History
Ancient Indonesia saw the reign of hundreds of ancient kingdoms all over the archipelago. This gave birth to various traditional customs, arts, and culture, as well as historical sites and relics. For instance, by the Seventh Century, the powerful Buddhist Kingdom of Sriwijaya was expanding and it was during that period the spectacular Borobudur sanctuary was built in Central Java. The Thirteenth Century witnessed the rise of Hinduist Majapahit Empire in East Java, which united the whole of what is now modern day Indonesia and parts of the Malay Peninsula. The great empire fell after two centuries, leaving Indonesia back to separate, small kingdoms, which were easy prey for European invasions.
First, the Portuguese arrived in 1509, seeking for spices, and monopolized the trade route by force. Then, in the middle of 16th century, Dutch took over the occupation for about 350 years. The riches of Indonesian natural resources were brought over to Europe and traded for national funding. The Dutch East Indies, as it was known at the time, fell under British rule for the period of 1811-1816. Lastly, Japanese took over for three and a half years, until Indonesia proclaimed its independence at August 17th, 1945.
People
Indonesians consist of 45% Javanese, 14% Sudanese, 7.5% Madurese and 26% other ethnic groups. Natives of the island and immigrants from Asia are living here and were called Indonesian after the independence of Indonesia in 1945.
There are about 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. They normally belong to the different ethnic groups of the population. Some of the distinctly different local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Tetum of Timor, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several Irianese languages. To make the picture even more colorful, these languages are also spoken in different dialects.
Bahasa Indonesia is the national language, which is akin to Malay, written in Roman script and based on European orthography. In all tourist destination areas English is the number one foreign language fairly spoken and writer, whereas some Dutch is till spoken and understood in the bigger cities and French increasing in its popularity at the better hotels and restaurants.
Though the legal system is based on the old Dutch penal code, social life as well as the rites of passage are founded on customary or "adat" law which differs from area to area. "Adat" law has a binding impact on Indonesian life. Religious influences on the community are variously evident from island to island.
Many regions still have traditional villages you can visit. Check Cultural Tourism section in each region for more info.
Indonesian ancestors were born with talent for crafting things out of trees, metal, mud and rock. This led to the beauty and artful Indonesian handicrafts. Our love towards the beauty of rhythm and movements gave births to many performing arts, as well as traditional music and dances.
Fauna
Indonesia contains one of the world's most remarkable geographical boundaries in its distribution of animals. This dates back to the glacial period when sea level fell all over the world. During this period the islands of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Bali on the Sunda Shelf were joined together with one another and the Asian mainland, but Irian Jaya, Aru and the Australian continent of the Sahul Shelf were separated. This early geographical separation explains why the tropical animal species of Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan do not exist in Irian Jaya. For the same reason, the kangoroo of Irian Jaya is missing in the other region. Maluku, Sulawesi, and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which lie between the Sunda and Sahul shelves, have a strikingly different fauna. Most of the eastern fauna do not exist in Sulawesi even though this island is close to Kalimantan, being just across the Makassar Strait. One possible reason for this is that Kalimantan and Sulawesi might have been separated by a deep straight at one point, while the great depth of the Banda Sea kept them apart during the glacial period. Some scientists have attributed the phenomenon to three faunial lines. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE (1823-1913) wrote in his book, "The Malay Archipelago", that Nusantara was separated into the Oriental ecological area and the Australian ecological area by a Wallace L line that runs from the South to North, passing the Lombok and Makassar Straits and ending in the south eastern part of The Philippines.
Flora
The rich flora of Indonesia includes many unique varieties of tropical plant life in various forms. Rafflesia Arnoldi, which is only found in certain parts of Sumatra, is the largest flower in the world. The parasitic plant grows on certain lianas but does not produce leaves. The myriad of orchids in rich in species, varying in size from the largest of all orchids, the tiger orchid of Grammatophyllum Speciosum, to the tiny and leafless species of Taeniophyllum which is edible and taken by the local people as a medicine and is also used in handicrafts. On June 5, 1990, in a ceremony to mark the World Environment Day, President Soeharto declared three flowers as Indonesia's national flowers: the melati (small white sweet smelling flower), the angrek bulan (moon orhid) and the Raflesia Arnoldi, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and Dr. Arnold. About 6,000 species of plants are known to be used directly or indirectly by the people. A striking example in this modern time is the use of plants in the production of traditional herbal medicine or "Jamu". Flowers are indispensable in ceremonial, customary and traditional rites.
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