When is the last time you went to a tailor? Perhaps, to have some pants hemmed? Or maybe you needed a dress or a suit taken in? Maybe you’ve never been to the tailor!
Here in Indonesia, everyone goes to the tailor. As my Indonesian friends put it succinctly, “In America, you go to the tailor to have clothes fixed. In Indonesia, you go to the tailor to have clothes made.”
My tailor’s recent work.
Java floods the senses. It is heat and spice and history. It is trade and religion and turbulence. Deep cultural roots, firmly staked belief systems, and long years of colonial and civil strife envelope the land in a patch-work cloud of contradictions.
But every April 21st, on the day of her birth, one woman rises above this cloud. A self-educated pioneer of feminism, she is a nationally recognized hero. Her name was Raden Adjeng Kartini, and once a year the nation of Indonesia celebrates her day: Kartini Day.
Portrait of Raden Ajeng Kartini (from the Tropenmuseum collection)
Well, readers, I had some lovely pictures of tempeh to share with you this week, but I deleted them.
Yet no amount of virtual (and literal) distress can stop my love for those fermented soy beans. Vegans and vegetarians rejoice! Tempeh is taking the gastronomical world by storm, and it all started right here in Indonesia. Read on for a short video about tempeh!
Indonesia is a nation steeped in ancient stories, traditions, and superstitions. Every region – and practically every village – has its own. Although Indonesia is known for having the largest Muslim population in the world, legends that predate Islam still peek through the cracks of the modern age.
Hindu stone carving at Prambanan
Names and details tend to shift, but there is a rich tenacity in the stories surrounding this island nation. Today, I want to share one of them with you. Read on for the story of Loro Jonggrang!
Worth a Journey 