Jakarta, Nov 17, 2015 (Antara)- The Nusantara (Archipelago) Royal Palace Festival and the Third ASEAN Adat (Customary) Community Festival officially wrapped up in Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi, on November 14, following three days of festivities.
The events, participated in by 143 kings, sultans or other royal family members, including from kingdoms in the Philippines, Pakistan, China, Singapore and Malaysia, was closed by the Southeast Sulawesi Administration¿s Provincial Secretary Lukman Abunawas.
From Indonesia, the participants included sultans or kings and queens from the sultanates or kingdoms of Surakarta (Yogyakarta), Tabanan (Bali), Cirebon (West Java), Gorontalo, South Sumatra, Buton (Sultra) and Tidore (North Maluku).
"We hope the Nusantara (Archipelago) Royal Palace Festival and the ASEAN Adat Community Festival offered good impressions to the participating kings and sultans, so they would come back to visit the province again," Abunawas said in his closing remarks.
The Southeast Sulawesi administration has, indeed, used the events to promote the province's tourist attractions, particularly Bokori Isle.
"Today, we will take every king participating in this event to Bokori Isle for a gala dinner, and to allow them to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the isle," Southeast Sulawesi Governor Nur Alam said Nov. 13.
He also expressed his hope that after hosting the festival, South Sulawesi, which is rich in culture and natural vistas, could become an attractive tourist destination, domestically and internationally.
Governor Nur Alam officially opened the festivals on behalf of Vice President M Jusuf Kalla, who was unable to attend due to urgent appointments.
"On behalf of the Indonesian Vice President, I apologize that the Vice President has failed to be present at the opening of this festival," the governor said during the opening ceremony.
Nur Alam welcomed sultans, kings and queens, as well as other royal families from Indonesia's 34 provinces and five guest countries, in participating at the festivals.
The opening ceremony was highlighted with a colossal dance performed by more than 700 students.
Southeast Sulawesi authorities also held a Qasidah Islamic music festival to coincide with the events.
The Royal Palace Festival activities comprised, among other things, a cultural exhibition, an art and cultural performance, a culinary event, a cultural carnival, and a seminar on culture.
During the exhibition, several kingdoms displayed items from their royal collection, such as weapons and royal wedding costumes.
The Southeast Sulawesi province also organized a non-rice culinary exhibition on Bokori Island to enliven the festivals.
"The exhibition aims to introduce local foods from each district and city in Southeast Sulawesi," local food and security agency spokesman Yesna said on November 14.
Also, the participating kings and sultans proposed the establishment of an adat institution at national and regional levels.
Such an adat institution would improve communication and social interaction among kings and sultans throughout Indonesia, and in other ASEAN countries, Taufik Hidayat, a king from Lampung Province, said when speaking at a cultural seminar held on November 13.
By having an adat institution, kings and sultans could carry out better mediation between the adat community and the governments, he said.
Dr KPH Edy Wirabhumi of the Surakarta Royal Palace supported the idea of forming an adat institution.
Wirabhumi, who was also a speaker at the seminar, said that national and regional adat institutions would be effective in communicating the interests of the adat community to the government.
The 9th Nusantara Royal Palace Festival was organized in Bima on Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province, in September 2014.
Some 1,500 participants from 82 kingdoms and sultanates from across the archipelago and Selangor state in Malaysia took part in the event.
Next year, the Nusantara Royal Palace Festival will be organized in Pangkalan Bun, West Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan.
Early this year, the 14th Sultan of Cirebon Arief Natadiningrat announced that Cirebon, which is located in West Java Province, will host the Nusantara Royal Palace Festival in 2017.
The Nusantara Royal Palace Friendship Forum (FSKN) has planned to organize a congress next year, and three kingdoms in the Sultanate of Bulungan (North Kalimantan), the Sultanate of Panipi (Gorontalo) and the Sultanate of Mamuju (West Sulawesi), have offered to host the congress.
Before proclaiming its Independence as the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 1945, there were many kingdoms in the Indonesian archipelago, such as Tarumanegara kingdom, Srivijaya kingdom, and Majapahit Kingdom.
Tarumanagara was one of the earliest kingdoms and flourished between 358 and 669 CE. The kingdom was located in West Java, close to modern-day Jakarta.
Srivijaya was an ethnic Malay kingdom on Sumatra which influenced much of Maritime Southeast Asia. From the 7th century, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism. Srivijaya was centred in the coastal trading centre of present-day Palembang, South Sumatra.
Majaphati had ruled much of the southern Malay Peninsula, as well as Borneo, Sumatra, Bali, and the Philippines from about 1293 A.D, to around 1500 A.D. Its greatest ruler was Hayam Wuruk. ***4***
(f001/INE/a014)
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 17-11-2015 18:53:51
(f001/INE/a014)
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 17-11-2015 18:53:51
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