Robo-Robo Festival Celebrates West Kalimantan’s Living Heritage
- 14 Agt 2026 00:12 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Poin Utama
- The annual Robo-Robo festival brings coastal communities together through traditional rituals, communal meals, and prayers for safety and protection from disasters.
- The tradition helps preserve ancestral heritage and strengthen community bonds, while passing cultural values to younger generations.
RRI.CO.ID, Kayong Utara - The annual Robo-Robo festival took center stage in West Kalimantan on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, serving as a vibrant highlight of regional intangible cultural heritage and community solidarity.
Observed every year on the final Wednesday of the Islamic month of Safar, Robo-Robo is a cherished tradition among coastal communities across the province. In Mentubang Hamlet, Harapan Mulia Village, Sukadana Subdistrict, residents marked the occasion with a distinct heritage ritual held at a reservoir (embung) situated at the foot of a hill.
Combining spiritual reflection, shared feasts of woven rice cakes (ketupat), and a symbolic outdoor communal bath (mandi tolak bala), the festival brought families together to pray for safety, unity, and protection from disasters such as forest and land fires (karhutla).
Local residents and community figures emphasized that maintaining the annual ritual is essential for preserving ancestral identity, strengthening social bonds, and passing down cultural values to younger generations.
Mentubang Hamlet Head Erkandi explained the deep-rooted cultural philosophy behind the communal bathing ceremony. "The philosophy of bathing together signifies self-cleansing, by hanging andung leaves on the upstream side of the water source so that the stream flows over the bathing residents, which is expected to ward off danger, a water bath to repel misfortune," Erkandi said in Kayong Utara on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, as quoted by Antara.
He emphasized that the celebration serves as a vital platform for social harmony and collective environmental well-being.
"Local residents are asked to prepare ketupat as a signature food, and we gather together, we hope that our village remains safe from danger, including forest and land fires," Erkandi noted. ***
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