Flower sellers of the Rawa Belong flower market cooperative set a new Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI) record for making a Garuda statue from tuberoses, on Wednesday.

The Garuda statue, which was named Sang Garuda Mewangi (the Fragrant Garuda), was strung together by 50 flower sellers using at least 25,000 tuberose stalks. The installation graces the Rawa Belong market lobby in West Jakarta and was officiated during the 2018 Gebyar Bunga flower festival on Wednesday.

Garuda is a mythical bird and the country’s national symbol.

Jaya Suprana, founder of MURI, said the installation had set a new record for the most tuberoses used in a Garuda statue.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who was also present at the occasion, expressed his appreciation to the flower sellers.

“This is a gift from the flower sellers to Jakarta and the citizens of Indonesia,” he said in a speech. 

Eldi Andi, the West Jakarta municipality secretary, said to make the installation, a truck load of tuberoses was supplied from Ambarawa, Central Java.

The Gebyar Bunga festival is an annual event that has been held since 2015. At each festival, flower sellers in Rawa Belong exhibit their flower creations. This year’s festival was held from Aug. 27-29. (gis)