1.Rock Jumping Festival in Nias
The Cultural Festival in Indonesia that is inspired by the culture of war is the Stone Jumping Festival in Nias. This district in North Sumatra has a tradition that will make you both amazed and excited: rock jumping over 2.1 meters high and 40cm thick! According to history, each tribe built high defensive fortifications to prevent enemy attacks, and it was the Nias tribe who had the solution to learn to jump over rocks (fahombo) in order to conquer the opponent. Now the ritual is also carried out to symbolize the transition of youth to adulthood. Interested in seeing the excitement of this new jumping tradition in Nias? The Rock Jumping Festival (Ya’ahowu Festival) is held every November.
2. Sekaten Festival in Yogyakarta
If Britain has a royal family, Indonesia has the Yogyakarta Palace with all the customs and royal manners that are still maintained today. One of them is the ritual procession of the seven mountains produced by nature accompanied by the strains of gejog lesung music.
This Grebeg Maulud ritual is the closing of the Sekaten Festival which is held at the end of the fasting month to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad and the gunungan is an expression of gratitude for the abundance of the earth’s produce. Uniquely, after the procession is over, cash people will take the contents of the gunungan because they are believed to provide sustenance.
3. Ogoh-Ogoh Festival in Bali
Seeing the figure of ogoh-ogoh for the first time may feel scary. How not, the ogoh-ogoh, which is often paraded at the next Cultural Festival in Indonesia, indeed depicts the evil spirit of bhutakala. With a size that can reach more than 2 meters complete with knick-knacks, ogoh-ogoh never fail to steal the public’s attention.
Yup, this is the ogoh-ogoh procession before Nyepi Day which is celebrated by Balinese people. Carrying ogoh-ogoh along the main street before burning it to symbolize the victory of dharma (goodness) against adharma. Even though it has a religious nuance, in some locations the pengrupukan ritual which is held the day before Nyepi (every March with a date that changes every year) is a place for young people’s creativity to make it very attractive to tourists.
4 . Gandrung Sewu in Banyuwangi
As the name implies, the next annual Cultural Festival in Indonesia is held to preserve the Gandrung dance from Banyuwangi with dance performances involving more than 1000 dancers. So, you can imagine how magnificent this Indonesian Cultural Festival is.
The Gandrung dance itself is a traditional dance that symbolizes respect for Dewi Sri who is believed to provide fertility so that farmers can harvest their agricultural products with prosperity.
5. Lake Toba Festival in North Sumatra
Another cultural festival in Indonesia that is no less interesting for you to visit is the Lake Toba Festival. Not only as a cultural and tourist event, the Indonesian Cultural Festival is also a sporting event that has been held since the 1980s. However, initially this Cultural Festival was better known as the Lake Toba Festival before it was later changed to the Lake Toba Festival in 2011.
The background of the holding of this Cultural Festival is as a form of community gratitude for the presence of Lake Toba as a source of sustenance and prosperity for the community. The Lake Toba Festival is very closely related to Batak culture and traditions where various Batak dances and art performances enliven this cultural event, including an exhibition of traditional North Sumatran fabrics.
6. Lake Sentani Festival in Jayapura
One more Indonesian Cultural Festival that can be found on the mainland of Papua, namely the Lake Sentani Festival. Uniquely, various traditional performances such as war dances are held on boats in the middle of Lake Sentani.
In addition, the Indonesian Cultural Festival, which is often held every June to July, is also one of the right destinations to taste a variety of traditional Papuan culinary flavors.
7. Dieng Culture Festival in Dieng Plateau
The Dieng Plateau is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. In addition to the beauty of the landscape, the culture and traditions that exist in Dieng are no less interesting to explore. Every year in the Dieng plateau, a cultural festival in the form of ruwatan is held, where children who have dreadlocks are then cut to give offspring with normal hair in the future.
In addition to the cultural poses, this annual traditional festival is also enlivened by various traditional arts such as Rodad dance, Lengger, Wayang Kulit performances, to the release of lanterns.
8. Karapan Sapi in Madura
Karapan Sapi is a typical Indonesian tradition originating from Madura. In the period of August and September every year various regions in Madura often hold a cow racing competition where a pair of cows will compete to pull a wooden cart with other pairs of brooms.
Fighting for the President’s Rotating Cup, Karapan Sapi in Madura later became one of the Indonesian Cultural Festivals that is still very popular today!
9. Nusantara Batik Week in Pekalongan
One of the relatively new Indonesian cultural festivals is the Nusantara Batik Week in Pekalongan, Central Java. This city has always been popular as a batik city which is famous for its jlamprang and cement motifs as the mainstay batik motifs.
Aiming to preserve the artistic heritage of Indonesian batik (especially hand-drawn and stamped batik), the Nusantara Batik Week, which is held every October, features exhibitions, workshops, talk shows, and fashion shows.