Portal:Indonesia/Featured picture/2007

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2006 · 2007 · 2008

[edit] Featured Pictures of 2007

Week 1

A Tongkonan is the traditional dwelling of the Toraja people in central Sulawesi. The construction of a tongkonan is a laborious work in which usually all members of a family, including extended ones, are involved.

Photo credit: Elma Roux.

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Week 2

A picture of Orang Laut village in Tanjung Pinang, Indonesia. Orang Laut (lit: sea nomads), notoriously known as pirates of Strait of Malacca, is a group of numerous tribes inhabitating islands stretching from Riau Islands of Indonesia until Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines.

Photo credit: Merbabu.

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Week 3


Two Dayak children wearing the traditional outfit. Dayak is an indigenous ethnic group in the interior of Borneo island.

Photo credit: Dr. Georg Buschan.

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Week 4

One of Toraja wood carving's patterns, the pa'tedong or the buffalo. Torajans express social and religious concepts by wood carving with patterns symbolizing daily life activities/materials, ranging from animal symbol to a symbol of relationship between Torajan villages. The pa'tedong symbol in this picture is special among others, because wealthiness in Toraja is counted by how many buffalos someone has; the buffalo pattern is therefore a hope of wealth.

Photo credit: Indon.

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Week 5

A night shot scene at Balikpapan, the second largest city in East Kalimantan province. The city is well known for its oil refinery and the location of a state-owned oil company Pertamina's regional headquarter.

Photo credit: Kebo3.

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Week 6

Homes sunk deep under 60° C hot mud in Porong, East Java province. The mud flow disaster has erupted on average between 7,000 and 150,000 cubic metres daily since 28 May 2006, after an exploratory drilling process by the private Indonesian company PT Lapindo Brantas.

Photo credit: Arifhidayat.

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Week 7

The first photograph of Borobudur by Isidore van Kinsbergen in circa 1873. The monument was rediscovered in 1814 after apparent abandonment for some centuries. This picture shows when the monument has just been cleared up. A Dutch flag was shown on top of the main dome.


Photo credit: Isidore van Kinsbergen.

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Week 8

A confucian temple in Bojonegoro, a small city in the East Java province. As of 2000, the city population was more than 1.5 millions including the ethnic Chinese as minority.

Photo credit: Arifhidayat.

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Week 9

The National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta. The elephant (Indonesian: gajah) has given the museum a more popular name, Musium Gajah, instead of the official name. The building was first used for the office of the Batavia Society for Arts and Science who had interests in archaeological and cultural assets of the Dutch East Indies.

Photo credit: Meursault2004.

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Week 10

A picture of Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra, shown with a house reminiscent of a traditional Minangkabau rumah gadang. Lake Maninjau is a 20×8 km² wide of caldera lake formed by a volcanic eruption around 52,000 years ago.

Photo credit: Chaerani.

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Week 11

Bena is a traditional village on Flores, an island at the southeast of the Indonesian archipelago. The village is located directly at the foot of a volcano, a few kilometers south of Bajawa town, and it has been a famous tourist attraction. The roof of houses at Bena displays a unique traditional vernacular architecture native to Indonesia.

Photo credit: Serenade.

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Week 12

Salak (Salacca zalacca) is a native fruit from Indonesia and Malaysia. Its skin resembles the skin of snake which has given its name in English as the snakefruit. Major cultivation areas of Salak are in Yogyakarta, popularly known as salak pondoh, and in Bali.

Photo credit: っ.

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Week 13

Bajaj is Indian made autorickshaw that was popular for public transportation throughout Jakarta. As the city grows rapidly into a metropolitan area, the small 2-passenger three-wheeled car can only be found in residential areas.

Photo credit: Jonathan McIntos.

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Week 14

Dieng Plateau is considered one of Java's sacred places. At least eight of the 400 7th–8th century old of Javanese-Hindu temples remain on the marshy plateau. The site forms the floor of a caldera on the Dieng volcano complex.

Photo credit: Ardianto Bahtiar.

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Week 15

Albert Aalbers, one of the Dutch architects working in Bandung in the 1930s, had a unique characteristic style of the rounded facades dubbed as the 'ocean wave'. Two buildings with noticeable similar architectural style are the DENIS bank (the present-day of Bank Jabar, designed by Aalbers in 1936) at Braga Street and the Savoy Homann Hotel (renovated by Aalbers in 1939). The picture shows the 'ocean wave' ornaments of the Savoy Homann Hotel.

Photo credit: Jagawana.

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Week 16

Between 2–12 February, 2007, Jakarta experienced a major flood disaster. In total, 54 people were killed and the event paralyzed the metropolitan city with the estimated USD 400 million damages. The picture shows a taxi submerged into a flooded water while a horse carriage tried to escape away.

Photo credit: Gajah Mada (a Flickr user).

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Week 17

A traditional marketplace (Indonesian: pasar) on Java island. All daily foods are available, ranging from vegetables to meat products. This traditional market is common in Southeast Asia countries. In Malaysia, there are similar places which are categorized by time and the sold products, which are pasar pagi (morning market), pasar malam (night market) and wet market (live animals only).

Photo credit: Alex Lapuerta (a Flickr user).

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Week 18

The sipisopiso waterfall at Lake Toba, North Sumatra. The waterfall is formed by a small underground river of the Karo plateau that hurls itself from a cave in the side of the lake Toba caldera some 120 meters (360 feet) down to lake level.

Photo credit: Paaskynen.

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Week 19

Teh botol (or bottled tea) is a popular Indonesian drink made from sweetened jasmine tea. The drink is a product of an Indonesian company Sosro. Teh botol can be found in almost anywhere, including street stalls, and it is usually served cold.

Photo credit: Can't sleep, clown will eat me.

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Week 20

In the middle of 18th century, Mataram Sultanate was divided into two separate sultanates by the 1755 Giyanti Treaty: Yogyakarta Sultanate (led by Pangeran Mangkubumi) and Surakarta (led by Pakubuwono II). Following the division, another rival of royal house was established in Surakarta by the Mangkunegaran prince, Raden Mas Said, while a small hereditary principality was established in Yogyakarta by the Pakualaman.

Photo credit: User:Meursault2004.

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Week 21

A depiction of the Java War scene, where Prince Diponegoro (the leader of Javanese people) agreed to negotiate with General Hendrik de Kock (the Dutch leader) after which De Kock tricked Diponegoro by arresting him and putting him on exile. The event ended the six years (1825–1830) of the bloodies battle on Java island during the Dutch colonization period.

Photo credit: Nicolaas Pieneman (uploaded by User:Caniago).

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Week 22

Sumatran Orangutans (pic) is one of the two Orangutan species which has the critically endangered status, one degree lower than its only relative the other Bornean Orangutan. Increasing deforestation of Sumatra forests for palm oil plantations has endangered orangutan habitat. One important orangutan sanctuary in the North Sumatra province, Bukit Lawang, suffered a major flood in recent years due to substantial conversion of the area into villages and touristic places.

Photo credit: de:User:Tbachner.

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Week 23

Indonesian farmers, including the pictured farmer in Java, depend heavily on water buffalo to plough muddy paddy fields. In addition to such labour, their dairy products and meat are occassionally used but not on daily basis. The animals are deeply rooted in Indonesian culture and are depicted in many folksongs and tales.

Photo credit: User:Merbabu.

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Week 24

Indonesian farmers, including the pictured farmer in Java, depend heavily on water buffalo to plough muddy paddy fields. In addition to such labour, their dairy products and meat are occassionally used but not on daily basis. The animals are deeply rooted in Indonesian culture and are depicted in many folksongs and tales.

Photo credit: User:Merbabu.

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Week 25

Dani (or Ndani) are one of indigenous ethnic groups in Western New Guinea (the Indonesian part of Papua island). Dani spread throughout the mountaneous jungle of Papua, but they predominantly live in Baliem Valley, where most tourists visit there.

Photo credit: Nomadtales (uploaded from Flickr).

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Week 26

Baliem Valley in the western part of Papua is the area of predominantly Dani people live. Dani is one of indigenous ethnic groups on the island and they are the most well-known ethnic group among others after the valley was discovered by Richard Archbold, a Franco-British-American, in his 1938 expedition. The picture shows a war chief of the Kurulu Village climbing to the top of a watching post.

Photo credit: Paul (a Flickr user).

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Week 27

Red Fruit (Pandanus conoideus) is a traditional fruit from Papua, Indonesia. In Papuan language, it is called kuansu and buah merah in Indonesian language. The preparation includes splitting, wrapping in leaves, and then cooking in an earth oven.

Photo credit: Paul (a Flickr user).

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Week 28

Small minibuses are important public transportation in most of urban areas in Indonesia as for a public city transport or inter-villages transportation. The picture shows a freshly catched shark getting into the public minibus, called angkutan pedesaan or villages transportation, on Bali island.

Photo credit: Oliver Spalt, uploaded by Spolloman.

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Week 29

Urbanization is the major problem in Jakarta where 16 millions people live. Slum houses are built anywhere, even a few centimeters from a railway track where trains pass through everyday.

Photo credit: Jonathan McIntosh.

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Week 30

Javan Lutung or Trachypithecus auratus is an Old World monkey endemic to Java island. Its appearance is glossy black with a brownish tinge to its legs and sides. This long-tailed animal is currently listed as endangered species in the IUCN Red List.

Photo credit: Stavenn.

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Week 31

Ketupat is a traditional Indonesian delicacies (also include other Southeast Asia countries) that is only prepared and served during the Eid ul Fitr, the biggest moslem festivity. Made from rice, wrapped in a squared-shape woven palm and then boiled, ketupat is a type of dumpling and best served with curry type of dishes, such as rendang, laksa or even with satay.

Photo credit: Chaerani.

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Week 32

Saron is one musical instrument in the Indonesian musical ensemble of gamelan. Typically, saron consists of seven bronze bars placed on top of a resonating frame (rancak). Its dimension is about 20 cm (8 in) high, and is played on the floor by a seated performer. In the pelog scale, the bars often read 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 across, and for the slendro scale, the bars are 6-1-2-3-5-6-1. However the numbering can vary from gamelan to gamelan, or even among instruments in the same gamelan.

Photo credit: Fir0002.

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Week 33

Children in a Sasak village on Lombok island. Sasak people is one of ethnic groups in Indonesia that mainly live in West Nusa Tenggara province. Unlike Balinese, the closest related people who adhere to the Hinduism, most Sasak people are Moslem but with high influence of Hinduism and Buddhism traditions. Their Islamic practice are somewhat different, that is popularly called Wektu Telu (or Three Times), to denote the difference of their daily praying time. Instead of normally five, Sasak people observe ritual praying three times a day.

Photo credit: Merbabu.

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Week 34

Sarong (or Sarung) is a traditional men clothing in Indonesia, worn mostly for Moslem religious practice. The large sheet of fabric, often wrapped around the waist and worn as a skirt by men (and also women) is often brightly coloured or printed with intricate patterns. Javanese people use sarong in many casual occasions and sometimes sarong is used as a baby carrier by women.

Photo credit: Arifhidayat.

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Week 35

Mount Batur on Bali island of Indonesia is one of the most visited mountains by tourists. At the center, there is a 7.5-kilometer-wide caldera, which was formed during emplacement of the Bali ignimbrite (dated at about 23,670 and 28,500 years ago). At the SE wall of the inner caldera lies beneath the Lake Batur.

Photo credit: Jnpet.

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Week 36

Uma is a traditional house of Mentawai people. Mentawai are the native people of Mentawai Islands, a group of islands off the west coast of Sumatra. They live semi-nomadic as a hunter–gatherer lifestyle throughout the island. Their population is estimated to be about 64,000.

Photo credit: Alex Lapuerta (a flickr user), uploaded by Caniago.

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Week 37

Bank Indonesia is the central bank of Indonesia, the headquarter of which (pic) is located in Jakarta. Since it was founded on 1 July 1953, the bank has currently 37 offices across Indonesia, and four representative offices in New York, London, Tokyo and Singapore.

Photo credit: Aditreeslime.

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Week 38

Every August 17th, Indonesia celebrates its independence. Indonesian flags decorate its cities, especially in the capital, Jakarta. This picture shows Indonesia's independence day in 2007 with the National Monument standing in the background.

Photo credit: Davidelit.

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Week 39

Puncak Jaya is the highest mountain on New Guinea island (4,884 m (16,024 ft), rank 9th). Originally named as Cartensz Pyramid after the Dutch explorer Jan Carstenszoon, who first sighted the glaciers on the peak of the mountain on a rare clear day in 1623. The first person who climbed the peak was Hendrik A. Lorentz in 1909.

Photo credit: Alfindra Primaldhi, uploaded by Mgiganteus1.

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Week 40

A painting of Lake Singkarak in West Sumatra by Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist, artist, naturalist and physician. In 1901, Haeckel made a travel throughout Malaysian archipelago and made some drawings in his 1901 book of Aus Insulinde: Malayische Reisebriefe. Several rumah gadang (Minangkabau traditional houses) are depicted in the picture above.

Photo credit: Ernst Haeckel, uploaded by Caniago.

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Week 41

Blenduk church in Semarang is one of the remaining Dutch architecture built in 1753. Hexagonal shapes decorate mainly the building with a large dome which is furnished with bronze. Blenduk is a local language which means a dome. The church is still used currently as it was intended originally.

Photo credit: Jatmika Jati (a Flickr user), uploaded by Indon.

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Week 42

Kebaya is a traditional blouse worn by Indonesian women, sometimes made from sheer material and usually worn with a sarong, batik, or other traditional knitted garment such as a songket with a colorful motif. The clothing of which prior 1600 was considered as sacred on Java island has been known in the Indonesian archipelago since the 15th century. Today kebaya is an official dressing for Indonesian women mostly used in formal events ranging from official governmental events for national days to wedding ceremonies.

Photo credit: Jamieson Teo (a Flickr user), uploaded by Indon.

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Week 43

The gate of Ratu Boko, an archaeological site in Central Java, Indonesia. There are other several smaller structures inside the Ratu Boko complex, for instances some temples and bathing place, which suggest archaeologists that the site is a kraton, a Javanese palace compound.

Photo credit: Gunkarta.

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Week 44

A map that shows the location of Grasberg mine operated by Freeport-McMoRan which poses a threat to the environment surrounding of the Lorentz National Park. The mine's tailings, generated at a rate of 700,000 tons per day, are the subject of considerable environmental concern.

Photo credit: Faymer.

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Week 45

The Bali Kite Festival is an annual international kite festival held in Padang Galak area of Sanur Beach on Bali island. The festival starts with giant traditional 4-by-10 meters wide of kites flown by a team coming from villages (banjar) of Denpasar. The event is a religious festivity symbolizing a message to Balinese Hindu gods to ask for abundant crops and good harvest. The festivity becomes a popular touristic event.

Photo credit: Rarioj.

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Week 46

A picture of a European with a dead Javan Rhinoceros in Ujung Kulon (the southwest tip of Java which is now a designated national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Java Rhino has been considered as critically endangered species by IUCN. Only estimated 60 rhinoes remain alive in Indonesia and Vietnam according to a survey in 2002.

Photo credit: JayHenry.

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Week 47

Volcanoes are common geological characteristics of Indonesia's landform. Due to active tectonic movement under Sumatra island, Bukit Barisan mountain range was formed 1,700 km (1,056 mi) north to south. Among 35 active volcanoes in Sumatra, one of which is Sinabung (pic) in the North Sumatra province.

Photo credit: Darwinek.

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Week 48

The picture of Wringin Lawang gate at the Trowulan, an archaeological site nearby Mojokerto in East Java province of Indonesia. Due to the sheer size of the site and structures found there, Trowulan is thought to be the capital of Majapahit empire (1293–1500).

Photo credit: Gunkarta.

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Week 49

Bosscha Observatory is the oldest observatory in Indonesia. Located at the northern hilly side of Bandung, the 1928-made observatory has served the astronomical research since the Dutch East Indies period. Bosscha is named after Karel Albert Rudolf Bosscha, the tea plantation owner in Malabar, who granted six hectares of his plantation to the Dutch-Indies Dutch-Indies Astronomy Association to build the observatory. Since 1959, Bosscha has been an integral part of the Department of Astronomy, Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Photo credit: Chaerani.

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Week 50

Istana Maimun or (Maimun Palace) was the residence of Sultanate of Deli (1630–1612). The palace, which covers 2,772 m² (29,837.6 sq ft) and has 30 rooms, is located at Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province of Indonesia, and now is a museum.

Photo credit: Merbabu.

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Week 51

Indonesia lies on the equator line, the line of which passes through Pontianak city, the capital of West Kalimantan province. At Pontianak, a monument is standing as shown in the picture above.

Photo credit: Netaholic13 (at commons).

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Week 52

Batik is a traditional Javanese wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. The process of creating batik is an elaborate one, starting from melting wax, dipping the cloth in a dye until lining the cloth with a special needle, called canting. The common motifs of Javanese batik are animals and plants pattern.

Photo credit: MartijnL.

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