Indonesian Traditional Dance Attracts Australians

Jakarta, Apr 5 (Antara) - An Indonesian traditional dance named Bedoyo Pager Bumi created by a senior artist, Garin Nugroho, and presented by an art group from Yogyakarta has attracted Australian people on a stage at Shearwater High School, Mullumbimby, Australia on Monday (Apr 3). A statement from Information, Social and Cultural Function at the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney, H. Dimara, received by Antara here, Tuesday mentioned that Bedoyo Pager Bumi is a dance that tells a journey of three Muslim knights in Java in the early 19th century. "The knights want to know and see firsthand the changes experienced by the people in Java due to the changing of times," he added. He explained that people in Yogyakarta in the early 19th century were facing a turmoil due to two events, namely the European colonialist that went into the land of Java and, the arrival of Islam from the Middle East that generated the Islamic Javanese and Islam that has to follow the culture of the Middle East. According to Dimara, 300 people who attended the cultural show consisted of students and teachers of the Shearwater High School, the local people, and a number of important figures in the Byron Shire, such as the Mayor of Byron Shire, as well as the Indonesian Consul General in Sydney, Yayan G.H. Mulyana along with his spouse. "For about 45 minutes, the emotions of the audiences were up and down. At a certain moment, the audience were laughing at the comedy style of the dancers. In another moment, the audience were silent when the vocalists' melodious voice reinforced the messages and values of Javanese culture conveyed by the dancers," he said. The Bedoyo Page Bumi performance ended with a noble message conveyed by the three knights of Islam, that in the future Java would be filled with conflicts and violence. "That could happen if the people coming into the Java land were unwilling, and unable to live together in the land and did not understand the cultures," Dimara said.