Vibrant Display of Diverse Cultures Across the Archipelago

This year’s Cap Go Meh held lively celebrations across the country. The celebrations seemingly became a display of unity in cultural and ethnic diversity.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Dragon Liong art attractions in action during the Cap Go Meh Celebration parade on Jalan Suryakencana, Bogor City, West Java, Sunday (5/2/2023).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Having been restricted in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Cap Go Meh held lively celebrations across the country on Sunday (5/2/2023). With people from all walks of life reveling enthusiastically, the celebrations seemingly became a display of unity in cultural and ethnic diversity.

Cap Go Meh is celebrated 15 days after the Chinese New Year, which is called Imlek in Indonesia. The festival serves as the peak of the post-Imlek two-week celebrations.

The festivals traditionally present barongsai (dragon dance) and liong (lion dance) performances. The two creatures in Chinese mythology are believed to invoke good fortune and ward off evil spirits.

The Cap Go Meh Festival is no longer just a Chinese ethnic, culture-related celebration, with attractions also from other dances. Local cultures have been imbued to the festivals to bring joy to the revelers from diverse social backgrounds.

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In Cirebon, West Java, thousands of people flocked to watch the Cap Go Meh Festival, which displayed a parade of the Kanoman Palace’s guard members along with barongsai and liong troupes.

“Cirebon's culture is in cohesion amidst people’s different [backgrounds]. I hope this [diversity] can be fostered as the nation’s wealth and asset," said Kanoman Palace’s Prince Patih Raja Muhammad Qadiran, who joined the parade.

Being part of Magelang society, we want to get involved in an event like this Cap Go Meh Festival.

In Magelang, Central Java, the enlivening cultural festival featured around a thousand performers. Among them were the Liong Hok Bio troupe members from the Tri Dharma house of worship (TITD), while other attractions included a wushu demonstration, topeng ireng (black mask), reog (masked dance), kuda lumping (horse dance) and a marching band from the Magelang Military Academy.

"Being part of Magelang society, we want to get involved in an event like this Cap Go Meh Festival," Magelang Military Academy Governor Maj. Gen. Legowo WR Jatmiko said. The event marked the first participation of the academy's marching band in the Cap Go Meh Festival.

KOMPAS/REGINA RUKMORINI

Gods symbol of happiness and prosperity also became performers in the Cap Go Meh Parade in Magelang City, Sunday (5/2/2023).

Cap Go Meh rice cakes

During the celebration, some 3,000 portions of Cap Go Meh lontong (rice cakes in coconut milk) were distributed to the people. Tri Bhakti Foundation Chairman Paul Chandra Wesi Aji said it was a form of gratitude to God for the bestowed blessings and good fortunes.

In Bogor, West Java, the cultural celebrations took center stage at Suryakencana Chinatown. Called the Cap Go Meh Bogor Street Festival (CGM-BSF), the event featured as many as 60 performing arts groups, holding a parade along a 2.1-kilometer road section of the Suryakencana and Siliwangi thoroughfares.

With the event carrying the theme Unity in Diversity the organizing committee was made up of hundreds of volunteers from various backgrounds.

The Cap Go Meh celebrations in Jakarta, which took place in the Glodok shopping area, were vibrantly enlivened by the Toa Pe Kong carnival.

A cultural stage was also held in Pancoran Chinatown Point, Pinangsia subdistrict, Taman Sari, West Jakarta. The attractions included wayang potehi (Chinese glove puppet), a Betawi dance and gambang kromong (traditional musical orchestra).

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In Manado, North Sulawesi, thousands of residents and visiting tourists enthusiastically attended a Cap Go Meh Festival in its Chinatown, Wenang district, with the Minahasa traditional art of a kabasaran dance, katrili and bamboo music being the attractive highlights along with the dragon dance.

Meanwhile, the rain that drenched Padang, West Sumatra, in the afternoon did not dampen the residents’ curiosity to watch the Cap Go Meh Festival. Held around the Siti Nurbaya Bridge in Kampung Pondok subdistrict, the event saw lively acculturative performances of Chinese and Minangkabau arts and culture.

“The event is very appealing. Hopefully, it will carry on in the following years," Pipit (48), a resident of West Padang, said. She came with her family members.

West Sumatra Deputy Governor Audy Joinaldi was amazed by the display of artistic and cultural collaborations. “This is the first time during my stint as deputy governor to see an intercultural collaboration of Chinese percussion being played in tune with the Minangkabau talempong (small kettle gong)," said Audy, adding that he looked forward to seeing more of such a collaborative performance.

No less vibrant a celebration was held in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, which was highlighted with a multi-ethnic parade. The Cap Go Meh Festival has been recognized as the world's intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

(IKI/EGI/GIO/INA/OKA/JOL/ESA/Z09)

This article was translated by Musthofid.