Today during our free time Tanto took us around Yogyakarta and we got to walk around the Sultan's palace. Upon arrival, we were lucky enough to catch a traditional Indonesian dance in one of the areas of the palace.
The dancer with the traditional musicians playing behind him.
Indonesian traditional dance tells a story. The second dance was about a fight that happened between two brothers. The dancing is slow and meticulous, but it is so poetic and graceful. Every slight movement of their feet, toes, and even the arch of their feet has significance. I really liked the second dance because it reminded me a lot of martial art forms work, which makes sense since Silat comes from Indonesia.
The "brothers" mid-dance.
The end of the dance.
And of course, we had to take pictures with them.
Afterword we got to walk around the grounds of the palace and visited the museum for the 9th Sultan (the father of the current Sultan). He was the one who declared Yogyakarta's independance. My fellow interns and Indonesian friends and coordinators were joking that I proved I really was a communications intern, because every time they tried to find me I was off talking to people. There was a tourist group from Germany so I followed along with them every so often to hear their tour guide's historical description of parts of the palace. Minutes later I'd be deep in discussion with other travelers (particularly a woman from Spain who spoke English) translating what I was learning from the tour guide. I managed to find plenty of time to talk to locals too. Learning more history from Ayu and Nana, and even managing to interact with some of the Sultan's servents.
This picture is misleading. They are really nice and happy to interact with you.
It was really beautiful and interesting because you just can't find history similar to Yogya's anywhere else. Also, my bahasa Indonesian lessons started today. So next time I'll be able to communicate with even more people!
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