Indonesia welcomes the Year of the Snake with dragon puppets and drum displays

A member of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, holds the head of a dragon puppet prepared for a performance in a Lunar New Year celebration, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan...

2025.01.29

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2025-01-28T03:51:37Z

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — From narrow side streets to packed malls, the traditional music and dance of dragon puppet performances have filled Indonesia’s bustling capital of Jakarta to usher in the Lunar New Year.

Asian communities across the world will begin ringing in the Lunar New Year on Jan. 29, with 2025 designated as the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac. Fireworks, parades and other Lunar New Year rituals are centered around removing bad luck and welcoming prosperity.

A Muslim woman and her daughter have their photo taken with members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) in lion costume after a performance at a shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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In Indonesia, where millions of people have Chinese ancestry, crowds gathered to watch as drummers interspersed around puppet performers display the traditional dragon and lion puppets, which stretched up to 65 feet (20 meters) long in interconnected segments held by about a dozen people walking beneath.

For weeks before the Lunar New Year festivities, the performance troupe — which can number anywhere from 50 to 100 people depending on how in-demand shows are — practice in the abandoned back area of a small storefront selling coffee and snacks. Women and children from around the area stop by to sit and watch. During slower weeks puppet heads sit unused on a storage shelf.

Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon), named after Indonesian national colors, practice drumming days ahead of a performance, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon), named after Indonesian national colors, Mumammad Fadil, top, and Muhammad Ilman, bottom, practice their dance movements as Aji Permana, right assists, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, Mumammad Fadil, top, and Muhammad Ilman, bottom, train ahead of a performance, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Muhammad Hisyam, left, and Aji Permana, members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, practice in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, practice as local residents watch in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, Muhammad Ilman, second right, and Muhammad Fadil, right, practice their dance movements in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, practice in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, sit near dragon and lion puppets at the in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which named after Indonesian national colors, prepare a dragon puppet before leaving for a shopping mall to perform in a Lunar New Year celebration, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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On Sunday, days before the start of the Lunar New Year, the troupe loaded puppets and performers into the back of a small truck and headed to a shopping mall for a performance. Those who couldn’t fit into the truck followed on motorbikes.

In the mall, hundreds of visitors gathered to listen to the drums and watch the dance of the performance troupe. Rounds of applause greeted the dance, while some in the audience placed “angpau” — an envelope containing money usually given during holidays or for special occasions — into the puppet’s mouth.

Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which named after Indonesian national colors, carry a dragon puppet onto a truck as they prepare to leave for a shopping mall to perform in a Lunar New Year celebration, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) sit on the back of a truck as they leave for a shopping mall to perform in a Lunar New Year celebration, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon), named after Indonesian national colors, parade around a shopping mall during a performance in a Lunar New Year celebration, in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon), named after Indonesian national colors, perform lion dance at a shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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People give “angpau,” an envelope containing money traditionally given during Chinese holidays or for special occasions, to members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) after a performance at a shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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Members of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon) which is named after Indonesian national colors, perform in a Lunar New Year celebration at a shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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A member of dragon dance club Naga Merah Putih (Red White Dragon), named after Indonesian national colors, carry a dragon puppet as he and his team leave the changing room to perform in a Lunar New Year celebration, at a shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

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