The New Creations

Indonesia have a many numerous traditional arts and cultures. This including its dance. There are many Indonesian people whose are look after, mount guard and conserving these very great cultural. With innovation which adopted from the old and traditional dance, there are many a new creation dance.

Below are some of the new creation's dance from Kalimantan or Borneo.

1. Dance/Tari Belian Sentiu

This dance is from East Kalimantan - Indonesia. Belian Sentiu, basically was a ritual dance to medical treatment and was aimed as the request spell to God. This quatrain was expressed by the dancers when they are dancing or finished. The basic Belian Sentiu is almost like traditional Dance/Tari Giring-Giring.
.......and from the traditional dance, we will see a great new creation dance.

Dance Belian Sentiu


2. Dance/Tari Kayau.

This dance is from Center of Kalimantan - Indonesia. Kayau in Dayak (origin tribes in Kalimantan/Borneo) meaning - "cut the enemies head off". This horrible tradition is the rites of Dayak for some test to the Boys before they recognized as Adults. The Government of Indonesia prohibit, ban, inhibit this rites. With "all out" help from Muslim cleric, Kayau finally disappear and none of Dayak tribes doing such rites.

Kayau was mean "heroic" things too for Dayak. To commemorate about Kayau rites, a new creation dance has been made. See this beautiful dance:

Tari Kayau/Kayau Dance

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.

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.

Pencak Silat

Silat, is the Indonesian traditional martial art. According to its history, silat is Malay’s (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, South Philippine and South Thailand) cultures. In Indonesia, the Malay tribes is called for Sumatera and Kalimantan islands.

In 7^th century, silat is dispersing to all Nusantara archipelago, now call Indonesia. At this time, silat is not only used by Sumatera or Kalimantan people only, but using to by Javanese, Balinese and also using by the tribes which domiciled at Sulawesi Island. From the folk martial arts becoming a tradition to learn by boys, even for royal of ancient kingdoms. In the early 14^th century, the great Pendekar (martial artist of silat) born not only from Sumatera, The Great Gajah Mada for example. He was a Mahapatih (prime minister) of Majapahit kingdom, whose unite for almost all south east asia with silat. Majapahit was at Java island. In Javanese languages, silat is called pencak. That’s why in Indonesian modern language is called pencak silat.

At the Islamic period, silat becomes main sport at the Pesantren (Indonesian muslim’ school). Pencak Silat was also becomes symbolize of Indonesian war for freedom against the imperialism of VOC and Dutch Kingdom. All Indonesian heroes of freedom are Pendekar Pencak Silat.

Pendekar Silat

In the modern period, Pencak Silat growing more and more. Under The International Pencak Silat Federation, pencak silat is promoted to the world even to Europe and America. On 1986, the world cup of Pencak Silat, for the first time placed outer of Asia, Wina – Austria. The destination of this martial arts is becoming one of multi sport of Olympic games.

Western students learning silat