Culture

Festival Dalang Cilik (Young Puppeteer Festival) 2025,  part of Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta's (UNY) 61st-anniversary celebrations, brought together 58 young Dalang (puppeteers) aged 9 to 15 from Yogyakarta, Central Java, and East Java. Over three days, from May 13 to 15, 2025, eighteen finalists showcased their talents, celebrating the rich tradition of Javanese puppetry in a vibrant cultural display.

The Overseas Education and Learning Program (OELP) from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Singapore allowed students to learn about Indonesian culture, including gamelan and batik at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) on Wednesday (4/9). Previously, they also visited Prambanan Temple.

"This wayang (shadow puppet) show is one of the implementations of art development in Kampung Emas Seyegan. We have committed to encouraging music, dance, and other arts. Hopefully, our activities will benefit the people of Seyegan and its surroundings," said UNY Rector, Prof. Sumaryanto, in the Celebration of the 60th anniversary of UNY.

UNY believes that cultural preservation efforts need to start at an early age. For this reason, UNY provides an opportunity for 30 young dalang (puppeteers) to compete in the Festival Dalang Cilik (Young Puppeteer Festival) UNY 2024.  The participants of this competition consisted of 15 elementary school students and 15 junior high school students. Interestingly, out of the 30 participants, there were 4 female dalang. The festival was held in the UNY-assisted village of Krapyak IX, Margoagung, Seyegan, Sleman.

"MIPA EXPO 2023 is an event to display the work of student creativity and at the same time as a place to train the entrepreneurial spirit. We need a mindset change to strengthen our position towards an international class university," said Vice Rector for Planning and Finance of UNY, Prof. Dr. Lantip Diat Prasojo, S.T., M.Pd., in the opening ceremony of MIPA EXPO 2023 on May 29, 2023.

Bungong Jeumpa is one of the Acehnese folk songs famous throughout Indonesia. When hearing Bungong Jeumpa, everyone will remember Aceh. Bungong jeumpa is a flower that is the pride of the people of Aceh. The song Bungong Jeumpa has a deep meaning; the song Bungong Jeumpa describes the spirit and beauty of the Land of Aceh, symbolized by a typical royal flower. Bungong jeumpa is known by people outside Aceh as cempaka flower. In the hands of UNY students, Bungong Jeumpa was transformed into a work of art in a batik dress.

The traditional dances of Alor, NTT, namely Lego-lego, Moka Nona, and Cakalele have the same basic movements as Shorinji kempo training techniques. Charles Nyoman Wali studied it further in his dissertation entitled Development of Shorinji Kempo Training Model Based on Local Dance of East Nusa Tenggara to Improve Basic Technical and Affective Skills of Kenshi 9-12 Years.