A prospective tourism ambassador performs a traditional Acehnese dance.
Being a tourism ambassador is not only required to be beautiful or handsome and have an attractive appearance. As with the selection of tourism ambassadors in any city and country, a prospective tourism ambassador is required to have other abilities such as communication skills, broad insight into tourism and general knowledge, the ability to communicate in a foreign language, especially English, and other abilities that are not always related to physical appearance.
Likewise when I and several other judges conducted the selection process for prospective tourism ambassadors for North Aceh, an area located in Aceh Province, the western tip of Indonesia. One of the abilities of prospective tourism ambassadors that was tested was their abilities, their talents, in various fields, especially arts and culture related to regional identity.
With such provisions, it is no wonder that many participants show their artistic abilities in the field of traditional arts. Look at the #monomad photo parade this time, many participants show their abilities in dancing traditional Acehnese dances, such as the ranup lampuan dance which is a dance to welcome guests in Aceh.
The dance was performed by female dancers and judged by judges who have indeed mastered the art of traditional dance, of course the judges were not me who only know the outline as a journalist who often writes about dance.
Meanwhile, the male tourism ambassador candidates showed their skills in playing the rapai, a traditional Acehnese drum that is also often played when receiving guests. However, the function of the rapai is not just a traditional musical instrument. In the Dutch colonial era, the rapai was a means of communication.
For example, when enemy soldiers entered the village, they played the rapai with a certain rhythm that had a message that was only known to the Indonesian people and soldiers. Even in times of peace, the beating of the rapai can still be heard as part of an art.
But not all tourism ambassador candidates display traditional art skills. There are also tourism ambassador candidates who display their abilities in reading poetry or painting or story telling.
The black and white photos that I display here, I took from a not-so-good angle because my role is as a judge, not a photographer. I was not free to move to a more suitable angle because I had to focus on assessing the participants. Finally, this is what happened.
Thank you for the support of all parties. Warm regards:
