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Indonesians celebrate heritage at cultural festival

Indonesians living in Taipei City perform the poco poco dance at the Indonesian Cultural Festival in the city’s Da-an Park yesterday. PHOTO: CHIU SHAO-WEN, TAIPEI TIMES

Recreating a traditional Javanese wedding ritual and performing traditional Indonesian dances, hundreds of Indonesians living in Taipei yesterday celebrated the Indonesian Cultural Festival at Taipei’s Da-an Park.

The festival, organized by Taipei City’s Department of Labor Affairs, is an annual event for the 23,000 Indonesian workers in Taipei to gather and celebrate their culture.

Department commissioner Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴) joined Indonesian performers to launch the festival yesterday by representing the siraman ritual, in which the family of the bride pour water on her as a blessing.

Su said the department hoped the ritual would bless the people in Indonesia and in Taiwan amid several natural disasters.

Typhoon Morakot brought heavy rainfall to southern Taiwan in August, triggering serious ­flooding and landslides in remote mountainous areas, leaving more than 700 people dead or missing and displacing thousands more.

Around the same time, Indonesia also suffered from two devastating earthquakes.

“We pray for the happiness and the safety of the people in both countries,” he said.

The festival was part of a series of cultural activities sponsored by the city government this year to promote cultural exchanges with Southeast Asian countries, many of which are major sources of migrant workers and new immigrants.

Well-known Indonesian pop singer Rossa performed at the festival, and it reached a frenzied crescendo when audience members were invited to join performers on the stage to dance the poco-poco, a popular dance in Indonesia that originated from a traditional dance performed by fishermen to celebrate their catch.
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