My World: Cihideung Pink Roses

There are more than 100 species of roses, and pink roses of this kind (not too pale and not too dark) are said to be the symbol of perfect happiness, secret love, grace and sweetness, and - unfortunately also - indecisiveness.

That, I think, many of us know. But what's Cihideung?

Cihideung is the name of a flower, nay, flora village in the north of Bandung, where - quite literally - hundreds of species of flowers and plants, both local and overseas, are cultivated.

There is no information about when farmers here began to cultivate different flowers and plants, or how the flower farms began. My estimation is that farmers here began to shift from vegetable farming to flower farming in the early or mid 1970s. The shift must have taken place gradually because until the 1980s, I could still see quite a significant number of farmers cultivating vegetables, corn, cassava, and even paddy. Now with about 80 percent of the farmers here are in the flower cultivation business, Cihideung is quite arguably one of the largest flora production centers in Indonesia. In fact, according to a recent publication by the Indonesian Department of Agriculture, the name Cihideung has now become indentified as some sort of "trade mark" in the flower business here.

Here are some more pictures I took from my recent walk in this village. I will probably post some more photos of the flora and other decorative plants cultivated here at sometime later.





This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in this week's My World Tuesday meme and my friend M of Ramblingwood's meme of Nature Note. Please follow the links to visit other participanting blogs from around the world.

My World: Saung Angklung Udjo (SAU)

The above photo is of Angklung Jaipong dance, one of the art and cultural performances staged at Saung Angklung Udjo (Udjo's Angklung House).

Among many performing art groups and houses in Bandung, Saung Angklung Ujdo (or SAU for short) is probably unique in that it is professionally managed and stages performances of a wide array of Sundanese (West Javanese) arts on the daily basis. Established in 1966 by the late Udjo Ngalagena or Mang Udjo and his wife Uum Sumiati, SAU takes pride in its vision and mission not only as a place where Sundanese arts are performed, but also as a living art laboratory and an institution that strive to preserve the Sundanese cultural heritage and provide community-based art education.



The word "angklung" that makes up its name indicates SAU's specialty in this kind of bamboo musical intrument. Angklung is a Sundanese (West Javanese) traditional musical instrument made of bamboo. Angklung performances are the main stapple of SAU's menu. Throughout the two hour daily performances, the angklung and Sundanese bamboo music makes up five out of ten performances given. In one of them, the audience is given a chance to play angklung together as an orchestra with the guidance of an expert teacher. Please check my other blog BANDUNG DAILY VIDEO at some later time to hear the music and see how angklung is played.

Other performances offered at SAU include a Wayang Golek demonstration, Tari Topeng Cirebon (Cirebonese Mask Dance), and Helaran (festive celebration of important occasions in the Sundanese society), and Tari Merak (Peacock Dance).

SAU is located on Jalan Padasuka 118 in the east of Bandung.



This post is BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO's participation in My World Tuesday. Please click the link to check other posts from the participating blogs from around the world.