Fading traditions: Rural Indonesians show that their customs live on

JUST an hour’s drive from the bustling metropolis of a major city - a rural village clings to its traditions

Scroll down for the full story

Just a short drive away from the busy city of Jakarta lies a village clinging to the last remnants of their traditional culture

Photographer Rarindra Prakarsa trekked to the Rumpin region, near the city of Jakarta, Indonesia, to see the surviving traditionalists living nearby.

Even though technology has made its mark, Prakarsa recalls seeing the villager’s animals roaming freely as the children spent hours bonding with the creatures.

Modern technology has had a big impact on the rural villagers in the Rumpin region

The 43-year-old Jakarta photographer continued: “Nowadays, it is not as common to see children play around with buffalo in the fields, herding goats, or even just holding a chicken.

Photographer Rarindra Prakarsa is happy the people are more connected to the outside world

“Over the last 20 years the close relationships with the animals have become less and less commonplace.

But he admits it has had a negative impact on children in particular

“Now when I visit rural Indonesia I mainly see children who have become too busy with TV and smartphones to interact with the animals in the same way.”

They now spend far more time playing with their smartphones than interacting with the animals

The photographs depict these rare moments of bonding between child and animal, including a playful tussle between a young boy and a buffalo and the release of a duck into the air by three laughing children.

The photographer recalls a time when seeing children playing with buffalo and chickens was more commonplace

Prakarsa began photographing the region in 2007 and since then its people have changed drastically.

Young children were always eager to stroke and play with the animals and often formed long-lasting friendships

“They are now much more connected with modern life with smartphones and TV has poisoned them with the need for material things,” said Prakarsa.

Rarindra has been photographing the region since 2007

“It is positive that they are better connected with the modern world, but I miss the times when I visited and the children were playing outside without a piece of technology in sight.”

He always dreamed of capturing images that echo paintings about the simple life in the country

Although many customs have been forgotten, the explorer inserted some conventions into his images to get a stronger sense of the village’s heritage - such as dressing the women in traditional clothing called Kabaya.

Rarindra wanted to capture the beautiful simplicity of the rural villager’s lives and to create photos with a nostalgic feel to them.

Even though many know of the thousands of villages in Indonesia, few get to see these rarely explored areas

He said: “I’ve always wanted to take photos that look like paintings and I always pictured paintings about the simple country life with ordinary people doing everyday things.

“Everyone knows there are thousands of villages in Indonesia, but people rarely get to see them, so I wanted to share this rare sight with the world so that they could get a glimpse into the villager’s simple, but happy lives.”