Dieng Culture Festival and a mystical haircut
Dieng Culture Festival The kid fixed her eyes firmly on the bicycle as the man approached, brandishing his scissors. He was ready to cut off … Read more
Java
Ritual sacrifice on Bromo during Yadnya Kasada 2017
They sacrifice animals in a volcano? The man threw the chicken high into the air and it flapped, squawking, boldly over the heads of the … Read more
If someone says visit Gunung Pancar Hot Springs, tell them maybe…
If someone says visit Gunung Pancar Hot Springs, tell them maybe… A few days after visiting Kuntum Farmfields, we decided to visit Gunung Pancar Hot Springs. … Read more
New baby, New house and Javanese House Moving Ceremony
It feels like quite a while since going to see Gandrung Sewu in Banyuwangi and this is how I’ve been keeping busy. People say that … Read more
See Gandrung Sewu in Banyuwangi
Every year people go to see Gandrung Sewu in Banyuwangi, East Java. Sewu means a thousand in Javanese and Gandrung means infatuated. So a thousand … Read more
Visit Jember Fashion Carnaval 2016
Despite the strange spelling of the name, Jember Fashion Carnaval 2016 was a smartly thought out and well executed carnival. If you have heard of Rio … Read more
Javanese Mitoni links contemporary people with traditions
We’re going back in time a bit here to a ceremony that happened in June of 2014 before the birth of my daughter. In this one, … Read more
Long weekend in Semarang
It was a public holiday and so we decided to have a long weekend in Semarang. Flying from Jakarta, we arrived on Saturday lunchtime and … Read more
Gunung Gede Pangrango Trail Marathon
You’d be forgiven for not noticing that there hasn’t been many updates to the blog recently. There is, of course, an excuse. Pretty much all … Read more
Traditional Batik producer
We visited a traditional batik producer to see if she could come up with gifts for our wedding. Here’s the story. Before we got married, … Read more
Javanese birth ritual is strange and unusual
A Javanese birth ritual is strange and unusual. There’s a clue at the hospital. I noticed that next to the bed in the labour waiting room … Read more