This week we hear from Indonesian language teacher Pauli Sandjaja, Indonesian Consul General in San Francisco Ardi Hermawan and ISAUW President Kevin Hendarto about the success of KERATON 2017.
KERATON is an annual Indonesian cultural festival hosted by ISAUW (Indonesian Student Association at University of Washington). The purpose of hosting KERATON is to introduce the rich culture of Indonesia to the greater Seattle Community.
Six years after it first started in 2011, KERATON has become the second biggest Indonesian cultural festival in the country and the biggest one on the West Coast. Every year, KERATON has a unique theme. This year the theme was “One-Day Pass to Indonesia.” Every visitor was taken on a journey to explore the various cultures in Indonesia through dance, food, songs, traditional games and more. There were two activities unique to KERATON 2017. First, there was coffee tasting where visitors are able to try some Indonesian coffees. Second, a batik-making workshop where visitors were able to learn about how to make batik. All of these activities received a rousing response. It’s estimated that the number of visitors was even more than last year’s KERATON, which had about 6,000.
The event was very diverse. Dances included: tari Bungong, tari Kembang Girang, tari Gunung Sari, tari Saman, and tari Legong. Shows included: angklung and a traditional fashion show. There was also a traditional game that included audience members. During the performance breaks, people sang pop songs.
KERATON 2017 is a collaboration effort from UW students to Indonesian students from community colleges in the area. This event was also made possible by non-Indonesian students who volunteered as models for the fashion show. The Indonesian community also helped with the event, including various Indonesian restaurants and food trucks who served various Indonesian food and snacks.
Left to right: Kevin Hendarto, Pauli Sandjaja, Ardi Hermawan
(Photo Cred. Pauli Sandjaja)
Pauli Sandjaja (ISAUW Advisor, Indonesian language teacher, University of Washington)
As a teacher, I feel very proud and impressed with the spirit and dedication of the UW Indonesian students for working together and embracing the Indonesian and non-Indonesian communities for an event as big for the sake of introducing Indonesian culture to an international audience. KERATON this year and the years before have successfully received guest numbers that are not small. Every year, there are always new things added.
As the UW Indonesian teacher, I feel very grateful that my students have an opportunity for enjoying and studying the various aspects of Indonesian culture directly outside of the class. They are able to interact directly with the Indonesian community and “travel” to Indonesia via performances, games and food. This is one of the most telling ways to introduce Indonesian culture. I hope with activities like KERATON, students who study Indonesian and the general public will become more interested in our culture and visit Indonesia.
I am thankful to the student community who helped make this event possible, especially the students involved in ISAUW under the leadership of Kevin Hendarto. Also, I am extremely thankful to Consul General Ardi Hermawan from the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (KJRI) in San Francisco who always supports the events held at UW.
Ardi Hermawan (Indonesian Consul General in San Francisco)
Consul General Ardi Hermawan appreciated Washington’s Indonesian community’s success with KERATON 2017. KJRI gave full support for doing this activity to promote Indonesian culture.
My attendance in KERATON is a form of KJRI’s appreciation to the organizers. This activity successfully drew the attention of the local community for learning about Indonesia a lot more,” said Pak Ardi.
Kevin Hendarto (President of ISAUW 2016-2017, fourth-year undergrad studying Civil Engineering)
Indonesia has various unique cultures. From traditional dress, dance, food, batik, home architecture, coffee and still a lot more. This year, we chose the theme “One-Day Pass to Indonesia” where attendees were able to feel like they were traveling to Indonesia. This year we had coffee tasting and batik making for the first time. We also presented the 5 largest islands in Indonesia along with decorations and games from the islands. Through KERATON, I hope ISAUW was able to promote more about Indonesian culture to the people of Washington State.