Indonesian students introduce culture

The Indonesian Student Association entertained guests at its annual celebration "One Night in Indonesia" Saturday night in Alumni Hall. The guests were greeted with the words "selamat datang," which means "welcome" in Indonesian. \nStudents put on a drama influenced by batik, a traditional Indonesian fabric pattern and showed ways to wear it in a fashion show. Visitors tried authentic Indonesian food, while listening to live music and watching Indonesian music videos. Foods included gado -- a mix of cooked vegetables and cashews, fried bananas, beef with coconut rice, perkedel or fried potatoes, and chicken with peanut sauce.\nBefore the festivities took place, the audience stood up as members sang the Indonesian Raya, the Indonesian national anthem.\nAmiruddin Panjaitan, the Consul for Information and Culture Affairs at the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Chicago, said he thought the event was great. Panjaitan was the ISA's guest of honor. \n"I am proud of what the students did here tonight; they worked so hard," he said.\nThe student members of the ISA have been preparing for Indonesian Night since this summer. The event gives the students a chance to unite in their language and with each other. \nFredy Steiawan Pribadi stressed the importance of unity among the Indonesian students.\n"I am happy to see so many different ethnicities here," Pribadi said. "In unity we are strong, in separation we are nothing." \nThe event gave the ISA members a chance to embrace their culture and teach others at the same time. Viola Widjaja, coordinator of the event, said she enjoyed seeing non-Indonesian students in the crowd, and she hopes people can learn from the experience.\n"We don't want people to be scared because of the bombing in Indonesia," Widjaja said, referring to recent terrorist attacks. "We want people to know where Indonesia is and get a good feel for the Indonesian culture."\nDancers performed three traditional Indonesian dances. The first dance was the Lampung Dance, a traditionally done by women in the Indonesian city of Lampung. Music accompanied the women clad in traditional Indonesian attire. The dancers wore red, white and gold batik. The costumes included beaded headpieces and batik wrapped dresses. The dancers wore jeweled foot decorations and long gold ornaments over each finger. Pribadi said his favorite part of the show was the dancing. \nThe second dance was the Taruna, traditionally performed by young female dancers to show their coming of age. The movements of the dance are supposed to express the gentleness of the time. The dancers wore a purple and gold batik wrapped skirt and a matching form fitting tunic with sleeves. Sophomore Justin Sorrell, who attended an Indonesian performance for the first time, said the dancing showed the culture's depth.\n"I thought it really showed a lot of the richness of the culture," Sorrell said. "You can see it in the costume and in the rhythm of the dance."\nThe Jaipongan dance, or a wedding dance, was the last dance performed. It is danced with two couples, which were pulled onto the stage and were instructed on how to perform the Jaipongan dance. \nPribadi said he thought the way the dancers moved their heads and eyes was amazing. Traditionally, dancers move their heads first to the left and then to the right, with the eyes quickly following the head movement.\nThe dancers also left quite an impression on Sorrell. \n"The eye movements were really striking. It was very exotic, very sexy," Sorrell said. \nISA members also acted out a drama based on Indonesian culture. Panjaitan said he liked the drama the most because it is similar to an opera. The drama was based around a batik shop owned by a mother and her three sons. The show conveyed the complexities of making batik as well as important aspects of dating in the Indonesian culture. The sons received their mother's blessing before going out on a date. It also revealed arranged marriages as being a part of the culture, and the pride that comes with carrying on a family legacy. \nBatik was also the theme of the fashion show. The students combined traditional batik with modern clothing. The males wore batik wrapped around pants like a skirt and as a jacket and the women wore brightly colored scarves, belts and wrapped skirts in red, pink, and gold. The wrapped shirt was a striped yellow batik that went over one shoulder and tied at the waist. Widjaja said it was not traditional Indonesian dress, but it was a modernized version of how Indonesians use batik. The master of ceremonies wore a Kebaya, a traditional Indonesian blouse made of lace, with batik wrapped as a skirt.\nISA members said they were happy with the turnout of the event and hoped by sharing their culture, many people learned more about it. Pribadi said he was proud of the event and the way it turned out. He said he hoped people got the essence of Indonesia.\n-- Contact staff writer Patrice Worthy at pworthy@indiana.edu.