1.
Bali
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Bali is an island and province of Indonesia. The province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and it is located at the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. Its capital, Denpasar, is located in the part of the island. With a population of 3,890,757 in the 2010 census, and 4,225,000 as of January 2014, the island is home to most of Indonesias Hindu minority. According to the 2010 Census,83. 5% of Balis population adhered to Balinese Hinduism, followed by 13. 4% Muslim, Christianity at 2. 5%, Bali is a popular tourist destination, which has seen a significant rise in tourists since the 1980s. Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy and it is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. The Indonesian International Film Festival is held every year in Bali, in March 2017, Tripadvisor named the island the worlds top destination in its Travelers choice award. Bali is part of the Coral Triangle, the area with the highest biodiversity of marine species, in this area alone over 500 reef building coral species can be found. For comparison, this is about 7 times as many as in the entire Caribbean, most recently, Bali was the host of the 2011 ASEAN Summit,2013 APEC and Miss World 2013. Bali is the home of the Subak Irrigation System, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bali was inhabited around 2000 BC by Austronesian people who migrated originally from Southeast Asia and Oceania through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are closely related to the people of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the islands west. In ancient Bali, nine Hindu sects existed, namely Pasupata, Bhairawa, Siwa Shidanta, Waisnawa, Bodha, Brahma, Resi, Sora, each sect revered a specific deity as its personal Godhead. Inscriptions from 896 and 911 dont mention a king, until 914 and they also reveal an independent Bali, with a distinct dialect, where Buddhism and Sivaism were practiced simultaneously. Mpu Sindoks great-granddaughter, Mahendradatta, married the Bali king Udayana Warmadewa around 989 and this marriage also brought more Hinduism and Javanese culture to Bali. Suradhipa reigned from 1115 to 1119, and Jayasakti from 1146 until 1150, jayapangus appears on inscriptions between 1178 and 1181, while Adikuntiketana and his son Paramesvara in 1204. Balinese culture was influenced by Indian, Chinese, and particularly Hindu culture. The name Bali dwipa has been discovered from inscriptions, including the Blanjong pillar inscription written by Sri Kesari Warmadewa in 914 AD. It was during this time that the people developed their complex irrigation system subak to grow rice in wet-field cultivation, some religious and cultural traditions still practiced today can be traced to this period
2.
Ramayana
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The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
3.
Javanese language
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Javanese /dʒɑːvəˈniːz/ is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. There are also pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java and it is the native language of more than 98 million people. Javanese is one of the Austronesian languages, but it is not particularly close to other languages and is difficult to classify and its closest relatives are the neighbouring languages such as Sundanese, Madurese and Balinese. There are speakers of Javanese in Malaysia and Singapore, some people of Javanese descent in Suriname speak a creole descendant of the language. The language is spoken in Yogyakarta, Central and East Java, in Suriname, creolized Javanese is spoken among descendants of plantation migrants brought by the Dutch during the 19th century. In Madura, Bali, Lombok, and the Sunda region of West Java and it was the court language in Palembang, South Sumatra, until the palace was sacked by the Dutch in the late 18th century. Javanese is written with the Latin script, Javanese script, Javanese is the tenth largest language by native speakers and the largest language without official status. It is spoken or understood by approximately 100 million people, at least 45% of the total population of Indonesia are of Javanese descent or live in an area where Javanese is the dominant language. All seven Indonesian presidents since 1945 have been of Javanese descent and it is therefore not surprising that Javanese has had a deep influence on the development of Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia. There are three dialects of the modern language, Central Javanese, Eastern Javanese, and Western Javanese. These three dialects form a continuum from northern Banten in the extreme west of Java to Banyuwangi Regency in the eastern corner of the island. All Javanese dialects are more or less mutually intelligible, the phonemes of Modern Standard Javanese as shown below. In closed syllables the vowels /i u e o/ are pronounced respectively, in open syllables, /e o/ are also when the following vowel is /i u/ in an open syllable, otherwise they are /ə/, or identical. In the standard dialect of Surakarta, /a/ is pronounced in open syllables. The Javanese voiced phonemes are not in fact voiced but voiceless, the relevant distinction in phonation of the plosives is described as stiff voice versus slack voice. A Javanese syllable can have the form, CSVC, where C = consonant, S = sonorant. As with other Austronesian languages, native Javanese roots consist of two syllables, words consisting of more than three syllables are broken up into groups of words for pronunciation. In Modern Javanese, a root is of the following type
4.
Puppetry
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Such a performance is also known as a puppet play. The puppeteer uses movements of her hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer often speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, the actions, gestures and spoken parts acted out by the puppets are typically used in storytelling. There are many different varieties of puppets, and they are made of a range of materials, depending on their form. They can be complex or very simple in their construction. A hand puppet is controlled by one hand which occupies the interior of the puppet, a live-hand puppet is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and requires two puppeteers for each puppet. Marionettes are suspended and controlled by a number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a bar held from above by the puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which was first recorded in the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece. Some forms of puppetry may have originated as long ago as 3000 years BC, Puppetry takes many forms, but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects to tell a story. Puppetry is used in almost all human societies both as entertainment – in performance – and ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals, Puppetry is a very ancient art form, thought to have originated about 3000 years ago. Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas, some historians claim that they pre-date actors in theatre. There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread, wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs also describe walking statues being used in Ancient Egyptian religious dramas, Puppetry was practiced in Ancient Greece and the oldest written records of puppetry can be found in the works of Herodotus and Xenophon, dating from the 5th century BC. Sub-Saharan Africa may have inherited some of the traditions of Ancient Egypt. Certainly, secret societies in many African ethnic groups still use puppets in ritual dramas as well as in their healing and hunting ceremonies. Today, puppetry continues as a form, often within a ceremonial context, and as part of a wide range of folk forms including dance, storytelling. There is slight evidence for puppetry in the Indus Valley Civilization, archaeologists have unearthed one terracotta doll with a detachable head capable of manipulation by a string dating to 2500 BC. Another figure is a monkey which could be manipulated up and down a stick
5.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
6.
Shadow play
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The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source, a talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh. Shadow play is popular in various cultures, currently there are more than 20 countries known to have shadow show troupes, Shadow play is an old tradition and it has a long history in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. It is also considered as an ancient art in other parts of Asia such as in China, India and it is also known in the West from Turkey, Greece to France. It is a form of entertainment for both children and adults in many countries around the world. Shadow play probably developed from par shows with narrative scenes painted on a large cloth, as the shows were mostly performed at night the par was illuminated with an oil lamp. Similar storytelling with pictures may date back to the Harappa civilization, by at least around 200 BCE the figures on cloth seem to have been replaced with puppetry in Indian tholu bomalatta shows. These are performed behind a screen with flat, jointed puppets made of colorfully painted transparent leather. The puppets are held close to the screen and lit from behind, while hands and arms are manipulated with attached canes and lower legs swinging freely from the knee. Shadow puppets remained popular until recently in India, including the Tholu Bommalata of Andhra Pradesh, the Togalu Gombeyaata, leather puppets in Karnataka, and the Ravana Chhaya of Odisha. There are great similarities between Indonesian shadow puppetry called Wayang kulit and Indian shadow play, but it is whether it was imported from India or originated in Indonesia. It has been theorized to have been around since 1500 BCE, around 860 CE an Old Javanese charter issued by Maharaja Sri Lokapala mentions three sorts of performers, atapukan, aringgit, and abanol. Ringgit is described in an 11th century Javanese poem as a shadow figure. Wayang kulit is particularly popular in Java and Bali, the term derived from the word wayang literally means shadow or imagination in Javanese, also connotes spirit. The word kulit means skin, as the material from which the puppet is made is thin perforated leather sheets made from buffalo skin, the performances of shadow puppet theater in Bali originally lasted as long as six hours or until dawn. The complete wayang kulit troupes include dalang, nayaga, and sinden, some of the nayaga also performed as male choral singer. The dalang played the wayang behind the screen illuminated by oil lamp or modern halogen lamp. The flat puppet has moveable joints that are animated by hand, the handle of the rod is made of carved buffalo horn
7.
Gamelan
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Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat, other instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab, and even vocalists called sindhen. Although the popularity of gamelan has declined since the introduction of pop music, gamelan is still played on formal occasions. For most Indonesians, gamelan is an part of Indonesian culture. The word gamelan comes from the low Javanese word gamel, which may refer to a type of mallet used to strike instruments or the act of striking with a mallet. The term karawitan refers to classical music and performance practice. The word derives from the Javanese word of Sanskrit origin, rawit, another word from this root, pangrawit, means a person with such sense, and is used as an honorific when discussing esteemed gamelan musicians. The gamelan predates the Hindu-Buddhist culture that dominated Indonesia in its earliest records, the instruments developed into their current form during the Majapahit Empire. In contrast to the heavy Indian influence in art forms, the only obvious Indian influence in gamelan music is in the Javanese style of singing. In Javanese mythology, the gamelan was created by Sang Hyang Guru in Saka era 167 and he needed a signal to summon the gods and thus invented the gong. For more complex messages, he invented two other gongs, thus forming the original gamelan set, the earliest image of a musical ensemble is found on the 8th century Borobudur temple, Central Java. Musical instruments such as the flute, bells, drums in various sizes, lute. However it lacks metallophones and xylophones, nevertheless, the image of this musical ensemble is suggested to be the ancient form of the gamelan. In the palaces of Java the oldest known ensembles, Gamelan Munggang and these formed the basis of a loud style of music. In the 17th century, these loud and soft styles mixed, and to an extent the variety of modern gamelan styles of Bali, Java. Thus, despite the diversity of styles, many of the same theoretical concepts, instruments. A gamelan is an ensemble consisting of metallophones, xylophones, flutes, gongs, voices. The hand-played drum called kendhang controls the tempo and rhythm of pieces as well as transitions from one section to another, while one instrument gives melodic cues to indicate treatment or sections of a piece
8.
Java
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Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of over 141 million or 145 million as of 2015 Census released in December 2015, the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java and it was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s, Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Formed mostly as the result of eruptions, Java is the 13th largest island in the world. A chain of mountains forms an east–west spine along the island. Three main languages are spoken on the island, Javanese, Sundanese, of these, Javanese is the dominant, it is the native language of about 60 million people in Indonesia, most of whom live on Java. Furthermore, most residents are bilingual, speaking Indonesian as their first or second language, while the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures. Java is divided into four provinces, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Banten, the origins of the name Java are not clear. One possibility is that the island was named after the plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time. There are other sources, the word jaú and its variations mean beyond or distant. And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was famous, Yawadvipa is mentioned in Indias earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Ramas army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa and it was hence referred to in India by the Sanskrit name yāvaka dvīpa. Java is mentioned in the ancient Tamil text Manimekalai by Chithalai Chathanar that states that Java had a kingdom with a capital called Nagapuram, another source states that the Java word is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word, Iawa that meaning home. The great island of Iabadiu or Jabadiu was mentioned in Ptolemys Geographia composed around 150 CE Roman Empire, Iabadiu is said to mean barley island, to be rich in gold, and have a silver town called Argyra at the west end. The name indicate Java, and seems to be derived from Hindu name Java-dvipa, Java lies between Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north and Christmas Island is to the south and it is the worlds 13th largest island. Java is surrounded by the Java Sea to the north, Sunda Strait to the west, Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin, it contains thirty-eight mountains forming an east–west spine that have at one time or another been active volcanoes
9.
Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
10.
UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
11.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
12.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
13.
Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC
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Laos
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Present day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to the kingdom of Lan Xang Hom Khao, which existed for four centuries as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Due to Lan Xangs central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom was able to become a hub for overland trade. After a period of conflict, Lan Xang broke off into three separate kingdoms— Luang Phabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three territories uniting to form what is now known as the country of Laos and it briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a civil war ended the monarchy. Laos is a one-party socialist republic and it espouses Marxism and is governed by the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party, in which the party leadership is dominated by military figures. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam Peoples Army continue to have significant influence in Laos, other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. Laos is a country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60 percent of the population. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other hill tribes, accounting for 40 percent of the population, live in the foothills. It is a member of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, Laos applied for membership of the World Trade Organization in 1997, on 2 February 2013, it was granted full membership. According to the anti-corruption non-governmental organisation Transparency International, Laos remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world and this has deterred foreign investment and created major problems with the rule of law, including the nations ability to enforce contract and business regulation. This has contributed to a third of the population of Laos currently living below the poverty line. Laos has an economy, with one of the lowest annual incomes in the world. In 2014, the country ranked 141st on the Human Development Index, according to the Global Hunger Index, Laos ranks as the 29th hungriest nation in the world out of the list of the 52 nations with the worst hunger situation. Laos has also had a human rights record. In the Lao language, the name is Muang Lao or Pathet Lao. Stone artefacts including Hoabinhian types have been found at sites dating to the Late Pleistocene in northern Laos, archaeological evidence suggests agriculturist society developed during the 4th millennium BC
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Shadow
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A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a silhouette, or a reverse projection of the object blocking the light. A point source of light casts only a shadow, called an umbra. For a non-point or extended source of light, the shadow is divided into the umbra, penumbra and antumbra, the wider the light source, the more blurred the shadow becomes. If two penumbras overlap, the appear to attract and merge. This is known as the Shadow Blister Effect, the outlines of the shadow zones can be found by tracing the rays of light emitted by the outermost regions of the extended light source. The umbra region does not receive any direct light from any part of the light source, a viewer located in the umbra region cannot directly see any part of the light source. By contrast, the penumbra is illuminated by some parts of the light source, a viewer located in the penumbra region will see the light source, but it is partially blocked by the object casting the shadow. If there is more than one source, there will be several shadows, with the overlapping parts darker. The more diffuse the lighting is, the softer and more indistinct the shadow outlines become, the lighting of an overcast sky produces few visible shadows. The absence of diffusing atmospheric effects in the vacuum of outer space produces shadows that are stark, for a person or object touching the surface where the shadow is projected the shadows converge at the point of contact. A shadow shows, apart from distortion, the image as the silhouette when looking at the object from the sun-side. The names umbra, penumbra and antumbra are often used for the shadows cast by objects, though they are sometimes used to describe levels of darkness. An astronomical object casts human-visible shadows when its apparent magnitude is equal or lower than -4, currently the only astronomical objects able to produce visible shadows on Earth are the sun, the moon and, in the right conditions, Venus or Jupiter. A shadow cast by the Earth on the Moon is a lunar eclipse, conversely, a shadow cast by the Moon on the Earth is a solar eclipse. The sun casts shadows which change dramatically through the day, the length of a shadow cast on the ground is proportional to the cotangent of the suns elevation angle—its angle θ relative to the horizon. Near sunrise and sunset, when θ = 0° and cot = ∞, if the sun passes directly overhead, then θ = 90°, cot =0, and shadows are cast directly underneath objects
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Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
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Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
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Andhra Pradesh
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Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of the country. The state is the eighth largest state in India covering an area of 162,968 km2, as per 2011 Census of India, the state is tenth largest by population with 49,386,799 inhabitants. On 2 June 2014, the portion of the state was bifurcated to form a new state of Telangana. In accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,2014, Hyderabad will remain the de jure capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of not exceeding 10 years. The new riverfront proposed capital in Guntur district is Amaravati, which is under the jurisdiction of APCRDA, the Gross State Domestic Product of the state in the 2016–2017 financial year at current prices stood at ₹6,800.3 billion. The state has a coastline of 974 km with jurisdiction over nearly 15,000 km2 territorial waters, the second longest among all the states of India after Gujarat. It is bordered by Telangana in the north-west, Chhattisgarh in the north, Odisha in the north-east, Karnataka in the west, Tamil Nadu in the south and the water body of Bay of Bengal in the east. A small enclave of 30 km2 of Yanam, a district of Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh is composed of two regions, Coastal Andhra, located along the Bay of Bengal, and Rayalaseema, in the inland southwestern part of the state. These two regions comprise 13 districts, with 9 in Coastal Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh hosted 121.8 million visitors in 2015, a 30% growth in tourist arrivals over the previous year. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is one of the worlds most visited religious sites, a tribe named Andhra has been mentioned in the Sanskrit texts such as Aitareya Brahmana. According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig Veda, the Andhras left north India, archaeological evidence from places such as Amaravati, Dharanikota and Vaddamanu suggests that the Andhra region was part of the Mauryan Empire. Amaravati might have been a centre for the Mauryan rule. After the death of emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan rule weakened around 200 BCE, the Satavahana dynasty dominated the Deccan region from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas have been mentioned by the names Andhra, Andhrara-jatiya and Andhra-bhrtya in the Puranic literature, Dharanikota along with Amaravathi was the capital of the later Satavahanas. Amaravathi became a trade and pilgrimage centre during the Satavahana rule. According to the Buddhist tradition, Nagarjuna lived here, possibly in second, Andhra Ikshvakus were one of the earliest recorded ruling dynasties of the Guntur-Krishna regions of Andhra Pradesh. They ruled the eastern Andhra country along the Krishna river during the half of the second century CE. Puranas called Andhra Ikshvakus Shri Parvatiya Andhras, archaeological evidence has suggested that the Andhra Ikshvakus immediately succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley
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Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
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Odisha
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Odisha (/ɒˈrɪsə, ɔː-, oʊ-/, is one of the 29 states of India, located in the eastern coast. It is surrounded by the states of West Bengal to the north-east, Jharkhand to the north, Chhattisgarh to the west and north-west, Odisha has 485 kilometres of coastline along the Bay of Bengal on its east, from Balasore to Malkangiri. It is the 9th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population and it is also the 3rd most populous state of India in terms of tribal population. Odia is the official and most widely spoken language, spoken by 33.2 million according to the 2001 Census. The ancient kingdom of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the Kalinga War, the modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April 1936, as a province in British India, and consisted predominantly of Odia-speaking regions. April 1 is celebrated as Odisha Day, the region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in Indias national anthem, Jana Gana Mana. Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga in c,1135, after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers, through the British era until 1948. Thereafter, Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha, the term Odisha is derived from the ancient Prakrit word Odda Visaya as in the Tirumalai inscription of Rajendra Chola I, which is dated to 1025. Sarala Das, who translated the Mahabharata into the Odia language in the 15th century, calls the region Odra Rashtra, the inscriptions of Kapilendra Deva of the Gajapati Kingdom on the walls of temples in Puri call the region Odisha or Odisha Rajya. After a brief debate, the house, Lok Sabha, passed the bill. On 24 March 2011, Rajya Sabha, the house of Parliament, also passed the bill. Prehistoric Acheulian tools dating to Lower Paleolithic era have been discovered in places in the region. Kalinga has been mentioned in ancient texts like Mahabharata, Vayu Purana, the Sabar people of Odisha have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata. Baudhayana mentions Kalinga as not yet being influenced by Vedic traditions, Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty conquered Kalinga in the bloody Kalinga War in 261 BCE, which was the eighth year of his reign. According to his own edicts, in that war about 100,000 people were killed,150,000 were captured, the resulting bloodshed and suffering of the war is said to have deeply affected Ashoka. He turned into a pacifist and converted to Buddhism, by c.150 CE, emperor Kharavela, who was possibly a contemporary of Demetrius I of Bactria, conquered a major part of the Indian sub-continent. He also built the monastery atop the Udayagiri hill, subsequently, the region was ruled by monarchs, such as Samudragupta and Shashanka. It was also a part of Harshas empire, later, the kings of the Somavamsi dynasty began to unite the region
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Ravana Chhaya
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Ravana Chhaya is a form of shadow puppetry from the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Ravana Chhaya literally means the shadow of Ravana and is named after the evil king of the South Asian epic Ramayana. The lyrics for the performance are taken from the Vichitra Ramayana by the Oriya poet Viswanath Khuntia. That it has named after the villain of the Ramayana has been ascribed variously to the influence of the Jains. Alternately it has suggested that it was not named after Rama as he is an incarnation of the god Vishnu. Puppets used in Ravana Chhaya are made of deerskin, range from 6 inches to 2 feet in height and are mounted on bamboo poles, a complete performance requires as many as 700 puppets with multiple puppets being used to depict a diversity of moods for individual characters. Besides these puppets, there are others that set the background, the puppets are not coloured, have no joints and have perforations that outline their figures and costumes. The puppeteer manipulates the puppets using a bamboo stick that runs down the middle of the puppet. The puppeteers magnify the shadows by holding the puppets away from the screen and these puppets are treated ceremonially, being blessed before they are first used and are cremated and the ashes strewn in a river when they become worn out and unusable. Another feature of the puppets is that the form of Ravana is much larger than that of Rama with greater dramatic impact. Ravana Chhaya performances are held at night, the shadow of the puppets being projected onto a white curtain against the light of an oil lamp, the performance begins with the breaking of a coconut and with invocations to the Hindu gods Rama and Ganesha. The story of the performance is narrated in prose by a narrator, called gayak, the performers traditionally belong to the Bhat community and the singing is accompanied by musical instruments including ramtali, kabuji and the khanjani, a kind of tambourine. The dialogues and the songs in the performance are accompanied by lively, rhythmic music that combines elements of folk and classical music. A full performance takes a week with a night each for each of the seven kandas of the Ramayana. Puppet theatre in South East Asia is thought to have emerged from India, in recent years it has seen changes in both content and performances with contemporary social and health issues also forming the themes of the performances. A rare art form, efforts have made under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi to revive
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Chhau dance
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Chhau dance, also spelled as Chau or Chhau, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial, tribal and folk origins. With origins in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, the costumes vary between the styles, with Purulia and Serakeilla using masks to identify the character. The stories enacted by Chhau dancers include those from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the dance is egalitarian and brings together people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in a festive and religious spirit. It is believed by modern scholars that the word Chhau is derived from Sanskrit Chāya. Others link it to the Sanskrit root Chadma, yet such as Sitakant Mahapatra suggest it is derived from Chhauni in Odia language. The Chhau dance is performed during festivals in the region of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, especially the spring festival of Chaitra Parva. The Purulia Chhau dance is celebrated during the Sun festival, masks form an integral part of Chhau dance in Purulia and Seraikella styles. The knowledge of dance, music and mask-making is transmitted orally, the Chhau dance found in northern Odisha does not use mask during the dance, but they do when the artists first appear on the stage for introduction to the audience. This form of the Chhau dance, states Mohan Khokar, has no ritual or ceremonial meaning, it is a form of community celebration, the dance is performed by male dancers, at night in an open space, called akhada or asar. The dance is rhythmic and set to folk music, played on the reed pipes mohuri. A variety of drums accompany the music including the dhol, dhumsa. The themes for these dances include local legends, folklore and episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the most prominent difference among the three subgenres is regarding the use of masks. While, the Seraikela and Purulia subgenres of Chhau use masks during the dance, the Seraikella Chhau is performed with symbolic masks, and the acting establishes the role the actor is playing. These masks are crafted by potters who make clay images of Hindu gods, in the Mayurbhanj Chhau is performed without masks and is technically similar to the Seraikella Chhau. In 2010 the Chhau dance was inscribed in the UNESCOs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Government of Odisha established a Government Chhau Dance Centre in 1960 in Seraikella and the Mayurbhanj Chhau Nritya Pratisthan at Baripada in 1962. These institutions engage in training involving local gurus, artists, patrons and representatives of Chhau institutions, the Chaitra Parva festival, significant to the Chhau Dance, is also sponsored by the state government. The Sangeet Natak Akademi has established a National Centre for Chhau Dance at Baripada, the Hindi film Barfi. has several scenes that features the Purulia Chhau in it. The Hindi film Lootera opens with a Chhau dance sequence inspired by the Ramayana, asutosh Bhattacharya, Chhau dance of Purulia
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Arjunawiwaha
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Arjunawiwāha was the first kakawin appeared in the East Javan period of the Javanese classical Hindu-Buddhist era in the 11th-century. Arjunawiwaha was composed by Mpu Kanwa during the reign of King Airlangga, king of the Kahuripan Kingdom, Arjunawiwaha is estimated to be finished in 1030. The Kakawin tells the story of Arjuna when he was engaged in meditation, during his meditation he was tested by the Gods by sending two of the most beautiful apsaras — Supraba and Tilottama — to seduce him. Arjuna was not budging and firmly continued his meditation despite of the apsaras seduction, then the god Indra descented to earth disguising as an old Brahmin. They discussed about religious matters and Arjuna succeeded to answer Indras questions, then he revealed his true identity, suddenly, a wild boar came raging, then Arjuna shot it with an arrow. But at the time, an old hunter appeared that claimed that he also shot the boar, Arjuna. As it turns out that the hunter is actually the god Shiva, Arjuna is given the task to kill Niwatakawaca, an asura that disturbed the peace and order of svargaloka. To do this task, the gods give Arjuna powerful weapons, Arjuna was eventually successful in his task to kill Niwatakawaca, and as the reward the Gods awarded Arjuna seven apsaras to mary and he allowed to enjoy the pleasure of svargaloka for a while. The bas-reliefs of Arjunawiwaha were carved on East Javanese candis, such as Candi Kedaton in Probolinggo Regency, Candi Surawana near Kediri, and Candi Jago near Malang
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Airlangga
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Airlangga, regnal name Rakai Halu Sri Lokeswara Dharmawangsa Airlangga Anantawikramottunggadewa, was the only raja of the Kingdom of Kahuripan. The Kingdom was built from the territory of the Kingdom of Medang after Medang was sacked by king Wurawari of Lwaram and he gradually gained support, won back the kingdom once ruled by his uncle, and went on to become one of Javas most notable kings. He belongs to both Isyana and Warmadewa lineages, Airlangga was born from dynastic marriage between Isyana of Java and Warmadewa of Bali. Bali in 11th century probably was an ally or vassal of Java, Airlangga has two younger brothers, Marakata and Anak Wungçu. Later, in various inscriptions created by Airlangga, he claimed to be the descendant of Mpu Sindok of Isyana dynasty, historical sources seems to be silenced on Mahendradattas suspected earlier marriage, that it might be a scandal or not even took place. Moreover, Mahendradatta sent Airlangga back to Java during his teenage, Mahendradatta was known to be promoting the cult of Durga in Bali, and curiously later associated with Balinese legend of evil witch Rangda, which translates to widow. Airlangga was born and grew up in Bali, groomed by his mother, queen Mahendradatta, to be a proper future ruler. In his teenage years his mother sent him back to her parents home in Java to be educated further in Watugaluh court, Medang, East Java, under the patronage of his uncle, king Dharmawangsa. Airlangga was bethroted to his cousin, one of Dharmawangsas daughter, at that time, Medang had become a powerful kingdom, allied or probably subjugated Bali, and had established a colony in West Kalimantan. Dharmawangsa aspired to ascend Medang as regional power by challenging Srivijaya Empire domination, in 990 he launched naval invasion against Srivijaya and unsuccessfully tried to capture Palembang. Srivijaya resiliently succeed on repelling Javanese Medang invaders, the Calcutta Stone inscription, describes a terrible calamity which befell the East Javanese kingdom of Isyana dynasty in the early years of the 11th century. In 1006, a rebellion incited by a vassal king Wurawari from Lwaram resulted in the destruction of the capital of Watugaluh, the reigning king, Dharmawangsa, successor to Sri Makutawangsawardhana, was murdered along with his entire family and many of his subjects. Only the young Airlangga, who was aged about 16 at the time, according to tradition the calamity, dubbed as Pralaya of Medang, took place during Airlanggas wedding ceremony in Dharmawangsa palace. Today historians strongly suggested that the invasion was actually a Srivijayan retaliation against Medang for the attacks upon the empire, King Wurawari of Lwaram was probably an ally of Srivijaya in Java and also the vassal of Medang. With Srivijayas assistance Wurawari managed to sack and burn Watugaluh Palace during Medangs most unexpected time, Airlangga, accompanied by his guard Narottama, escaped westward into the jungle and retreated as a hermit in Vanagiri. He consolidated his authority, established a new kingdom and made peace with Srivijaya, the new kingdom was called the Kingdom of Kahuripan, the location of his capital, and stretched from Pasuruan in the east to Madiun in the west. In 1025, Airlangga increased the power and influence of Kahuripan as the Srivijaya Empire began to decline, Airlangga was known for his religious tolerance, and was a patron of both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. In 1035 Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated for his queen consort Dharmaprasadottungadewi, the monastery bearing the name of Srivijaya suggests that his queen consort was probably a Srivijayan princess, a close relative, probably daughter, of the Srivijayan king Sangramavijayattungavarman
25.
Kahuripan
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Kahuripan was an 11th-century Javanese Hindu-Buddhist kingdom with its capital located around the estuarine of Brantas River valley in East Java. Airlangga later in 1045 abdicated in favour of his two sons and divided the kingdom into Janggala and Panjalu, the kingdoms name derived from Old Javanese term hurip with circumfix ka- -an which means life or livelihood. Later in 14th to 15th century, the kingdom was recognised as one of Majapahits 12 provinces. Airlangga was the son of queen Mahendradatta and Udayana Warmadewa, Airlangga was born and grew up in Bali, he spend his youth in Watugaluh Palace, Medang, under the patronage of his uncle, king Dharmawangsa. Airlangga was bethroted to his cousin, one of Dharmawangsas daughter, at that time, Medang had become a powerful kingdom, allied or probably subjugated Bali, and had established a colony in West Kalimantan. Dharmawangsa aspired to ascend Medang as regional power by challenging Srivijaya Empire domination and he launched naval invasion against Srivijaya and unsuccessfully tried to capture Palembang. Srivijaya resiliently succeed on repelling Javanese Medang invaders, the Calcutta Stone inscription, describes a terrible calamity which befell the East Javanese kingdom of Isyana dynasty in the early years of the 11th century. In 1006, a rebellion incited by a vassal king Wurawari from Lwaram resulted in the destruction of the capital of Watugaluh, the reigning king, Dharmawangsa, successor to Sri Makutawangsawardhana, was murdered along with his entire family and many of his subjects. Only the young Airlangga, who was aged about 16 at the time, according to tradition the calamity, dubbed as Pralaya of Medang, took place during Airlanggas wedding ceremony in Dharmawangsa palace. Today historians strongly suggested that the invasion was actually a Srivijayan retaliation against Medang for the attacks upon the empire, Wurawari was probably an ally of Srivijaya in Java that managed to sack and burn Watugaluh Palace. Airlangga, accompanied by his guard Narottama, escaped into the jungle and he consolidated his authority, established a new kingdom and made peace with Srivijaya. The new kingdom was called the Kingdom of Kahuripan, and stretched from Pasuruan in the east to Madiun in the west, in 1025, Airlangga increased the power and influence of Kahuripan as the Srivijaya Empire began to decline. Airlangga was known for his religious tolerance, and was a patron of both the Hindu and Buddhist religions, in 1035 Airlangga constructed a Buddhist monastery named Srivijayasrama dedicated for his queen consort Dharmaprasadottungadevi. The monastery bearing the name of Srivijaya suggests that his consort was probably a Srivijayan princess. The decline of Srivijaya due to the Chola invasion gave Airlangga opportunity to consolidate his kingdom without foreign interference, later, he extended his kingdom to Central Java and Bali. The north coast of Java, particularly the port of Hujung Galuh and Kambang Putih, although there are few surviving archaeological remains dating from his time, Airlangga is known to have been a keen patron of the arts, notably literature. In 1035, the court poet Mpu Kanwa composed the Arjuna Wiwaha text and this text told the story of Arjuna, an incarnation of Indra, but was also an allegory for Airlanggas own life. The tale of Airlanggas life was illustrated in the Belahan Temple on the flanks of Mount Penanggungan, according to Kelagen inscription Airlangga also took a keen interest on agriculture development
26.
Dalang (puppeteer)
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The dhalang or dalang is the puppeteer in an Indonesian wayang performance. In a performance of wayang kulit, the dalang sits behind a screen made of white cotton stretched on a wooden frame, above his head, hanging from beams attached to the top of the screen, is the lamp, which projects the shadows onto the screen. To his left is the puppet chest, and to his right is the puppet chests lid, in addition to moving the puppets and speaking their lines, the dalang is also responsible for giving cues to the gamelan. This is done principally by playing the kepyak, a plate or set of plates played with his foot. The art of puppetry was traditionally handed down within families, the women of these families traditionally were expert players of the gendér, an instrument which has a particularly important role in accompanying wayang performances. The sons of dalangs were often apprenticed out around the age of 13 to another dhalang and he would also frequently end up marrying his masters daughter, who would have been trained as a gendér player by her mother. This included meditation and a form of ascetic exercise known as kungkum, such practices are felt to be essential in building up the stamina to perform for nine hours at a stretch. A further ascetic element is that dhalangs never eat during the performance, although almost all drink sweet tea, in recent times, however, schools teaching pedhalangan have been founded, such as the Habirandha school within the Kraton Yogyakarta, which teach a standardized version of pedhalangan. The Habirandha school published its own textbook, the Pedhalangan Ngayogyakarta, standardized pedhalangan is also taught at Indonesian state institutions such as the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta. Pedhalangan falls into three main areas - musical, vocal and puppetry, there is an extensive study of sabetan in English by Roger Long Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof Dictionary of Traditional Southeast Asian Theatre Oxford University Press. ISBN9676530328 NIU page on the dalang Joglosemar wayang page
27.
Klungkung Regency
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Klungkung is the smallest regency of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 315 km2 and population of approximately 180,000, Klungkung town is easily reached from Gianyar via the highway. The regency is famous for its classic Balinese paintings which depict the story of the epics like Mahabharata or Ramayana. These classical style paintings come from the frescoes of the Balinese Palaces, semarajaya Museum is also located in the area. Some 60% of the area of Klungkung is made of the three offshore islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan, which together form Nusa Penida District
28.
Iravan
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Iravan, also known as Iravat and Iravant, is a minor character from the Hindu epic of Mahabharata. Both these cults are of South Indian origin, from a region of the country where he is worshipped as a deity and is known as Aravan. He is also a god of well-known transgender communities called ThiruNangai. The Mahabharata portrays Iravan as dying a heroic death in the 18-day Kurukshetra War, however, the South Indian cults have a supplementary tradition of honouring Aravans self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war. The Kuttantavar cult focuses on one of the three boons granted to Aravan by the god Krishna in honour of this self-sacrifice, Aravan requested that he be married before his death. Krishna satisfied this boon in his form, Mohini. The Draupadi cult emphasizes another boon, Krishna allows Aravan to witness the entire duration of the Mahabharata war through the eyes of his severed head, in another 18-day festival, the ceremonial head of Aravan is hoisted on a post to witness the ritual re-enactment of the Mahabharata war. The head of Aravan is a motif in Draupadi temples. Often it is a wooden head, sometimes it even has its own shrine in the temple complex or is placed on the corners of temple roofs as a guardian against spirits. Aravan is worshipped in the form of his head and is believed to cure disease. Iravan is also known in Indonesia, an independent set of traditions have developed around Irawan on the main island of Java where, for example, he loses his association with the Naga. Separate Javanese traditions present a dramatic marriage of Irawan to Titisari, daughter of Krishna, and these stories are told through the medium of traditional Javanese theatre, especially in shadow-puppet plays known as Wayang Kulit. According to the Monier Williams Sanskrit–English Dictionary, the name Iravan, also spelt Irawan, is formed from the root Iravat, in turn, the root Iravat is derived from Irā —closely linked with Iḍā —meaning possessing food, endowed with provisions or, by extension, comfortable. Alf Hiltebeitel, George Washington University professor of religion, suggests that the Sanskrit name Iravan or Iravant is derived from Iḍā-vant, one who possessed Iḍā. The French Indologist Madeleine Biardeau describes religious use of the word Iḍā as reference to a substance consumed by the participants from which comes all fecundity of the sacrifice. Based on this definition, Biardeau concludes that Iravant means sacrificial victim in the Mahabharata, Iḍā is also used elsewhere to denote a substance that Devas and Asuras vie for. Iravan is generally known as Aravan, also spelt as Aravaan in South India and he is revered as a deity in two southern Indian Hindu cults, the Kuttantavar cult, and the cult of Draupadi. In his own cult, Aravan is also known as Kuttantavar and this name is sometimes spelled as Kuttandar, Khoothandavar or Koothandavar
29.
Pandava
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In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri, who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, all five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi. Together the brothers fought and prevailed in a war against their cousins the Kauravas. The word Pandava is derived from their fathers name, Pandu, the other epithets of the Pandava group are, Panduputra - sons of Pandu Pandavakumara - young Pandavas Kaunteya - sons of Kunti Madreya - sons of Madri Yudhishthira, The eldest Pandava brother. His name means one who is steadfast even during war and his parents were Kunti and Dharma, god of virtue, justice and morality. Though he lacked the characteristic combat prowess of a Kshatriya, Yudhishthira was one of the most virtuous men, skilled in the duties of a king and he was a good king who, along with his brothers, founded the prosperous city of Indraprastha. In consequence of Krishnas machinations and also by his brothers conquest of the world and he performed two Ashwamedha sacrifices and one Rajasuya sacrifice. Yudhishthira learnt to control the dice from the Sage Brihadaswa and became good at playing chess and his other names are Ajatshatru and Dharmaraja. His name means of terrible might and his parents were Kunti and Vayu, the god of air and wind, who was known for his might. Bhima has the strength and prowess equal to ten thousand powerful bull elephants and was very athletic. He was aggressive and prone to anger, of all the brothers, he alone opposed Yudhishthira, although very loyal to him, for his questionable decisions opposing common sense in the name of dharma. Bhima was devoted to his family and was their natural protector and he was a master in wielding the mace. He was also an archer, having fought Drona and Ashwatthama. Bhima was also skilled in diverse areas of warfare, including wrestling, charioteering, riding elephants. Along with Arjuna, he went on expeditions to conquer the kingdoms to the east, during the Rajasuya Yagna, Bhima subjugated the kingdoms of the eastern direction completely. He slew Krishnas most dangerous enemy, Jarasandha, in a wrestling bout, during the war, Bhima was most famous for slaying one hundred Kauravas and Duryodhana himself. He was also skilled in chopping wood, cooking, culinary arts and his name means of stainless deeds. His parents were Kunti and Indra, king of the gods and he was very virtuous and avoided unjust acts
30.
Bhima
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In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima is the second of the Pandavas. The Mahabharata relates many events which portray the immense might of Bhima, Bhima is responsible for slaying all hundred Kaurava brothers in the Kurukshetra War. The word bhima in Sanskrit means terrible or formidable and his other names are- Bhimasena - he who has a formidable army. Vrikodara - wolf bellied or voracious eater, jarasandhajit - he who won over Jarasandha. Hidimbabhid - he who pierced Hidimba, kichakajit - he who defeated Kichaka. Hanyalaurya - creator Because of a curse from the Rishi Kindama, Pandu, hence, the Pandavas were conceived in an unusual way. His wife, Queen Kunti, had in her youth been granted the power to invoke the Devas by Rishi Durvasa, each Deva, when invoked, would bless her with a child. Urged by Pandu to use her boons, Kunti gave birth to Bhima by invoking the God of wind, along with other Pandava brothers, Bhima was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by the Kuru preceptors, Kripa and Drona. Specifically, he became a master in using the mace, Bhimas strong point throughout the epic remains his towering strength. He was so wrathful and strong that it was even for Indra to subdue him in a battle. Bhima was also renowned for his giant appetite – at times, Bhima, being as powerful as his father, was a natural bully. He used to play jokes on the Kaurava brothers, he used to engage in wrestling bouts where he out-powered them with consummate ease. His repeated failures and fecklessness against Bhima angered Duryodhana so much that he wanted him dead and he hatched a cunning plot where he poisoned Bhimas food and drowned him in River Ganga. Thankfully, the Naga king Vasuki saved Bhima and also apprised him of Duryodanas hatred for him and it is also Vasuki who bestowed him the immense strength of ten thousand elephants. Duryodana with his counsellor Purochana hatched a plan to burn the Pandavas alive at a lac palace lakshagraha at Varnavrata that Duryodana had built there, thanks to Vidura, the Pandavas managed to escape out from the palace. Bhima played a role in carrying all five of them. Bhima also barricaded the palace of Purochana and set fire to it, Kunti and the Pandavas were living in agnyatavaasa after they escaped from the murder plot. During their stay at Ekachakra or kaiwara, they came to know of a demon, Bakasura, the powerful Bhima brought his might to the fore and trumped Bakasura, much to the delight of the villagers
31.
Arjuna
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Arjuna along with Krishna is the protagonist of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Krishna. He was an archer and a warrior accompanied by Lord Krishna, Arjuna was the son of Indra- the king of celestials, born in Kunti - the first wife of King Pandu in Kuru kingdom. In previous birth he was a saint named Nara who was the companion of another saint Narayana an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna was the rebirth of Narayana and he was the third of the Pandava brothers and was married to Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra at different times. His children included Srutakarma, Iravan, Babruvahana, and Abhimanyu, Karna was an archer equivalent to Arjuna in the Mahabharata, who was his lifetime opponent. The name Arjuna has among its meanings white/clear and silver, cognates of Arjuna are Latin regens meaning ruler, Hindi raj meaning king, and English regal. The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names, in the story, these names are given when Prince Uttara of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his identity. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration, one day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the gave up the ball as being lost. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of sarkanda, when an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realised that the stranger was none other than Drona. Bhishma asked Drona to become the Kuru princes teacher, seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed. Under Dronas tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapuras allies and vassals, Arjuna became Dronas favorite and most accomplished pupil, specifically, he became a master in using the bow and the arrow. In a famous incident, Drona deemed that out of all his students, even his own son Ashwatthama, none but Arjuna had the steadfast focus to shoot the eye of a bird on a tree, he was proven right. Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi, out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established challenge. The test is to lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection, Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind. At first Karna is able to lift and string the bow, afterwards, the disguised Arjuna accomplished the stringing and shooting of the bow. In some versions of the story, Arjuna is the prince to have interacted with Draupadi before. In some versions of the Swayamvara, Arjuna is forbidden by Kunti to attend the Swayamvara, kuntis reasoning is that only Yudhishthira and Duryodhana would be acceptable candidates for Draupadis hand, anyone else, not set to inherit the throne, would be an insult to Panchal
32.
Yudhishthira
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In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhishthira was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti and the king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War, at the end of the epic, he ascended to heaven. By the description of Vyasa and Krishna, the king was fair and lotus-eyed, with a long and stout nose, tall and strong, the word Yudhishthira means the one who is steady in the war, from the words, yuddha meaning war, and sthira meaning steady. Before dying, Kindama cursed the king to die when he engages in intercourse with any woman, due to this curse, Pandu was unable to father children. As an additional penance for the murder, Pandu abdicated the throne of Hastinapura, as the child was born the sages and the deities predicted that he would be the most virtuous, honest and truthful king of all times. Yudhishthiras four younger brothers were Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins Nakula, if Karna, the son of Kunti born before her marriage by invoking Surya is counted, Yudhishthira would be the second-eldest of Kuntis children. Yudhishthira was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by the Kuru preceptors, Kripa, specifically, he became a master in using the spear and war chariot. It is said that his spear was so strong that it could penetrate a wall as though it were a piece of paper. His chariot always flew at a 4 finger distance above the ground due to his piety, after the Lakshyagriha episode, the Pandavas disguised as Brahmins went to the kingdom of Panchala. Here, they attended the Swayamwara of Draupadi, who was the princess of Panchala, Arjuna, the younger brother of Yudhishthira, participated in her swayamwara and succeeded in winning her hand in marriage. After the swayamvara, Arjuna along with his brothers, treaded towards the hut where their mother Kunti was waiting for them, as soon as they reached the hut, Arjuna called his mother in delight and said, “Look what we have got as alms”. Kunti who was praying at that moment, without looking what exactly it was, commanded “Whatever Arjuna has received as alms should be distributed amongst the five brothers. ”Hence Draupadi was married off to all the five brothers. Draupadi also became the chief queen-consort of Yudhishthira upon his coronation as the King, Draupadi bore Yudhishthira a son named Prativindhya. Prativindhya was killed by Aswatthama as a revenge for his father Dronas death at the end of the Kurukshetra war, another wife of Yudhishthira was Devika, the daughter of Govasana of the Saivya tribe, who bore him a son named Yaudheya. After the coronation at Indraprastha, Yudhishthira set out to perform the Rajasuya yagna to become the Emperor of the World and his motives were not to obtain power for himself, but to establish dharma and defend religion all over the world. Arjuna, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva led armies across the four corners of the world to obtain tributes from all kingdoms for Yudhishthiras sacrifice, the non-compliant Magadha king, Jarasandha was defeated by Bhima and Krishna. At his sacrifice, Yudhishthira chose Krishna as his honoured guest, Yudhishthira succumbed to Shakunis challenge in the Pachisi. He lost his kingdom, his brothers and Draupadi, while playing for second time, he lost all his kingdom in the game and was forced into exile for 13 years, which included one year in anonymity
33.
Nakula
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In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Nakula was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins born to Madri, who had invoked the Ashwini Kumaras using Kuntis boon and its Sanskrit etymology is he who is most handsome in the lineage. Nakula and his brother Sahadeva, are called as Ashvineya, as they were born from Ashvins. He is also called Madri Nandan, due to Pandus inability to bear children, Kunti had to use the boon given by Sage Durvasa to give birth to her three children. She shared the boon with Pandus second wife, Madri, who invoked the Ashwini Kumaras to beget Nakula, the dark-complexioned Nakula was known to be the most handsome person in the world. In his childhood, Nakula mastered his skills in fencing and knife throwing under his father Pandu, later, Pandu lost his life when he desired his wifes Madri company. The latter also immolated herself in her husbands pyre after giving responsibility of her sons to Kunti, following Pandus death, Kunti and the five Pandavas moved to Hastinapura upon Dhritarashtras invitation. Nakula greatly improved his archery and swordplay skills under the tutelage of Dronacharya, along with the other Pandavas and the Kaurava, Nakula was trained in religion, science, administration, and military arts by the Kuru preceptors Kripacharya and Dronacharya. Nakula married Draupadi during this period and had a son, Satanika, during his brothers Rajasuya, Nakula was tasked with bringing to heel several kingdoms. One of these was the Chedi Kingdom, to cement an alliance, Nakula married Karenumati, daughter of Dhristaketu who was the son of Sishupala, she bore him one son, Niramitra. Years after Madri had killed herself, King Shalya, her brother, as well as the ruler of the kingdom of Madra, would each year, for a spell, bring his nephews Nakula and Sahadeva to Madra. On their fifteenth birthday, Shalya revealed his intention of making the twins his heirs, Shalya argued that Nakula could be a king one day, instead of fourth-in-line to the throne of Hastinapura. Provided that Yudhishthira was named their heir in the first place, the wise Nakula pointed out that Shalya only wanted Nakula and Sahadeva as his heirs, because both were children of god-in fact, Shalya was eschewing his own children with this gambit. Nakula claimed that while he and Sahadeva staying with the Pandavas would give them no power, his brothers and Kunti genuinely loved him, Nakula laments that by becoming Shalyas heir, he would then become Shalyas pawn. Through some deliberation, Nakula is convinced that Shalya is being genuine and he and Sahadeva become the heirs to the throne, but Sahadeva told his uncle on one condition, they will always stay with the Pandavas. Yudhishthiras loss in the game of dice meant that all Pandavas had to live in exile for 13 years, once in exile, Jatasura, disguised as a Brahmin, kidnapped Nakula along with Draupadi, Sahadeva and Yudhishthira. Bhima rescued them eventually and in the fight ensued, Nakula killed Kshemankara, Mahamaha. In the 13th year, Nakula disguised himself as an ostler and he worked as a horse-trainer who looked after horses in the royal stable
34.
Sahadeva
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In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Sahadeva was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins born to Madri, who had invoked the Ashwini Kumaras using Kuntis boon, the word Sahadeva is derived from two Sanskrit words saha and deva. Saha means with and deva is a Hindu term used for deity, so literally, Sahadeva means with Gods. Sahadeva and his brother Nakula, are called as Ashvineya, as they were born from Ashvins. Due to Pandus inability to bear children, Kunti had to use the boon given by Sage Durvasa to give birth to her three children and she shared the boon with Pandus second wife, Madri, who invoked the Ashwini Kumaras to beget Nakula and Sahadeva. Later, Pandu died due to his Kindamas curse when he attempted an intercourse with his wife, the latter also immolated herself in her husbands pyre, so Nakula and Sahadeva lost both their parents at an early age. It is also believed that Sahadeva was an incarnation of Shukra, Sahadeva and his brothers went to Hastinapura where they were instructed by Drona and Kripa in weapons. Sahadeva also acquired the Nitishastra from Brihaspati, Guru of the Devas, later Kunti and the five Pandavas moved to Hastinapura. Sahadevas core skill lay in the wielding of the sword, Sahadeva is said to be mild-mannered, bashful, patient, and virtuous. All five Pandava brothers were wed concurrently to Draupadi, and each had a son by her, Sahadevas son with Draupadi was Srutasen. Sahadeva also married his maternal cousin Vijaya, the daughter of Dyutimat, the king of Madra and his son Suhotra was killed by Karna. Sahadeva was sent south by the eldest Pandava Yudhishthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya sacrifice and he was specifically chosen for the south because of his expertise with the sword, and because Bhishma opined that Southerners are skilled with sword-fighting in general. The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the south of Indraprastha which were conquered by Sahadeva, some of them are as under, Surasenas Pandyan Dynasty Matsya, the king Dantavakra, kings Sukumara, Sumitra, other Matsyas and Patacharas. Vibhishana, the king of Lanka and brother of Ravana and he offered him diverse kinds of jewels and gems, sandalwood, celestial ornaments, costly apparel and valuable pearls. At Kishkindha, the monkey-kings Mainda and Dwivida were defeated in a 7-day war, city of Mahishmati, which was ruled by King Nila. Since the kingdom had the blessings of Agni, a huge fire obstructed the army when Sahadeva tried to invade, King Rukmi of Vidarbha and territories of Bhojakata Nishadas, the hill of Gosringa and King Sreenimath. Navarashtra, under King Kunti-Bhoja King Jamvaka, on the banks of the river Charmanwati, territories lying on the banks of the Venwa. Kingdoms that lay on the banks of the Narmada, surabhipatna and the island called the Copper island, and a mountain called Ramaka
35.
Indonesia Museum
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The Indonesia Museum, is an anthropology and ethnological museum located in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum is concentrated on arts and cultures of ethnic groups that inhabit Indonesian archipelago. The museum is a richly decorated building in Balinese architecture, it houses traditional and contemporary arts, crafts, if tourist wants to take a picture with their camera, a ticket pass of Rp.5000 must be given to the counter in the first floor. However, it is free to take pictures with cellphones, the museum was designed as the integral part of the whole Taman Mini Indonesia Indah complex. It was meant as a center of Indonesian culture, one stop to learn about Indonesia. The museum and the whole TMII complex was built and inaugurated in 1975 under the patronage of Mrs. Tien Suharto, the museum is elaborately decorated with Balinese statues and ornaments. It was built in exquisite Balinese architectural style, some large Paduraksa and Candi Bentar style Balinese gates, as well as several corner towers adorn the complex. The museum park took the theme of Ramayana Hindu epic, such as the bridge to main building took form of Nāga serpents with vanara ape army that built a bridge to Lanka. The permanent exhibit and collections of Indonesia museum is arranged within three sections located on three floors. The theme of first floor exhibit is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and it features traditional formal dress and wedding costumes of 27 provinces of Indonesia. The exhibit also displays Indonesian artforms, such as types of dances, wayang and gamelan. Manusia dan Lingkungan is the theme of second floor exhibit and it meant to showcase the interactions of Indonesian people with their nature and environment. The exhibit featured different traditional houses, religious buildings, rice barn, such as the houses that built on elevated platform, built on trees or on the river, and various style of traditional vernacular buildings. The dioramas of the parts of Indonesian traditional houses is also in display, such as Palembang wedding room, Javanese middle living room, the objects used in daily life, such as for hunting, gathering, farming, and agriculture objects also in display. Seni dan Kriya is the theme of third floor, the room showcases the traditional and contemporary arts and crafts of Indonesian people. Traditional textile crafts such as Songket, Tenun, and Batik is in display as well as metal, the intricate traditional wooden carving traditions, such as the ones belongs to the Jepara, Bali, Toraja, and Asmat culture also in display on this floor. The centerpiece of this section is a wooden carving of Kalpataru tree. This eight meters high and four meters wide tree symbolize the nature and universe and contains five basic elements, air, water, wind, earth, the centerpiece conclude the whole displays of the museum
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Punokawan
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In Javanese wayang, the panakawan or panakavan are the clown servants of the hero. There are four of them – Semar, Petruk, Gareng and Bagong, Semar is the personification of a deity, sometimes said to be the dhanyang or guardian spirit of the island of Java. In Javanese mythology, deities can only manifest themselves as ugly or otherwise unprepossessing humans, and so Semar is always portrayed as short and fat with a pug nose and his three companions are his adopted sons, given to Semar as votaries by their parents. Petruk is portrayed as tall and gangling with a nose, Gareng as short with a club foot. The panakawan always appear in the act of a wayang performance – pathet sanga – as servants to the hero of the story regardless of who that hero is. Similar characters appear in other Indonesian wayang and theatrical traditions, including those of Bali and Sunda, the panakawan characters are generally much-loved by audiences who attend wayang plays in Indonesia and their appearance in the plays is usually greeted with laughter and anticipation. On thrones of gold - three Javanese shadow plays, Javanese shadow theatre, Movement and characterization in Ngayogyakarta wayang kulit. Indonesian site in English about Semar and the Punokawan
37.
Cabaret
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Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. It is mainly distinguished by the venue, which might be a pub. The audience, often dining or drinking, does not typically dance, performances are usually introduced by a master of ceremonies or MC. The entertainment, as done by an ensemble of actors and according to its European origins, is oriented towards adult audiences. In the United States striptease, burlesque, drag shows, or a solo vocalist with a pianist, the word cabaret was first used in 1655. It is derived from tavern probably from Middle Dutch cambret, the word cabaret came to mean a restaurant or night club by 1912. Cabaret can be divided in 10 different types. However, these are artificial dividing lines, cabaret shows are most of the time a compound of elements from the different types, the cabaret performer plays with language, sometimes poetic, but often is he or she rock hard and hateful. The cabaret performer analyses in his/her stubborn manner actual, social and political topics, the cabaret performer tells an often slightly absurd story with a moral packed in it. The cabaret performer plays with music, for example by twisting or combining familiar melodies, the cabaret performer tells nonsensical and absurd stories and plays idiotic types. The emphasis is less on text in the show of cabaret performer. Here the cabaret performer eludes on his liberating through laughter role, an iteration of storytelling cabaret The cabaret performer quickly switches between the different styles/types of cabaret, types, or songs. In this the cabaret performer is a guest at a government, institution or a company, cabarets existed in Paris in the 16th century, they were ancestors of the modern restaurant. Unlike taverns they sold wine not by itself but only with a meal, customers might sing if they had drunk enough wine, but early cabarets did not have formal programs of entertainment. Cabarets were frequently used as meeting places for writers and artists, in 1773 French poets, painters, musicians and writers began to meet in a cabaret called Le Caveau on rue de Buci, where they composed and sang songs. The Caveau continued until 1816, when it was forced to close because its clients wrote songs mocking the royal government, in the 18th century the café-concert or café-chantant appeared, which offered food along with music, singers, or magicians. The most famous was the Cafe des Aveugles in the cellars of the Palais-Royal, in the early 19th century many cafés-chantants appeared around the city, the most famous were the Café des Ambassadeurs on the Champs-Élysées and the Eldorado on boulevard Strasbourg. By 1900 there were more than 150 cafés-chantants in Paris, the first cabaret in the modern sense was Le Chat Noir in the Bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre, created in 1881 by Rodolphe Salis, a theatrical agent and entrepreneur
38.
Central Java
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Central Java is a province of Indonesia. This province is located in the middle of Java, the province is 32,800.69 km2 in area, approximately a quarter of the total land area of Java. Its population was 33,753,023 at the 2015 Census, Central Java is also a cultural concept that includes the Special Region and city of Yogyakarta as well as the Province of Central Java. However, administratively the city and its surrounding regencies have formed a special region since Indonesian independence. Located in the middle of the island of Java, the Central Java province is bordered by West Java, a small portion of its south region is the Yogyakarta Special Region province, fully enclosed on the landward side by the Central Java province. To the north and the south, the Central Java province faces the Java Sea, Central Java includes offshore islands such as Karimun Jawa Islands in the north, and Nusakambangan in the southwest. Yogyakarta is historically and culturally part of the Central Java region, the average temperature in Central Java is between 18–28 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity varies between 73–94 percent. While a high level of humidity exists in most low-lying parts of the province, the highest average annual rainfall of 3,990 mm with 195 rainy days was recorded in Salatiga. The geography of Central Java is regular with small strips of lowlands near the northern and southern coast with mountain ranges in the centre of the region, to the west lies an active stratovolcano Mount Slamet, and further east is the Dieng Volcanic Complex on Dieng Plateau. Southeast of Dieng lies the Kedu Plain, which is bordered to the east side by the volcanoes of Mount Merapi. South of Semarang, lies Mount Ungaran, and to the north-east of the city lies Mount Muria on the most northern tip of Java, to the east near the border with East Java lies Mount Lawu, where its eastern slopes are in the East Java province. Due to its volcanic history, volcanic ash makes Central Java highly fertile agriculture land. Paddy fields are extensive, except in the southeastern Gunung Kidul region partly due to the concentration of limestone. The largest rivers are the Serayu in the west, which empties into the Indian Ocean, on the eve of the World War II in 1942, Central Java was subdivided into 7 residencies which corresponded more or less with the main regions of this area. These residencies were Banjoemas, Kedoe, Pekalongan, Semarang, and Djapara-Rembang plus the so-called Gouvernement Soerakarta, however, after the local elections in 1957 the role of these residencies were reduced until they finally disappeared. Nowadays Central Java is divided into 29 regencies and 6 cities and these contemporary regencies and cities can further be subdivided into 565 districts. These districts are subdivided into 7,804 rural communes or villages and 764 urban communes. Java has been inhabited by humans or their ancestors since prehistoric times, in Central Java and the adjacent territories in East Java remains known as Java Man were discovered in the 1890s by the Dutch anatomist and geologist Eugène Dubois
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Surakarta
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Surakarta is a city in Central Java. The 46 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and west, on the eastern side of Solo lies Solo River. Its built-up area made of Surakarta Municipality and 59 districts spread on 7 regencies was home to 3,649,254 inhabitants as of 2010 census, Surakarta is the birthplace of the current President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. He served as Mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012, the water sources for Surakarta are in the valley of Merapi, a total of 19 locations, with a capacity of 3,404 l/second. The average source water height is 800–1,200 m above sea level, in 1890–1927 there were only 12 wells in Surakarta. Today, underground wells in 23 locations produce about 45 l/second. The total reservoir capacity is 9,140 m3 and can serve 55, under the Köppen climate classification, Surakarta features a tropical monsoon climate. The city has a wet season spanning from October through June. On average Surakarta receives just under 2200 mm of rainfall annually, with its wettest months being December, January, as is common in areas featuring a tropical monsoon climate, temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year. Surakartas average temperature is roughly 30 degrees Celsius every month, Surakarta City and its surrounding regencies, Karanganyar, Sragen, Wonogiri, Sukoharjo, Klaten, and Boyolali, are collectively called the ex-Surakarta Residency. After Surakarta became a city, it was divided into five districts, each led by a camat, furthermore, the government of Indonesia officially defines a broader region as Surakartas extended metropolitan zone, with the acronym Subosukawonosraten as the city and 6 surrounding regencies. Though obviously not a metropolitan area as some of its regencies are not particularly suburbanized. Both the metropolitan area and extended areas border Yogyakartas metropolitan area, one of the earliest censuses held in Surakarta Residency was in 1885. At that time, with an area of about 5,677 km², there were 1,053,985 people in Surakarta Residency, the area,130 times the current area of Surakarta, had a population density of 186 people/km². The capital of the residency itself in 1880 had 124,041 people living in it, according to the 2009 census, there were 245,043 males and 283,159 females in Surakarta. 119,951 of the population were 14 years or younger,376,180 were between 15 and 64, and 32,071 were above 65, the number of households was 142,627 and the average number of household members was 3.7. The population growth in the last 10 years was about 0. 565% per year, the labor force of Solo in 2009 was 275,546, of whom 246,768 were working, while 28,778 were seeking work. Another 148,254 people aged 15 and above were not in the labor force, the mean working week in Solo was 47.04 hours, and 212,262 people worked more than 35 hours per week compared to 34,506 who worked less than that
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Yogyakarta
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Yogyakarta is a city on Java, Indonesia. It is renowned as a center of education, classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry and puppet shows. Yogyakarta is the capital of the Yogyakarta Special Region and was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution from 1945 to 1949, one of the districts in Yogyakarta, Kotagede, was the capital of the Mataram Sultanate between 1575 and 1640. The city is named after the Indian city of Ayodhya from the Ramayana epic, yogya means suitable, fit, proper, and karta, prosperous, flourishing. While urbanization sprawls, Yogyakarta-Magelang and Surakarta are being agglomerated in a few years, according to Canggal inscription dated 732, the area traditionally known as Mataram became the capital of the Medang Kingdom, identified as Mdang i Bhumi Mataram established by King Sanjaya. Around the year 929, the centre of the kingdom was shifted to East Java by Mpu Sindok, the exact cause of the move is still uncertain, however, a severe eruption of Mount Merapi volcano or a power struggle probably caused the move. Historians suggest that, some time during the reign of King Wawa of Mataram, during the Majapahit era, the area surrounding modern Yogyakarta was identified again as Mataram and recognized as one of the twelve Majapahit provinces in Java ruled by a Duke titled Bhre Mataram. During the reign of Hayam Wuruk, the title of Bhre Mataram was held by kings nephew, Kotagede was established as the capital of the Mataram Sultanate. During the reign of Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo, the Sultanate Mataram reached its zenith as the greatest kingdom in Java, after two changes of capital, the capital of Mataram Sultanate moved to Kartasura. During the reign of Pakubuwono II, a war broke out in Mataram Sultanate. The civil war was fought between Prince Mangkubumi and his brother, Sunan Pakubuwono II. It started when Sunan Pakubuwono II agreed to cooperate with the VOC, ceded some Mataram territory to the Dutch and his younger brother, Prince Mangkubumi stood against the agreement due to concerns that his people would become slaves under Dutch rule. Prince Mangkubumi defeated the Pakubuwono forces and declared sovereignty in the Kingdom of Yogjakarta occupying the southern parts of the former Mataram Sultanate, the Yogyakarta Sultanate was established as a result of the Treaty of Giyanti by Prince Mangkubumi, who later ascended the throne as Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. Officially, the creation of Yogyakarta Sultanate is dated at 7 October 1756 as a result of war among the princes of The Mataram Sultanate. This civil war marked the end of the Mataram Sultanate and resulted in the birth of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, during the British occupation of Java, rumors of plans by the Javanese court to stage a rebellion caused uneasiness among the colonial authorities. On 20 June 1812, Stamford Raffles led a 1, 200-strong British force to attack the royal city, the Javanese were surprised by the attack and were easily subdued. In one day the city of Yogyakarta fell, with the city destroyed, the event completely stripped the sultanate of its remaining power and influence. The sack also left the court humiliated and fueled a rebellion which would be known as Java War, in 1942 the Japanese Empire invaded Dutch East Indies and ruled Java until they were defeated in 1945
41.
Temanggung Regency
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Temanggung Regency is a regency in the Central Java Province of Indonesia. All travelers going to the Dieng temple complex from Yogya or Semarang have to pass this regency, Temanggung Regency is famous for longan, a small sweet fruit that is harvested in January and February. Temanggung Regency is located on the volcanic Dieng Plateau with an elevation between 500 and 1450 meters and it is landlocked. The volcanoes Mount Sundoro and Mount Sumbing arise on its border with the Wonosobo Regency and its major drainage system is the Progo River and its tributaries. It is bordered by, Pekalongan Regency to the northeast, Batang Regency to the north, Semarang Regency to the east, Magelang Regency to the south, Temanggung Regency is divided into the following twenty subdistricts. The major towns of Temanggung Regency, aside from the capital of Temanggung, include Candiroto, Jumo, Kaloran, Kandangan, Kranggan, Muntung, Ngadirejo, Parakan, and Tretep. After World War II, Temanggung Regency was one of the areas in central Java where the Communist Party had its rural strongholds, in the 21st century Temanggung Regency provided a hideout for members of the Islamist Jemaah Islamiyah. The majority of the population of the Temanggung Regency is Muslim and it was once predominately Hindu for thousands of years. The oldest stone structure in Indonesia is found here,4 temple of Shiva, though there were 400, only 4 remain. The big cash crop in the Temanggung Regency is tobacco, other cash crops include patchouli oil, honey and soy oil. The traditional herbal medicine, jamu, is the basis of an industry as well as is the production of cigars. Silkworms are raised in the area around the town of Candiroto, gondosuli Temple - A newly discovered temple located 13 km from the town of Temanggung. Kledung - a highly scenic pass between Mount Sumbing and Mount Sundoro, it is crossed at around 2340 M, and the views are great, Located 20 km from Temanggung, It is excellent site for relaxing and mountaineering. Bungalows and other accommodation are available, jumprit - a pool on the slope of Mount Sundoro, located 22 km from Temanggung. The water is cool and clean, and to some considered as a holy place. The scenery here is very beautiful and it was built by Sanjaya kingdom. Pakitan and Parakan - two small pleasant towns in the regency, pakitan is situated between the hills, it has a cool climate. Meteorit - located in Wonotirto subdistrict Bulu, water Fall Trocoh / Curug Trocoh - Located in Wonoboyo
42.
West Java
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West Java is a province of Indonesia. The provinces population is 46.3 million and it is the most populous, all these cities are suburban to Jakarta. The oldest human inhabitant archaeological findings in the region were unearthed in Anyer with evidence of bronze, the prehistoric Buni culture clay pottery were later developed with evidence found in Anyer to Cirebon. Artefacts, such as food and drink containers, were mostly as burial gifts. Records of Tarumanegaras administration lasted until the sixth century, which coincides with the attack of Srivijaya, the Sunda Kingdom subsequently became the ruling power of the region, as recorded on the Kebon Kopi II inscription. An Ulama, Sunan Gunung Jati, settled in Cirebon, with the intention of spreading the word of Islam in the pagan town, in the meantime, the Sultanate of Demak in central Java grew to an immediate threat against the Sunda kingdom. To defend against the threat, Prabu Surawisesa Jayaperkosa signed a treaty with the Portuguese in 1512, in return, the Portuguese were granted an accession to build fortresses and warehouses in the area, as well as form trading agreements with the kingdom. This first international treaty of West Java with the Europeans was commemorated by the placement of the Padrao stone monument at the bank of the Ciliwung River in 1522, although the treaty with the Portuguese had been established, it could not come to realization. Sunda Kalapa harbour fell under the alliance of the Sultanate of Demak, in 1524/1525, their troops under Sunan Gunung Jati also seized the port of Banten and established the Sultanate of Banten which was affiliating with the Sultanate of Demak. The war between the Sunda kingdom with Demak and Cirebon sultanates then continued for five years until a treaty were made in 1531 between King Surawisesa and Sunan Gunung Jati. From 1567 to 1579, under the last king Raja Mulya, alias Prabu Surya Kencana, after 1576, the kingdom could not maintain its capital at Pakuan Pajajaran and gradually the Sultanate of Banten took over the former Sunda kingdoms region. The Mataram Sultanate from central Java also seized the Priangan region, in the sixteenth century, the Dutch and the British trading companies established their trading ships in West Java after the falldown of Sultanate of Banten. For the next three hundred years, West Java fell under the Dutch East Indies administration, West Java was officially declared as a province of Indonesia in 1950, referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. On October 17,2000, as part of nationwide political decentralization, Banten was separated from West Java, there have been recent proposals to rename the province Pasundan after the historical name for West Java. Since the creation of West Bandung Regency in 2008, the Province of West Java has been subdivided into 9 cities and 17 regencies and these 26 cities and regencies are divided into 620 districts, which comprise 1,576 urban villages and 4,301 rural villages. West Java borders Jakarta and Banten province to the west, to the north is the Java Sea. To the south is the Indian Ocean, unlike most other provinces in Indonesia which have their capitals in coastal areas, the provincial capital, Bandung, is located in the mountainous area in the centre of the province. Banten Province was formerly part of West Java Province but was created a province in 2000
43.
Banyumas Regency
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Banyumas Regency is a regency in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Purwokerto and it covers an area of 1,335.30 km2, and had a population of 1,554,527 at the 2010 Census, the latest estimate is 1,573,593. The term Banyumasan is also used as a referring to the culture, language and peoples of the wider Banyumas area. The language of Banyumasan is of Austronesian origin, and is considered to be a dialect of Javanese. It is still natural and is accessible on a good road. The area surrounding the location belongs to Perhutani, a Forest State Company, north of the capital of Purwokerto, Baturraden Resort features views from the slopes of Mount Slamet. And 8 km to Baturaden, there a Curug Cehenk, this is a waterfall 73 meters, among the religious tourism sites in Banyumas is Saka Tunggal Mosque, established in 1871. Official site of Banyumas District Government Non Profit Portal Media Informasi Banyumas
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Cirebon
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Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at 6°43′S 108°34′E.88 km2. The seat of a former Sultanate, the citys West and Central Java border location have seen its history influenced by both Sundanese and Javanese culture as well as Chinese. Being on the border of Sunda and Jawa, many of Cirebons residents speak a dialect that is a mix of Sundanese and Javanese. It is thought that the word derives from the Javanese word, caruban, meaning mixed, a reference to the citys mix of Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese. Alternatively, it could be derived from the Sundanese words of Ci, aside from fishery, its harbour, Tanjung Emas, on the Java Sea has been a major hub for timber from Borneo. A small landing site Penggung also serves the TNI-AU, the city lies on Jalur Pantura, a major road on the northern coast of Java that stretches from Anyer, passes through Jakarta, and ends at Surabaya. According to the manuscript Purwaka Caruban Nagari, in the 15th century Cirebon started as a fishing village named Muara Jati. At that time the port of Muara Jati already attracted foreign traders, the port master at that time was Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang, who was appointed by the king of Galuh kingdom, located inland in Kawali, Ciamis. Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang moved the port to Lemahwungkuk,5 kilometres southward, as the new settlement leader, Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang was bestowed the title Kuwu Cerbon. A prince from Pajajaran, Prince Walangsungsang, converted to Islam and was appointed as Adipati of Cirebon with the title Cakrabumi and he established the new kingdom of Cirebon and declared independence from Galuh. The establishment of the Cirebon sultanate marked the first Islamic rule in Western Java, Cirebon grew as one of the independent sultanates under the leadership of Sunan Gunungjati, in the early 16th century. The kingdoms of Banten and Mataram fought over Cirebon, which declared its allegiance to Sultan Agung of Mataram, but the later Mataram king ceded the city to the Dutch in the 1677. A treaty in 1705 saw Cirebon become a Dutch protectorate jointly administered by three sultans whose courts rivalled those of Central Java, the citys population was 298,224 at the Indonesia Census of 2010. As with other cities in Indonesia, a large population of ethnic Chinese has flocked into the city as a result of long-term Chinese immigration since the 17th century. Significant suburbs lie within densely populated Cirebon Regency, and the metropolitan area encompasses this entire regency as well as the city. Although surrounded by Sundanese-speaking areas in West Java, linguists have stated clearly that Cirebon are Javanese language areas, in addition, this is supported by the Cirebon people referring to themselves as wong Jawa, and to their language as basa Jawa. However, the Cirebon dialect is different from the dominant south central Javanese dialect that it is sometimes assumed to be non-Javanese by outsiders
45.
Semarang
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Semarang, is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Central Java, the built-up area had 3,183,516 inhabitants at the 2010 census spread on 2 cities and 26 districts. Greater Semarang has a population of close to 6 million, and is located at 6°58′S 110°25′E, a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and still an important regional center and port today, the city has a dominant Javanese population. In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power, the VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre. The historic presence of a large Indo community in the area of Semarang is also reflected by the fact a creole mix language called Javindo existed there, Semarang was handed by the Sultan of Mataram to the Dutch East Indies in 1678. The city was pictured as a settlement with a pious Muslim area called Kauman, a Chinese quarter. In fact, the city of Semarang was only referred to the Dutch quarter while the ethnic settlement were considered as villages outside the city boundary. The city, known as de Europeesche Buurt, was built in classical European style with church located in the centre, wide boulevards and streets skirted by beautiful villas. According to Purwanto, the urban and architectural form of settlement is very similar to the design principles applied in many Dutch cities. Due to the long and costly Java War, there were not much of funding from the Dutch East Indies government, the majority of land was used for rice fields and the only small improvement was the development of surrounding fortress. The existence of the market, in the years, become a primary element. The project was followed by the development of the Netherlands Indies railway. Colombijn marked the development as the shift of urban functions, from the former river orientation to all facing the roads. Improved communication, as the result of the Mail and Railway projects, had brought an economic booming for the city in the 1870s, urban growth had made acutely dense the urban kampong, reaching the number of 1000 inhabitants per hectare and degrading the quality of living condition. In this early 20th century, mortality rate was high due to the overcrowding and lack of hygiene that triggered the invasion of cholera. In 1917, a housing project was implemented in the Southern part of Semarang called Candi Baru. Thomas Karsten, the advisor for city planning, transformed the concept of ethnic segregation that divided previous urban settlements into a new housing district plan based on economic classes
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