The acceptance makes the people of Banyumas district proud.Purwokerto, C Java (ANTARA) - Mendoan, a special culinary dish from Banyumas district, Central Java province, has been approved as an intangible cultural heritage by the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry.
The approval was obtained during the 2021 Indonesian Intangible Cultural Heritage Determination Session, held in Jakarta from October 26-30, 2021.
"Mendoan has been finally registered as an intangible cultural heritage in the category of Skills and Proficiency in Traditional Crafts. The proposal process has been carried out since 2020," head of the tradition values section of the Banyumas District Youth, Sports, Culture, and Tourism Office, Mispan, here on Saturday.
He said the selection process was carried out in several stages comprising administrative selection by the Secretariat of Intangible Cultural Heritage, first and second proposal meetings by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Expert Team, as well as presentation of proposals by regional representatives, and proposal verification.
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According to Mispan, his office sent a number of photos, videos, and academic research supporting the administrative requirements for the proposal to the Education and Culture Office of Central Java province.
The provincial office then submitted it to the Directorate General of Culture of the ministry, he said.
In 2020, mendoan was not successfully accepted as intangible heritage, he added
"However, the attempt has been successful this year. The acceptance makes the people of Banyumas district proud," he remarked.
In addition, he said that mendoan has been part of the daily menu of the people for a long time, thus it has also become an identity of the Banyumas community.
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Furthermore, Mispan informed that the region’s traditional dance called ebeg had also been accepted as intangible cultural heritage under the category of Performing Arts.
The traditional dance had to undergo two determination sessions as it has similarities with other traditional arts, for instance, jathilan from Purworejo district and kuda lumping from East Java province, which also depict a group of horsemen, he said.
"However, substantially in Banyumas region, it is called ebeg," he added.
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In addition, the section head said that one of the characters in Banyumasan wayang (Indonesian traditional puppet play) called Bawor has also been proposed as an intangible cultural heritage.
However, the proposal has been postponed because it requires to be verified by a stronger academic study, he added.
Meanwhile, according to kekulturan.kemdikbud.go.id, the 2021 Indonesian Intangible Cultural Heritage Determination Session has recommended 289 cultural assets from 28 provinces as Indonesian Intangible Cultural Heritage this year.
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Translator: Sumarwoto, Uyu Liman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
