Posted on 02/12/2006 5:40:02 AM PST by Cornpone
The Lantern Festival, or Cap Go Meh, is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month of the Chinese new year.
Believed to be a time when the gods descend from the heavens to grant wishes and good luck, this year, Cap Go Meh falls on Feb. 12.
Jakarta residents who want to learn more about Chinese culture can enjoy the city's annual Cap Go Meh cultural parade.
The parade is in its third consecutive year since the government declared Chinese new year a national holiday in 2002.
Starting at 1:30 p.m. with a toapekong (likeness of traditional gods) performance, the parade will depart from Vihara Dharma Jaya temple -- locally known as Toa Se Bio -- on Jl. Kemenangan III in Glodok, West Jakarta, heading toward Fatahillah Museum Park.
"We will carry eight toapekong in the procession, and will be accompanied by barongsai (lion dance) and liong (dragon dance)," the organizer, Dharma Jaya Foundation chairman Husen Buntara Sjarifudin, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
"The procession marks the end of a range of religious rituals that began with the new year on Jan. 29, so it's been a very hectic two weeks," Husen said.
The procession will pass through Jl. Toko Tiga, Jl. Pintu Kecil Raya, and Jl. Kali Besar Timur.
Waiting at Fatahillah Museum Park to enliven the parade will be various Indonesian arts troupes such as tanjidor (traditional Betawi band), lenong (Betawi comedy), ondel-ondel (giant dolls), and reog (traditional East Javanese dance from Ponorogo).
The parade will be officially opened by Governor Sutiyoso, after which it will proceed to Jl. Pintu Besar Selatan, Jl. Hayam Wuruk, and turn around at Mangga Besar toward Jl. Gajah Mada.
It will then turn off at Jl. Pancoran and through to Jl. Toko Tiga and Vihara Toa Se Bio.
"Once at Toa Se Bio, the toapekong procession will come to a halt, while the rest of the parade continues on, back toward Fatahillah," Husen said, explaining that he expected to arrive back at the temple some time between 5 and 6 p.m.
In previous years, the parade attracted more than 2,000 people from Jakarta and surrounding areas. It also caused massive traffic jams.
Learning from this, the West Jakarta administration and police will deploy some 1,000 personnel to help direct traffic, nevertheless motorists are advised to avoid the area.
The reason why in Soeharto era the government banned anything Chinese was because they're afraid of communist infiltration.
All I can say is "ibi-da". (quick: name that TV show!)
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