VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Usually pandanus or pandan leaves are used for food ingredients, but in Tenganan Village, Karangasem Regency, Bali, pandan leaves are used as weapons in a war tradition. The Mekare-kare tradition, commonly known as the "pandan war", is a tradition that is done every year on sasih kalima, the fifth month in the special calendar of the Tenganan Pegringsingan Village, Bali. Based on the Tenganan village calendar, the tradition falls in June. According to local beliefs, the Mekare-kare tradition or pandan war tradition is carried out as a tribute to Lord Indra (the god of war) as well as the ancestors. This tradition is also part of the Sasih Sembah ceremony, the largest religious ceremony in Tenganan Village.

Lasting for two days, the Mekare-kare tradition begins with a ceremony to ask for safety and a ritual of pouring tuak, a traditional alcoholic beverage, on each other. A traditional leader will give the signal for the war to begin. The war is carried out in pairs. Then the pandan war participants will dance around and occasionally slash the spiked pandan at other participants. Even though their bodies bleed, the participants still look happy because it is one of their expressions of gratitude and a way of honoring Lord Indra. After the war is over, wounded participants are smeared with a traditional concoction made from turmeric plus coconut oil to treat them. There is no revenge or anger after the game because all participants do it sincerely as part of a traditional ceremony.

The Mekari-kari tradition uses thorny pandan weapons as the main property. The thorny pandanus is cut to the same size, then tied like a mace, a weapon in war. Pandan War participants will also carry a rattan shield to protect themselves. The men who will participate in the Pandan War only wear a sarong (kamen), shawl (saput), and headband (udeng) without clothes, bare-chested. The pandan war is accompanied by gamelan seloding music. Seloding is a Tenganan musical instrument that can only be played by sanctified people. This instrument is also not carelessly played, but only on certain occasions.

Photo credit: detik/KJRI Cape Town

The Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in Cape Town, South Africa strengthened social and cultural cooperation with South Africa by holding a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) at the Castle of Good Hope, on Thursday (00/5). The FGD was attended by a number of public figures, such as members of the South African parliament, judges, artists and film industry players, lawyers, general managers and journalists of Voice of the Cape, academicians, religious leaders and entrepreneurs. The FGD was also attended by a delegation from the  People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia  which was visiting Cape Town to meet partners there and review the implementation of the South African elections. According to a press release from the Indonesian Consulate General in Cape Town received in Jakarta on Saturday (1/6), Tudiono highlighted the historical and cultural closeness between Indonesia and South Africa.

Meanwhile, the owner and curator of the Cape Heritage Museum, Ighsaan Higgins, highlighted the ancestors of South Africans; many of whom came from Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. In 1694, the great warrior and scholar of the archipelago from Gowa, Sheikh Yusuf Al Makassari was exiled to Cape Town and introduced Islam in South Africa. For his services, he was awarded the Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in Gold by South African President, Oliver Reginald Thambo in 2005. In 1780, Tuan Guru of Tidore was imprisoned on Robben Island, which was also Nelson Mandela's prison. After his release, Tuan Guru of Tidore founded the first madrasa which was later built into a mosque and named Masjid Auwal, the first mosque in South Africa. This mosque is located in the Bo Kaap area and still stands strong, and it is used for worship today. These two names are part of the Indonesian people who came to South Africa, and became the forerunner of the formation of the Cape Malay community, whose population has now exceeded 300 thousand people.

Moreover,  Voice of the Cape senior presenter, Owner and Curator of the Cape Heritage Museum Ighsaan Higgins highlighted that many South Africans' ancestors came from Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia. He has seen the importance of developing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of art, culture, music and film. On that occasion, Tudiono also said that the Consulate General in Cape Town will organize the Indonesian Folk Market (IFM) on November 9 and the Indonesian Film Festival on November 10 and 11. The IFM was first held in Cape Town in 2023 and featured Indonesian art, culture, culinary, and products. At the request of the Mossel Bay Municipality (400 km from Cape Town), a second Indonesian Folk Market was held in Mossel Bay, which was also part of the 30th anniversary of Indonesia-South Africa diplomatic relations. The third IFM will feature a Betawi art team that will collaborate with the EOAN Group dance group led by alumni of the Indonesian Arts and Culture Scholarship.

Welcome back to “Mari Berbahasa Indonesia” or “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia”, a segment which introduces you to Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in the Indonesian language. “Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia” is a collaboration between Voice of Indonesia, the Overseas Service of Radio Republik Indonesia, and the Language Centre and Development Agency at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. Today’s topic is “Di Bali” which means “In Bali”. Stay tuned!

Here is a conversation entitled "Pertunjukan Harian" which means "Daily Show". This conversation takes place between Chris, an Australian vlogger, and Widari, a member of a vlog community from Bali, while watching a kecak dance performance in Uluwatu. Widari told Chris that it was a daily performance.

Chris (P)    :   Tari kecak ini heboh, ya. Gerakan penari sangat energik dan kompak. Padahal, mereka menari tanpa iringan musik.

Widari (W):   Ya. Karena itu, tari kecak menjadi pertunjukan harian di sini. Setiap hari penontonnya penuh.

Chris (P) :    Apalagi, penonton juga disuguhi pemandangan matahari terbenam.

Here are some vocabulary related to today's material.

karena itu which means therefore

tari kecak which means kecak dance

menjadi which means to become

pertunjukan which means show

harian which means daily

di sini which means here

Karena itu, tari kecak menjadi pertunjukan harian di sini which means Therefore, kecak dance becomes daily show here

heboh which means excited

gerakan which means movement

energik which means energetic

kompak which means harmonious

padahal which means whereas

Penari which means dancer

iringan musik which means music accompaniment

setiap hari which means every day

penonton which means viewer

apalagi which means moreover

disuguhi which means to be presented

pemandangan which means panorama

matahari terbenam which means sunset

In conversation, there is you the statement Wow, banyak sekali anting ibu itu which means "Wow, that Lady put on a lot of earrings " In this sentence there is an interjection Wow! which means Wow! or Awe! which functions as an exclamation of admiration and amazement. The word wow which means wow or awe is used by Chris to express his amazement at the number of earrings worn by a Dayak woman he met.

In the conversation, there is the statement "Karena itu, tari kecak menjadi pertunjukan harian di sini" which means "Therefore, kecak dance has become a daily performance here" which. The statement contains the word harian which means 'daily' or 'every day'. The word harian, which means "daily" expresses the frequency of activities that are done every day. In the statement , the word harian is used to describe the kecak dance performance that is performed every day in Uluwatu.

Here are other examples of an adverbial word that expresses the frequency of an activity in relation to a unit of time.

Mingguan which means 'weekly' or 'every week' 

Saya mengikuti kursus bahasa Indonesia mingguan which means I attend a weekly Indonesian language course

Bulanan which means monthly or 'every month'

Penari kecak di sini menerima gaji bulanan which means The kecak dancers here receive a monthly salary. 

Kecak dance is one of the traditional Balinese dances. Kecak dance is usually performed by dozens of male dancers. They sit in a circle, move, and sing together. The distinctive sound heard is 'cak-cak-cak'. The sound makes this dance called kecak dance. Kecak dance is inspired from the epic stories of the Ramayana. 

The Belawan area is located quite far from the center of Medan, North Sumatra. It makes Belawan a tourism destination for local people to relax. One of the most visitedtourismdestinations is the Sicanang Mangrove Forest. This forest is the only surviving Mangrove Forest in the Medan region, North Sumatra.

Previously, the Sicanang Mangrove Forest was threatened, because many local people did not care for the forest and cut down mangrove trees for economic needs. However, since 2013, environmentalists have begun to rehabilitate and invite local people to protect the area. Currently, the Sicanang Mangrove forest is often used as educational tourism for students to get the ecotourism knowledge which contributes to the absorption of carbon dioxide gas. So, it becomes one of the oxygen supports in Medan City. The rarest mangrove tree in the world is still well maintained in the Sicanang Mangrove Forest

This tourismdestination is located in Belawan Sicanang Village, Medan Belawan District. From the center of Medan City, it takes about 50 minutesby motor vehicle. In this location,there are 20 types of mangroves that you can see. For the entrance fee, you only need to spend IDR 10 thousand/person,  and parking fee is IDR 2 thousand. You can explore this 19-hectare Mangrove Forest by using a speed boat. The tour guide will answer all your questions about this Mangrove Forest. Taking pictures and relaxing with your family in the cottage provided by the ownerare otheractivities that you can do. Although there are no supporting facilities,such as toilets and restaurants or food stalls, this place has its special charm to visit.