Riau revives night of bamboo cannons to support tourism

Children play bamboo cannons. FOTO /Koz/mes/11. (ANTARA/Asep Fathulrahman)

"The tradition of sounding bamboo cannons has existed since the time of the first Siak empire, as the sound of guns during the empire announced good news and sad news, as well as news of deaths and the birth of the sultanate's family," head of the district tourist office, Fauzi Asni, said here on Friday.

The tradition of sounding bamboo cannons has long been missing in local areas, so it needs to be encouraged in order to allow' the younger generation to learn of the culture from the past.

"We hold this activity to pass along the former traditions for the current generation, which had long disappeared as times progressed, so we now pass this tradition on to the present generation," he explained.

"As one of the tourist destinations in Riau Province, Siak District should have an activity that can support the existing tourism industry. So it has a special attraction for visitors who travel to the area, which is popularly called "the city of the Palace".

Teenagers in the district make bamboo cannons to be sounded during the month of Sabbath and 27th of Ramadhan ahead of 1 Syawal.

The event took place at the edge of Bandar Sungai Jantan and in front of the Siak Palace. (Antara)

The Riau Provincial District of Siak has revived the tradition of the night of bamboo cannons in a bid to commemorate the 27th day of the Ramadan fasting month and 1 Syawal (Lebaran D-Day/1439 H), in a bid to attract tourism.