Logo , the white monkey character in the
Ramayana epic, the official mascot of the games. The official logo for the 1997 Games is an interpretation of three flames, and two torch rings, which reflects the Indonesian state philosophy of the
Pancasila. The upward flames represent the aspiration of the participating nations to achieve the highest standards at the Jakarta SEA Games. The colours of red, blue, and yellow are the basic colours of the flame. The color red represents the "spirit" of the Games, while the blue represents the "dynamism" of the Games, and the yellow represents the "hope" the Games brings to the athletes and people of Southeast Asia. The six-ring chain symbol, the emblem of the Southeast Asian Games Federation, symbolizes the Games' six founding nations and the SEA Games itself, and its gold colour represents the quality and solidarity of the Games. The logo is the last one to feature the organization's 6-ring emblem, just before it was replaced by its new 10-ring symbol (reflecting the present number of its member nations at the time), which was then introduced at the next edition in
1999.
Mascot The mascot of the 1997 Southeast Asian Games is a
Ramayana epic character named "
Hanuman". The
Ramayana, known in Java, Indonesia as
Kakawin Ramayana, is an Indian epic, which spread into Southeast Asia including the Indonesian archipelago during the ancient times. It does not only exists in oral and literary works, but also serves as the underlying theme for art performances and as the inspiration for other works, such as sculptures, paintings and literature. According to the Ramayana epic, he is an ardent devotee of
Rama who fighting alongside him in the face of conflict and struggle and is always successful in accomplishing his tasks due to his superiority in speed, strength and altitude. The tasks managed by Hanuman in the epic includes: travel to Alengka (
Lanka) and back in a day, fought in several battles and able to fly in the clouds when performing duties. Hanuman exist in the form of a white monkey in the Javanese adaptation of the epic and is one of the characters featured in the
Wayang Shadow Puppet Show, known to the locals with the title
Sang Kera Pemuja Dewa Rama (The mighty devotee ape of Rama). The adoption of Hanuman as the games mascot is to promote the games motto: "May the best man win", a phrase used before a competition to hope that the most deserving person wins. The cotton white colour of his body hair, a colour which symbolises sincerity and innocence, while the gold and black colour represents his attribute as a Wayang character. His cotton white colour represents sportsmanship spirit, while the yellow and black colour represents quality.
Sponsors A total of 31 sponsors sponsored the games. •
Pos Indonesia • Zyrex •
Sybase • Kesakuno Reyakasa •
Panasonic •
Tiger Beer •
Konica (now
Konica Minolta) •
Satelindo •
Seiko •
Nike, Inc. •
Milo • Dharmala Intiland • Aqua •
Mikasa Sports •
Kompas •
Nikon •
Wall's •
Kymco •
Djarum •
Gatorade •
Indomie •
Krating Daeng • Spotec • Pfizer •
Yonex •
Motorola • Mulia •
IndoMobil Group •
Telkomsel • Citra Sari Makmur •
SingNet • Asaba •
Lucent •
Intel ==The games==