The Pontianak city government, West Kalimantan Province, has organized the Malay arts and cultural festival “Kampong Melayu Benua Melayu Laut” along the banks of the Kapuas River featuring dances and music from local groups and communities.
The festival aims to preserve the city’s rich Malay culture and introduce it to young people, head of the Pontianak Education and Cultural Office, Sri Sujiarti, said in Pontianak on Saturday.
“As the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has started to include artists (as art teachers) in schools, that would be extracurricular (for students). In Pontianak city, we prepare them in 16 schools, and they will be evaluated every year,” she added.
Malay dance and music from Pontianak city have the potential to be showcased on the national and international stages, Sujiarti said.
Similar festivals are regularly held three to four times a year, and this is the first time the festival has been held by the riverside, she added.
Other cultural festivals include the Meriam Karbit Festival, Arakan Pengantin (procession of sending the groom to the bride’s house in Malay Pontianak culture), Cap Go Meh or the 15th night of the Chinese calendar’s first month, and tribal ritual Gawai Dayak to show gratitude for harvested crops.
“Every year, we apply for the establishment of cultural heritage and intangible cultural heritage. We also inventory cultural data in Pontianak city to the central government,” Sujiarti informed.
On July 30-31, 2022, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno will attend ‘Kampong Melayu Benua Melayu Laut’ festival to consider Kampong Melayu’s (Malay village’s) inclusion in the list of 50 best participants for the 2022 Indonesian Tourism Village Award (ADWI).
Sujiarti said that efforts to support the assessment have covered the aspects of safety, order, cleanliness, coolness (temperature), beauty, and hospitality.
Source: Antara News