Jakarta - City's Oldest Movie Theaters

Old movie theaters "Grand Keramat"

Jakarta : Going to the movies is one of our favorite pastimes here in Jakarta, just like in any other metropolis around the world. So much so that the words “21” and “Blitz,” the familiar names of Jakarta’s two biggest movie theater chains, have become synonymous with the word “cinema.” Which makes me wonder: How surprised would Jakarta’s hip teens and young adults be if they found out that there were still other movie theaters existing in the capital outside of those two chains?

I’m talking about the only two remaining and fully operational old movie theaters in Jakarta: the Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat. Both located in the the Senen intersection right across from the Senen Atrium. Passing by, you will see big movie posters displayed there with unfamiliar titles such as “Dukun A.S. Misteri Kebun Tebu” (“American Shaman Mystery in the Sugarcane Plantation”).

“But don’t be fooled by the posters — they won’t change anytime soon, since they’re just a teaser to raise people’s interest to come here,” said Darmin, a staff member at Grand Keramat. “We show different films each week, depending on the manager’s choice.”

Until the 1990s, Jakarta had a thriving movie theater industry with hundreds of youths filling up local theaters eager to watch the new movies from legendary comedy troupe Warkop DKI, or the latest romantic drama. Back then there were theaters such as Rivoli, the Djaja theater in Jatinegara and the Orion theater that met its end during the large riots in Jakarta 1998 when Glodok was burned to the ground. There was also the Cempaka Theater, which was closed along with Cempaka Putih Market in 2009, and lastly the Benhil Theater, which closed in April 2010.

Today, only Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat remain. Both theaters are run by the same family business, housed in a single building.

The Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat

Grand Keramat hosts two theaters on the ground floor, while Mulia Agung has three more one floor up. Built in the 1920s, the building is certainly looking worse for wear. Most of the cement walls are cracked and the floors are caked with dust, since the lobby is exposed to the traffic outside.

But the ticket prices here may very well be the cheapest in town, at only Rp 5,000 (50 cents) in Grand Keramat every day of the week, while Mulia Agung charges Rp 6,000 Monday to Wednesday and Rp 8,000 from Thursday to Sunday. The price differs because Mulia Agung is comparatively cleaner and more convenient, Darmin explained.

There are also two remaining coin-activated arcade games, or what the previous generation liked to call “ding-dong.” These machines are so old I doubt today’s teenagers would even remember them.

Touring through the dusty corridors, it began to feel like a museum until Darmin started shouting “One!” and “Three!” letting visitors know the movies were about to start in those theaters.

Moving into the theater with the rest, I noticed there were no lights on the floor to guide me down the dark aisles. Viewers here can choose to sit wherever they like, so long as they have a ticket. And from looking at the other patrons, it seemed all other kinds of things were permitted there that you couldn’t do elsewhere, like putting your feet up on the seats, or lighting a cigarette.

As for the movies, they are generally for mature audiences only, and are often old titles. Most of the film reels flicker and have dark spots and breaking audio quality.

“The movies are loaned to us by various production houses and Dinas Perfilman [the Indonesian Movie Agency],” Darmin said.

But the biggest problem these two old cinemas face is the negative image that many people in Jakarta associate them with. Through rumors, many people label these two theaters as little more than a front for prostitution. The fact is that yes, there are people taking advantage of this situation to offer their “services.” But these cinemas are far from the dark and dangerous places filled with criminals that some people assume them to be.

In the end, they are just like any other family business. You may even see the children of the owners running around and sometimes even helping out in the ticketing booth.

Like getting into a time machine, Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat hold a lot of good memories for those who grew up in their dark theaters.

“Sure, it brings back old memories,” said Beni, who has been a customer at Grand Keramat for 20 years. “It reminds me of my first date with my wife.”

Jakarta Globe

The Original Named of Indonesia

Map of Indonesia

In India, the Dutch colonial period it appears the name of Indonesia. First used by two Englishmen, namely George Samuel Windsor Earl, a lawyer born in London, who with James Richardson Logan, a Scottish-born lawyer, wrote an article as much as 96 pages in the Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia No. 4, 1850, under the title "The Ethnology of the Indian Archipelago: Embracing Enquiries into the Continental Relations of the Indo-Pacific Islanders." They named the Dutch population-western India who came Proto-Malay (Melayu old) and Deutero-Malay (Melayu young), as Indunesians (Indu, the Latin, meaning: India; sia, as long as he is nesos, Greek, meaning: islands). While people in the eastern part of India and the Netherlands into the category of Melanesians (Mela = black. islands of Melanesia = black people). Therefore, the Earl himself and then tend to use the term Malay-nesians, to call the Dutch population-western India. Logan then change Indunesia into Indonesia (Indos and Nesos, both derived from the Greek) in his writings on the Journal.

Adolf Bastian, as well as German a doctor and ethnologist, who popularized the name of Indonesia when it published a report of travel and research in Berlin, which published the work of five volumes (1864-1894) entitled "Indonesien, oder die Inseln des malaysischen Archipels" (German , meaning: "Indonesia, or the islands of the Malay archipelago"). Volume I titled the Moluccas, Volume II East and Surrounding Islands, vol III and Surrounding Regions Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi Volume IV, Volume V of Java and Closures. Since the first until now, scientists prefer to use the term European / Latin or Greek word for naming things in connection with the scientific, as well as to call the race of residents on area of ​​Malaya and the Dutch parts of western India.

Eduard Douwes Dekker, in his book "Max Havelaar" said India -Dutch with the name Insulinde, variations in the Dutch language for India Islands. When Indische Partij (India party)), founded by his nephew was banned by the Dutch Government of India in 1913, its members founded the Party Insulinde.

Well Indunesian, Indonesien or Insulinde all means India Islands, to show the identity of the native who live in the western part of India-Dutch, while living in the east-Flores, Timor, Maluku and Papua, in fact are the people Melanesia (the islands black people). Which included the first use of the word Indonesia in the early 20's was the Association of Indonesia in the Netherlands, Sam Ratu Langie and the Communist Party of Indonesia.
 

So Indonesia said that until now used by the Republic of Indonesia it means none other than: India Islands.
Other than Indonesia, which uses the name "created" by the British and later popularized by the Germans, also Phillipina (Philippines), which still uses the name of colonial heritage. When the people of Spain controlled the territory, as the dedication to the king of Spain, Phillip, the colony was named Philippina.

Many countries after independence to rename the "created" or administered by the colonial, such as Ceylon became Sri Lanka, Burma became Myanmar, Indo-China into Vietnam, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, Gold Coast became Ghana, South-West Africa to Namibia, etc..
 

So if these people agreed to leave the name was created by Europeans, then Indonesia is not the first country to change the name of the heritage the colonial period.

Wayang Golek : Art Puppet Theater of West Java

Wayang Golek

The painted wooden puppets on the preceding page are old examples from the still thriving and important folk art puppet theater of Java in Indonesia.  Although tourist shops now sell imitations of wayang golek puppets, the puppets illustrated on these pages were actually used for many years in theater productions--in presentations of Hindu epics, Javanese history plays and the Islamic Menak cycles. These performances were given in towns and villages on holidays and for a variety of festivals, as were the distinctive shadow-puppet plays.  A dalang, or puppet master, manipulated the puppets, spoke their parts, and coordinated the puppets' actions with music from a gamelan orchestra.

Tatang Haryana And Wayang Golek

Like so many other crafts in Indonesia, making wayang golek is a skill handed down through families. The master puppet-maker usually makes the head because it expresses the personality of the puppet. Ceremonies are performed before commencing a deity or a demon. A piece of light, local softwood, which is easy to carve and not too heavy to hold up during a performance, is sawed or chopped down to the right size, and the main features are roughly chiseled. After sanding, fine decorations such as the parts of a crown are carved in with more care and sanded. The smooth surface receives a coat of glue-based paint, which will enable subsequent coats to adhere well.  Lips, flowers and some bits of jewelry are painted red, as are the irises of angry characters. Blue is also used for eyes and sapphire jewelry. Fine black lines are painted for eyes, eyebrows, moustaches and wisps of hair....Bodies are often made by younger members of the family, and arms are attached at the elbow and shoulders with string so that they move easily. The shapes of hands also express character and role; those of nobles stretch out gracefully, but servants and commoners have large open palms. A rod passes from a hole in the base of the puppet's head and down through the body to form a handle. Costumes are usually made by wives. ...Since the stories portray historical and human rather than divine affairs, the puppets, like those used for history plays, are always fully clothed in Central Javanese traditional dress with batik sarongs.

Puppet body types can be identified across a spectrum which ranges from alus (extremely refined) to kasar (extremely rough and crude).  Refined, virtuous characters have small dainty bodies, slitted oval eyes with pupils shaped like rice grains, pointed noses and a modest downward gaze...  Vigorous or turbulent characters have a more direct and confrontational stare. As the personality of the puppet becomes less refined, there is an increase in size; the nose becomes heavier and blunter; eyes and pupils become larger and rounder and the gaze more aggressive; teeth and gums may be exposed in a snarl or a foolish sneer.  The more refined middle-sized puppets may represent courageous but impetuous kings and heroes; the coarser ones suggest an uncontrolled or evil nature. The largest puppets are used for those whose greatest attribute is physical strength.

The most frequently performed narratives derive from the Hindu epics. The Arjuna Sasra Bahu and Ramayana cycles concern the affairs of the noble Rama himself and his ancestors. Favorite stories concern Rama's marriage to Sinta; their banishment to the forest together with his brother Laksmana; Sinta's abduction by the monster king Rahwana; and her subsequent rescue, with the aid of the monkey king and after numerous battles, from  the kingdom of Sri Lanka. The Ramayana contains many episodes from the lives of these characters which are emphasized in varying degrees to form separate plays in their own right.

Pandawa Brothers

The Mahahharata tells of the conflict between the superior Pandawa brothers (Judistra, Bima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa) and their hundred jealous and mendacious cousins, the Kurewas, who drive them away from their home at the court of Astina, to wander in the wild.  In the forest the Pandewas build the lovely and idealized kingdom of Amarta where the majority of the plays are set. The heroic quests, battles with vile ogres and scenes of romantic love are made all the more poignant by the knowledge that the glory and beauty are fleeting. Events are presented as taking place in Java rather than India, and the heroic Pandewas, descendants of Vishnu, are the ancestors of the Javanese kings. Many episodes have simply been invented by puppeteers over generations.

Tatang Haryana Play Wayang Golek

The court scenes also allow scope for the comic misadventures and intrigue of the Pandewas' clown servants, the Punakawans:  Semar the wise, whose identity is thought to have evolved from that of the pre-Hindu Javanese god Ismaya and his sons. The inane and melancholic Gareng, with his round drooping nose, is the butt of jokes and tricks played by the sharp Petruk. Philosophical and mystical speculations made by the refined characters provide an intellectual and spiritual dimension for members of the audience with a taste for high seriousness.

http://asiarecipe.com/indogoleng.html 

http://travel.detik.com/read/2010/12/08/213404/1512372/1025/6/golek-bukan-boneka-biasa

     

January 24, 1667, the treaty of Breda was signed by England and the Netherlands

Rhun Island

January 24, 1667, the treaty of Breda was signed by England and the Netherlands. On the basis of this agreement, the Dutch should surrender its colonies in America to the England. This is the story...

Island R (h) un is one of the smallest island in the Banda Islands, Indonesia. This island has a length of 3 km and a width of less than 1 km. Administratively, this island including the district. Banda, Kab. Central Maluku. 


In the early days, Rhun are considered to have great economic importance because of the spices nutmeg obtained from the nutmeg tree (Myristica fragans) and is only found in the Banda Islands. Throughout the history of the spice trade, the second expedition voyagers British East India Company that James Lancaster, John Davis and John Middleton who settled in Banten, Java first reached the island in 1603 and build rapport with the locals. 

On December 25, 1616, Captain Nathaniel Courthope reached Run to defend it from VOC claims. Signed a contract with the local population who receive the King of England as the sovereign leader of the island. After four years of siege by the Dutch and the murder of Nathaniel Courthope in an ambush in 1620, British and local allies to leave the island without a fight.

According to the Treaty of Westminster ending the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652-1654, Run should be returned to England. The first attempt in 1660 failed because of tensions with the Dutch; after the second attempt in 1665, British traders were expelled in the same year and destroying Dutch nutmeg trees.

After the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665-1667, the British and the Dutch United Provinces to make provisions in the Treaty of Breda: the British occupied the island of Manhattan who illegally occupied by the Duke of York (later James II, brother of Charles II) in 1664 and changed its name of New Amsterdam became New York City and Rhun handed over to the Netherlands. Dutch monopoly on nutmeg collapsed after removal of the nutmeg trees to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Grenada, Singapore and other British colonies in 1817 after the occupation of the main island, Banda Besar, in 1810 by Captain Cole, who encouraged the collapse of Dutch supremacy in the spice trade. Until now there are still nutmeg trees that grow on the island of Run.  

Manhattan

Rhun Island

The fact of the 21st century, Manhattan had grown to be the largest business center and densest regions United States. Large companies to choose Manhattan as the United Nations headquarters. Meanwhile, the island of Run is still not much changed, still desert island with few inhabitants who float in the Banda Sea.

Cing-Cing Goling Ceremony, Typical salvation ceremony Gunungkidul

Carnival procession ahead of Cing-cing Goling

COMMUNITY Indonesia has many traditional ways to express her gratitude. One of them carried Gedangan village community, Gunungkidul Regency, Yogyakarta. Salvation ceremony or celebration is a typical village called Cing-Cing Goling Ceremony.

The scene in the story Cing Cing Goling

In ancient times, this ceremony is an expression of gratitude for the harvest of local communities and the success of the Kingdom of Majapahit prisoner escape. Historically, the breakout is headed by Sanjaya and Yudopati Wisang who fled to this village.

Later, they helped advance farming villagers to build a dam in Kali Dawe that residents do not lack water supply. When the dam is completed, residents held a ceremony of salvation, which is routinely held every year and is now called Cing-Cing Goling Ceremony.


Cing-Cing Goling ceremony is also a traditional ceremonies as a ritual of respect for the spirits of ancestors or guardian spirits Gedangan community in the hamlet, village Gedangrejo, District Karangmojo.

Ritual of Cing Cing Goling

This event falls the second post-harvest, which is about the month of May, June and July and takes place according to the day in the Java market, ie Monday or Thursday Kliwon Wage. Cing-cing Goling ceremony held in the dam Dawe (Dams Kedung Dawang). In the middle of the ceremony is usually presented dance show called Dance Cing-Cing Goling.

This ceremony is a combination of two elements, namely the kingdom of Majapahit Hindu and Javanese elements of the indigenous Village Gedangan. What's interesting about this ceremony is a ritual offering of chicken is chicken wrapped with packaging made from coconut or palm leaves. Now, this leaf packs are scarce, even rare in Hamlet Gedangan.

In addition to acquiring the knowledge of the typical art Gunungkidul, tourists who witnessed the ceremony Cing-Cing Goling also get food from chicken and side dishes used in the ritual.

Ritual of Cing Cing Goling

After the reading of prayers by adat villagers to safety and welfare of the farmers, hundreds of chickens (usually shaped ingkung), side dishes, and rice distributed to the visitors and the local community living near the dam Dawe.

Village Gedangan can be reached by bus from the city of Yogyakarta to Wonosari. Village is located eight kilometers from east Wonosari. (Adapted from various sources).

http://travel.okezone.com/read/2011/12/14/407/542355/upacara-selamatan-khas-gunung-kidul     

Chairil Anwar to Rawagede "Karawang - Bekasi"

Chairil Anwar

Karawang - Bekasi  

We are now lying between Krawang-Bekasi can not shout "Freedom" and take up arms again.
But who can no longer hear us roar,
Our looming ahead and mendegap heart?
We spoke to you in silence at night lonely
If the chest feel hollow and wall clocks are ticking
We die young. Living bone covered with dust.
Recalls, recall us.   

We've tried what we could
But work has not been completed, can not account for the meaning of 4-5 thousand lives
We just scattered bones
But it is yours
You're more to determine the values ​​of the bones were scattered
Or our souls drift to victory and hope of independence
or not for nothing,
We do not know, we are no longer able to say
You're now saying
We spoke to you in silence at night lonely
If there is a sense of emptiness and the clock is ticking
Recalls, we recall
Forward, forward our souls
Keeping Bung Karno
keeping the Bung Hatta
keep Bung Sjahrir
We now dead
Give us the meaning of
Berjagalah continue on the borderline of the statement and dreams
Recalls, we recall
living bone-covered bone dust
Thousands of us lying between Krawang-Bekasi

Chairil Anwar (1948)

 

Excerpt from the poem is so phenomenal poetry maestro Indonesia, Chairil Anwar. A very well-known literary works written in times of struggle and colonialism after independence.

Historically, Chairil Anwar was inspired to write the poem on the land that is now standing upright Rawagede Struggle Monument, where 483 people were buried after the Dutch soldiers were massacred.

Dutch State Apologizes for Indonesia Massacre

Dutch Ambassador Tjeerd de Zwaan Present and massacre victim's widow Tragedy Rawagede On Warning, Falkirk, Friday (09/12/2011)

The Netherlands has apologised after six decades for a notorious massacre of up to 430 men and boys during Indonesia's bitter struggle for independence.

Tjeerd de Zwaan, the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia, made the announcement in front hundreds of villagers in Rawagede, the scene of the killings on 9 December 1947 of hundreds of boys and young men by Dutch troops.

The military, which was clinging on to a retreating colonial empire, arrived in Rawagede before dawn and opened fire, sending residents scattering from their homes in panic.

widows of victims of tragedy Rawaged

Type text or a website address or translate a document.

Cancel

Indonesian to English translation

The soldiers were looking for resistance leader Lukas Kustario, known for ambushing Dutch bases. When villagers said they didn't know where he was, nearly all the men were rounded up and taken to the fields. Squatting in rows, with both hands placed on the backs of their heads, they were shot one by one.
The apology was given in a ceremony at the Rawagede Hero cemetery, where many of the victims were buried in a mass grave.

"Today, December 9, we remember the members of your families and those of your fellow villagers who died 64 years ago through the actions of the Dutch military," said De Zwaan. "On behalf of the Dutch government I apologise for the tragedy that took place."

The apology followed a landmark ruling earlier this year by a Dutch court in a case filed by nine surviving relatives that said the state was to blame.

Dutch Ambassador Nikolaos van Dam

The relatives' lawyer, Liesbeth Zegveld, said the Netherlands would pay each of the nine relatives €20,000 in compensation.

After the apology, the crowd erupted in cheers. Tears rolled down the cheeks of surviving widows, now in their late 80s and early 90s, some of whom had started to doubt they would ever hear the words.
"It makes me feel my struggle for justice was not useless," said Cawi Binti Baisa, who was 20 when her husband of two years headed to the rice paddy in the morning never to return.

Tragedy Massacre Rawagede December 9, 1947

The Rawagede massacre was the massacre of the population Rawagede Village (now located in the Village Balongsari, Rawamerta, Karawang), between Karawang and Bekasi the Dutch troops on December 9, 1947 when the first launch military aggression. Some 431 people become victims of this massacre.

When the Dutch army invaded Bekasi, thousands of people fled to the direction of Karawang. The battle then raged in the area between Karawang and Bekasi resulting in the collapse of hundreds of civilian deaths. On October 4, 1948, the Dutch army launched a cleanup. In this incident 35 Rawagede people were killed for no apparent reason. Events thought to be an inspiration from the famous poem titled Anwar Between Karawang and Bekasi but in fact these allegations are not proven.  

On 14 September 2011, the Hague Tribunal said the Dutch government should be responsible and pay compensation to victims and their families. 

Chronological of Tragedy Rawagede

In West Java, before the Renville Agreement was signed, the Dutch soldiers from Division 1, also known as December 7th Division troops launched a cleaning unit and Indonesia militias are still conducting resistance against the Dutch. Dutch troops who took part in operations in the Karawang area is 3-9 RI Detachment, troops of the (1e the compagnie) and 12 Genie veld compagnie, the reserve brigade of paratroopers and DST (Depot Speciaale Troepen).

Around 130,000 Dutch soldiers were sent to the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.Dalam operations in the Karawang area, the Dutch army hunt captain Luke Kustario, the company commander Siliwangi - later became Commander of the Battalion Tajimalela / Brigade Siliwangi Division II - who repeatedly and successfully attacked the patrol post Dutch military posts. In the region Rawagede also roam the various army, not only Indonesia but also hordes of fighters vandals and burglars.

On December 9, 1947, a day after talks Renville begins, Dutch army under the leadership of a major surrounded Rawagede village and searched every house. But they did not find a weapon too. They then forced the entire people out of their homes and gather in a field. Male population was ordered to stand side by side, then they were asked about the existence of the fighters of the Republic. However none of the people who say these fighters hiding place.

Dutch army leader then ordered to shoot to death all the male population, including young teens. Some people managed to escape to the forest, although wounded shot. Saih, now 83-year-old said that he along with his father and his neighbors about 20 in number made ​​to stand side by side. When Dutch soldiers strafe with machine gun-term local people: "didrèdèt" - his father was killed standing next shot, he also fell shot in his hand, but he pretended to be dead. When there is an opportunity, he immediately fled.

Saih bin sakam - Rawagede massacre survivors

That day the Dutch soldiers massacred 431 people Rawagede. Without any court, claims or defenses. As in South Sulawesi, the Dutch army in Rawagede also execute in place (standrechtelijke excecuties), an action that is clearly a war crime. It is estimated that victims of the massacre of more than 431 people, as many are swept away in flood rivers due to heavy rain.

A veteran of the Dutch soldiers who do not want to be named from the village Wamel, a village in the province Gerderland, the Dutch East sent a letter kebata victims of war as follows: From the Swamp Gedeh Dutch troops were fired upon. So it was decided to beat up the village to be a lesson for lain.Saat villages surrounded Gedeh Swamp night. Those who tried to leave the village, killed without sound (attack, pressed into the water until it sinks; their head was hit with rifle butts, etc.) Hour and a half six in the morning, when it began to noon, the village fired on with mortars. Men, women and children who would otherwise escape should be killed: all of them were shot dead. After the village was burned, the Dutch troops occupied the region. The remaining villagers were then gathered, squat, with hands folded behind his neck. Only a few left. Holland Marsh assume Gedeh has received a lesson. All man shot dead by Army troops, called the Kingdom. All the women were shot dead, while the Dutch democratic state. All children were shot dead.   

Wamel village on 20 September 1944 the Germans invaded. 14 civilians were killed brutally murdered by the Germans. It appears from this Wamel event, the veteran wrote a letter of regret it.

The rain which flushed resulting in a pool of blood soaked the village. The only remaining women and children. The next day, after the Dutch troops left the village, the women to bury the bodies with crude equipment. A mother buried her husband and two sons aged 12 and 15 years. They can not dig a hole too deep, only about 50 cm only. For a Muslim cemetery, which remains covered with pieces of wood, they were forced to use a door, and then ground covering, potluck, so the smell of corpses still smelled for days.