culture

#1Pic1Day: Musim Dingin Sepanjang Tahun | Winter throughout the Year (Little Pamir, Afghanistan, 2008)

Winter throughout the Year (Little Pamir, Afghanistan, 2008) A Kyrgyz boy brings his camels to grassland. The Afghan Kirghiz ethnic still maintain the disappearing nomadic way of life at Afghan Pamir, the tip of Afghan Wakhan Corridor bordering with China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, at elevation more than 4,000 meter. The place, known as bam-e-dunya or Roof of the World, is described by Marco Polo as a place where the snow may come at any time of the year and where birds cannot fly through due to its height. In summer, snowfall is not uncommon. Musim Dingin Sepanjang Tahun (Pamir Kecil, Afghanistan, 2008) Seorang bocah Kirgiz sedang menggiring unta-untanya ke padang. Orang Kirgiz di Afghanistan masih mempertahankan tradisi nomaden, mereka mendiami Pamir Afghan, pada ketinggian 4.000 meter dan terletak di ujung Koridor Wakhan dan berbatasan dan langsung dengan China, Tajikistan, dan Pakistan. Tempat ini dikenal sebagai bam-i-dunyo, atau Atap Dunia, dan dideskripsikan oleh Marco Polo sebagai wilayah di mana salju bisa turun kapan saja dan burung pun tidak bisa terbang di atasnya saking tingginya. Salju di musim panas sama sekali bukan hal yang luar biasa. [...]

October 16, 2013 // 4 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Gadis Ataukah Nyonya, Lihatlah dari Kerudungnya | Available or Not, Just See the Veil (Little Pamir, Afghanistan, 2008)

Available or Not, Just See the Veil (Little Pamir, Afghanistan, 2008) The Afghan Kirghiz ethnic still preserve traditional Kyrgyz costumes, which already disappeared in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The veil (jooluk) of Kyrgyz women shows their marital status. Red means unmarried and white means married. Gadis Ataukah Nyonya, Lihatlah dari Kerudungnya (Pamir Kecil, Afghanistan, 2008) Orang-orang Kirgiz yang mendiami Afghanistan masih mempertahankan tradisi berpakaian Kirgiz, yang sekarang sudah sangat langka bahkan di negara Kirgizstan. Kerudung para perempuan disebut sebagai jooluk, juga berfungsi untuk menunjukkan status perkawinan. Kerudung merah berarti gadis, kerudung putih berarti sudah menikah. [...]

October 15, 2013 // 1 Comment

1Pic1Day: Sang Pahlawan | The Hero (Iran, 2008)

The Hero (Balochestan, Iran, 2008) In majority Shiite Iran, Hossein ibn Ali—the Prophet’s grandson and Ali’s son—has special position in people’s heart. Hossein was killed in the Battle of Karbala when fighting against his enemies in the 7th century. His death is marked as the most important religious event in Iran, known as Ashora, but also nicknamed as “the Festival of Hossein”, and remembered—if not celebrated—in Iran in full swing festivities. The sacrifice of Hossein, the fighting of the virtue of the minority against the vice of the majority, somehow properly fit the image of how Iran sees itself in its journey of history. The adoring of Hossein is deep-rooted in Iranian society, fully manifested in their religious rituals, art and culture. Hossein face is never far away from the people’s life, always placed in respected locations. Sang Pahlawan (Balochestan, Iran, 2008) Di negeri Syiah Iran, cucu nabi Muhammad SAW, Hossein ibn Ali memiliki posisi yang sangat istimewa di hati masyarakat. Hossein terbunuh dalam Perang Karbala di abad ke-7. Hari kematiannya adalah even religius terpenting di Iran, dikenal sebagai Ashora, tetapi juga dijuluki sebagai “Hari Raya Hossein”. Hari kematian itu diperingati, kalau tidak bisa disebut sebagai dirayakan, dengan nuansa [...]

September 13, 2013 // 0 Comments

Jakarta Post Weekender (2008): Time Stands Still

http://www.thejakartapost.com/weekender/0801beyond.asp BEYOND BORDERS: Time Stands Still Sparsely populated and well hidden from the rest of the world, Wakhan Corridor is as medieval today as it was over 700 years ago when Marco Polo passed through. Agustinus Wibowo visits the region. The awkward tongue of Afghanistan, located at the northeastern tip of the country, is a 200-mile-long valley that stretches between Tajikistan and Pakistan. A strategic territory created by the once-reigning British Empire at the end of the 19th century, Wakhan Corridor was first attached to Afghan territory as a buffer zone between Britain and Russia. Though the battle for supremacy between the two giants has long ended, little seems to have changed since then. Time has been suspended for what seems like eternity. Deprived of the comforts of modern living, Afghans tend to paint rosy images of Tajikistan, where women are not required to wear the burqa and children receive the education they deserve. It’s a very different story in the nearby land of the Wakhi and Kyrgyz people, where the only rules that apply are those which enhance their survival. The corridor’s isolation from the rest of the world makes Afghan’s narrow passage – only 10 miles wide – [...]

January 25, 2008 // 2 Comments

Dewi (2007): Samarkand – Perjalanan Melintasi Waktu

DEWI MAGAZINE (SEPTEMBER 2007) SAMARKAND: Sebuah Perjalanan Melintasi Waktu Apa yang terbayang dalam benak Anda ketika mendengar nama Uzbekistan? Apakah gadis-gadisnya yang berkulit putih mulus nan molek? Ataukah sebuah negara muda yang berdiri di atas puing-puing Uni Soviet? Ataukah sebuah negeri padang pasir yang panas dan kerontang? Apa pun itu, Uzbekistan, sebuah negara yang terletak di tengah benua luas, terkunci dari segala penjuru dan berjarak ribuan kilometer jauhnya dari samudera mana pun, memamerkan semua pesona keeksotisannya yang membuat silau semua bangsa di dunia. Itu pula yg dapat dilihat di Samarkand. Perjalanan bebas hambatan dari Tashkent menuju kota tua Samarkand cukup ditempuh dalam waktu 4 jam saja dengan taxi. Perjalanan ini melintasi perkebunan kapas yang seakan tidak ada habisnya. Dan begitu menginjakkan kaki di Samarkand, Anda sudah melintasi waktu setidaknya empat ratus abad ke belakang. Siapa yang tak akan terpekur di bawah keagungan nama Samarkand? Sang pujangga Umar Khayyam tiada hentinya memuja kemuliaan kota ini, bahkan sebelum bangunan-bangunan molek raksasa itu berdiri. Di sinilah sang penakluk Amir Timur (dikenal juga sebagai Timurleng, Timur si Pincang), memulai kerajaannya yang menguasai wilayah dari padang rumput Asia Tengah hingga ke negeri India di timur dan Turki di barat. Di sinilah sang raja besar mendirikan [...]

September 26, 2007 // 0 Comments

Maimana – Bacchabazi

Friendly Maimana men “Playboy is good” – Massoud The public vehicle going to Maimana from Mazhar e Sharif departed as early as 4 a.m. Traveling in Afghanistan is painful. Road lights don’t exist at all so that traveling should be only done during the daylight. Road to Maimana starts to deteriotae at Shibargan, when the road turned into Dasht-i-Laili desert. I took a Town Ace, 500 Af, which is 100 Af more expensive than the crowded Falancoach. But the extra money was really worth for the comfort. The Town Ace only takes 8 passengers while Falancoach 18, and the road in the desert is not a nice roller coaster trip in a jammed minibus. The distance between Maimana and Mazhar e Sharif is merely 341 km, but it took 10 hours to reach. When arriving in Maimana, the driver tried to extort money from me. I gave 1000 Afs then he said, “sahih shod, everything is allright.” Instead of giving me 500 Af bill, he gave me much filthy smaller money, and when I counted, it was only 400 Af. I got angry, asked my money back. He gave me the right change. Then it was turn of him getting [...]

August 13, 2006 // 1 Comment

Kandahar – From the Heartland of the Pashtuns

Pottery making is a traditional industry from Peshawar which still survive till today. “Everything here is expensive. But human life is cheap” Kandahar, the second biggest city of Afghanistan, had been lingering in the legends of the country since centuries ago. The description of old folklores about the heatwaves, about the tough desert, and about the hospitality of the Pashtun tribes are still up to date, but no doubt, the prolonged wars and the spread of fundamentalism has changed the face of the city. Living in Kandahar at this peak of the trend “war on terror” is overwhelmed by the concern of security problems. Suicide bombs can happen anywhere, and random shootings on street may deliver hot bullets just next to your feet. Taliban is the one who is always blamed to be the cause of everything, but nobody does really know who was the real actor behind all of the terrors. The politics in Afghanistan is complicated. Not only religious extrimists (thus those who always lay religion as the excuse of everything), manyu foreign nations also have importance and play in Afghan internal politics. Unexpected things can happen here on daily basis The Kandahar life has changed since, and [...]

July 10, 2006 // 2 Comments

Islamabad – A Wedding in the Capital

Dancing to celebrate April 8, 2006 Today was supposed to be my last day in Kashmir. Syed Ijaz Gillani offered me to go together to Islamabad where I could stay in his family house. He said that there would be a wedding ceremony that I probably interested to attend. He said that he would pick me very early in that morning, at 8, to go together to Islamabad. But not until 1 pm that he came. This kind of little bit delay of appointment is quite common in Pakistan. Some of my friends in Muzaffarabad would like to meet me for the last time. They came at 8 in the morning. Ali insisted to take me to his house to have breakfast. I refused as I was worrying Ijaz would came early. Ali, the 16 year old boy, said that he knew his countrymen much better than me. And he was right. Waiting, waiting, and waiting. They look so bored The morning was full of waiting. Those little boys of 16-20 years old were also enjoying the sexy gabshab (conversation). One scene I was so surprised to spot, that one guy had erected tool marked very clear behind his tight [...]

April 8, 2006 // 0 Comments

Noraseri – Living on Faith

In deeply religious Pakistan, it is important to pay attention to their culture and religion so not to offend them March 25, 2006 Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a country which was founded to house the Muslims of India and to establish a country following the way suggested by the religion, was among the most famous countries in Muslim world. From a discussion with a Pakistani scholar, it was stated that the founding of Pakistan was not only to guarantee the freedom of religion (as people were also free to pray in India), but also to guarantee the life in God’s preferred path. What was the meaning of the name of Pakistan? Formally, Pakistan means land of pure. Some other people claimed that the name of the country referred to the essence of Pakistan: Punjab, Afghan, Kashmir, Sindhi, and Balluchistan (Bangladesh, the ex East Pakistan, didn’t find its place in the name of the country). Another man in Muzaffarabad told me that the meaning of Pakistan was Laillahaillallah, the holy kalimah of Muslims, which means there is no god but Allah. No matter what, the name of the country had already inferred the hope of being the ones preferred by God. [...]

March 25, 2006 // 0 Comments

Noraseri – Urdu for Dummies

Urdu is written in nastaliq style of Arabic script March 20, 2006 Urdu, the national language of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is quite an interesting language to learn, for linguists or anybody else who is curious about the culture of the Sub-continent. You are forgiven if you don’t know that the language is closely related to the national language of its biggest neighbor enemy, Hindi from Hindustan (India). Indeed, the physical form of both languages are completely different, Hindi is written in Sanskrit Devnagari script while Urdu is written in Perso-Arabic script, or Arabic script written in nashtaliq style which was developed in Persia. But the sound of Urdu and Hindi are more and less the same. In fact, in most conversations it was difficult to detect whether someone is a Pakistani speaking Urdu or a Northern Indian speaking Hindi, except when the Pakistani use more Arabic borrowed words and the Indian use the Sanskrit ancient words. The relation between the two languages is even closer than Malaysian and Indonesian, where the accents of the two dialects are quite obviously different. In other side, Urdu and Hindi relation is also comparable to Malaysian and Indonesian, as Malaysian derived more [...]

March 20, 2006 // 0 Comments

Karimabad – Wedding

Prepared to bring the bride home Being delayed is not always bad. The road to Pindi has been blocked for more than a week now, and I am still in Karimabad. I have heard the rumours that Mr. Karim’s brother was going to marry. So 2 days ago I visited him. Mr Karim was busy, preparing for the feasts and everything. He offered me sharbat (the traditional food for 2 days before marriage, made from flour) but I felt he tried to send me home politely as he couldnt entertain me due to his business. From him, I learnt about the tradition of the wedding in Hunza. The ‘nikah’ will be held in bride’s side, in the nearest jamaat khana from the bride’s house. For this, the bride side invited 40 people from the groom side. These 40 people, mostly relatives, were carefully selected and counted. As we might know, the families in Pakistan are all big, that 40 is a very limited number. It seems that the culture is quite closed for outsiders, that I probably might not be able to join the whole procession. As he was busy in this sunny bright day, I went together with him [...]

January 21, 2006 // 1 Comment

Karimabad – Another Night Talk

Tourism also brings cultural impact to far flung places January 17, 2005 At last the guys from the restaurant successfully moved the TV and VCD to my room. They played hide and seek with the old man, the owner, and it was indeed funny to see the games. The sound was mixed with other movie, Bunty and Babli, to distract the attention of the old man. And they successfully made the old man sleep earlier. One accident happened when they moved the TV, the man woke up. Haroun (not real name) told the old man that the Indonesian guy (me) need the TV and VCD to do his homework. Damn! The 2 CDs, both were painfully obtained, were all damaged. One of it, the funniest porn CD I have ever watched, from South India. The actresses were all old, grey haired, bathing in the river. Then came the raper, old, fat, black, ape-faced man. The open sex happened openly in the river side, but it was too ugly, and the Pakistani guys also thought so. Talking about the open sex, I mean sex in open field, Haroun told me a story of a European couple having sex in a park [...]

January 17, 2006 // 0 Comments

Karimabad – Indian Connection

Indian influence is obvious here India is just a bordering country, but the history of hostility between India and Pakistan makes the relation between the two countries interesting. As we all probably know, the language of both countries, Urdu and Hindi, are 90% similar. Urdu has more Persian and Arabic originated words, and Hindi from Sanskrit. But both languages are mutually intelligble. Though, the scripts are different. The influence of India is very huge in Pakistan, this is unquestioned. Everybody can sing the gigle of Aashiq Banaya, the new popular Bollywood movie, even though that this new film may not reach the villages of Pakistan. “Mujh se Saati Karogi? (Will you Marry Me?)”, Salman Khan’s newest movie, is a famous sentence anywhere here in Pakistan. And it became a laughter when we use this sentence to tease the others. The people in Karimabad, far away from anywhere, stuck their satellite dish to Indian channels. And guess what, a very plain TV drama, Vuh Ranehwali Mehlon Ki (She is Native of Palace)- A story of a beautiful girl from rich family loving a handsome boy from a poor family, is so sticky that all people in my hotel can be stucked [...]

January 9, 2006 // 3 Comments

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