Local traditions don't come along out of nowhere. There's must be a reason for their existence, whether logical or illogical. Now is the time to explore the origin of some of our great national customs.

Local traditions don't come along out of nowhere. There's must be a reason for their existence, whether logical or illogical. Now is the time to explore the origin of some of our great national customs.

STONE JUMPING 
The warring villages in Nias used to fortify themselves with two-meter-high bamboo fences. Each village encouraged their youths to jump over a two-

meter-high stone structure as a practice to attack other villages. Being able to jump over the megalithic structures also attests to the bravery and manhood a young man

SAUCER DANCE 
Many of us know the traditional performances in Minangkabau have been greatly influenced by ISLAM. Well, not all of them. the saucer dance or tari piring is a pre-islamic tradition that pays homage to Dewi Sri and expresses gratitude for an abundant harvest. Some of the movements in the dance syimbolize the farmers's daily activities like tilling the land, weeding and harvesting.

Ondel-Ondel

The giant couple that often scares little children is believed to represent figures of ancestors who look after their descendants. But can you see the Ondel-ondel's resemblances to a certain character dressed in old clothes and wearing fake hair that's put on farm fields to scare the birds away? iyupssss,  some historians believe that once the giants were used as scarecrows in rice fields in Betawi ;D