Students celebrate Indonesian culture, traditions

The sound of traditional Indonesian music filled the air as guests stood in line to taste traditional foods before the performances began.

Indonesian Night took place Saturday at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and included traditional foods, dances, music and costumes. The Indonesian Student Association organized the event.

“It’s way to promote our culture and for the Bloomington community to know about us and know about our culture,” said Anthony Tjandra, an organizer of the event and member of the student association.

He added most people only think of places like Bali in Indonesia, but the country is much more than the one island.

Sophomore Madeline Wukusick said she liked that people of all backgrounds were invited to join the celebration.

“We try to go to the ethnic events because they have wonderful food,” said Wukusick, who came with a group of friends. “You can’t get anything like it on campus.”

Indonesian students, both members and non-members of the student association, performed four different traditional dances and a traditional fashion show.

Before the performances, guests and organizers stood for the Indonesian national anthem, and many sang along.

Wukusick, who said she looked forward to the traditional dances, said the night renewed the culture not only for outsiders like her, but also for the Indonesians.