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Cap Go Meh festivities in Chinatown celebrate city's diversity, unity
Dragon fly: Crowds gather to watch a liong (dragon) dance at Pancoran Chinatown Point mall in Glodok, West Jakarta, on Saturday
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ragon fly: Crowds gather to watch a liong (dragon) dance at Pancoran Chinatown Point mall in Glodok, West Jakarta, on Saturday. The performance was staged as part of Cap Go Meh celebrations. (JP/Galih Gumelar)
Hundreds of Jakartans were drawn into the post-Lunar New Year excitement of the Cap Go Meh festival in the capital’s Chinatown area in Glodok, West Jakarta, on Saturday, with visitors enjoying the various performances that celebrated diversity and the fusion of Chinese and local traditional cultures.
Hendrawanto, a 54-year-old resident of Penjaringan, North Jakarta, laughed heartily as he watched two lenong (traditional Betawi theater) performers trade pantun (four-line rhyming poems) with each other.
Hendrawanto, who is of Chinese descent, said he had grown up watching lenong performances.
“I enjoy watching the performances because they’re so funny. I’m glad that I came to the festival as it’s very rare that I can see a show like this,” Hendrawanto said.
The Cap Go Meh festival, which marks the 15th and final day of Chinese New Year celebrations, was held on Saturday and Sunday in front of the Pancoran Chinatown Point mall.
In addition to barongsai (lion) and liong (dragon) dances, which are symbols of Chinese culture, the festival also featured many Betawi art performances such as ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies) parades and gambang kromong (traditional Betawi musical ensemble) shows.
The festival also offered a wide range of delicacies at its 45 food stalls along Jl. Pancoran, ranging from Chinese foods such as dumplings and noodles to local dishes like kerak telor (Betawi-style omelet made with duck eggs and rice) and dodol Betawi (traditional toffee-like sweets made with palm sugar).
Another visitor, Siti Dawiyah, a 35-year-old mother, said she visited the festival with her husband and their two children after traveling one hour on the commuter train from Depok, West Java. She said she wanted to take her children to the festival because she believed it was the perfect starting point for them to learn about and embrace different cultures. Siti herself is of Betawi descent while her husband comes from Jeneponto, South Sulawesi.
“My oldest child is now 7, while my youngest is 5, so I think it’s the right time for them to learn that there are many people who come from different backgrounds to us,” she said.
Jessy Irawan, the chief operating officer of the Pancoran Chinatown Point mall, said the festival, first held in 2018, was designed to be inclusive of people from different backgrounds.
“We just want everyone to experience the meaning of Cap Go Meh, which is to show gratitude to God and hope for a more prosperous year ahead. This concept is basically the same as last year’s celebration and we would like to keep the concept for next year’s event,” Jessy told The Jakarta Post, adding that the event attracted 2,800 visitors on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan expressed hope the festival would encourage people to set aside their differences and have fun together in welcoming the new year.
He also said he believed the festival could help show tourists the unity and harmony that existed in the diverse city of 10 million people.
“We frequently hear terms like ‘celebrating diversity’, but we forget that we are basically all the same, we are all Indonesians. Therefore, rather than celebrating diversity, we should celebrate unity, and I invite people from all corners of the city to come to the event,” Anies said.
The Jakarta administration also organized Cap Go Meh celebrations around the city from Thursday until Sunday.
On Thursday, celebrations were held in five areas, namely in front of the Grand Hyatt hotel, Dukuh Atas, the Kendal Tunnel, in front of the FX Sudirman shopping mall and the Thamrin City shopping mall, where visitors enjoyed various forms of art and performances including ondel-ondel parades and wushu exhibitions.
On Saturday, festivals were held at the Thamrin 10 food park in Central Jakarta and at Glodok Market. On Sunday, the Cap Go Meh celebrations were centered around the Car Free Day area on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta. (glh)
