Indonesia - Sail Moyo Tambora ceremony on September 9

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to attend the 2018 Sail Moyo Tambora ceremony in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Sept. 9.

"Other than the President, diplomats from several countries will also attend the international event to witness the ongoing development across Indonesia, including Sumbawa," Agus Purwoto, secretary for the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister, said in the provincial capital Mataram on Tuesday.

Sail Moyo Tambora is expected to help promote Sumbawa’s potential for tourism, as well as serve as a coordination event between ministries and agencies with similar programs.

The event is part of Indonesia's participation in World Sail 2018 in September, during which the archipelago will serve as a cruise destination for yachts.

This year, Rally Sail Indonesia is highlighting the 2018 Sail Moyo Tambora as a national brand, after previously promoting Sail Sabang, Karimata and Bunaken.

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 Agus said the Sail Moyo Tambora brand is an opportunity for NTB to promote its tourist destinations in Sumbawa, as it will host various activities throughout the Sail period.

He added that preparations for the event were solid, including surveys to related ministries and agencies "to ensure the event can be focused in one location and the government can concentrate more on what to highlight.”

The event was first proposed by the NTB administration in 2015.

“It is time for Sumbawa to shine,” said Agus. "The late Princess Diana had vacationed in Moyo Island, as well as legendary singer Mick Jagger. Moyo is well-known in the global community."

Mount Tambora, which erupted in 1815 and triggered climate change in in half of the world, is said to also serve as the icon of Sumbawa.

Several activities have been planned for Sail Moyo Tambora, such as cultural dialogues, the Asia Pacific Geopark Network international seminar and an international paragliding event.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Indonesia - Jepitu farmers, fishermen hold thanksgiving ritual for good harvest

Two fishermen fish using a net at the as part of the 'Sedekah Laut Ngalangi' thanksgiving ritual on Jungwok Beach.

Villagers form a procession during the 'Sedekah Laut Ngalangi' ceremony to the accompaniment of 'bende' and 'kendang'. 

 The village procession makes its way from Jungwok Beach to Wediombo Beach during the 'Sedekah Laut Ngalangi' thanksgiving cermony in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta.

 Jepitu villagers carry a variety of dishes wrapped in palm leaves for a communal feast during the 'Sedekah Laut Ngalangi' thanksgiving ceremony.

A group of villagers row out into the shallows to release offerings into the sea during the 'Sedekah Laut Ngalangi' thanksgiving ceremony. 

 The residents of Jepitu village in Gunungkidul regency, Yogyakarta, gathered at Jungwok Beach on Thursday, to perform the Sedekah Laut Ngalangi, a thanksgiving ritual that has been passed down from generation to generation. 

In the Sedekah Laut Ngalangi, the villagers give offerings to show their gratitude for the abundant farm and fish harvest from the rich nature that surrounds them.

The village residents were dressed in lurik, clothing made from a traditional Javanese textile, while several other villagers were dressed in the traditional attire of a warrior of the Mataram Kingdom, complete with swords and spears.

The villagers also brought home-cooked food made from their crop and fish harvests, which included fare such as steamed rice with ayam ingkung, a local chicken dish, marinated  sweet tofu and tempeh, grilled fish, and the mandatory coconut sambal, or chili paste.

The dishes are placed in containers made of wood and bamboo and carefully wrapped in palm leaves, which are then carried by men and women in a ritual procession.

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The royal crematorium of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej is almost complete.

Designed for a divinity

The architect of the Royal Crematorium talks about his inspirations for the elaborate structure

HIS MAGNIFICENT Phra Merumas, the royal crematorium, is almost complete but artist Kokiart Thongphud is not counting the days until it comes into use. 

“While I know that this is the most magnificent and majestic structure I have ever designed, I am neither glad nor proud to see it become a reality. My heart is crying and I don’t want October 26 to come – the day when I will send my beloved King back to heaven,” says the 49-year-old artist with the Fine Arts Department, who started work on designing the crematorium only hours after His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away on October 13 last year.

 

Like all Thais, Kokiart did not let his grief and suffering keep him from his work. The elaborate royal crematorium for King Bhumibol is the tallest of any such structures since the reign of King Rama V.

“My respected master Prince Naris – Prince Narisara Nuvadtivongs, considered the great master of Siamese art – once said that the highest and widest structure of Phra Merumas signified the greatest dignity. My first design had the structure standing 80 metres high on a 120-metre-wide base, but it was too large for Sanam Luang as it is today. I eventually had to settle on a practical structure 55.18 metres high and 60 metres wide,” says Kokiart, who was the right-hand man of the celebrated late architect Arwut Ngernchuklin, designer of the royal crematoria for HRH the Princess Mother, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana and Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda in 1996, 2008 and 2012 respectively.

 Kokiart prepared five draft designs of the royal crematorium in the busabok style in line with the structures sketched by the old masters since the reign of King Rama V. These showed elaborate pavilions with ornately decorated tiered roofs topped by one, five and nine spires respectively. The five drafts along with other artists’ sketches were presented to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the president of the Royal Funeral Committee, and the Princess selected his design featuring nine pavilions, each standing independently of the others.

 The royal crematorium comprises nine busabok-style pavilions sitting on a three-tiered, square shaped base with a staircase on each of the four sides. On the topmost tier is the seven-tiered, spire-roofed principle pavilion, which will house the royal urn, while each of the four corners on the second tier have five-tiered, roofed pavilions called sang, which will be used by monks to chant scriptures during the ceremony. The remaining four pavilions are located at each of the four corners on the first tier. 

Kokiart also marks the centre of the royal crematorium from where two axes intersect – one from the spire of the Phra Si Ratana Chedi pagoda in the adjacent Wat Phra Kaew and the other from the middle of the phra ubosot or ordination hall in the nearby Wat Maha That.

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#Thailand - Royal cremation ceremonies to be held Oct 25-29

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THE Royal cremation ceremonies for HM the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) will be held between October 25 and 29.

October 26, the day of his |cremation, will also be a national holiday to allow members of the public to take part in the important event. 

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King Rama IX passed away on October 13 last year, plunging Thailand into deep mourning. A large number of Thais continue to wear black and white today to grieve over his death. 

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Throughout his seven-decade reign, King Rama IX worked tirelessly to improve the well-being of his people. In return, he won much love and reverence from his subjects. 

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Assistant Government Spokesman Colonel Atisit Chaiyanuwat announced yesterday that HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn (King Rama X) |had approved the schedule. 

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Atisit said Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam had proposed three options on how to facilitate people’s desire to join the royal cremation ceremonies. 

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The first is to declare October 25 and October 27 as national holidays too, so that people from the provinces can travel to Bangkok for the ceremonies and then travel back in time to work again. 

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The second is for October 25 and October 27 to be holidays for people living outside Bangkok and its adjacent provinces.

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The third is to not declare any additional holiday and let people decide themselves how they can attend. 

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Last Friday, King Rama X also approved the Office of the Prime Minister’s decision to declare his birthday, July 28, and the day of his father’s passing, October |13, as important days in Thailand. 

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King Rama X ordered that royal ceremonies be held in remembrance of his father on October 13 every year, the same way royal ceremonies are held in commemoration of his great grandfather, King Rama V. 

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 Source - TheNation

Bangkok - Changes to Sanam Luang mourners area

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Some adjustments will be implemented from April 1 for people arriving at Sanam Luang to pay their respects before the royal urn of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej inside the Grand Palace’s Dusit Maha Prasart Throne Hall in Bangkok.

Following a meeting of the Peace and Order Maintaining Command on Friday, Deputy First Army Region commander Maj-General Pongsawat Pannachit said the adjustment was needed because Sanam Luang would be prepared as the ceremonial ground for the upcoming Royal Ploughing Ceremony.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Public Work is currently preparing the southern area of Sanam Luang to support mourners, with an administrative tent and medical team set up there.

From April 1, officials and volunteers will provide snacks to visitors each morning, Pongsawat said.

Later each day, people can receive food from charity tents at two areas near the Mother Earth Squeezing Her Hair Statue and the old Government Lottery Office. 

Those visiting the "Yen Sira Phro Phra Boriban" exhibition building at Sanam Luang will have a tent especially for them at the area opposite the Appeals Court.

A shuttle bus service from the Grand Palace's Thevapirom Gate to the exhibition building will be available.

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony will be held in May on the Phuetcha Mongkhon holiday to mark the traditional beginning of the rice-growing season.

The ceremony, rooted in Brahman belief, will involve two sacred oxen ploughing a furrow in the ceremonial ground while rice seeds are sown. 

After the ploughing, the oxen will be offered food such as rice, corn, green beans, sesame, fresh-cut grass, water and rice whisky.

There will be a prediction on whether the coming growing season will be bountiful based on what the oxen eat.

Thailand - Press guide to be printed on royal cremation

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THE government plans to publish a media guide about the coverage of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s royal cremation ceremonies.

The guide will be available in Thai and English.
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The government will hand out 10,000 copies of the Thai version and 5,000 copies of the English version as media outlets across various platforms are set to cover the events.
The late King passed away on October 13 this year at the age of 89. His royal cremation is expected to take place within a year..

The event will be grand and befitting his royal status.
The publication will be part of the government’s public relations work for an occasion of great significance to the country..

An informed source said the public relations plan for the event had already been approved. “It will be implemented in three phases: ahead of, during and after the royal cremation ceremony,” the source said..

The PR panel for the royal cremation ceremonies met yesterday with PM’s Office Minister ML Panadda Diskul, who served as the chair.
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The media guide is expected to cover the biography of the late king, his royal works, his talents and his passing. Also included will be knowledge of traditions related to royal cremation ceremonies..

The PR panel plans to conduct media activities to provide |relevant information to media outlets and the public in various other forms as well.
“There will be CDs and DVDs about his royal musical compositions, for example,” the source added..

TV and radio broadcasting, plus media centres would also be set up to carry out PR work during the royal cremation ceremonies.
The panel also plans to organise training for reporters in regard to the royal cremation ceremony, the source said.
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Source: TheNation

Thailand - Funeral procession of Supreme Patriarch begins

The elaborate 1,383-strong 456-metre-long funeral procession of the late Supreme Patriarch started at 8:01 am Wednesday.

 The procession that moved from Wat Bovoranives and will move along Wat Phra Sumen Road, Phanfa Lilat Bridge, Lan Luang Road, and Krung Kasem Canal towards Wat Thepsirintharawas where the grand cremation will take place at 5.30pm.A large number of Buddhists joined the procession, paying the last respect to the revered monk. 

 

 

Source: The Nation

Worshipping the Erawan Shrine, #Bangkok

Brahmin chief priest Phra Maharajchakru Sriwisutthikun (right) presides over a ceremony to worship the sacred Brahmin statue at the Erawan Shrine.

 

 The Brahmin chief priest pours holy water onto the statue.

 A traditional dancer, or Nang Ram, takes part in the ceremony.

 

 The statue has been completely repaired for the ceremony.

 People pray at the shrine after the Brahmin chief priest performed the ceremony.

 

 Devotees burn incense in prayer at the shrine.

More Pictures on the: BangkokPost

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#Bangkok, Erawan Shrine ready for the grand rite

After Fine Art Department has been restored the ruin Erawan Shine for nine days, the golden Brahma statue is ready for tomorrow grand rite ceremony.
The newly restored statue is covered by old sheet weighted 2.5 kilogrammes.

This afternoon many worshipers continue to offer prayers to the statue even after it is finished.

Damaged by the bomb on August 17, the likeness of the Hindu god Brahma suffered damage to the chin, necklace, right index finger and right shin, he said, and the roof overhead was also affected. Thao Maha Prom Foundation is covering the costs of the restoration, estimated at Bt70,000.

Hosted Culture Minister Veera Rojpojanarat, tomorrow grand rite will take place at 7am.
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