On a windswept border savanna, Indonesia turns thousands of dancers into diplomats for peace with Timor-Leste and Australia

On Saturday, June 27, 2026, the Fulan Fehan Savanna in Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, became something far bigger than a stage. Thousands of dancers, four tribes strong, moved together under the shadow of Mount Lakaan. What unfolded was not just a show. It was a message, delivered in rhythm, that a nation’s border can be a bridge instead of a wall.

Belu Regency sits on Indonesia’s frontier with Timor-Leste, a place more often defined by checkpoints than celebration. That changed on June 27, when Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian officially opened Fulan Fehan Festival IV in Dirun Village, Lamaknen District, marking the start with the traditional beat of the tihar drum at a festival held in Dirun Village, Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara, an Indonesian province sharing a land border with Timor-Leste, drawing local participants and visitors from Timor-Leste and Australia. The theme, Dance for Friendship, was no accident. It echoed President Prabowo Subianto’s repeated emphasis on fostering friendship and avoiding hostility.

The Savanna Becomes a Stage No Government Built

What makes Fulan Fehan remarkable is its refusal to imitate the polished arenas of Jakarta or Surabaya. Tito Karnavian himself noted this was his first time attending the festival in person, having more often watched colossal performances staged in man-made stadiums. Here, nature did the work. Thousands of traditional dancers moved in perfect unison, transforming the rugged frontier of Belu Regency into a vibrant arena of international camaraderie. The highlight was a colossal Likurai Dance performed at the foot of Mount Lakaan, with thousands of local dancers moving to the rhythmic beats of tifa drums.

The symbolism cuts deep. The Likurai, traditionally performed to welcome home returning warriors, was repurposed this year as a symbol of peace, weaving a story of shared ancestry across Timor Island. A war dance turned welcome dance is not a small rebranding exercise. It’s a statement about what this border region wants to be known for going forward, not conflict, but connection.

Four Tribes, One Rhythm, One Border

The scale of unity on display was itself the headline. This year’s festival featured a colossal dance under the “Dance for Friendship” theme, portraying the friendship between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, staged across the Fulan Fehan savanna and involving four tribes showcasing regional cultural richness. Minister Karnavian drove the point home with a line borrowed from statecraft rather than folklore. “One thousand friends are not enough. One enemy is already too many. Four tribes are gathering here as one, dancing together and becoming friends,” he remarked while opening the festival.

That is not a throwaway soundbite. It is a compact articulation of Indonesia’s border strategy for the next decade: soft power over hard power, tourism dollars over tension. And the guest list proved the strategy has traction beyond Jakarta’s press releases.

Who Showed Up Says as Much as What Was Danced

Diplomacy is measured by attendance as much as speeches. Present at the opening ceremony were Deputy Chief of Staff for the Timor-Leste Presidency Fatima Liu Soares, Timor-Leste State Secretary for Art and Culture Jorge Cristovao, and Darwin Mayor Peter Styles of Australia. Indonesian Deputy Home Affairs Minister Bima Arya Sugiarto, NTT Governor Melki Laka Lena, and Belu District Head Willybrodus Lay also attended the event.

Governor Melki Laka Lena, standing beside the minister, framed the day in language that read more like a tourism pitch than a formal statement, and that’s precisely the point. “Yesterday, I witnessed firsthand how the Fulan Fehan Savanna transformed into a sea of people, culture, and friendship. This wasn’t just a performance, but a message that culture can unite us,” he said in a statement received in Kupang on June 28, 2026. He added a line that border regions rarely get to say about themselves. “NTT is not just about beautiful nature. NTT is about vibrant culture, friendly people, and traditions that connect the world.”

From Local Ritual to Regional Ambition

The festival’s organizers are not thinking small. Karnavian, who called this his first Fulan Fehan, left with a specific ambition attached to the province’s future. “Hopefully, Fulan Fehan will transform into an international festival in the coming years,” the minister said, reiterating that the festival functions as a diplomatic instrument to build closer relations with Timor-Leste and Australia through arts and culture, while its multicultural character also reflects Indonesia’s unity in diversity. He was careful to note that Belu’s tribal diversity remains within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia despite cultural and linguistic differences.

Governor Melki matched that ambition with a governance commitment rather than mere applause. “I have conveyed to the Minister of Home Affairs that we fully support this festival in the future, ensuring it becomes even more successful. Congratulations to the Belu Regency Administration and the Belu community. We are committed to supporting this festival to continue running annually,” he concluded. That kind of pledge, made publicly and repeated across two levels of government, is what turns a one-off cultural moment into an annual fixture on the calendar.

What This Means For SEA And International Visitors

The soft diplomacy playing out on the Fulan Fehan Savanna carries weight well beyond East Nusa Tenggara’s hills. For Southeast Asian neighbors watching border management unfold through festivals rather than fences, Indonesia is quietly modeling an alternative: turning frontier friction into shared economic upside. Travelers based in Singapore, where budgets run in SGD, will find the region’s homestays, local tenun textile markets, and savanna trekking remain remarkably affordable, often under 370,000 IDR (about 27 SGD) a night for a village stay, a fraction of typical Southeast Asian festival-tourism costs.

For international visitors further afield, the appeal is different but no less compelling. Fulan Fehan offers something increasingly rare: an authentic cultural event not yet reshaped by mass tourism infrastructure. Minister Karnavian’s ambition to make it an international festival signals that this window of relatively undiscovered access may not last. Those who arrive early, before boardwalks and ticketed grandstands replace open savanna, will witness cultural diplomacy in its rawest, most convincing form. For more news and editorials, visit our page to stay updated.

Sources:
[1] Fulan Fehan Festival Strengthens Cross-Border Friendship Through Likurai Dance
[2] Tarian Persahabatan meriahkan Festival Fulan Fehan di Belu, NTT
[3] Festival Fulan Fehan 2026, Hidupkan Kembali Warisan Budaya Perbatasan
[4] Fulan Fehan Festival deepens Indonesia’s ties with neighbors: Minister
[5] Mendagri Buka Festival Fulan Fehan 2026, Tampilkan Tarian Persahabatan

Keywords: Fulan Fehan Festival, Fulan Fehan Festival 2026, Likurai Dance Belu, Indonesia Timor Leste Relations, NTT Cultural Diplomacy, Border Tourism Indonesia, Tito Karnavian Fulan Fehan, Dance For Friendship Theme