INDONESIA 
Kalimantan
​I returned to Indonesia in 2015-16 and visited Kalimantan.
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Indonesia has a massive contemporary music market that spans all genres, from indie rock to schlock.*

Kota Bangun is a dusty stop at the start of the Mahakam lake country, about three hours by bus from Samrinda along a sealed road.*

Prior to performing in the Kenyah Dayak village of Pampang, the kids enjoy themselves.

Indonesia has a rich heritage of traditional dance styles.*
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Every Sunday at 2pm traditional ceremonies incorporating dance and singing are held in Kenyah Dayak village of Pampang, around 26km west of Samarinda.*

The ceremonies are performed inside and around a longhouse.*

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I came across this graveyard in Muara Muntai where wide sturdy boardwalks act as streets.

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This house in Tanjung Isuy caught my eye.

Dayak (is) the collective name for the indigenous inhabitants of the island. Individual Dayak tribes use their separate tribal names, such as Kenyah, Kayan, Iban and Punan.*

The Vanishing Dayak

Interacting with people who have diverse practices, beliefs, life experiences, and culture promotes empathy.

Indonesia is well known for its continuous destruction of primary forests due to intentive cultivation of oil palm. Not only fauna and flora are in danger of extinction, Dayak tribes are also under an important threat of disappearance.

​The forest has become a source of food, water and other provisions such as construction materials and herbal medicines. This sustainable coexistence has been maintained throughout the hundreds of years in which these settlers have lived in these lands.
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Central Kalimantan is home to the Manasai, a friendly dance in which tourists are welcome to participate.*

These are not made-for-tourist performances and the ritual is unadulterated.*

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The mighty Sungai Mahakam skirts Samarinda like a giant muddy flood.  Here the river is a highway in its own right, peppered with houseboats and fishing vessels, boats lugging timber and tugs pulling demonic loads of coal.*
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I caught these women grooming themselves in Muara Muntai a colourful Kutai market town built over mud flats in the heart of the Mahakam's lake country.

The most striking feature of many of the older Dayak women is their pierced ear lobes, stretched with the weight of heavy gold or brass rings.*

​The diversity evident in Indonesia's 300 plus ethnic groups is reflected in the diversity of its art forms. Just as every ethnic group throughout the archipelago has its own language/dialect, cuisine, traditional dress and traditional homes and they have also developed their own textiles, ornaments, carvings and items for daily use and special celebrations. The rich cultural heritage of art and handicrafts is one of Indonesia's true national riches.

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Kalimantan also has the Mandau dance, performed with knives and shields.*
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In habitants of the village still adorn their hands, feet, arms and legs with traditional tattoos and the women's earlobes are stretched by their characteristic earrings.*

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Muara Muntai is a colourful Kutai market town build over mud flats in the heart of the Mahakam's lake country.  Wide, sturdy boardwalks act as streets, and dwellings range from cobbled-together shacks to two-storey timber houses.*

I watched these women bargain for fish in Tanjung Isuy.

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It was once the custom for all women to tattoo their forearms and calves with bird and spirit designs.*
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* These captions are from Indonesia -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.