Indonesian Independence Day

August 17th is Indonesia's Independence Day, which celebrates the Indonesia's declaration of independence from the Dutch in 1945. There was a lot of build up to this day, what with all of the school children marching (I heard there was some sort of competition on the 17th, but there weren't any schoolkids marching in Ubud on the day itself). Here, the festivities took place on a football field, across the street from a school. In the morning, there were schoolkids (looked to be high school aged) lined up, official seeming adults marching, even more official people watching, and various marching bands and dancers.

Students in uniform, lined up perfectly

Impeccable marching

Traditional dance paired with a not-so-traditional marching band

Front row seats - it seemed the show was for them

Then there was a break during the heat of the day. Multiple hours later, even more peculiar activity started up. Two tall bamboo poles, slick with oil, complete with prizes at the top, had been standing patiently (see first photo), waiting for their time to shine. A group gathered around each pole, one of young boys, one of men (few local girls or women were in sight). Using ace teamwork, they struggled to get to the prizes.

As it were, the boys group was first to reach the top.

Once at the top, the boy or man untied the prizes and they fell to the group below.

An hour or so later, some older folks started dancing to get the crowd built up again before Round 2 of marching bands, dancing, and lined up students.

The crowd began to gather. School children arrived, and a new marching band played.

Talented

The students in uniform got in their places and lined up perfectly (with the help of men in military uniforms). But before anything could begin, the garbage on the field had to be picked up.

It didn't stay clean for long

And then, I was pulled from the action, as I had to go meet friends for a very important film screening, important (and ironic) especially because of the date.

In 1965, the government of Indonesia was overthrown by the military, resulting in a military dictatorship. Anyone opposed to it was at risk of being killed. More than a million suspected communists--including ethnic Chinese and intellectuals--were killed in 1965-1966 in Indonesia.

The Act of Killing is a documentary which explores the status of the killers in present day, and asks them to reenact their murders in whatever way they please. For Anwar Congo (who is known to have personally killed over 1,000 people) and his friends this includes musical numbers, American-esque cowboy scenes, gangster shots, as well as having their friends sit down as directed while they very plainly act out with wire the best way to kill without spilling too much blood.

The film was jarring, harrowing, and I was glad to have not seen it before coming to Indonesia. Anwar Congo and the other stars were death squad leaders, mass murderers, and in present-day are CELEBRATED. The death squads grew into an incredibly powerful paramilitary organization, whose current leaders include government officials. As the film's website states:

"The Act of Killing is about killers who have won, and the sort of society they have built. Unlike ageing Nazis or Rwandan génocidaires, Anwar and his friends have not been forced by history to admit they participated in crimes against humanity. Instead, they have written their own triumphant history, becoming role models for millions of young paramilitaries. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. And The Act of Killing is a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number." 

Source