The Indonesian Student Association at Austin hosted the event “Khatulistiwa” Saturday at the Union Patio to showcase Indonesian culture through dancing performances, food stands and presentations.

“Khatulistiwa” means “equator” in Indonesian. The event got its name because Indonesia is usually referred to as “the emerald of the equator.” During the four-hour event, professional Indonesian dancers dressing up in colorful, shining costumes danced with traditional Indonesian music. Participants also enjoyed Indonesian food, crafted Indonesian clothes and learned about each island in the country. 

Neuroscience sophomore Anna Claudia Sutanto, the co-head of the event and communication officer of the association, said it was the first time for the association to host this kind of event.

“With this event, we really want to promote our Indonesian culture and try to bring our home to Texas,” Sutanto said. “Because we are all international students and we have the opportunity to experience a Texan lifestyle, but not a lot of people get to experience an Indonesian lifestyle.”

Public health sophomore Shreya Angana, who is from India, said this event provided a chance for her to take a glimpse of the Indonesian culture for the first time.

“I think [UT] is really diverse, like all kinds of cultural organizations are very active in general,” Angana said

Bambang Setyobudhi, consulate general of the Republic of Indonesia in Houston, spoke at the event.

“Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation [in terms of population] in the world, after China, India and the United States.” Setyobudhi said. “Indonesia is now widely regarded as a living proof that democracy, Islam, Buddhism and modernity can go hand in hand.”

Association President Jessica Pandy, management information systems and economics junior, said she is proud of being an Indonesian.

“We are proud of our culture,” Pandy said. “For other Indonesians, we hosted this so that people who are homesick can have a taste of Indonesia again.”

There are more than 90 students in the Indonesian Student Association at UT, and most of them are international students. According to Sutanto, they plan to organize similar events every year in the future.