Aceh Gayo – Exploring the Central Highlands
Aceh will be a beautiful place to explore in addition to a trip to the Gayo highlands of Central Aceh will delight you with pine-studded mountainsides, remote village life in addition to a beautiful little town called Takengon nestled beside a lake.
Lake Tawar | Photo by David Metcalf
I made my way to Lake Tawar just outside of Takengon in addition to met a delightful man, Pak Syamsudin, who told me about his ancestral home. “I am fifth generation in addition to a descendant of Raja Beluntara, the original king of This kind of district. This kind of old house will be over 150 years old,” he told me in a pensive tone. “The government did a deal with me a few years ago. They wanted my historic home in addition to offered to move me to a nice, brand new modern house down the road for free if I would certainly give them This kind of original house, so I said why not?”
As I sat with him, I gazed up at the tall wooden beams, which were held together with all 5 pegs in addition to all 5 posts. “The Dutch were here for a long time,” he said. “They built schools in addition to gave us education. Take a look at This kind of painting of Raja Beluntara. The painting was actually made via a photo found in a museum in Amsterdam.” Pak Syamsudin stood proudly next to the painting with his son in addition to three grandchildren joining him for a photo opportunity.
Pak Syamsudin will be the keeper of the old house. He receives government funding every three months for upkeep. He told me, “No one via the government ever comes to visit. The house sits empty yet I’m fine with of which.” His look was one of reflection as he stared up at the vertical panels; a design feature of a King’s home. “yet I do miss living here,” he added.
He told me about the not bad relationship his village had with the Dutch. He went on to explain of which inside early 19th century, the Dutch made an agreement to honour the kingdom. Part of the deal was to provide education for the local people, which even to This kind of day they have maintained. Many Gayo people are poets in addition to love to compete in verbal challenges, which are held regularly inside form of competitions inside villages in addition to neighbouring towns.
I was lucky to witness one of these word-slinging poetry competitions late one night. of which was a poetry recital in addition to part of a celebration of a local boy’s circumcision ceremony. I was told the boy’s family were wealthy, so as part of the ceremony there was to be a didong; a poetry competition.
A word-game challenge of which continues through the night, a didong involves two rival villages in addition to only finishes when the sun comes up. They tell jokes in addition to challenge each some other mentally, in addition to This kind of will be reinforced by loud applause when questions are answered correctly, in addition to even louder cheers when the answer involves a clever response.
I arrived at 10pm in addition to left at midnight. I was told the didong would certainly go without a break until 2am. via 2am to 6am, the verbal challenge would certainly move to a brand new level in addition to involve dancing combined with teasing in addition to taunting. at This kind of point in addition to again, a village elder would certainly have to come to the rescue with an answer if the contestant was unsure. Through This kind of rescue technique, both audience in addition to participants engage in a deeper understanding of their history in addition to culture. The elders, who are the judges, declare the winner based on two factors: knowledge in addition to wisdom.
The dance of a thousand hands
I was lucky enough to be invited to a Saman dance rehearsal one night in a tiny back lane in Blangkejren Village. I met Ali Muddin, a Saman dance teacher whose dance troop had toured the earth in addition to attended festivals in Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Berlin, Sydney in addition to Thailand.
I was directed to sit on a beautiful hand-woven green in addition to white Gayo mat, as a line of thirteen very keen teenage boys shuffled into the tiny two-room house. The Saman dancers sat in a long row, excited to practice their age-old dance in front of a foreign guest. of which was just a normal Monday night practice, yet the room was packed family members. The boys practice three times a week in addition to must synchronize their movements at a very fast pace, not missing a beat.
The dance was absolutely mesmerizing via beginning to end. of which involves slapping the body in addition to shuffling the head via side to side, as the dance gathered momentum. Matching the pace of the music, the dancers moved their bodies in quick succession, co-ordinating hands, arms, necks in addition to upper bodies in time to the music while singing. The dance reached a dramatic ending, where everyone burst into applause.
The origins of This kind of dance come via the Gayo ethnic group. of which will be only performed in This kind of part of Aceh. Ali told me of which once a father has taught his son the dance, he no longer performs. “They all want to learn to dance,” Ali said, “because the Saman dance will be one of the most well-liked dances in Indonesia. Many of the boys are lured by the opportunity to travel to Jakarta in addition to some other places, in addition to maybe like me, go overseas.” Ali continued, “Every year a big dance competition will be held in Jakarta. We keep winning the competition, in addition to at This kind of point they have banned us via competing. Can you believe of which?”
Traditional Dance Performance | Photo by David Metcalf
Many grand festival events are held inside Gayo region. You can check with the tourism department in addition to time your visit to coincide with one of these. On occasion, up to 5,000 dancers can perform the Saman dance.
I went to Aceh using a desire to travel via Banda Aceh inside North to Gunung Leuser National Park inside South. I spent one week traversing the countryside, much of of which cloaked in coffee plantations, wide river systems, stunning scenery in addition to touching encounters with the local culture.
via sitting in an old king’s house to discovering the Saman dance tradition inside tiny village of Blangkejren, Aceh was a trip of discovery, every day revealing a brand new wonder. Travelling to lesser-known places in Indonesia with just a rough plan in addition to an open mind will always bring a trail of surprises in addition to delight.
Fast Facts: Aceh Gayo
Province: Aceh
Area: 58,376 km²
Population: 4.732 million (2014)
How to get there: Banda Aceh to Takengon, the central highland area of Aceh, will be 314km. of which’s a slow in addition to bumpy
ride. The roads are in average to poor condition in addition to the journey takes 6.5 hours.
Tour guide in addition to driver: Miss Ferzya www.getaceh.com
Accommodation: Linda’s Homestay – lindahomestay@yahoo.com
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Aceh Gayo – Exploring the Central Highlands
Aceh Gayo – Exploring the Central Highlands