New Year

#1Pic1Day: Pengejar Layang-Layang | The Kite Runners (Afghanistan, 2008)

The Kite Runners (Afghanistan, 2008) One of so much cheerful activities during Naoruz New Year celebration in Afghanistan is to run after kites. In Afghanistan, many games have touch of “war”. Even when they fly kites, it’s not for the sake only for flying kites, but to defeat your enemies and be the last one survives in the sky. For people who don’t fly kites, the main purpose is to run after the falling kites, thus known as the kite runners. Pengejar Layang-Layang (Afghanistan, 2008) Keriangan lain dalam perayaan Tahun Baru di Afghanistan adalah permainan berebut layangan. Di Afghanistan, banyak permainan yang bernuansakan “perang”, bahkan saat bermain layangan pun mereka saling beradu layang-layang siapa yang kuat bertahan di angkasa. Sedangkan mereka yang tidak menerbangkan layang-layang akan berlarian berhamburan untuk mengejar layang-layang jatuh. [...]

January 10, 2014 // 3 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Olahraga Keperkasaan | Sport of Honor (Afghanistan, 2008)

Sport of Honor (Afghanistan, 2008) Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan, and usually held amidst the Naoruz New Year celebration. Buzkashi is the ancestor of polo, of which the horse riders fight to get a headless carcass as the ball, and they have to bring the carcass around the ground to be the winner. This sport emphasizes on values of honesty, bravery, strength, and honor—all of which are the pride for the Afghans. Olahraga Keperkasaan (Afghanistan, 2008) Buzkashi adalah olahraga nasional Afghanistan, dan biasa dipertandingkan di tengah perayaan Tahun Baru Naoruz. Buzkashi adalah nenek moyang olahraga polo, di mana para penunggang kuda berebutan sebuah bangkai binatang tanpa kepala sebagai bola yang dibawa berkeliling lapangan. Olahraga ini mengutamakan nilai-nilai kejujuran, keberanian, kekuatan dan keperkasaan, menjadi peleburan semua nilai kebanggaan Afghanistan. [...]

January 9, 2014 // 4 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Bendera Ajaib | Magical Flag (Afghanistan, 2008)

Magical Flag (Afghanistan, 2008) The Afghans celebrate Persian New Year, known as Naoruz (“New Day”), which is usually celebrated on 21 March when the sun arrives exactly on northern equinox. The center of Naoruz celebration in Afghanistan is in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which is believed by the Afghans as the location of the mausoleum of Caliphate Ali bin Abi Thalib. On the Naoruz morning, they will raise a sacred flag known as “janda”. People would struggle hard to touch the flag as they believe the magical flag would cure any disease and bring good fortune. The celebration used to be banned under the Taliban. Bendera Ajaib (Afghanistan, 2008) Orang Afghanistan merayakan Tahun Baru Persia, yang disebut Naoruz (“Hari Baru”) dan jatuh pada 21 Maret, ketika matahari tepat berada di titik balik utara. Pusat perayaan Naoruz di Afghanistan adalah di kota Mazar-e-Sharif, di mana terdapat makam suci yang dipercaya sebagai makam Ali bin Abi Thalib. Di hari Naoruz, mereka akan mendirikan sebuah bendera suci yang disebut “janda”, dan orang-orang berebutan untuk menyentuh bendera itu karena dipercaya akan membawa mukjizat. Perayaan Naoruz pernah dilarang pada zaman Taliban. [...]

January 8, 2014 // 1 Comment

Almaty – Welcome to Kazakhstan

It’s freezing, dark, and full of cars. My Kyrgyz visa expires today and there is no other thing I can do but to go to Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are separated by Chuy River, located not far north of Bishkek. I took a minibus as it cost only 800 Som to cover the 4 hour journey to Almaty. The Kyrgyz – Kazakh border is also a strict one. The people of the two countries are very closely related ethnically, linguistically, historically and culturally. The Kazakh were called as Kyrgyz and the Kyrgyz were called as Kara Kyrgyz (Black Kyrgyz). Kazakh and Kyrgyz also share many poets and national hero. Creation of Kazakh and Kyrgyz in the Soviet time was actually slicing the same people of two different variants: mountainous (the Kyrgyz) and steppe (Kazakhstan). But now the border crossing has reflected that Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are indeed two different countries. The border post of Kyrgyzstan was made from oil tank transformed to be a small office. The border guards only took a glance on the passports of the border crossers as Kazakh and Kyrgyz, the most people who cross the border, don’t need visa to cross. It took me more [...]

December 1, 2006 // 1 Comment