Bali is the island of millions of wonders. Not only is it popular as the Island of Gods or the Island of Thousands of Temples with gorgeous scenery, Bali is also known as the island of thousands of symbols due to the various customs and traditions strongly attached on the Balinese. The beauty of its panorama and culture makes Bali a favourite tourism destination for domestic and foreign tourists.
The beautiful nature combined with local cultural element and good tourism management gives Bali many tourism awards. Some of the awards received in 2009 are the award for “The Best Exotic Destination” from Luxury Travel Magazine, London, England; “The Best Island” in Pacific Asia from Hongkong based DestinAsia Magazine, and “The Best Spa in The World” from Senses Wellnes Magazine.
Besides its scenic beaches, Bali has a tourism object which presents the enchantment of local culture and daily activities. It is Penglipuran Village, authorized as a traditional village in 1992, a rural area in Bali with a well-ordered lay-out and local government organization as well as strong cultural values maintained by its people. More ... >>
The history of the Sultanate of Serdang, located in East Sumatra, is a complicated and volatile one. The establishment of this sultanate cannot rule of the heyday of the Sultanate of Aceh. The history of the Sultanate of Serdang should begin with Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan. He was a brave figure known as the Army Commander-In-Chief (Panglima Besar Tentara) and Commander of Aceh Armada (Panglima Armada Aceh). Carrying the banners of the Sultanate of Aceh under the aegis of Sultan Iskandar Muda, Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan led the conquest operations of the lands along the West and East Coast of Sumatra and reached Johor and Pahang. There were some who said that Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan who was entitled Laksamana Kuda Bintan was none but Laksamana Malem Dagang who led the Aceh fleet fought against the Portuguese (1629) and conquered Pahang (1617), Kedah (1620), Nias (1624) and more (Tuanku Luckman Sinar Basarshah II, 2007 b:4).
In 1632, Sultan Iskandar Muda authorized Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan the vice of Aceh Sultan or the representative of the country due to his merit and service to the Sultanate of Aceh. He then led Haru, or later known as East Sumatera (Basarshah II, 2003:2). Haru was in fact an independent kingdom conquered by the Sultanate of Aceh under the command of Tuanku Sri Paduka Gocah Pahlawan. He was the ancestor of the kings in Haru, an area which later changed into Deli and Serdang. The name Haru itself first emerged in the travel journal of a Chinese wanderer who stopped by in Sumatra at around the 13th century. It was stated in the journal that Haru sent a mission to China in 1282 AD when China was ruled by the Mongolian Empire under Kubilai Khan leadership. In addition, the name Haru was also written in Pararaton chronicle in the fragment on Pamalayu Expedition, which explained about Majapahit struggle to conquer Malay starting from the 13th century. Haru was recorded as one of the main countries in Sumatera besides Lamuri, Lamuri, Samudera, Barlak (Perlak), and Dalmyan (Temiang). Negarakertagama by the legendary Mpu Prapanca also treated the existence of Haru by stating that, in addition to Pane, Majapahit also conquered Kompai and Haru. More >>
Acehnese have been known for having the culture which is strongly influenced by Islamic culture. This is reflected in Aceh major Moslem population. In addition, the acculturation of both culture in Aceh is expressed in a proverb “Adat ngon Hukum han jeut Cree, Lagee zat ngon siffeut”, which means that the tradition and Islamic canon law are inseparable as though substance and its characters (M. Alamsyah et.al., 1998/1999:53-54).
The acculturation of tradition (culture) and Islam causes the perspective on culture to be synchronized with Islamic perspective, and so are health problems. Aceh culture views the health for Acehnese must agree with the Islamic view on health. Likewise, Islamic explanation on health must be adjusted to Aceh culture.
Islam advises its adherents to always maintain their health and to make efforts to stay out of illnesses. Moreover, in Acehnese perspective, every illness suffered is Allah’s will (Rusdi Sufi & Agus Budi Wibowo, 2006:28).
Related to that perspective, there is a popular proverb which develops in the Acehnese. It says ‘na umu na ubat’ which means if someone is blessed with long life, every illness he suffers will have its remedy. This perspective is in accordance with the Hadith ‘Allah does not create an illness without its remedy.’ (Alamsyah et.al., 1998/1999:54). More ... >>
Gasing or top spinning is a traditional toy made of wood and the like, played by spinning it with a string. In East Kalimantan the game is called begasing. Begasing contains many life lessons. Begasing is played only by men, either children, teenager or adult.
According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia by Balai Pustaka 2005 on page 339, “gasing” means a toy made of wood and the like, which comes with a (nail or wooden) bolt and is spinned with a string. In Bahasa Indonesia, gasing generally means “spinning very fast”. It can be seen from such common expression as “The football player spins like a gasing after striking his opponent.”
Gasing game is popular almost in all provinces in Indonesia and they have the same term: gasing. In East Kalimantan, the game is called begasing (Karim et al., 1993). The origin of begasing in East Kalimantan is unknown, yet, according to the stories by the local people, the game is considered to be derived from Sumatra and Java. This is due to the fact that a certain culture is strongly attached to its supporters, and is always carried along when they move to a new area. That culture is then socialized and develop in accordance with the new setting. From here then emerged several versions of that culture, gasing is an example. More ... >>
