News: Smog in The End of Dry Season 2014

Normally, in Indonesia, October is the beginning of rainy season and it is also the end of dry season. But in the last ten years, there was anomaly on this nature of weather. April and October as starting points to forecast the weather are not reliable anymore. I am not an expert in climate change but I guess what experts said about nature changes caused by global warming has influenced the way we count the seasons. What recently happened in Jambi City about the weather showed me that I have to revamp the way I forecast the weather, October is not a sign to have rainy days anymore.

On the other side, air pollution in Jambi City by intentional forest and bush fires which usually occurs in dry season has been much worse than ever. I think people who triggered the fire to burn bushes miscalculated in weather forecasting. The rain that they think would fall in had never come and what they had done with firing bush and forest led smog to mask Jambi City.

The situation burdened people who lives in Jambi City and other areas in Province of Jambi to live with air pollution. Schools closed due to prevent kids having respiratory illness and outdoor activities would be a nightmare to do. But, still there is an advantage with this smog (it is the way Indonesians to think that there is always a positive side with a bad situation). Dry season's sunshine blocked by smog haze, reducing ambient temperatures into moderate ones helping people to avoid sunburn, in dry season sunshine would be much hotter.

Sunshine blocked by smog haze

People lazy to do outdoor activities

Thick smog

No kids appeared in school area

So, pics above reflected smog condition in Jambi City area, in the end of dry season, mid of October 2014. And as usual, like other past years, the authorities said that smog caused by bush and forest fires even most people here know that bush and forest fires triggered by land clearing, burned by irresponsible people with economy motives, a bad habit and bad tradition, only in Sumatera.

Article: The Great Mosque of Al-Falah

Built on former location of the palace of Jambi Sultanate, the great mosque of Al-Falah was completed in 1980 and started to use on September 26, 1980 since President Soeharto inaugurated it. The mosque itself stands on a 2.7 hectares land and its broadness is 6200 meters square. Beside its formal name "The Great Mosque Al-Falah" it has a nickname "Masjid Seribu Tiang" (Mosque with Thousand Pillars). This nickname refers to many pillars we can see in the mosque.

The Arabic name, Al-Falah, means Victory, this name was picked to express why the mosque was built without any walls, partitions, or windows except for "mihrab". Mihrab is a side of a mosque where people will put a direction of their face forward when they praying. Mihrab is also center attention when a "Khatib" speaks, khatib is one who preach sermons in occasional time, like Prayer on Friday. So those who wants to get in to mosque could come from any entrances they want. The building's philosophy means "victory is freedom for everyone, freedom to enter the mosque without any barriers". The name also means about the victory over the Dutch colonial which the location of mosque once was the center of colonial administration in Jambi since the Dutch had ruined the palace of Jambi Sultanate.

"Thousand Pillars" comes from this view

Video: Jambi on a Very Short Video

Glad to have this video. A friend of mine finally let me copy a video that once used to promote Jambi in a national event. The video is a compilation of a few tourism events and I think it would be able to represent what Jambi is like. The video also contains some of recommended tourism spots in Jambi, like Muara Jambi Temple, Berbak National Park, Lake Kaca, and Kerinci Seblat National Park.

Thanks to Asson Any aka Oka and Iman Kurnia for allowing me to have the video and use it on my blog.

Here it is and enjoy...

Article: Jambi Weaving Craft Exhibition 2014

Hosted by Siginjei Museum in Jambi City, the Government of Jambi Province held an exhibition with "Jambi Weaving Crafts" as its theme. The exhibition took place 5 days only started on September 8, 2014. And of course, weaving crafts means songket in Jambi cultures and the show talked about Jambi songket and Jambi batik.

The exhibition showed us various products of weaving crafts originally from Jambi (songket and batik) and how Jambinese use them as everyday clothes or for occasional events like traditional or religious ceremonies. At the exhibition we could see kind of patterns and favorite colors that characterizes traditional clothes in Jambi, including traditional headband used by sub-ethnics in Jambi.

Unfortunately, the exhibition was intended to educate elementary students in Jambi City, so I had to cram with kids during taking pictures.

Here are some pics of songket origins from Jambi.

Songket

Precious handmade clothes

Colorful with gold thread

High quality and modern pattern of songket

High difficult woven, reminds me to Persian carpets

Songket can be applied as clothes or headband. Generally, Jambinese call traditional headband for women as Tengkuluk and Lacak or Lajak for men. There are many styles and ways how tengkuluk formed, all depends on sub-ethnic traditions. Following pictures shows you a few of tengkuluk and their styles.

Traditional clothes

Different pattern from different sub-ethnic

For everyday clothes or occasional ones

Tengkuluk, traditional headband for women

Styles depend on sub-ethnic cultures and traditions of Jambinese

Hundreds years tradition but fashionable

Songket and also batik as traditional everyday clothes, below is Kerincinese traditional clothes, with tengkuluk and lacak.

Illustration, Kerincinese couple in their traditional clothes

And following picture is a simple tool as traditional loom, it is not a machinery loom.

A traditional loom

Well, the exhibition was too crowded by kids. :))

So crowded

Kids everywhere

Article: "Rumah Tenun", Songket Creation Studio in Jambi

Remember about SONGKET..?! Hand made cloth that a weaver needs 1-3 months to create just one of it. Since a few of traveltojambi.com readers emailed me how to choose and buy songket Jambi then I would like to write this article to help them. But please note that until now I can not help you to be your songket broker, and I am not a songket trader, but if you come here to Jambi and asking me to accompany you it would be different, as long as I have time to do it, it would be my pleasure to help you here in Jambi.

Since 2010 the government of Jambi Province which initiated by wife of the governoor, Mrs. Yusniana HBA, have been opening a formal songket creation studio located in Broni, Telanaipura, Jambi City, named "Rumah Tenun" (House of Weaving Craft). At this building you may find songket being made or you can buy "ready to sell" and "fresh from oven" songket. The building management said that they sell songket of Jambi with best price, and indeed a customer would have best quality and specific pattern which is hard to find and so expensive in the market. Beside as center of songket creation training, "Rumah Tenun" was also dedicated as a provincial promotion center of songket Jambi.

Rumah Tenun (House of Weaving Craft), Kota Jambi