Independence Day 17 August

Tujuh belas agustus is Indonesian Independence Day, marked in communities all over the country by wildly competitive games hotly contested by kids from 5 or 6 years up. Have you ever tried to eat a krupuk hanging from a string with hands tied behind , or maneuver a pencil tied around your waist into a soda bottle - backwards? Well, people line up here to try. Our community had non-stop games the morning, hoop rings, 3 legged races, and basketball all morning, and tug of wars, football and karaoke in the afternoon. Drifts of kids turned up, all determined to win a prize. Supervising all were a dedicated team of grown ups, who no doubt remember the fun they had when young!

Selametan

Selametans are part of the Indonesian way of life .. a set menu shared for celebration, commiseration, recognition, appeasement and nourishment. It is communal, bonding, spiritual, purifying and gala. Weddings have the ritual selametan where greeting the newly weds is every bit as important as enjoying the food. Making the first intention to build a house, or to welcome a baby, start a new career auspiciously or celebrate the end of the fasting month, a selametan brings a crowd together to mark the event or intention. Dominated by the yellow rice mountain, a pyramid of rice steamed with spices to the exact consistency to stand up on its own, the table or mat is a festive splash of colour. Centred on a bamboo platter, covered by a freshly cut and woven banana leaf, the rice mountain has an unvaried array of delicacies at its feet - fried chicken niblets, potato cakes or perkadel, fried tempeh with peanuts, and fresh coconut shredded with cassava leaves and green beans. Sometimes a chicken stew or opor ayam, accompanies it, but there is always a fiery fresh chilli paste or sambal and a barrel of plain steamed rice. After prayers the eldest and most distinguished guest is invited to cut or receive the top of the mountain. Once safely seated, the other guests begin to load their plates. Its also a free meal!

Warm welcome in Pegatan

Descending the Sebangau River to the Java Sea was smooth as glass all the way, but crossing the bay to the mouth of the Katingan River was a bit choppy. Reaching the sheltered channel behind Damar Island came after half an hour. Craning to catch glimpses of proboscis monkeys in the mangroves was to no avail. The best time to see them is dawn and dusk, not in early afternoon as we approached the township.
High on stilts at low tide, Pegatan gave us a warm but wet welcome. As soon as we'd checked into the simple and comfortable guest house, rain came in heavy squalls, blotting out the bulky traditional freighters standing just off shore, the nearby mosque and the tightly packed village. We sat on a tiny balcony sipping sweet tea and coffee waiting for it to ease.
Strolling through the car-less village later, we attracted many delighted welcomes from the villagers, as we ate satay and saw swallow 'hotels' for birdnests, piles of cockle shells, fish out to dry, canoes under construction, traditional gardens, boardwalk alleys, freely wandering cows and goats, and mangroves.

Pegatan spin

Travelling on Kalteng's rivers is an exercise in expectation - are we early enough to catch the boat, is there going to be enough space, and will the weather and the boat hold?
Making the trip to Pegatan as a farewell to Indonesia, friends working at the BCU National Plus School at Tangkiling enthusiastically squeezed into the speedboat, which had settled into the tiny harbour at Keringbangkirai, south of Palangka Raya. On board were already passengers and goods, including a motor bike all headed, like us, to Pegatan along the beautiful black water Sebangau River, bordering the Sebangau National Park.
Pegatan perches on the end of the sandy spit which is the mouth of the Katingan River. The easiest access is via the Sebangau River. Otherwise it is a risky open sea speedboat journey from Sampit (not recommended by a green-faced police officer met later in Pegatan), a 7+ hour journey from Kasongan on the Katingan River (expensive charter only), or a seasonal klotok ride by canal from Sampit (2 hours).
We travelled in June, and had strong rain showers, but still enjoyed perfect reflections and watching the vegetation change from forest, to rushes to dense palms at the mouth. Along the river we saw snakes swimming and small bronze freshwater crocodiles, as well waterbirds. Later a passenger talked about the big salt water crocs at the mouth, but we did not see any.