Indonesians in focus
Profiles of artists, writers, activists and national heroes.
Indonesians in Focus: Ki Purbo Asmoro
The warrior Bima circles his enemy. With a resounding bang of the gamelan, the fighter of ancient Javanese folklore spreads his arms and deals a final blow, vanquishing his opponent to death.
Indonesians in Focus: Martha Christina Tiahahu
While Raden Ajeng Kartini is known as a heroine of women's emancipation, other national heroines were freedom fighters, such as Cut Nyak Dien of Aceh .
Dina Oktaviani: The Lost Biography
City lights picked me up/and we tried to forget all the things/that had shredded the solitude back in that room//we may never understand/why old calendars/could change history/as easily and quickly…
Tracing Dewi Sartika's Struggle: Bandung, West Java
In Bandung , West Java , Dewi Sartika is better known as a jumbled road of traffic jams, sidewalk vendors and shopping centers.
Indonesians in Focus: Didik Nini Thowok
People usually look down on buskers or roadside performers, assuming they are too lazy to work and are content earning a few pennies on the street.
Indonesians in Focus: Sofiah Peni Carito
These days, women can take on roles that were once thought to be the domain of men -- be it as the country's president, a political head, a minister or the leader of a musical group.
Indonesians in Focus: Indo Deleng
A self-confident young woman strolls along in Lengkasa village deep in the forest in Tojo Una-Una regency, Central Sulawesi . Her age is 24. She voluntarily runs a traditional community school.
Indonesians in Focus: Demianus Bagali
It took Demianus Bagali months of walking in the wild forests on Halmahera Island , North Maluku province, to discover White Land Hill, home to the most beautiful birds in the land of spices.
Indonesians in Focus: Tam Chen Siong
Tam Chen Siong , 36, an Indonesian of Chinese descent who is also known as Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Hartonodiningrat , has enjoyed success in his efforts to preserve one of the country's most…
Indonesians in Focus: Iin Mutmainah
To ensure the survival of their art, theatrical actors and actresses in Indonesia need to explore their creativity.
Indonesians in Focus: Endah Lasmadiwati
In the past, Endah Lasmadiwati had been a famous Balinese dance trainer at seven dance studios in Jakarta .
Indonesians in Focus: Wimar Witoelar
In Indonesia , the media should be cautious when covering four topics -- suku , agama , ras , antar golongan (ethnicity, religion, race and the relationship between groups), better known as the…
Indonesians in Focus: Habiburrahman El Shirazy
Islam is an easy target for misrepresentation. It has been misunderstood and misused for centuries by its ignorant followers as well as its "enemies".
Indonesians in Focus: Sardono W. Kusumo
Famed as one of the country's pioneers of contemporary dance, choreographer and dancer Sardono Waluyo Kusumo has nothing to prove, yet he continues to be impeccably disciplined in his work.
Indonesians in Focus: Djuhhari Witjaksono
Traditional miniature boat craftsman Djuhhari Witjaksono is happily spending his retirement days creating models of old ships alongside jobless youths. In his residence on Jl.
Indonesians in Focus: Fikar W. Eda
" Berbilah-bilah rencong/dengan sarung dan tangkai berkilap/tak lupa kami selipkan/pertanda /martabat/dan keagungan/betapa pedih hati kami/dari Jakarta/kalian hujamkan mata rencong itu/tepat di…
Strawberry Fields: Nangkojajar, East Java
Farmers in Nangkojajar , a hilly area in the Bromo-Tengger national park in East Java , grow an abundance of fresh produce that is sold in markets across Java and in Bali .
Emmanuel Foundation: Jakarta, West Java
The unfortunate side to the demise of Soeharto is that abject poverty and slum areas have increased immensely and the gap between the rich and the poor, worsened.
Indonesians in Focus: Godi Suwarma
From the long white hair to the sarong-style trousers and leather sandals from the West Java town of Garut , everything about Godi Suwarma says "artist".
Indonesians in Focus: Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana
The late Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana , who was born in Natal , North Sumatra on Feb. 11, 1908, is recognized not only as one of Indonesia's great writers but also as a philosopher whose ideas still…
Ibu Kompiang – Grand Dame of Sanur Tourism
Homesick for Bali in 1956, Ida Bagus Kompiang and his wife, Anak Agung Mirah Asthuti Kompiang, sold their successful export business in Surabaya and used the proceeds to purchase a hectare of land on…
Indonesians in Focus: Godod Sutejo
The word empu or grandmaster craftsman in Javanese relates to someone with a deep understanding of life and whose craftsmanship is unquestionable -- both in its technical and spiritual aspects.
Indonesians in Focus: Djiwo Diharjo
The Javanese traditional kris -- a wavy, double-blade dagger, sometimes spelt keris -- has a significance that goes beyond its role as a weapon.
Indonesians in Focus: Sambyah
In the early 1980s, when the environment was rarely an issue, a man in Nganggring village, on the southern slopes of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta , began taking steps to protect the land where he…
The Craftsmen of Tanjung Batu: South Sumatra
The incessant clanging of hammer strikes can be heard as one enters Limbang Jaya village, Tanjung Batu district, South Sumatra , where the skillful hands of steel craftsmen busily shape metal into…
Keeper of the Sikka Culture: Flores, East Nusa Tenggara
Had Alfonso Horeng chosen to pursue her master's degree in agriculture science, the lives of 200 women or more on the island of Flores would surely have been different.
Ubi: Bali
Adi Kharisma began producing ubi , a purple sweet potato in January 2006. His motivation to produce this nutritious potato took hold when many people in his family started dying from cancer.
Healing Arts Link: Bali
The ancient art of voodoo was born in Dotu village, West Africa, spreading throughout the world with the slave trade of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Le Mayeur Museum: Sanur, Bali
The Museum Le Mayeur in Sanur is definitely a must-see place in Bali for the simple reason that some of Belgian artist Andrien Jean Le Mayeur 's finest paintings of his lovely wife Ni Pollok , who…
Bajra Sandhi: Bali
Many Balinese scholars have admitted openly that the esthetic and religious philosophy of Ida Wayan Oka Granoka Gong is simply far beyond their comprehension.
What's in a (Balinese) name?
There's a reason why I don't like to yell out a person's full name in public to get his or her attention.
Indonesians in Focus: Muntowib
Visitors are warmly greeted at the clinic in the Scout Apiary Center in Cibubur , East Jakarta , where Muntowib, 45, offers bee-sting therapy , also known as cultivar api-puncture .
Indonesians in Focus: Kartika Affandi
Recent celebrations in Yogyakarta marked 100 years since the death of the Indonesian art icon, Affandi . The beloved painter died in 1990, at 83.
Indonesians in Focus: Iriantine Karnaya
A little over a week ago, I was asked to look around an art studio called Studio Axis , which is located in Kalibata Timur .
Indonesians in Focus: Abdul Rahman Saleh
If former attorney general Abdul Rahman Saleh has something to complain about since returning to civilian life, it is the lack of vibrancy in the capital's art scene.
Recommitting to National Awakening: Indonesia
Sunday, the 20th of May, 1908 : A handful of young Indonesians, led by Wahidin Sudirohusodo, and supported by Soetomo, Gunawan and Suradji -- declared the formation of " Boedi Oetomo ", laying the…
Indonesians in Focus: Wirda Hanim
One day in 1993, Wirda Hanim , a long-time resident of the West Sumatra provincial capital Padang , attended a traditional celebration at her village, Sumani , in Tanah Datar regency.
Biranul Anas – Pioneer of Fiber Art: Bandung, West Java
Biranul Anas , a contemporary fiber artist and a pioneer of fiber art in Indonesia , is displaying his latest works from May 4 through May 20 in an exhibition themed Transcultural Esthetics at the…
Indonesia’s First Full-Time Blogger
When he circulated an e-mail declaring that he had resigned from his job as a journalist and was now dedicating himself to being a professional blogger , many dubbed him Indonesia's first full-time…
Indonesians in Focus: Damayanti Buchori
Many scientists have suggested that around 2,000 small islands in Indonesia will disappear due to rising sea levels caused by global warming .
Indonesians in Focus: Henri Supriyanto
Henri Supriyanto is lucky to have escaped jail when a young man. Not because he was a thief, killer or corruptor. He's a man of culture, not criminal intent.
Indonesians in Focus: Jacqueline Michelle Sampoerna
When her father asked Jacqueline Michelle Sampoerna to return to Indonesia and help realize his dream of improving the country's education system, her answer was a question: Why me?
Indonesians in Focus: Rusdy Tjahyadi
According to www.answer.com , Peranakan is any native-born Indonesian of mixed Indonesian and foreign ancestry.
Indonesians in Focus: Herawati Diah
When senior journalist Siti Latifah Herawati Diah looked at the calendar last April 3, she was stirred. Time really flies, she said to herself, indeed.
Indonesians in Focus: Rena Herdiyani
Kalyanamitra Foundation , a non-governmental organization, has been the spring-board that launched the careers of many noted women's activists in the country such as Debra Yatim , Sita Aripurnami ,…
Indonesians in Focus: Wimar Witoelar
Wimar Witoelar is undoubtedly the finest journalist in Indonesia at this present time and highly respected for his political views and social comment.