Minister To Attend "Tongkang" Burning Ritual In Palu

Bagan Siapiapi, Riau, June 24 (Antara) - Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sharif Cicip Sutardjo is expected to attend the "Bakar Tongkang" (barge burning) ritual in Bagan Siapiapi City, Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province, on Monday. "Based on the schedule the minister will attend and open the `bakar tongkang` ceremony," Herdiansyah of Riau`s Marine Affairs and Fisheries Service, said here on Monday. He said that the Minister Sharif would attend and officially open the cultural ritual at the invitation of Rokan Hilir District Head Annas Maamun. The barge burning ceremony is an annual ritual held by ethnic Chinese Indonesians to observe an event when in 1826 a group of 18 Chinese people left Fu-Jian Province, China. They sailed using three wooden ships, called tongkang (barge). On their voyage, two of the three barges sank. The one which survived, arrived in Bagan Siapiapi which at that time was still a forest area. The survived barge carried the statue the Sea God `Sio Ong Cuan. A replica of the barge is first put for one night in the Eng Hok King `Kelenteng`, the oldest Chinese shrine in Bagan Siapiapi, before it is burnt. The ceremony is also intended to observe the Chinese forefathers who first arrived in Bagan Siapiapi.