 (in jakarta)..however i borrowed my indonesian friends army fatigues and dressed up..i was playing the part of the " captured dutch" it was great fun getting all the shocked stares.., and walked around to other villages with them.. even got my photo in the paper.. :)
Its more traditional Indonesian things, rather than just "bali" traditions for the day.
For the panjat pinang this is the most funny and popular to watch, its a high post covered in oil, and on the top they either have prizes or evelopes hanging.. You might have a team of two or four people, and they have to work out a way to get to the top of the post and grab a prize... again the prizes depend on what "donations" they got before hand. anything from packs of soap to TV's ...
The other games are just general tug of war, sack races etc etc..
The village area might also have enough money to put on a "stage night" with poetry reading, short acts of how the nation gained its freedom.. dances traditional or modern, maybe a local band singing, announments of winners for marathon, badminton competitions, volleyball competitions that has taken place amongst the local villages. Its a good night :)
With the stage night, I have also taken part, once again, i was a "dutch wife" of an officer.. where we had to deal with the indonesian army..it was great fun being up on stage...especially when your the only foreigner around... anyway...our dealings didnt work out (in the play) and my pretend husband and i were both killed... ahhh its always nice to remember those days... now im sitting here smiling to myself...
so, get out to a local village and really enjoy the day... its great fun :)
christine