SEA Games 2023 Officially Opened, This Means Traditional Clothing Used By The Indonesian Contingent

Athletes and officials of the Indonesian contingent attended the defile during the opening ceremony of the 2023 SEA Games at the Morodok Techno National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Photo via ANTARA PHOTO/M Agung Rajasa)

JAKARTA - The 2023 SEA Games officially opened on Friday, May 5. The largest multi-event in Southeast Asia opened Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Traditional clothes from various regions in Indonesia decorate the Morodok Techo National Stadium, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which is the location for the opening ceremony of the SEA Games.

According to the alphabet, the Indonesian contingent is in second place in the 2023 SEA Games contingent defile. Flairene Candrea Wonomiharjo leads the line with the Red and White flag.

He wears clothes from Bali that are usually worn by Panji Semirang dancers. Panji Semirang dance is one of the traditional dances from the Island of the Gods.

In general, the Panji Semirang Dance serves as a performance dance at certain events, such as commemoration of religious ceremonies.

"It's great to be able to wear Balinese traditional clothes at the opening ceremony defile. The clothes are not very complicated and comfortable to use when walking while carrying the Red and White flag," Flairene said.

Apart from Bali, other traditional clothes also decorate the Morodok Techo National Stadium. Like the typical clothing of Palembang, South Sumatra worn by Chef de Mission (CdM) Lexyndo Hakim.

Lexy said the meaning of Palembang's songket is a symbol of hope and courage. "Palembang shirt because songket cloth is a characteristic of traditional Palembang clothing, South Sumatra which has hope and courage," said Lexy.

This hope, continued Lexy, could be an optimism for winning a medal like when Palembang, South Sumatra hosted the 2011 SEA Games and 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

"At that time, Indonesia won quite a lot of medals. It was also a hope that we could fly to the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia," said Lexy.

Then there are also traditional clothes such as those from Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara, DKI Jakarta, West Sumatra, and others. In addition, some also use headbands from various regions.

The opening ceremony of the 2023 SEA Games was lively with 62 children walking with Cambodian flags showing that Cambodia's 62 years of waiting to host the biggest sporting event in Southeast Asia.

After singing the Cambodian national anthem, the ceremony continued with a performance art that tells about Cambodia's national history, starting with the birth of the Kingdom of Khmer.

The show is full of Cambodian traditional arts, one of which looks familiar to the eyes of Indonesian viewers is Sbek Thom, the game of Cambodian traditional shadow puppets.

Then showing the transition of the era in Cambodia was shown by a number of children entering carrying paintings resembling green, yellow, and red rainbows.

Further performances show the development in Cambodia. There are various kinds of buildings, including health facilities and supermarkets, as well as young people who show that Cambodia is entering a modern era.

Modern Cambodia is then displayed with digital art as a background for dancers dressed in LED lights.

After these appearances, athletes from ASEAN members finally carried their national flags and appeared by carrying the value of their respective countries in front of thousands of pairs of eyes that packed the stadium with a capacity of 60,000 seats.