Singa depok

I went up to the stream for a session with no real plan, just to see what presented on the insect front. As soon as I arrived, Fitri came running up, this meant that I was in trouble from the start. But, for some reason, she was dressed up in her best togs. Normally she is almost as scruffy as me, with tattered T-shirt and jeans with the fly permanently open, but who cares.

It was unlikely that she would be following me today, probably under strict instructions from Momma, not to get dirty, so I took her photograph and she left me alone, happy to see her face on the back of my camera.

The session went well until my flip-flop snapped about twenty minutes in and I was forced to call it a day after an hour, too tedious, juggling my left foot after every step. On my way home, around 11am, the streets were populated with kids on the way home from school. This seemed very early, so obviously something was going on today.

About 1pm, as I was finishing up the processing, I heard the familiar plink plonk of the traditional Indonesian drums. This meant that a parade was coming up the street. By the time I had got dressed, grabbed the camera, cleared the memory card and got to the street, the parade was upon me. Straight away I realized that the 105mm was going to be useless for this job, but I was committed now.

The parade moves fairly slow, so I was able to shuffle up ahead and begin shooting. I was going to collect a series of shots as the parade ambled by, but just as things were warming up, the parade turned around and moved in the opposite direction. I then had to do a rapid flip-flop shuffle a hundred yards in the other direction. It was all a bit frantic that it never occurred to me to switch on the auto focus, as a result, I didn't get a single frame in focus, but it was all good fun.

As far as I could find out, the parade was called Singa depok. Singa means lion, hence the lion chariots with wagging tails. The parade is headed by a guy pulling a portable generator, to power the proceedings. Next a rope pulled by a herd of kids, towing the main chariot, which held a covered throne, no idea what was under the cover, probably some dazzling beauty, as is the usual tradition.

Behind the throne, followed the band, a mixture of traditional and modern instruments, amplified through speakers and microphones for the singing troupe. Behind the band, the lions carried by very smart bearers in silk uniforms, carrying traditionally dressed youngsters. Behind the lions, an entourage of kids dancing away and all having a great time.

This is a typical Sundanese celebration. A parade like this comes past my house at least every month or two, but this is the first time I have tried to photograph the proceedings. I will be better prepared next time!

I have put a selection of parade shots in folio, the first shot being Fitri in her very smart clobber.

Edit - Image changed.

Dave