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THE 10th Tengkayu Iraw Festival 2019 at Amal Beach, Tarakan, North Kalimantan, was considered as the best momentum in advancing the tourism sector as well as being an attraction for domestic and foreign tourists to visit Tarakan.
According to the Mayor of Tarakan, Khairul, at the peak of the celebration of the Trawayu Iraw Festival said the Trawayu Iraw Festival was a merging of cultural wealth and tourist attractions that could invite tourists to come to the City of Tarakan.
“Maybe this is the best momentum for the City of Tarakan to advance its tourism. Hereditary culture is packed with the natural beauty of the Amal coast which will become a very interesting tourist attraction,” Khairul said.
The 10th Trawayu Iraw Festival recently, filled with a variety of activities such as cultural carnivals, while the core of the Iraw Tengkayu festival that has been going on for generations is the procession of Padaw Tuju Dulung boat, which is an ornamental boat paraded around the city. At the bottom of the boat mounted several bamboo blades which are used by young people to transport Padaw Tuju Dulung.
Iraw Tengkayu is a native Tidung tribal heritage which is intended to give thanks for the blessing of God. Iraw means party and Tengkayu small island in the middle of the sea namely Tarakan island.
The process of banning the Padaw Tuju Dulung boat or the seven pillars embedded on the boat means the number of days in a week symbolized by people’s lives in search of daily livelihoods. Decorated with the distinctive colors of the Tidung tribe namely Yellow, Green, and Red.
The yellow color on the pole symbolizes the honor and oneness of God the Creator. While in the middle, there are five poles as a symbol of prayer five times a day. Iraw Tengkayu festival is held every two years. But going forward, Khairul promises that the Iraw Tengkayu festival will be held every year.
“It’s a shame if this celebration is only done once every two years. In 2020 tomorrow we will hold another celebration of Trawayu Iraw,” Khairul added.
While Sapto Haryono, Head of Area III Marketing I Regional II of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, said the Trawayu Iraw Festival had previously received many awards. Such as the 2016 Indonesian Charm Award by the Ministry of Tourism, then entered the list of 100 Calendar of Events of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Iraw Tengkayu has also been established as an intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Education and Culture. So hopefully the implementation of the Trawayu Iraw Festival in the future will continue to be of high quality and present increasingly interesting content.
“The performance of the choreography of 250 dancers who opened the Iraw Tengkayu festival on the Amal coast was already good. Maybe in the following year the storytelling will be more advanced between the dance and the boat boat. And also added 500 or 1,000 dancers involving local students,” Sapto Haryono said.
In the mean time Deputy of Marketing Development I of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizky Handayani added, this interestingly-held cultural event is expected to have an economic impact on the community with the presence of tourists.
“The Tengkayu Iraw Festival must be managed well and professionally so that it becomes a magnet for both domestic and domestic tourists. Therefore this event must be able to become an icon and branding. Government commitment is needed so that the policy is to hold on to tourism development,” she concluded. [traveltext.id]
