1 CONTENT PAGE PROVINCE AUTHORS PAGE NO. Jawa Tengah Loh Yu Feng, Jason U063088H 1-5 Tong Tsz Ching U0609283 Yogyakarta Andi Kusumo U043673W 6-11 Seah Siew Yong U069218W Jawa Barat Aw Bee Hoon U041257 12- 16 Zhong Wanying U042709U Bali Zhuang Huining Joyce U042964E 17-21 Singh Kumar Shalabh U058933Y South Sulawesi Guo Xiaohan U069264E 22-27 Ng Zi Xuan U069201U Ong Mei Sin U069180A Tan Jian-En Candice U040989X Riau Cai Yiying U047534B 28-31 Peh Yin Yee U041090B Palembang Loo Swee Chun Johnathan U062868E Loh Jia Min Jasmine U061999J Padang Choo Weixiang, Johnathan U033727L Cheah Clara Ting-Li U063117W Compilation of Tan Shu Hui Geraldine U063099N Bulletin Lim Yi Jing U047527N Chua Lean Yen U047539J Woo Sin Tung U061962N 2 CENTRAL JAVA INTRODUCTION Jawa Tengah, or Central Java is centrally located on Java Island in Indonesia. Situated on the northern coast is Semarang, the capital of the province. Central Java, Indonesia Central Java is the cultural, geographic, and historic heartland of Java. Numerous dance schools, universities, handicrafts and textiles add a rich culture to the region. Besides that, Central Java is also known for her performing arts such as Wayang Orang, a traditional dance drama or Central Java Wayang Kulit, a shadow puppets show. Emblem With an extensive infrastructure network including roads, railways and an airport that runs though the most of the cities and villages, Central Java is one of the most accessible provinces in Indonesia. GEOGRAPHY The terrain in Central Java is a mix of mountains and plains. The low plains and beautiful beaches can be found alongside the northern part the island, while the high mountains and volcanoes stretching lengthwise from east to west are found in the center of the island. Of which, Gunung Semeru(right) is Java's highest mountain, standing proudly at 3,676 meters. Apart from these mountains, Central Java is also home to numerous lime mountains, rivers and highland plains. Gunung Semeru PEOPLE The population of Central Java is over 30.9 million (based on 2002 census), making it the third most-populated province in Indonesia. They are made up of people from different ethnic groups such as Javanese, Sundanese, Chinese, Arabs, Pakistanis and Indians. 3 TRADITIONAL COSTUMES Due to the fact that Indonesia is made up of many islands, there is a variety of traditional clothing. Each region has its own traditional costume. However, traditional costume is mainly worn on special occasions such as festivals, weddings and religious occasions. The climate in Indonesia is hot, so most clothing styles are loose, such as sarong style skirts with overshirts of light fabric. Sometimes fabric is decorated by embroidery or batik, a traditional fabric dyeing process. This process was first used by the Javanese. Kebaya and batik kain (a rectangular length of fabric that is wrap around the lower torso) are considered Indonesia's national dress for women, and teluk beskap, a combination of the Javanese jacket and kain, are national dress for Indonesian men. Women in Java wear sarongs and kain, held in place with a stagen, a narrow Kebaya- sash. The kebaya is a tight, often sheer, long-sleeved blouse worn on Indonesia’s the upper body. It is often made of lace, but can also be made of national dress lightweight, sheer, elaborately embroidered cottons. In addition, women generally have a large rectangle of cloth called a selendang draped over the shoulder. Javanese men generally wear kain or sarongs only in the home or on informal occasions. A headdress, or blankon, is also worn by Javanese males. It is made from batik cloth and could be used to differentiate between a commoner, a warrior or a king. The picture on the left shows the light-coloured traditional wedding costume from Java Tengah. The bridegroom carried a keris Pengantin Jawa and wore a blankon. The keris is said to be a weapon to protect the (Javanese bride lovely bride from any harm. & groom) ARTS & CULTURE Central Java is well known for her rich cultures and arts, such as batik, gamelan percussion orchestral music, Wayang Orang (a traditional dance drama) and Wayang Kulit (a shadow puppets show). 1. BATIK Batik is a form of “art on textile”. It is believed to be brought to Indonesia by travelers from the Indian subcontinent. Although the place of origin is not clear, many agree that batik has reached its highest artistic expression in Indonesia, Intricate designs on a piece of Batik 4 particularly in Java. Batik is Indonesian-Malay word that refers to a generic process of dyeing fabric by making use of a resist technique. A pattern of hot wax is applied onto the cloth. After the designs are applied with wax, the cloth is dipped into dye. The dye colours the parts of the material that are not waxed as the wax-coated areas resist colouring. The wax is later removed by boiling the cloth. This process is repeated several times using a different dye colour to produce Batik. Because of this technique of producing cloth by actual drawing, it offers immense possibilities for artistic freedom compared to weaving with thread. Another reason for its popularity is its durability. The colors are more resistant to wash and wear as the dye is absorbed in the cloth to the extent that the colors will not easily fade as compared to painted or printed fabrics. 2. WAYANG ORANG Wayang Orang is a Javanese traditional dance drama that usually relates to episode of the Mahabharata and Ramayana Hindu Epics. The name 'Orang' means person or people. It involves real people dancing to the part of the wayang characters and imitates the gestures of the puppets. 3. WAYANG KULIT A scene showing Wayang Orang dancers Wayang Kulit is a famous leather shadow puppet show in Java. This form of performing art started more than 500 years ago. It involves a few puppeteers and storytellers behind a screen and tells a story using leather puppets to cast shadows on the screen. In olden times, the puppeteer is usually also the storyteller. He had to give life to the puppets using a series of movements, different tones of voices, humour and also sing while also delivering the story. Wayang kulit as seen The stories in the performances relates to old epics such by the audience as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Pustaka Raja Purwa and Purwakanda. It is also said that Wayang Kulit was used to provide “the entrance to Javanese Islam” due to the fact that this form of puppet art had been attached to the Javanese people. Hence, it became the proper media to spread Islam. There are also many cultural events in Central Java such as the Dugderan Festival, a bazaar that marks the beginning of the Islamic fasting month and also Jaran Sam Po, the biggest ceremony performed by the Chinese communities living in Java. 5 CUISINE Javanese food has a sweet taste, without many spices. They use special spices to prepare a meal as they do not like to mix spices. Often items containing fried fish, tofu, tempe(fermented soybean cake), can be cooked and served cold. The rice that accompanies it is usually served hot, whether it be plain rice, yellow rice or rice with coconut milk (Nasi Lemak). In Java, it is popular to use a wajan (wok) for cooking, over a gas burner. Javanese love to use coconut milk. This is applied to dishes, by cooking the meat and vegetables in a wajan with hot oil. After they ingredients are ready, they are transferred to another wajan and the coconut milk is added together with spices. Javanese cuisine doesn’t really have the ’starter- main course -dessert’ set up of western cuisines. Javanese often prefer to get straight into the main meal with various dishes, accompanied by a sweet drink such as teh manis(sweet tea). Gudeg The most famous dish in Central Java is called Gudeg, made from Jackfruit, boiled in a pot with spices. People say the brown coloured vegetable, actually tastes better a couple of days after cooking, the difference in taste is noticeable. PLACES OF INTEREST Java as a whole is very densely populated island and the major tourist attractions in this province are Borobudur and Dieng. 1. BOROBUDUR Borobudur is a ninth century Buddhist Mahayana monument in Central Java. The monument comprises 6 square platforms topped by 3 circular platforms. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues, creating a breath-taking sight among numerous mountains in Java. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform. Aerial view of Borobudur It is surrounded by seventy-two perforated stupas, each containing one sitting Buddha statue. Borobudur stupas 6 2. DIENG Another place worth visiting is the Dieng Volcanic Complex is on the Dieng Plateau in Central Java, situated around 2000 m above sea- level and 100 km from Borobudur. It is a complex of volcanoes consisting of numerous stratovolcanoes, small craters and centuries old volcanic cones. You can find volcanoes that are still active and produces toxic volcanic gas has been known to be fatal. There are also some inactive volcanoes in which colourful lakes and steaming lakes are formed within. On the road you will see how the farmers make use all the land available by using Steamy hot water at Telaga Pengilon terraces to grow crops such as rice, the staple food for the people in Java. Telaga Warna – the colourful lake BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Central Java Tourism - http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/central-java http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-tourism-object/ 2. Kids Cyber Topics - http://www.kidcyber.com.au/ 3.