Indonesia -- Cultural Event on Ternate Island for Presidential visit on 20-12-2012

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• published: 13 Feb 2013
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Ternate Island located on the western side of the much larger Halmahera Island in the eastern part of Indonesia, was a very important power center in the Spice trading days, and remains an important gateway city to those flying in to Halmahera and neighboring islands. On 20 December 2012, the Vice President of Indonesia and several other dignitaries from as far away as Sulawasi and Jayapura, honored Ternate with their visit. This video clip focuses on the entertainment program of the event, with its elaborate costumes, dance, and pageantry. The first dance is based on a traditional ceremonial dance from this area for welcoming honored visitors. One long-held tradition in Ternate is that of holding a "house-raising" whereby all the members of the community contributed thatch, bamboo, logs, and all materials and labor to construct the house, customarily, to aid a poor family. During the event, the people of Ternate "build" a symbolic house for the Vice President as part of the entertainment program, while over a hundred dancers performed different dances all around the parade grounds in front of the Sultan's Palace. One dance, the Mad Bamboo looks like 7 drunken men, all staggering around side-by-side, holding a bamboo log in their arms. In fact, a "mystic" is controlling the bamboo, which is flinging the men all about. Legend has it that this technique called "Baramasuwen" of using bamboo, live coals, and frankincense could be used to move (levitate?) heavy equipment, thus facilitating human work. Our many thanks to the Governor of N Maluku, DRS. H. Thaib Armaiyn, and, to M.C., Kris Syamsusdin, from Culture and Tourism Office of N Maluku Province for the gracious invitation and arrangement of security clearances to film the event. Filmed in December 2012.