BANYUWANGI – Commemoration of National Nature Conservation Day (HKAN) 2017 centered in Baluran Forest National Park, Situbondo Kabupaten, East Java, also equipped with the National Park Festival and Indonesian Nature Tourism Park at the Art and Culture Building (Gesibu) Banyuwangi, East Java.
Banyuwangi Regent Abdullah Azwar Anas expressed his gratitude for holding the festival in Banyuwangi. Banyuwangi has 2 National Parks (TN) namely Alas Purwo National Park and Meru Betiri National Park plus one Ijen Nature Reserve which also contains the Puncak Ijen Nature Park in it.
“Of course this will add to the introduction of the Banyuwangi community about nature which must be preserved with the exhibition tents provided,” Anas said, Saturday (12/8/2017).
The festival was even more interesting when at its opening, visitors were treated to dances by the children of the Dayak Kenyah Tribe representing the Kayan Mentarang National Park. (TNKM) from the youngest province in Indonesia, North Kalimantan.
The National Park, which is directly adjacent to the State of Malaysia, presents two dancers, one male as hunter and one female as hornbills or hornbills, plus a traditional Dayak Kenyah musical instrument player named Sampeq.
To TIMES Indonesia, Ipin the musician Sampeq said that they performed a collaboration between the Hunting Dance and the Hornbill Dance, where is the bird with the characteristic large beak and the dominance of the yellow color on the head, is a bird that is sacred by the Dayak Tribe.
Female dancers became a symbol of victory, might as the Hornbill that guides and always directs them.
Hornbills also have two colors of feathers, namely black which they consider a symbol of social life and white which is a religious symbol. The two must go hand in hand, continue to worship god, but still maintain social life in harmony and peace.
First Ipin in Dayak traditional clothes sat in the middle of the stage playing Sampeq, which immediately invites applause from the invitees present, unexpectedly Ipin shouted loudly with a high hoarse voice like in the forest which immediately startled the guests. After a while the female dancer, dressed customary Dayak Kenyah women, come swinging his arms decorated with feathers like hornbills flapping their wings.
Until some time the viewer's eyes fell on the dazzling female dancer with beautiful clothes and simple but charming movements.
Until another hunter comes with a spear, named Yepri, sneaking through the audience in the same traditional attire as Ipin, then also startled the audience with a high hoarse scream from behind.
Finish hunting, Yepri invites the Minister of the Environment (LHK) Siti Nurbaya in action. It's even more exciting when Regent Anas is invited to act because he has to use chopsticks, typical weapon of the Dayak tribe, or tulup in Javanese, to pop a balloon. Looks doubtful, but Regent Anas was finally able to blow a chopstick bullet to pop a balloon that was placed above a participant's head.
“Those were real chopsticks with real bullets,” Ipin said when found TIMES Indonesia after event.
She said, chopsticks are blowing weapons, with poisoned bamboo bullets from the sap of the Ipuh Tree, which is usually used for hunting by the Dayak tribe which is still carried out in the forests of Kalimantan until now. This deadly weapon is sometimes used when they feel threatened and have to fight the enemy.
While the musical instrument Sampeq, not all Dayak tribes can play it. A stringed instrument that is usually played to welcome guests, in traditional socialization events by traditional institutions, village community entertainment, weddings and various other events can be found in East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan and North Kalimantan with their respective characters.
Representatives of TNKM TNKM which has an area of 1,72 The million hectares admitted that Sampeq had been played twice at the Palace in front of President Joko Widodo. The first group he joined played Sampeq in 2016, then invited again to appear in front of President Joko Widodo and the visiting President of the Philippines.
In the opening of the festival, the results were also announced 3 the big winner of the National Park creative video competition in commemorating HKAN 2017. From 54 National Parks in Indonesia, who participated in the competition as many as 8 TN. Found the champion 1 TN Bali Barat, champion 2 achieved by TN Gung Palu and in the position of 3 achieved by TN Baluran Forest. Also present at the event, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution and Deputy Chair of Commission IV DPR RI Herman Khaeron.
The Festival of National Parks and Nature Tourism Parks at Gesibu Blambangan Banyuwangi has successfully invited the public to enjoy the educational exhibition. At the opening of the exhibition, Thursday (10/8/2017) the night where the Dayak Kenyah hornbill dance is performed, Gesibu Blambangan page is always crowded with visitors, and tomorrow, Sunday (13/8/2017) is the last day of the festival. (timesindonesia.co.id)
