Bromo Mount : The Gimbal Kid of Tengger
His hair in dissary, rumpled, and dust-ridden, the boy smiles warmly, welcoming his visitor and offering himself to be a photo-model.
After being photographed, the boy gets rupiahs or maybe dollars from his visitors. That’s the shaggy boy of Tengger.
Gimbal (shaggy) is nickname for children who have shaggy hair, only certain ones, and so people say they are regarded the descendants of the ‘god’ guarding the area. The hirsute and rumpled hair is not artificial, but genuine since birth. According to the custom that as long as the child is not of age, the shaggy hair may not be combed, shampooed, or even cut. Even through the child looks rumpled and neglected, for the Tengger community, the gimbal child is a favoured child to be respected and to be given all its wishes. If not, child may become ill and even die. To cut the gimbal child’s hair, a special ceremony must be held.
Temples
Between Surabaya and Malang is the town Singosari where remnars of thr esrly 13th century Singosari Kingdom include a tample and two gingantic statues of guardians to what many believed to be the main gateway to the capital of the kingdom. Jago temple dates back to 1268, and is one of the most attractive temples in east Java. Scenes from folktales as well as from the Mahabarata apic decorate the side panels.
Kidal temple, nor far from Jago temple, was completed in 1260 to honour one of the kings, and is a gem of singosari temple art. Located 120 km south west of Malang and 11 km North of Blitar, is Penataran temple in the Singosari - Majapahit temple complex, dating from the mid fourteenth century. Its structures are laid on a large and vast field. The main temple is well preserved.
Source : http://www.indonext.com/
Add comment February 9th, 2007