Indonesia Banget #1: 17 Agustusan

Finally…my 1st post for Indonesia Banget. To know more what Indonesia Banget means, please read the previous post (here).

On August 17, 1945, Indonesian people declared their Independence from colonialism… we are literally FREE from any Colonial Government, we are not a commonwealth country. I’m not going to talk much about the history because the main thing I want to share is the fun we had every year to celebrate our Independence Day.

Here’s a brief of Indonesian history. We were colonized by Dutch for 350 years. Then, The Japanese Imperialism came and took us away from the Dutch. Japanese were crueler than the Dutch but they also taught us something, they taught us how to use weapon and how to make a government organization. When US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan became weak and we took our country from them and declared our independence. We had to struggle to keep our independence because the Dutch wanted to return to our country. In the end, we keep our independence for ourselves.

I might not look like a nationalist person because I hate my corrupt government, but I am SO PROUD with our heroes.

Like I said before, I’m going to talk about our celebration and I am sure that you can not find this in other country 🙂

There are so many interesting competitions or games held to celebrate our Independence, from competition for kids to competition for grown-ups. Here are some that I can remember:

(unfortunately this year’s Independence Day is on the holy month of Ramadhan, my neighborhood doesn’t held any competition…so I can’t provide my own pictures here, I have to google it)

1. Panjat Pinang

Picture is taken from MURI

Panjang pinang is mostly for grown-ups because it is very difficult. A tree called pinang is smeared with oil and then they put lots of prizes on top of it and then stick the pinang on the ground. A group of people will try to climb it to get the prizes. It is very difficult because the pinang is very slippery. To be able to reach the top, one needs to rely on their group’s teamwork. Ancol (a famous theme park in Jakarta) usually held a mass panjat pinang, they provide about 1000 pinang to be climbed. I really like watching this competition because I got to see people falling all the time 😉

2. Balap karung

Picture is taken from smarowosarionline

Balap karung (Sack Race) is for both kids and grown-ups. We get inside a sack and then line up and start racing to the finish line by hopping. It’s really difficult to run because our legs are inside the sack. Many people will fall during this race. I avoid this game because I hate falling.

3. Balap Kelereng

Balap Kelereng (Marble Race) is mostly for kids. We put a marble on a spoon and then we bite the spoon, we have to walk as fast as we can to the finish line with a spoon in our mouth and we are not allowed to drop the marble. If the marble falls, you’ll be disqualified. I won this game long time ago 🙂

4. Take Coin out

Picture is taken from ilmuperpus

Some coins are stuck in to Balinese orange or papaya or coconut and then the orange is smeared with oil. The orange is then hung as high as human’s face. The contestants have to take the coin out of the orange with their teeth, hands behind their back because they are not allowed to use their hand.

Those are some games or competitions that have been around since I was kid…there are still many more but I can’t write them all here.

Nowadays, we can also find new games invented from professional sports. One that I enjoy the most is Daster Football. Daster is a long dress usually wore by middle-aged women when they are at home. In daster football, the men are wearing their wife’s daster and play football. In some places, they also wear their wife’s make-up. Hehehe it is really funny. In the school I used to teach, the children held a competition of putting make up on their friend’s face, but they have to do it blindfolded.

Beside games and competitions, we also have children’s parade and we can see our red and white flag everywhere. I think this parade and flag thing is very common in other country.

I hope you enjoy reading this post, this is just a glimpse of the fun that we have to celebrate our Independence Day

Read more Indonesia Banget posts here

Mel U of The Reading Life has kindly made a series of reviews from Indonesian Authors to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day…Terima kasih banyak Mel 🙂

Here are his reviews (please check them out):  Her by Titus Basino; Road to Heaven by Abidah El Khaliegy; The Century Carver by Oka Rusmini;