Written on 17 October 2023
By: Wima Brahmantya
Today saw the arrival of 200 participants + officials of the 2023 Panji Nusantara Festival which invites Panji activists, researchers, and artists from 9 ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. This festival is an agenda of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the East Java Provincial Government.
Initially, they came to De Karanganjar just for lunch, considering its location close to Palah (Penataran) Temple. That's why the time was tight, only 1 hour was scheduled here.
But they didn't expect it because De Karanganjar is one of the few places in Indonesia where Panji culture is preserved. One of them is the "Panji Room" in the Noegroho Museum. I told them that Blitar had already held a student-level Panji Festival in 2013-2015, when I was still at the Arts Council.
They were also very entertained by the Panji dance performed by a collaboration of Talun High School students and other artists, under the direction of Ki Kholam Shiharta.
In the end, they were here for almost 2 hours, just to cool down. Thank you to @omahjenangblitarofficial and
@wisataagrosirahkencong who has participated in the success of this visit.
"Panji" itself is a folklore that dates back to the Kediri era, then became popular in the Majapahit era and spread to neighbouring countries. So our ASEAN neighbours have their own version of "Panji", popularly referred to as "Inao".
And Blitar is one of the areas that has a wealth of Panji cultural heritage, although unfortunately, most of our society is not familiar with it.
#dekaranganjar
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