Friday, July 25, 2008

Tari Piring

Piring or piriang (in Minangkabau languages), mean plate. This dance originally from Minangkabau, Province of West Sumatera, Indonesia. In Minangkabau cultures, plates symbolize for prosper or affluence. The dance symbolize for "Gotong-Royong" or helping each other, which is Indonesian people life-style. During the implanting of paddy in the paddy field, all the people are helping each other from the start until the harvesting time. When it comes, the harvesting party begin and the dance appearences for celebration.

This dance represents for implanting the paddy activities. Planting, irrigated the paddy and of course the harvesting time. The dance also represent for Silat style. With the traditional music of Minangkabau, this dance is very attractive and adorable.

See the dance below:

Taken from: mfadls

See also:
1. West Sumatera
2. Tourism Object
3. Fact Book

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Legacy from Paleolithic Age

Nias Island, part of North Sumatera, had a very unique culture. According to Medan Archeology, Nias has its cultures from 12 thousand years ago, in the time of Paleolithic age. This age period had the same period with Hoabinh (Vietnam) paleolithic age. The greatest thing from Nias people, they keep its cultures persistently. This makes Nias cultures keep favorable until now.


One of this legacy is JUMPING STONE:



Taken from : sgenome

But, Nias not only had the stones. The beach of this island is a very good to surf. Maybe as good as Bali Beaches. So....see and enjoy the Legacy from the ancient time.




Nias Island Travel Guide :
1. virtualtourist
2. world 66
3. indonesiatrekking

Smart Packing Tips :
AmazingIndonesia. Net

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The Largest Flower In The World

It is a member of genus Rafflesia, parasitic flowering plants. The genus named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the expansion from British Empire. The genus Rafflesia including approximately 26 species (including 4 incomplete species, recognized by Willem Meijer, the botanist and plant collector from Dutch).

The Rafflesia genus were discovered by Dr. Joseph Arnold who was exploring the rainforest of Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan) of Indonesia Archipelago at 1818.

Rafflesia Arnoldi was named after those two men, Sir Raffles and Dr. Arnold. This plants has no stems, leaves or true-roots, only flowers. Its weighs 12 kg. The petals grows almost 3 meter long and 2,5 cm thick. This is makes this flower is the largest flower in world.

This flowers lives like parasites, on the vine plants as it host. It also grows only in rainforest such as forest in Sumatera and Kalimantan. Only one species grows in Java Island, Rafflesia Patma.

The Flowers looks very beautiful, but it is very reeks. This reeks use for attract the flies for pollination. This flower seemingly a strong flower, but its only have 1 week long age. No wonder if this flowers are very rare and very hard to locate. It is especially difficult to find the flower in forests as the buds take many months to develop and the flower lasts for just a few days. The flowers are unisexual and thus proximity of male and female flowers is vital for successful pollination. These factors make successful pollination a rare event.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Jungle Man From Indonesia

In this world, there are four great apes species; gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans. Only orang utans are from Indonesia, Asia. The others are from Africa. Live at the rainforest of Indonesia, orangutans known with two species, Borneo and Sumatra. Both of them are the last surviving of Pongo Genus and the subfamily Ponginae (including the extinct Gigantopithecus and Sivapithecus).

Sivapithecus known as the ancestors of modern orangutans, but some hypothesis says it originated from Lufengpithecus. Both of these ancestors were live about more than 300 thousand years ago and now extinct.


Whose ever the orangutans are, these species are unique. When one thinks of an orangutan what usually comes to mind is the uniquely wonderful rusty-orange hair, some said bright reddish, that covers their bodies and their arms. In general its coat which is sparse, long and coarse, will range anywhere from bright orange in youngsters to a chocolate mahogany in some adults. Orangutan also known as arboreal (primarily tree dwelling), while other apes are primarily terrestrial (spending their lives on the ground).

The Sumatran species has a thinner, paler coat than that of the Bornean. It is the largest tree dwelling mammal in the world; males at 220 pounds and standing 5 feet tall are twice the size of females.

Their legs are about 30% shorter than their long arms which can grow, up to 6.6ft. (2m). They use both legs and arms to move from tree to tree in the forest canopy, swinging and moving elegantly. Makes them graceful and swift while swinging through the trees but it makes walking on the ground very slow and awkward. That is why the orangutan is at a great disadvantage on the ground, and why the orangutan rarely comes down from the treetops. Their feet are designed like hands and their both hands and feet are long, narrow and strong and used in a hook like fashion when grasping branches. The thumb is fully opposable.

The etymology said that the words orangutan derived from Indonesian Malay language. Orang mean Man, utan for Hutan mean forest or jungle, thus “the people of forest”.

Let me say that orangutan is the jungle man, and let the jungle man traveling the great forest of Kalimantan (Borneo) and Sumatra forever.

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