The activity was also being supported to strengthen the case for making silek a UNESCO world heritage, the head of the West Sumatra Culture Service, Gemala Ranti added.
Padang (ANTARA) - The Silek Art Festival (SAF) 2019 will focus on archives and documentation of knowledge related to traditional Minangkabau martial arts, namely silek (silat). "Currently there are not many archives and documentation of knowledge related to silek. This is why we are trying to preserve the wealth of Minangkabau culture," said West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno, in Padang Wednesday, after launching the 2019 Silek Art Festival under the theme "Sapakaik Mangko Balega".

The Silek Arts Festival is an activity of "Indonesiana" format, which is part of the Ministry of Education and Culture's new initiative in the development of patterned relations between organizers of cultural activities in Indonesia that are built with mutual cooperation.

This activity is also an effort in supporting Law No.5 of 2017 concerning the Promotion of Culture in order to handle cultural activities more systematically.

With regard to the Indonesian format, in this case SAF 2019, the nature of mutual cooperation starting from the national level involves the Ministry of Education and Culture (Directorate General of Culture), regional government, communities, artists and cultural experts, and other cultural ecosystems.

The SAF was also part of an effort to strengthen the position of silek to be adopted as a UNESCO world heritage, Head of the West Sumatra Culture Office Gemala Ranti added.

He hoped that this year the process to make silek a UNESCO world heritage would be realized.

The convening of SAF 2019 had been launched at the beginning of the year with the formation of a production team, approaching offices related to arts and culture in districts / cities in West Sumatra, and establishing relationships with artists and the cultural observer of West Sumatra, Director of the SAF 2019 Festival Ediwar said.



Translator: Miko Elfisha/Eliswan Azly
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019