This week Cipaganti’s residents took centre stage at our ‘Cipaganti Mencari Bakat’ (Cipaganti’s Got Talent) event, show casing a range of different talents.

Bringing the whole community together it was a wonderful day full of fun and laughter.

As far as talent goes, Cipaganti certainly has it! From the youngest to the oldest contestants there were some wonderful acts. Before the event begun there was much intrigue as to what Cipaganti might have in store and the crowd was not disappointed!

One very interesting act and difference from what you might expect to be a talent in a western country, which was performed by more than one individual, was reading passages from the Koran. It might seem like a basic skill but it is in fact a very intricate and detailed ability that the children learn as part of their Islamic religious studies. The text is written in Arabic and each sentence sung without pause for breath between words. It is an enchanting listen and a strong representation of how religion is a prominent element of people’s lives here. To an untrained ear it was hard to make any fault in these performances, but the addition of Ibu Ani to our jury meant that we had an experienced listener to aid the other judges in their scoring.

The very well deserved winners of the children’s acts were an all-girls dance group called ‘The cute’. They went all out with not only their very well-rehearsed dance routine but their pink costumes head to toe, each adorned with a homemade crown.

The winner of the adult competition was a local teacher who sang her way to victory with a local tune.

All the winners were thoroughly impressed with their trophies and prizes and the day ended on a high up the mountain here in loris land.