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Social and religious duty has,
over time, been refined to form a code of behaviour called
adat or traditional law. Islam is the predominant religion
of the archipelago but it's somewhat tempered by elements of
Hindu-Buddhism, adat and animism. In Java, especially, there
are hundreds of places where spiritual energy is thought to
be concentrated and can be absorbed by followers. Despite a
lengthy colonial period, missionaries were only successful
in converting small pockets of the Indonesian population to
Christianity - the Bataks of Sumatra, the Toraks of Sulawesi
and 95% of the population of Flores being notable examples.
Over 300 languages are spoken in the archipelago and most
belong to the Malay-Polynesian group. Within this group,
many regional languages and dialects are spoken. The lingua
franca of the archipelago is Bahasa Indonesia, which is
almost identical to Malay. It uses a number of foreign
words, indicating the long history of contact Indonesia has
had with other cultures. In recent years, Bahasa Indonesia
has been appropriated by teenagers into a new and trendy
vernacular called Bahasa Prokem; it has proved mostly
unintelligible to the older generation.
Batik, the art of applying wax to cloth and then tie-dying
in colourful and dramatic designs, is produced throughout
Indonesia, and the centre of this activity is Yogyakarta in
Java. Other craft forms include: ikat, which is a type of
weaving with tie-dyed threads; songket, a silk cloth with
gold or silver threads woven into it; and kris, artwork
often decorated with jewels. Javanese wayang (puppet) plays
and gamelan (hypnotic music composed mostly of percussive
instruments) are also popular artistic forms.
Many Indonesian dishes are Chinese-influenced, but some,
such as Padang food from Sumatra, are distinctly home-grown.
Wherever you travel in Indonesia you'll see vendors selling
snacks such as potatoes, sweet nuts, biscuits or fruit. Rice
is the basis of each meal, eaten as a soup or with an
assortment of hot and spicy side dishes, salad and pickles.
Nasi goreng (fried rice) is the most common dish, while sate
(skewered meats with a spicy peanut sauce), gado-gado (bean
sprouts and vegies in peanut sauce) and seafood are also
popular. The variety of tropical fruits grown would make a
greengrocer swoon. They include custard apples, durians,
guavas, jackfruits, mangoes, papayas, starfruits and
rambutans.
Information
provided by
Department of Tourism. Government of
Indonesia |
