Dieng Culture Festival

The first time I stood before the temple on the Dieng Plateau, the mist had not yet lifted, the air so thin a few steps left me panting. Then I saw a child topped with a head of tangled curls, led by an adult to the temple front, a little drowsy, a little nervous.

The Dieng Culture Festival is held each year on the Dieng Plateau in Central Java, Indonesia, centred on a hair-cutting rite for local children born with curly hair. The locals believe these children are different — that their hair carries something that needs to be treated with gravity. The whole festival unfolds around this thing that would seem small elsewhere yet is taken in earnest here, then combines it with ancient Hindu temples and highland mist to become a signature festival of Central Java's highlands.

The Dieng Culture Festival is held every year, with the timing most often falling in August.

That said, the exact dates are announced locally each year and are not a fixed day. My advice is not to pin a date from impression and book your flights; before you go, be sure to follow the official announcement, confirm that year's dates, and only then arrange lodging and the journey up the mountain. The festival is the liveliest moment of the year on this plateau, so nailing down the date early makes everything that follows much easier.

The Dieng Plateau lies in Central Java, Indonesia, at around two thousand metres in altitude, a highland scattered with Java's oldest Hindu stone temples.

As for getting up, most people drive up from Yogyakarta or Wonosobo. The mountain road is long and winding, and with the high altitude, the night air is very cold; the drive takes more time than you'd imagine.

If it's your first time, the distance up from Wonosobo is relatively shorter; if you're already based around Yogyakarta, arranging a vehicle up directly from there is also common. Whichever side you come from, keep these two things in mind in advance — the mountain road takes time, and the nights are cold — and your itinerary won't feel too rushed.

If what you're after is lively firework displays or a big stage, the Dieng Culture Festival may not be that type.

It suits more the kind of person willing to slow down and watch a solemn rite. I remember that moment before the temple — a mother crouched before the child, brushing the curls at his forehead aside, her movements gentle, as if she knew that what was being cut was not only hair. Those who love this quiet weight will feel very comfortable here.

It also suits travelling companions well. That day at the temple front stood several travellers, strangers who had followed the gongs and drums here together, none knowing one another, yet naturally crowding under the same eaves to shelter from the mist. Anyone willing to accept the highland climate, unafraid of the cold or of walking the mountain road, can find their own corner here.

First, transport. There's no especially easy shortcut up to the Dieng Plateau; the mainstream way is to drive up from Yogyakarta or Wonosobo.

The mountain road is long, so I'd suggest setting aside half a day to a full day just for the ascent, rather than cramming it in after other plans and rushing. If you're unfamiliar with local road conditions, hiring a car or arranging an experienced driver for the way up is far more reassuring than feeling your own way. The night air on the mountain is cold, so if your return will be after dark, leave yourself plenty of time.

During the festival, I'd directly suggest you book your room in advance.

This plateau is a high-altitude mountain town even on ordinary days, and once the festival arrives, rooms are especially in demand; finding one at the last minute often doesn't go smoothly. Booking your lodging early not only gives you more choices but also lets you pick a spot closer to the temples.

And a very practical reminder: the nights on the mountain really are cold. When booking, pay attention to how warm it is, bring enough clothing, and don't let yourself shiver through the night at two thousand metres.

The cost of the Dieng Culture Festival mainly falls on two parts: the transport up the mountain and the lodging.

For transport, hiring a car or arranging a driver up from Yogyakarta or Wonosobo is what most people use; the road is long and the drive lengthy, so this is usually the more noticeable expense of the trip. As for lodging, because demand is high during the festival, booking ahead works out cheaper than finding something on the spot, and is more reliable too.

As for the exact figures, they fluctuate with the season and the way you choose, so I won't give you a fixed number; budget for transport and lodging first and arrange them early, and the whole thing won't go too far over.

The thing most worth arranging in advance is lodging.

During the festival, rooms on the mountain are tight, so booking your room in advance is almost a must. For the transport up, if you plan to hire a car or a driver, it's also advisable to settle and book it ahead, so you don't have to scramble for it once you arrive.

As for the festival sessions and details themselves, because the exact dates and arrangements are announced locally each year, following the official announcement is the most reliable. Once you've booked these two — lodging and transport — you can focus on the spot on watching the rite and the plateau.

The first thing, and the most important: staying warm.

The Dieng Plateau sits at around two thousand metres, and the highland wind is cold, blowing over stone temples a thousand years old. That day I cupped a glass of hot ginger tea for warmth; the stall selling hot ginger tea before the temple gave off white steam, and a few travellers crowded together to shelter from the mist. The night air on the mountain is very cold, so be sure to bring enough warm clothing — don't skimp on a coat or a hat.

The altitude is high and the air thin; walk a little too fast just after coming up and you'll be panting, so give yourself some time to acclimatise and don't rush. Prepare for these two things — staying warm and the high altitude — and you'll be able to stay comfortably in the mist and watch the whole rite at your leisure.

The hair-cutting rite is called ruwatan. The locals believe these children born with matted curls are descendants of ancient guardians, their hair carrying a kind of blessing, and also a little of something that needs to be "untangled"; the rite lifts this weight from the child.

There's a very special rule here: before the shaving, the child may make one wish, however wilful, and the family must do its utmost to grant it — for legend says that if his wish is not met and the head is shaved by force, the hair will grow back and the child will fall ill. I only heard later that the wish that child made that day was for a bicycle, which the family had prepared for him well in advance.

As a traveller looking on, the etiquette is really simple: stay quiet and respectful. The moment the elder chants, the child is lifted onto a chair, and the scissors come down on that mass of hair — that is a solemn time belonging to this family. The shaved hair is in the end sent to the water to drift away downstream, and the child becomes an ordinary child once more. To watch quietly, without disturbing, is the best way to take part.

The festival is the liveliest time of the year on this plateau, with gongs and drums, chanting, and children's laughter all woven together.

The crowds noticeably increase from ordinary days, which is why lodging needs to be booked ahead and the transport up arranged in advance. Yet the highland mist wraps all of this — the gongs and drums, the chanting, the laughter all sound somewhat softened, and within the liveliness there's still a quiet swathed in mist. The child with his head freshly shaved is swept up by relatives and walked once round the village, gongs and drums leading — that is the most crowded, and most moving, moment of all.

The reason it's worth it hides in that mass of shaved hair.

With his head shaved, the child is swept up and walked once round the village, the freshly cut short hair revealing a somewhat shy nape; in the end that mass of hair is sent to the water, drifting away downstream, and the child, become an ordinary child again, runs off skipping. The whole hair-cutting rite distils the culture of the Dieng Plateau into a single image: a group of people willing to treat with gravity a thing that, elsewhere, would seem very small.

Add to that the Hindu stone temples that have stood silent behind it for a thousand years, and the plateau half-hidden in the cloud and mist, and this festival is not just watching a rite, but standing in the cold mist and suddenly understanding what so-called tradition is. I think you too will be, as we were, gently moved by this plateau and this hair-cutting rite.