About Indonesia
Culture of Indonesia
Culture
Sriwijaya...Majapahit...Mataram...Spice Islands... Dutch East Indies......
over the centuries, the islands have been known by many different names. The
modern Republic of Indonesia , born on August 17, 1945, may be relatively young
among the world's roster of nations. But it embraces a people whose roots
stretch deep into antiquity. Indeed, one of the earliest archaelogical
discoveries of human life named "Java Man."
One way of grasping the successive waves of human settlement shaping
Indonesian history is to observe the composition of Indonesia's 180 million
citizens as they are today. In all, Indonesia is home to nearly 300 seperate
linguistic groups. The majority of Indonesia's people are or Malay stock
(similar to the original inhabitants of the neighboting countries of Malaysia
and the Philippines).
Historically, the Malay people split into dozens of smaller subgroups,
dispersing throughout the archipelago in widely varying family structures and
language groups.
Of these, the most numerous and culturally influential within Indonesia
today are the Javanese, inhabitant of Central Java. But equally enduring
cultural traditions are to be found among the Sundanese of West Java... the
Minahasan people of North Sulawesi... The Bugis and Makassars of South
Sulawesi... and of course, the people of Bali, famed for their changeless ways.
Indonesia also is home to a rich tapestry of other ethnically distinc
indigenous people. The Dani, Asmat, and dozens of other tribes of Irian Jaya
(the Indonesian province on the island of New Guinea) are of Melanesian stock.
The people of Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda) islands... the Dayaks of Kalimantan
(the Indonesian portion of Borneo)... and the Batak of North Sumatra, each
represent groups of distinct ethnic origins and customs.
Indonesia even has one large ethnic subgroup -- the Minangkabau of West
Sumatra -- whose matrilineal society is ruled by women, with property passed
from mother to daughter, rather from father to son. (Make a link to this text
along with pictures)
With diverse traditions of social organization and cultural development in
place for hundreds of years. Indonesia's people naturally provide a rich and
varied mosaic of artistic and cultural activities in all forms an expressions.
The lively arts -- music and dance -- are widespread throughout Indonesia.
Traditional forms -- especially gamelan music from Java and dance from Bali --
have long been known beyond the borders of Indonesia. They are still being
learned from childhood -- and performed actively -- to this day. Indonesia's
graphic arts -- most notably its fabled textiles, including Javanese batik and
ikat weavings from Sumatra and the Nusa Tenggara islands -- have achieved high
forms of expression an are prized by collectors the world over.
Many of Indonesia's smaller ethnic groups -- particularly the Batak, Dayak,
Nias and Asmat peoples -- have developed a strongly characteristic form of
artistic expression, rendered prolifically in ceremonial objects, fashioned in
unique design motifs from wood and stone. In the face of such ethnic diversity,
the newly-formed republic decided following independence that a single,
standard, nationwide language was essential as a meands of uniting Indonesia's
people. To this day, local dialects can still be heard in villages throughout
the archipelago. But "Bahasa Indonesia" (which gained formal recognition
in the 1920s, founded on the traditional Malay language, which is also today's
official language in neighboring Malaysia) has met with almost universal
exceptance -- making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
The patterns characterizing Indonesia's ethnic history can also be seen in
the country's religious development. In successive phases, Indonesia was
influenced by the spread of Animism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. (link
to picture with text.)
Today, the country's dominant religion is Islam. Indeed, with over 85
percent of the population following the Islamic faith, Indonesia has more
Moslem adherents than the entire Arab world. In spite of this, all major
religions continue to be practiced throughout the country, a freedom guaranteed
by national law. Each of the country's four major religions is honored with at
least one national holiday every year.
Today, the world's most magnificent Buddhist temple, Borobudur, can be found
only a few miles from one of Hinduism's most important historic shrines --
Prambanan -- in Central Java. Meanwhile, in modern downtown Jakarta, the city's
Roman Catholic cathedral and Istiqlal, the largest of its Islamic mosques,
stand only a few hundred meters apart.
Because Indonesia achieved national independence
through revolution, the early years of the new republic were focused on forging
a consensus of national unity and basic political orientation under the
leadership of Soekarno, the nation's founding president. The first two decades
following independence were marked by political and economic turbulence not
uncommon among countries in the initial stages of nation building. By the late
1960's, however, following several years of "growing pains" --
characterized by intense cathartic internal struggles -- Indonesia succeeded in
resolving its early difficulties, including a period of severe political
volatility in 1965-1966. Under the "New Order" government of
President Soeharto, the country launched itself briskly on a path of pragmatic
growth and development, to which it has held firmly ever since.
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