Holidays and Festivals in Indonesia Upper Primary Unit Studies of Asia Learning Emphases Developing concepts of Asia Being informed about contemporary issues Specific Indonesia focus: Compare and contrast national days in Indonesia and Australia Develop an awareness of the nature and extent of Balinese Hindu religious ceremonies. Identify religious and regional events in regions of Indonesia other than Bali. This unit of work introduces students to important dates on Indonesia's national calendar and the stages in a Balinese temple festival. Students research Indonesian festivals or special events to design a tourist brochure. Holidays in Indonesia Indonesia's Independence Day A Balinese Temple Festival More Festivals and Special Days in Indonesia Teaching and Learning Activities Holidays in Indonesia A detailed account of the four types of holidays in Indonesia - religious, national, international and commemorative - is found on the following site: Indonesian holidays http://www.expat.or.id/info/holidays.html Print out this information and cut the sheets into strips so that each strip contains information about one holiday only, eg Isra Miraj. Do not include 'type of holiday'. Give each student a strip of holiday information. On large sheets of paper, write the headings of the four holiday types and include any introductory information about these holiday types. Students place their strip where they think it belongs. Check students' work and discuss. To conclude, discuss the different types of calendar systems used in Indonesia and how they appear together on printed calendars. You can show students an example of such calendars on: Indonesian National Holidays http://www.hastu.com/calendar/holidays.html Indonesia's Independence Day Students use the following website to complete the Holidays and Festivals of Indonesia Activity Sheet: Indonesian Independence Day in Jakarta http://www.expat.or.id/info/aug17th.html (You may like to print these pages for students or allow them to read the information online.) Students form small groups and compare their responses and illustrations before displaying their sheets in the classroom. Compare 17 August in Indonesia with Australia Day celebrations. Hold a class debate on the topic 'Australia Day is just another day for Australians'. A Balinese Temple Festival Students use the following website and record their initial responses to such questions as: What are the people doing? What are they wearing? Where are they? What colours are common? What else do you see apart from people? Ceremony to Expel Bad Spirits http://www.itisnet.com/english/asia/indonesia/gallery/e-abe-upacara.htm To clarify and extend their understanding of Balinese temple ceremonies, students can visit the following sites: Bali - Events and Festivals http://www.marimari.com/content/bali/events/events.html Bali Guides: Festivals and Holidays http://www.hoteltravel.com/indonesia/bali/guides/festivals.htm Calendar of Events in Bali http://www.indo.com/active/events.html Students form small groups to make a collage depicting elements in a typical Balinese temple ceremony scene. Students can paint their own images or collect them from travel brochures or even print them out from the Internet. Suitable components include: food offerings, cymbals and drums, prayer flags, the Barong, temple gates, flowers and fruit, people praying. Each group writes a poem about Bali and Balinese temple ceremonies using the following format: Bali is ... (a colour or colours with descriptive adjectives) It is ... (a time of year in Indonesia) Bali is ... (a short description of what Bali is like) Bali is ... (a description of the colours of a temple ceremony) Bali is ... (a description of the sounds of a temple ceremony) Bali feels like ... (a description of how the participants of a ceremony feel) Bali looks like ... (a description of what you might see at a temple ceremony) Bali is ... (a description of the smells associated with a temple ceremony) More Festivals and Special Days in Indonesia Students visit the following sites: Classroom Indonesia: Holidays and Festivals http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/SoutheastAsia/   outreach/ProjectIndonesia/Holiday.htm Ramadan and Lebaran http://www.expat.or.id/info/lebaran.html Explore Indonesia! Events http://www.budpar.go.id/events.html Students choose six festivals, both religous and cultural, to design a brochure for a person wanting to visit Indonesia. The brochure should include a map locating each of the events and a short description and illustration of each event. The map should include a key indicating the type of event it is, ie religious or cultural. Students then 'sell' their brochure to the class.   Note: The student activity sheets are available in PDF format and require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in to view and print them out. The Acrobat Reader plug-in can be downloaded from the Adobe website.   | Classroom Resources | Curriculum Guides | Resources | Go Indonesia! | Home | Access Asia Lesson Plans  Commonwealth of Australia and Curriculum Corporation