Indonesia Showcases Betawi Culture in Welcoming ASEAN Leaders

First Lady Ibu Iriana wears Betawi traditional outfit kebaya encim when accompanying President Joko Widodo when receiving Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah and Prince Abdul Mateen, at JCC, Jakarta, Tuesday (09/05). (Photo by: Media Center for ASEAN Summit/Aditya Pradana Putra/pras)
During the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), 5-7 September this week, Indonesia also promoted the local culture to the world.
One of the local cultures promoted in the summit is Betawi culture, through First Lady Ibu Iriana’s traditional outfit called kebaya encim combined with batik skirt and the plain blue scarf that she wore when accompanying President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in welcoming the leaders of ASEAN member countries at JCC.
Kebaya encim is one of the Betawi’s outfit for females that was influenced by Chinese culture. Apart from that, there is also a traditional Betawi outfit for male called sadariah, a shanghai collar white shirt with loose-cut batik patterned pants combined with a velvet cap and cukin, a kind of folded scarf slung over the neck down to the chest.
In the summit, cukin was also promoted when it is used to greet ASEAN leaders and invitees as the welcoming gift during their arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International airport, Tangerang, Banten province.
The Betawi folkdance ngarojeng and traditional Betawi music instruments also enlivened the welcoming ceremony. (Communication & Media Team for the 43rd ASEAN Summit/UN) (GWH/MUR)