BOLIVIAN FOLKLORE _ 0377

The Folklore in Bolivia.
Bolivia is one of the richest countries in traditions, rites, costumes, dances and customs maintained since the colonial days until our days.
The traditions of the former populations mingled with the traditions of the Spanish colonizers to achieve the half-breed customs and traditions that since then they are kept by a part of the population and they are revived in the folkloric feasts of the country

In every dance characters of the Colonial times and mystical beings like the devil of the excavations (Supay) and the angels are represented.
The festivities present hundreds of dancers in a spree of colors and merriment in a strange mingles of paganism and Catholicism.
Another aspect of the Bolivian Folklore is its peculiar native musical instruments. At the rhythm of their melodies the dancers sing and dance offering delight to the local dwellers and the foreign.
http://www.boliviacontact.com/

From  La Paz, Bolivia
Travel from Mar 8 to Mar 25
Thanks Nunez !

ASMAT ETHNIC _ 0346

The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. The Asmat inhabit a region on the island’s southwestern coast bordering the Arafura Sea, with lands totaling approximately 18,000 km2 (7,336 mi2) and consisting of mangrove, tidal swamp, freshwater swamp, and lowland rainforest.
The land of Asmat is located both within and adjacent to Lorentz National Park and World Heritage Site, the largest protected area in the Asia-Pacific region. The total Asmat population is estimated to be around 70,000. The term “Asmat” is used to refer both to the people and the region they inhabit.
The Asmat have one of the most well-known woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, and their art is sought by collectors worldwide.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From Bandung, Indonesia
Travel from Mar 2 to Mar 15
Thanks Lia !

FESTIVAL OF BORNEO _ 0342

1. Chinese New Year
2. Gawai Festival
   Gawai Dayak is a festival celebrated by Dayaks in Sarawak and West Kalimantan which is officially public holidays on 1 June and 2 June every year in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is both a religious and social occasion.
   The word Gawai means a ritual or festival whereas Dayak is a collective name for the native ethnic groups of Sarawak and neighboring Indonesian Kalimantan who are the Iban also known previously as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuh people also known as Land Dayak and the Orang Ulu (inclusive of Kayans, Kenyahs, Lun Bawangs, etc.). Thus, Gawai Dayak literally means “Dayak Festival”.
3. Dragon Boat Festival
4. Ka’amatan Festival
   The Kaamatan festival is an annual event in the cultural life of the Kadazandusuns of Sabah since time immemorial. In its deepest sense, Kaamatan festival is a manifestation of Creator and Creation relationship, as well as Inter-Creations relationship. It embodies the principal acts of invocation of divinities, appeasing, purification and restoration, re-union of benevolent spirits, and thanksgiving to the Source of All. It is part of a complex wholesome Momolian religious system centered on the paddy rites of passage and the life cycle of Bambarayon – the in-dwelling spirit of paddy.
   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From Sepang, Malaysia
Travel from Mar 5 to Mar 12
Thanks Norfadhilah !

From Sabah, Malaysia
Travel from …… to Mar 15
Thanks Agatha !

BARRILETES GIGANTES _ 0309

‘Barriletes Gigantes’ of Highland Guatemala

Dedicated to commemorating deceased ancestors who are perceived as still active in daily life, the Day of the Dead or All Saints Day is celebrated across Latin America on November 1st.  For centuries, rural communities throughout the highlands of Guatemala have celebrated with festivals featuring kites that carry messages to ancestors.  The largest of these kite festivals occur in two communities near Guatemala City, Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango.
These kites represent the tradition of the Mayan Indians, in all aspects, art, social and political conflict and family life.

From Guatemala
Thanks Alejandra !

CAMEL RACING _ 0273

Thanks Ahmed Badr Bajrai !

Camel racing is a popular sport in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Australia, and Mongolia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up to 65 km/h (18 m/s; 40 mph) in short sprints and they can maintain a speed of 40 km/h (11 m/s; 25 mph) for an hour
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

From Saudi Arabia

CARNAVAL VEGANO _ 0269

Dominican Carnival is celebrated in most cities and towns in the Dominican Republic. It is celebrated in the main streets of each town during the month of February. One of the main characteristics of this Carnival are its flashy costumes and the loud music played during the celebration. Some of the most known parades of this country is the one held in La Vega, which is one of the biggest in the country, and the National Parade held in Santo Domingo. It was here where the first Carnival of the Americas was held, and it is also one of the biggest in the region.
One of the most international parades in the Dominican Republic is the one in San Pedro de Macorís that exhibits the “Guloyas”, which are considered cultural heritage of the world. This parade consists of groups of people dressed in costumes dancing around the street of San Pedro de Macoris. The main attraction apart from the colorful costumes is the people running away from the “Diablos Cojuelos” which try to hit people with “Vejigas”.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Thanks Idrialis !

KEK LOK SI TEMPLE _ 0253

Night scene of Kek Lok Si Temple during Chinese new year.

From Penang, Malaysia
Thanks Bernald !

SANJA FESTIVAL _ 0250

Thanks Mami !

SANJA FESTIVAL
Sanja Matsuri or Sanja Festival, is one of the three great Shinto festivals in Tokyo. It is considered one of the wildest and largest.[1] The festival is held in honor of Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari and Hajino Nakatomo, the three men who established and founded Sensō-ji. Sanja Matsuri is held on the third weekend of every May at Asakusa Shrine. Its prominent parades revolve around three mikoshi (three portable shrines referenced in the festival’s name), as well as traditional music and dancing. Over the course of three days, the festival attracts 1.5 to 2 million locals and tourists every year.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From Japan
Thanks Mami !

MOUNT HAGEN SING-SING _ 0243

Sing-sings are held regularly throughout the Western Highlands and not often for tourist entertainment puposes. Generally these gatherings of clans in traditional costume with ritual dancing and chanting is performed for ceremonial reasons. The most popular time for tourism to Mt Hagen is in August when the Mt Hagen Culture Show is held, with hundreds of different tribes present, each wearing their distinctive tribal outfits of feathers, plants, woven kilts, body paint and sometimes carrying weapons such as bows, arrows and little axes.

From Bandung, Indonesia
Thanks Lia !

MARRIAGE DANI’S _ 0242

Weddings take place only at the time of the great pig feast, which is held in an alliance area every four to six years. Moiety exogamy is invariably observed. Marriages tend to take place between neighbors, if not within a neighborhood at least within a confederation. Some marriages are arranged by the families, while others are love matches arranged by the individuals. Marriage begins a series of relatively equal exchanges between the two families, which continues for a generation, through the initiation and marriage of the resulting children. These exchanges consist of pigs, cowrie shell bands, and sacred slate stones. Immediate postmarital residence is patrilocal, although within a few years the couple is likely to be living neolocally within the neighborhood or confederation where both sets of parents live. Divorce is fairly easy, but long-term separation is more common. At early stages of tension, the wife, or the junior wife, moves out to another relative’s compound for a time. Nearly half the men are involved in polygynous marriages. The Grand Valley Dani have remarkably little interest in sexuality. A postpartum sexual abstinence period of around five years is generally observed by both parents of a child. The minority of men who are involved in polygynous marriages may have sexual access to another wife, but for most men and all women there are no alternative outlets nor any apparent increased level of stress for those subject to the abstinence. Ritual homosexuality is absent. This extraordinarily long postpartum sexual abstinence has not been reported among the Western Dani.

From Bandung, Indonesia
Thanks Lia !

DANI TRIBE’S YOUNGSTERS _ 0239

Dani tribe’s youngsters wearing “Sali”, traditional outfits with beads made of seashells.

Ritual small-scale warfare between rival villages is integral to traditional Dani culture, with much time spent preparing weapons, engaging in both mock and real battle, and treating any resulting injuries. Typically the emphasis in battle is to insult the enemy and wound or kill token victims, as opposed to capturing territory or property or vanquishing the enemy village. The Dani practiced cannibalism well into the 20th century, as documented by missionaries who were invited to witness tribe members dismembering the body of an enemy slain in battle the day before as the fallen warrior’s kin watched from a nearby hilltop.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

From Jakarta, Indonesia
Thanks Veronica !

DANI ETHNIC _ 0234

The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of western New Guinea (the Indonesian province of Papua).

They are one of the most populous tribes in the highlands, and are found spread out through the highlands. The Dani are one of the most well-known ethnic groups in Papua, due to the relatively numerous tourists who visit the Baliem Valley area where they predominate. “Ndani” is the name given to the Baliem Valley people by the Moni people, and, while they don’t call themselves Dani, they have been known as such since the 1926 Smithsonian Institution-Dutch Colonial Government expedition to New Guinea under Matthew Stirling who visited the Moni.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Bandung, Indonesia
Thanks Lia !