Kelimutu's three colors trilogy

Located some 60 kilometers to the east of Ende, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, are three lakes of three different colors that are collectively known as the Kelimutu Lakes.
To get to the lakes, tourists must travel about two hours overland from Ende to the parking area of Kelimutu National Park and from there walk for about 30 minutes through casuarina trees to reach the crater.
Scientists continue to puzzle over the colors of the lakes, which are situated about 1,690 meters above sea level, because they change over time. Before 2006, the lakes were red, blue and white. Now, the red lake is black-brown, the blue lake is light green and the white lake is black.
The black-brown lake and the light green lake are located side-by-side, separated only by a wall of earth that is 100-200 centimeters thick.
Locals believe the light green lake is a gathering place for the spirits of young men and women (tiwu nua murifai); the black-brown lake, for evil sprits (tiwu ata polo); and the black lake, which is located some 200 meters away, for the spirits of old people (tiwu ata mbupu).
When I arrived at the lakes at 6:30 a.m. in the last week of February, the view of the black lake was obscured by a mist that did not disappear until almost 45 minutes later.
Is it the mineral content of the lakes' standing waters that is responsible for their color? Or is it their algae content? Scientists have yet to draw a conclusion.
The Kelimutu Lakes were discovered by Van Such Telen, a Dutchman, in 1915, although locals may have known about them earlier.
On Feb. 26, 1992, the government declared the Kelimutu area -- measuring 1,051,000 square meters -- a national park.
Locals believe Mount Kelimutu is haunted by ghosts who are friendly if they are left undisturbed and it is customary for them to make offerings at a location called Perikonde, the gateway for the spirits wishing to go to Kelimutu.
To fully enjoy the mountain in all its beauty, tourists, visitors and researchers must work hard to get to the top of the mountain before 9 a.m., because from early to late afternoon, mist will once again obscure the view.
I left from Ende at about 3:30 a.m. in a car chartered for Rp 500,000. However, there is another option: you can spend the night in Kampung Moni, which is located about three kilometers away from the Kelimutu Lakes.
In this village, you can stay in wooden huts that are managed by the local administration. The cost is about Rp 100,000 a night. Alternatively, if you are on a limited budget but would like to spend a few days in Kelimutu, you can stay in a homestay for Rp 50,000-75,000 a night.
Tourists can also enjoy the beautiful maiden forests of pine, fir, redwood and edeilweiss.
Tourist look at ikat (woven clotch) produced by local artisans. (JP/Yemris Fointuna)
In Kelimutu, locals sell traditional snacks and main meals, with beef, bananas and corn featuring heavily on the menu. At night, a glass of moke, an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of the palm tree, warms the cockles of the heart.
Ende souvenirs include woven fabrics bearing motifs that are peculiar to the district. Prices range from 40,000 for a scarf to 300,000 for a sarong.
Souvenir seller Sisilia Sita, 53, said tourist numbers peaked between April and October. The mother of three also sells snacks and coffee in the parking area.

'Ponpes' strive to improve education for women

The quality of education today for Muslim women is being continuously improved upon these tenets of Islamic education. The teaching of both Islam and sciences are considered very important, particularly in the face of contemporary challenges.

Despite the greater number of professional women who are advocating better education for their peers in the country, the domestic role of women in guiding their children's learning still seems to remain the primary reason for improvement.

"Children rarely, if ever, turn to their fathers first about something. They are more likely to ask their mothers first. This is because they are closer to their mothers and see her every day," the chairman of the Al Rifa'ie Ponpes foundation, Ahmad Muflih Azam, told The Jakarta Post.

Some educators of a particular segment have responded to the need by providing a broader educational opportunity for Muslim girls.

One such individual is K.H. Achmad Zamachsyari, who set up in 1992 a modern pondok pesantren (ponpes) for female students.

The Al Rifa'ie Islamic boarding school in Gondanglegi district, Malang regency, aims to educate its students to develop their command of technology, to be proficient in foreign languages, to become high achievers and to develop a noble character. At present, it has 734 female students who come from 18 provinces.

Muflih rejected the prevailing assumption that ponpes were "backward"; he believes that the stigma of ponpes as a marginalized educational institution is no longer relevant.

"That might have been the case during the colonial era, when santri (Islamic students) had no opportunities for formal schooling. Now we have equal opportunity, and ponpes often provide a more complete syllabus, particularly with regard to religious education," he said.

The Al Rifa'ie ponpes achieves this balance between academics and religion by combining formal secondary school curricula with religious education provided at its Madrasah Murottilil Qur'an Al Rifa'ie (MMQA) and Madrasah Diniyah Al Rifa'ie (MDA).

The MMQA provides Koranic studies that lead towards a teaching certificate while the MDA follows the government-approved Islamic/ponpes curriculum, which has been developed further with the Lirboyo-Jombang, the Gontor-Ponorogo and other regional ponpes.

In addition, Al Rifa'ie offers its santri creative skills courses such as culinary management, fashion design and crafts during its 18-hour school day. It also has classes in modern languages, journalism, shariah banking, social sciences, computer sciences, multimedia technology and the life sciences.

"There's no discrimination in Islam. Men and women have the same educational opportunities," said Muflih.

Another all-girls ponpes, Al Ishlahiyah, located in the district town of Singosari, provides religious classes on campus and sends its students to attend classes in academic subjects at other Islamic schools.

"Basically, our students study more salafiyah subjects on the Koran and the Hadith than those attending formal schools, including tauhid (Allah and His attributes), tazawuf (building character towards a divine union) and fiqh (Islamic law)," said Lathifah Mahfudz, the curriculum advisor at Al Ishlahiyah.

"That's the general advantage of ponpes over formal schooling. Instead of relying on formal subjects alone, ponpes offer more religious content, so its graduates will cultivate good character and serve as role models (in society). Most formal schools only have two hours of religious lessons a week," she added.

With about 350 santri, Al Ishlahiyah has more limited facilities compared to Albut the heads of the two ponpes agree that the central and regional governments needed to assume a greater role in supporting the development of Islamic schools. "... Apart from their considerable contributions (to national education) since the colonial era, ponpes can also act as a screen to filter out anti-religious influences on the younger generation," Muflih said.

A key area of support is human resources, which requires technical guidance and training as well as skills in curricular management to rais their competitiveness. Ponpes also need more quality science teachers, scholarship funds and modern facilities.

"So far, we haven't received any special government attention. Though a ponpes department has been established under the education ministry, its direct impact on schools is yet to be seen," Muflih said.

Lathifah is more critical in her views: "The government may have noticed that we have survived independently without aid, so perhaps it believes that ponpes will continue to exist (without support)."

Despite of the lack of government support, ponpes still try to accommodate disadvantaged students.

"At our institution, we give opportunities to those who cannot afford school expenses, as long as they are highly motivated to learn and to succeed," Lathifah said.

Aside from academic knowledge and skills, ponpes offer santri valuable experiences in developing a sense of solidarity, discipline, respect for teachers and elders, tolerance, ethics and financial management skills.

"Such experiences will be very useful at home and in (the students') future family life," she stressed.

East Java wins three gold on athletics opening day

East Java won three of six gold medals on offer on the opening day of the track and field competition at the National Games (PON) at Palaran Stadium in Samarinda on Monday.

Darwati won the first gold for East Java by winning the 20-kilometer walk in the morning. Lusi Febrianti and Eddy Zakaria accounted for the other two golds, in the women's high jump and men's 110-meter hurdles, respectively.

West Java, West Papua and Riau won the other three golds, while Central Java, North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara, Bangka Belitung and Papua all picked up silver and bronze medals.

Djoko Sudargo, chief of East Java's athletics team, expressed his pleasure with the results of the first day of the track and field competition, saying three golds was beyond their wildest expectations.

"I did not expect gold in the high jump. We were surprised that Lusi (Febriyanti) won it for us," Djoko said.

Lusi cleared 1.65 meters to finish ahead of West Java's Dewi Ika Puspita and Helam Nurul Ulfa.

In the women's 20-kilometer walk, Darwati finished in a time of one hour, 49 minutes and 33 seconds. Indonesian veteran Tersiana Riwu Rohi of East Nusa Tenggara finished in third place in a time of 1:57:55, behind Central Java's Risa Wijayanti (1:51:53).

East Java's third gold came late in the day, with Eddy Zakaria winning the men's 110-meter hurdles in 14.18 seconds. Zulkarnaen Purba of North Sumatra and Eddy's teammate, Rusli, finished second and third, respectively.

"This is the fruit of long training that started at the end of PON 2004. We are still counting on our veterans, but they were still be able to beat their younger rivals," Djoko said, adding that the team would be happy with another two medals in track and field.

A total of 46 gold medals are on offer in track and field.

In the men's 20-kilometer walk, Kristian L. Tobing of North Sumatra won in a time of 1:35:50. Sutrisno of Central Java followed in second in 1:37:51 and Andre Maulana of West Java finished third (1:37:55).

West Java's Dony Susanto won the men's long jump with a leap of 7.45 meters. Slamet Susanto of East Java and Asril of Bangka Belitung finished second and third with jumps of 7.29 and 7.18 meters, respectively.

The last gold on offer went to West Papua in the men's javelin, with Julius Morin taking the event with a throw of 67.01 meters. Agustinus Mahuse of Papua finished in second with 65.79 meters, and M. Rusmanto won bronze for Central Java with a throw of 63.80 meters.

The opening day of the track and field competition also saw preliminary heats in men's and women's 200 meters and 800 meters.

Olympic hopeful Suryo Agung Wibowo, who represents Central Java, is the favorite to win the men's 200 meters in Tuesday's final after finishing with the fastest qualifying time.

Irene Truitje Joseph, a past champ in the women's 100 meters, could only finish with the second-fastest qualifying time in the 200 meters, behind Dedeh Erawati. Both run for Jakarta.

"I'm not expecting to win the 200 meters. I'm concentrating on the 100 meters although Dedeh will still be the favorite along with Serafi (Anelis)," said the 29-year-old Irene, who is participating in her fourth PON since 1996. She won 100 meters gold at the 1999 Southeast Asian Games.