Jun 08, 2023 · Nuraini Juliastuti
Subject: Out and about, the animals
Dear Sara,
Hope you are well. I am writing from a cafe called Pixel on Jalan Tirtodipuran, Yogyakarta. It’s not so far from Kunci’s office. I want to work in a different place than Kunci today. And in this cafe I always get a stable Internet connection, an important thing to get when you are home for holiday and a bit of work like myself. :) But it is good to be home with family again, albeit for only a short period. I travelled to Indonesia together with Andy and Cahaya.
Naturally, I have tried to capture and absorb so many things during the first weeks of my visit this time. As always, time flies so fast, so these are some images that I think capture a fraction of my general observation so far.
I arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday, July 28th, 2023, which coincided with the Idul Adha, or Eid-al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice for the Moslems. Ibrahim showed obedience towards Allah through his readiness to sacrifice Ismail, his son. But Allah provided lamb instead in place of Ismail. Idul Adha is the day when Moslems sacrifice animals. To follow Ibrahim’s example and as part of the rituals to always remember to be obedient towards Allah, the families who have sufficient financial capacities will offer animals to be sacrificed. The meats will be distributed to the precarious groups of the communities. When I walked around Jakarta streets, I could see some temporary animal shelters where people could buy goats, cows, or lambs. In my family WhatsApp group, a week before my departure to Indonesia, my sister showed a picture of a cow to be sacrificed on End-al-Adha. The meat were distributed to the people in our neighbourhood in Surabaya. The cow costed my family 18 millions rupiah (it’s roughly 1000 Euro). Religious practices aside, Eid-al-Adha becomes the day when it is common to eat meat-based food such as satay or curry or stew or else...
In retrospect, it is interesting to explore the meaning of Eid-al-Adha from a vegan or vegetarian perspective. Would it still be considered an act of obedience and readiness to sacrifice in the name of God if we celebrated the day with plant-based meals? This is something which is worthy to explore further.
Interestingly, I encountered many animals which are not common to be seen in ordinary urban landscapes. Elephant, lions, and deers… Obviously they emerged not as living beings but as sculptures and a mount. Perhaps as a sign of appreciation, buffaloes are commonly portrayed together with the farmers. It is as if the buffaloes only live to be the servants of the farmers. Along the same line, I asked the same question when I saw a white turtledove in the cage at the Cemeti Institute for Art and Society Gallery.
Nonetheless, it is always wonderful to reconnect again with Chepas, Kunci’s dog.
More soon!
Nuning x
Hope you are well. I am writing from a cafe called Pixel on Jalan Tirtodipuran, Yogyakarta. It’s not so far from Kunci’s office. I want to work in a different place than Kunci today. And in this cafe I always get a stable Internet connection, an important thing to get when you are home for holiday and a bit of work like myself. :) But it is good to be home with family again, albeit for only a short period. I travelled to Indonesia together with Andy and Cahaya.
Naturally, I have tried to capture and absorb so many things during the first weeks of my visit this time. As always, time flies so fast, so these are some images that I think capture a fraction of my general observation so far.
I arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday, July 28th, 2023, which coincided with the Idul Adha, or Eid-al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice for the Moslems. Ibrahim showed obedience towards Allah through his readiness to sacrifice Ismail, his son. But Allah provided lamb instead in place of Ismail. Idul Adha is the day when Moslems sacrifice animals. To follow Ibrahim’s example and as part of the rituals to always remember to be obedient towards Allah, the families who have sufficient financial capacities will offer animals to be sacrificed. The meats will be distributed to the precarious groups of the communities. When I walked around Jakarta streets, I could see some temporary animal shelters where people could buy goats, cows, or lambs. In my family WhatsApp group, a week before my departure to Indonesia, my sister showed a picture of a cow to be sacrificed on End-al-Adha. The meat were distributed to the people in our neighbourhood in Surabaya. The cow costed my family 18 millions rupiah (it’s roughly 1000 Euro). Religious practices aside, Eid-al-Adha becomes the day when it is common to eat meat-based food such as satay or curry or stew or else...
In retrospect, it is interesting to explore the meaning of Eid-al-Adha from a vegan or vegetarian perspective. Would it still be considered an act of obedience and readiness to sacrifice in the name of God if we celebrated the day with plant-based meals? This is something which is worthy to explore further.
Interestingly, I encountered many animals which are not common to be seen in ordinary urban landscapes. Elephant, lions, and deers… Obviously they emerged not as living beings but as sculptures and a mount. Perhaps as a sign of appreciation, buffaloes are commonly portrayed together with the farmers. It is as if the buffaloes only live to be the servants of the farmers. Along the same line, I asked the same question when I saw a white turtledove in the cage at the Cemeti Institute for Art and Society Gallery.
Nonetheless, it is always wonderful to reconnect again with Chepas, Kunci’s dog.
More soon!
Nuning x
An elephant in Jakarta.
Buffalo and two deers in Kedai Nyonyah WD in Jakarta.
Two lions and a lizard and a relief in Yogyakarta.
A bird in a cage at Cemeti.
Goats of Wintaos.
Cow and Idul Qurban and my family in Surabaya.
Farmers and their buffalo relief in Sarinah Dept Store Jakarta.
Cats the guardian in Yogyakarta.
Merry the cat at Kunci office.
Chepas the Kunci dog.
Water like jewels in spiders web in Wintaos.
