Cap Go Meh Celebration

Cap go meh celebration. A girl is praying for GOD blessing. Photo courtesy by Denny Sihotang

Cap Goh Meh celebrations in Singkawang usually marked by the procession of the Tatung to monasteries or temple. Celebration was believed to have carried from generation to generation since 200 years ago. The Tatung come from various monasteries that spread throughout Singkawang, therefore not be surprised if Singkawang also earned the nickname of a thousand temples. In the monastery or pagoda 1 sometimes consisting of more than 1 person Tatung.

In the morning on this 15th day, the Tatung will gather for prayers to Heaven in a prepared altar. The Tatung travel on a stretcher with the palanquin of repose sharp sword or a sharp nail, while showing off her body immunity. There is also a sword upstairs, usually consisting of 36 or 72 shoulder / stairs. The more could go up the more powerful means Tatung is also science. This activity has started to be developed as an object of tourism to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Do you what is Tatung here?
Tatung in the Hakka language is a person who was possessed by a god or ancestral spirit. Body or bodies in which the person is used as a communication tool or an intermediary between the spirit of the ancestors or gods. By using a particular Mantra and Mudra spirit of god was called to the altar and would enter the person's body.

The gods or ancestral spirits used to be called with a particular interest, for example, to conduct activities or seek advice treatment deemed necessary. Most of the spirit gods summoned to activities related Taoist beliefs, among other treatments, the expulsion of evil spirits, making Hu, and others. Having completed the activities carried out, the spirit will leave the body of the person.

In China, tradition Tatung extinct, while the regions in Indonesia that still have this tradition is the West Kalimantan and Bangka Belitung.

West Kalimantan - West Borneo

This province has a diverse tourism potential, which is the natural form of tourism, agro, tourism and culture. Nature tourism, among others, natural form of mountains, sea beaches, lakes, tropical forests with a diversity of flora and fauna, beautiful waterfalls in the Pande and Kembayung cascade Kanebak, and so forth. As well as cultural tourism, with the background history and diversity of arts and culture is unique and interesting in West Kalimantan, this area is very potential to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Number of foreign tourists who came to West Kalimantan in 1997 amounted to 52,327 people, while the number of hotels have 6 fruit, jasmine following its boarding class of 156 units, and the number of rooms there are 3364 units. In 1998, the number of hotels in Kalbar recorded six of the hotel, with the number of rooms 584 rooms, while the jasmine-class hotel noted for 157 units, with 3394 the number of room units.

Number of foreign tourists (wisltan) who visited tourism in West Kalimantan in 1998 amounted to 211,898 people. They come from ASEAN countries, Asia and other continents. In details, the number of tourists originating from ASEAN countries reached 97%, which comes from Asian countries 1.61%, Europe 0.74%, and from the continental United States 0.61%. Economic development in the region of ASEAN and Asia Pacific, a great opportunity for West Kalimantan to optimize the economic potential.

How to build a live network infrastructure, including building the facilities and transport infrastructure, roads, and good communication network in West Kalimantan. All that will help the development of economic centers in West Kalimantan, considering the region has a strategic geographical position to expand the marketing network and antarpropinsi and international trade. In addition to the beneficial geographical position, the land transportation routes, and international shipping through this region is a significant opportunity to build a good economic potential through international cooperation with Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

Social Economy-Malindo cooperation, which have started since 1985, is also an opportunity that can be used Kalbar. All that needs to be developed still further by utilizing the comparative advantages already owned West Kalimantan. It will spur the growth of West Kalimantan to become one of the powerful economic center in the area of Kalimantan. In other words, the tourism sector in West Kalimantan have to be more styled and developed in such a way, in order to generate income countries and push up the local levy more optimal.

West Borneo in general

Mother City: Pontianak
Area: 120,114.32 km
Population: 3,958,448 inhabitants
Number of village: 1445
Number of District: 136
Number of District: 10
(source: Kep. Mendagri No. 109 A Year 2003)

Video of West Kalimantan

West Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Barat often abbreviated to Kalbar) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator line.

The province has an area of 146,807 km² with the population of about 3.74 million people (As of 2000[update] census). Major ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, which make up about 90% of the total population. The rest are Javanese, Bugis, Madurese, and other ethnicities.

The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. West Kalimantan is subdivided into two urban cities (kota) and ten rural regencies (kabupaten). The cities are Pontianak and Singkawang; the regencies are Sambas, Bengkayang, Pontianak, Ketapang, Landak, Sanggau, Sekadau, Sintang, Melawi , Kapuas Hulu, and the youngest regencies Kayong Utara and Kubu Raya. About 29 percent of the population lives in the Pontianak area.



There was a serious outbreak of communal violence in the province between indigenous Dayak and Madurese settlers in late 1997 and early 2000, resulting in about 500 deaths. [1] [2]

History
The history of West Kalimantan can be dated back to 17th century. Dayaks was the main inhabitants of the province before 17th century. The Malay migrated to West Kalimantan and built their own sultanates. The facts that there are many Chinese population in this province was there used to be a republic built by Chinese miners called Lanfang Republic after defeated the local Malay sultans. The government of Lanfang Republic was ended in West Kalimantan after the Dutch occupation in 1884.

West Kalimantan was under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, when Indonesia declared its Independence. During the Japanese occupation, more than 21,000 people in Pontianak (including sultans, nobleman, women and children) were kidnapped, tortured and massacred by Japanese troops. Japanese intelligence had become concerned ethnic Chinese were planning to start a rebellion, and were worried that people in the city had received guns and ammunition from the Chinese government.

After the end of war, the Japanese officers in Pontianak were arrested by allied troops and brought in front of an international military tribune. During the trial, it was revealed that the plan to start the rebellion did not exist and instead was only an imaginary plan created by Japanese officers who wanted to get promoted.

The massacre occurred from April 23, 1943 to June 28, 1944 and most of the victims were buried in several giant wells in Mandor (88 km from Pontianak). Allied forces occupying the area after the war found several thousand bones, and more than 60 years after the massacre, several secret graves of the victims were found in Mandor and the surrounding areas.

A monument called Makam Juang Mandor was created to commemorate this tragic event. West Kalimantan was the site of substantial fighting during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation under the Sukarno government in the mid-1960s. After Suharto deposed Sukarno in 1965, the confrontation was quickly resolved. Domestic conflict continued, however, for another ten years between the new military Suharto government and fighters organized during the confrontation and backed by the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). So let's find out yourself about West Borneo