Photos show games, dancing and singing bringing people together in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Two men held rubber bands apart at chest height while a woman hopped over them from one side to the other, earning applause and boisterous encouragement from others marveling at her leaps.
They were among more than 250 people from the Jakarta, Indonesia, area who recently joined weekly activities organized by Komunitas Bermain, meaning Playing Community in English, in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the city's main arena.
Thousands of residents regularly participate in the play groups, as well as singing groups organized by Nyanyi Bareng Jakarta, which means Jakarta Singing Together in English. The events that started as casual meetups to preserve Indonesian traditional culture have grown quickly through social media into popular ways to connect through shared nostalgia and interests.
Playing Community founder Akihiko Akira, 23, said the group began when he and fellow Taylor Swift fans gathered to play childhood games at Gelora Bung in August 2024.
Hundreds of participants now gather on Friday evenings to take part in traditional games including “gundu” involving players flicking a small marble, “suit monopoli” in which players jump on one leg over shoes in a path, plus the classic jumping rope.
“From my own experience, it is nostalgic. Clearly, nostalgia is really helpful for us, besides releasing our inner child, nostalgia also releases our stress. So it’s a short escape for us,” Akira said.
Biya Angelina, a 25-year-old social media specialist, said she joined the community because she spends her days working online and needed to meet new friends.
“The good side is that I automatically get sweating. And then also I feel like my social life is built here. I get to know new people, people with different...