Jakarta - "I regret marrying you, you old frog dealer!" cried a woman wearing an eye-catching pink kebaya to a middle-aged man.
"Mother, don`t you think your regret to father is a bit too late? Here I am -- a product of both of you," exclaimed a teenage girl to the middle-aged couple, as strands of traditional gamelan music floated in the background.
Dozens of pairs of eyes watched the scene and laughter burst forth from the crowd.
The comedy scene was only one act of a traditional theater called Lenong Betawi performed at Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta, as part of the Lebaran Betawi festivity on Saturday.
The Lebaran Betawi cultural gathering was the first to be held in the capital, celebrating the recent Idul Fitri holidays.
Besides watching Lenong Betawi performances, visitors were welcomed with Jakarta`s traditional icon ondel-ondel (giant dolls), the exhibition of Betawi martial arts pencak silat, Betawi traditional songs, qasidah (Arabic music) and Malay orchestras.
"We had just attended a wedding ceremony. We heard about this event on the car radio on our way home, so we decided to drop by," said 32-year-old Rusdayanti, who is of Betawi descent and living in Cililitan, East Jakarta.
"We rarely hear the traditional songs such as Bandar Jakarta and Keroncong Kemayoran. It is sweet nostalgia for me," said the mother of two. Rus, who came with the rest of her family, was referring to a Betawi song heard in the distance.
Visitors were also invited to taste various Betawi delicacies, such as the fresh and juicy asinan Betawi (pickled vegetables), the deliciously pungent kerak telur (egg omelette with rice), laksa (curry soup), ketoprak (rice cake with vegetables and peanut sauce), the sweet iced dessert selendang mayang, tape uli (fermented cassava), as well as the sweet and sticky dodol Betawi (glutinous rice cake) -- to name just a few.
A woman whose office was a stone`s throw away from the event, Wati, bought a piece of dodol Betawi for Rp 15,000 as she was strolling amidst the crowd of visitors.
"I like the taste of dodol Betawi -- sweet and sticky. Although I am not a Betawi descendent I always crave it whenever my Betawi neighbors hold events near my home," said the resident of Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta.
The festivity brought extra income to many food vendors, such as dodol seller Satibi, who said he had sold more than 50 pieces of the sweet dessert during the event.
"It has become a must-serve snack for the Betawi community at their traditional ceremonies such as weddings and circumcisions," said third-generation dodol producer and vendor Satibi.
The 45-year-old Satibi from Ragunan, South Jakarta, said he had sold about 20,000 pieces during the recent Ramadan month and Idul Fitri celebration.
The event was organized by the Betawi Meeting Forum (Bamus Betawi), a forum comprised of several Betawi groups. Bamus was established in 1982 by former Jakarta governor Tjokropranolo. Agnes Winarti
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com (October 20, 2008)