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THE 93rd anniversary of Hari Ibu (Mother’s Day) is celebrated in a special way in Perth Western Australia. Hari Ibu celebrations are held as a form of appreciation for the struggle of Indonesian women.
The commemoration of Indonesian Mother’s Day (Hari Ibu) which fell on December 22, of course, cannot be separated when the 1st Women’s Congress was held in 1928 where at that time the fighting spirit of women began to be echoed to unite to increase dignity and to fight with men as a nation the independent. But in the end, the Government in 1959 set Hari Ibu as a national day and was commemorated by the people of Indonesia in various parts of the world.
Likewise in Perth, Western Australia Hari Ibu is celebrated in a special way. It is Mrs. Lolita Hall as an observer and lover of Indonesian traditonal clothes in Perth who initiated the idea of celebrating Hari Ibu by holding the ‘Kelana Batik 3 Negeri’ or Wandering Batik 3 Countries event which was wrapped in an intimate and informative ‘Afternoon Tea’ atmosphere wrapped in Chinese peranakan traditions.
This Hari Ibu commemoration event with a strong Chinese-Indonesian Peranakan culture was fully supported by the Dharma Wanita of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Perth and the IDN-WA Diaspora. In the event, Mrs. Lolita took Hartono Sumarsono, a batik collector in Jakarta, as a virtual speaker about the story of batik motifs in 3 countries.
Not to forget, there was a demonstration of 30 long batik clothes of 3 countries from Mrs. Lolita Hall’s private collection which was demonstrated by women from various circles of traditional clothes lovers who were in Perth. Mrs. Lolita explained one by one the motifs in her collection when the long 3 countries clothes was demonstrated.
The Hari Ibu commemoration event in Perth was also attended by the new Consulate General who had just served in Perth, Mrs. Listiana Operananta. Prior to serving in Perth, Mrs. Listi, as she is familiarly called, served as Director of Media and Information at the School of Overseas Staff and Leadership (Sesparlu) Jakarta.
Also attending were Udaya Halim, he is the founder of the Benteng Heritage Museum and is located in Tangerang. Also attending were women who love literature in Perth, including several heads of community organizations based in Perth such as Jubaidi Anwar, President of the IDN-WA Diaspora, Astit Ozlowy, the founder of PIC Perth Indonesian Community, Bramante Perkasa as Head of Arek Jatim Village in Perth and others.
The event opened with the appearance of Suhu Chi-kung (Qi Gong), Alex Liem who displayed the technique of deep energy breathing for health and healing. Followed by a joint photo. The song Indonesia Pusaka created by Ismail Marzuki was sung and continued with the welcome dance ‘Ronggeng Manis’ where this dance is an expression of the joy of Betawi young women. This dance is an acculturation of classical Betawi, Arabic and Chinese culture. Not to forget, the Peranakan cakes are also beautifully served, such as kue mangkok (cupcakes), kue Ku, lumpang cakes and kue lapis (layer cakes) which are symbols of the perfection of life.
In the end, it is hoped that this culturally nuanced event will create the sensation of gethok tular (word of mouth) so that more and more Indonesians living abroad, especially not forgetting the noble heritage of the nation, will even be more interested in learning and loving the nation’s culture more.
Various expressions of gratitude rolled out as soon as the event was over. One of them was Mrs. Astrid Vasille, Vice President – Indonesian Diaspora Business Council who said she was happy to see all the collections of Batik 3 countries in a beautiful home. It really adds to my knowledge and I am proud as an Indonesian to know Batik 3 countries which is already one of the world heritages. Hopefully our positive energy together can support Mrs. Lolita as the successor and conservationist of batik and can bring this work of pride to the Indonesian nation to the world stage.
Similarly, the expression of love and support Mrs. Lolita about batik and culture in Perth as the successor and conservationist of batik and being able to bring this proud work of the Indonesian nation to the world stage, also came from Mrs. Nina Akbar Tandjung (an observer of culture & history), Mrs. Ratih Purnami, and Monique Arianto (author of children’s books) in Perth), Anita Setiawati (owner of Batik Anita Ayu boutique), Ibu Yuri Mulyadi (dancer, pharmacist). [traveltext.id]
