Revitalisation of the performing arts in the ancestral homeland of Lampung people, Sumatra

Lampung's ethno-lingual groups turned their attentions to reviving their performing arts more than two decades ago, activities which gained momentum after 2004 when the newly elected governor of the province Sjachroedin ZP instigated a revitalisation (revitalisasi1 ) cultural program. Lampung's minority indigenous population resulted from large-scale transmigrations especially from Java that began under Dutch rule from 1908 and continued well after independence and into the present. With encouragement from the government regents (bupati) in the province's regions sought concrete ways to revive and promote the local arts. In West Lampung they arranged the staging of both traditional and modern contemporary forms in ceremonial processions and festivals that take place on significant holidays such as Independence Day celebrations, regional government official welcoming ceremonies, and other large-scale local festivities including the week leading up to the end of the Muslim Fasting month (Idul Fitri or Lebaran).