Kendari - Participants of Sail Banda will celebrate Indonesia`s Independence Day on August 17, 2010, in Wakatobi District, Southeast Sulawesi Province.
"Part of Sail Banda`s foreign participants have arrived in Wakatobi, after stopping by in Banda earlier," Wakatobi District Head Hugua said in Wanci, Wakatobi`s capital, Saturday.
All Sail Banda participants are expected to arrive in Wakatobi on August 13, and they will be greeted with various cultural and art performances during the Wakatobi Cultural Festival.
"The Festival will involve around 10,000 participants coming from various areas in Wakatobi. So, it will be a major party of the Wakatobi people," he said.
Wakatobi is the name of an archipelago located in an area of Southeast Sulawesi, and in the biodiversity hotspot known as Wallacea as part of the Kepulauan Wakatobi National Park.
The Wakatobi is also home to Operation Wallacea, a UK based for non-profit conservation group looking at sustainable development of fisheries and coral reef research.
"When the yachts participating in Sail Banda approach Wakatobi, thousands of motorboats and local fishermen`s boats will rally around the yachts and escort them to the port," Hugua said.
According to him, the Bangka Mbule-mbule attraction to greet Sail Banda participants would be performed by around 10,000 fishermen from various coastal areas in Wakatobi.
He said Bangka Mbule-mbule is the ritual tradition of Bajo ethnic community in Wakatobi to ask for the Creator to bestow the local fishermen with blessing and save them from perils when they go fishing at open sea.(*)
Source: http://www.antaranews.com
