A Detailed Insight into Indonesia - Essay Example

A Detailed Insight into Indonesia Impact of Geography and climate on the culture of Indonesia- Indonesia, part of the countries that make up South-East Asia, is composed of around 17,508 islands. It is a republic with elected governing bodies and an elected president at its head, and the country is a colorful mix of many cultures and religions. Indonesia also has the world’s largest population of Muslims. With a population of about 230 million people, it is the fourth most populated country in the world. Despite the huge population, Indonesia has managed to keep large tracts of forest regions alive. teeming with flora and fauna, and it can boast of having the world’s second largest level of biodiversity, after Australia. Of the 15,508 islands in Indonesia around 6000 are inhabited, spread all around the equatorial region. The largest and the most famous amongst these are Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, New Guinea, and Sulawesi. It shares borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Singapore, Philippines and Australia. Since this country is located right near the Australian, Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates, it is an earthquake prone country and also sees a high level of volcanic activity. Indonesia is a hot and humid tropical country and experiences a lot of rain. Since its location is on the seacoast, Indonesia has long been an important trade center, right from the seventh century with strong trade relations with China and India. As a result, it adopted many Indian and Chinese cultural and religious practices and had many Hindu and Buddhist dynasties that ruled here. Its rich natural resources have also attracted many other foreign traders, who also added their cultural influences. The Muslim traders brought in the religion of Islam, while European powers that have also left a cultural impact, fought over the right of the Spice Trade in the island of Maluku. The different ethnic and various religious societies that inhabit the various islands of Indonesia are different from each other and they reflect the natural diversity of this colorful country. Although the islands that form this archipelago are all connected to each other through trade, wars, politics and the formation of the republic of Indonesia, they have managed to stay apart, culturally. Even within islands (like Sumatra), there co-exist various cultures that are completely distinct from each other. Such large differences make is almost impossible to categorize Indonesia culturally. As Forshee tells us, “cultures of Indonesia vividly reflect adaptations to land, climate, and seas; the variety of languages and societies across the archipelago developed through an insularity of islands (some far more than others) as well as the many influxes of people and influences upon them…outside influences constantly arrived throughout the past and while most evident in multi- ethnic port communities, they eventually made their ways to the hinterlands through trade” (Forshee, 6). Language (written and oral) official languages of the country; number of dialects or language groups within this country? Does dialect or language group spoken indicate a specific social/economic/educational status? Indonesia being a land of diverse religion, culture and ethnicity has a large variation in its form of language spoken all over the archipelago. However owing to the efforts of the colonial rulers a standard pattern of formal discourse for the entire country was formed, by the Balai Pustaka publishing house that is still practiced and taught in schools. Here the formal discourse as designed by the Dutch colonial rulers follows the literary form of Malay, of the Sumatran islands. After gaining independence, the country has set up a Centre for Language Development who is now in charge of taking care of propagating a language for the unification of the country. As Quinn further informs us of the functions of the this Centre “Among its initiatives have been the publication of a standard grammar Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia (A Standard Grammar of Indonesian, 1988) and a standard dictionary, the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia(A Comprehensive Dictionary of Indonesian, 1988). It has encouraged people to use an officially endorsed style of formal Indonesian promoted under the slogan Gunakan Bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar (Use good and correct Indonesian)” (Quinn, Bahasa Indonesia: The Indonesian Language). There are differences in Indonesian dialect too, with two main forms of dialect in use. These are the northern dialect or Malay, mainly spoken in Malaysia and Singapore. The southern dialect is mainly used in Indonesia and can be again divided into two types. As Quinn informs “The southern variant may in turn be divided into two broad dialect domains, the western and the eastern, each having slightly different patterns of stress and intonation and some differences in vocabulary. The western variant is spoken throughout Sumatra, Kalimantan, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and most of Sulawesi. The eastern variant, often referred to roughly and popularly as Ambonese Malay, is spoken in the north of Sulawesi, the islands of Maluku, in Flores, Timor and in West Papua. Within both western and eastern dialect domains there are local dialects shaped by the influence of local languages” (Quinn, Bahasa Indonesia: The Indonesian Language). There are also differences in style of speaking and registering speech. Like any other language, formal Indonesian is used for public speeches, literary work and is taught in schools and vastly different from the colloquial form spoken at a daily basis. Some Indonesian dialects also contain ‘high’ and ‘low’ levels of discourse and it is a general custom to speak in deferential tones to elders and those in higher rungs of the social order. Thus language in Indonesia does indeed indicate the place of origin of the speaker (geographically) and also indicates whether the person has been formally educated or not, thus to some extent also displaying the social and economic status of a person. English and Dutch (especially those who studied in schools under Dutch colonial rule) are also spoken in Indonesia to some extent. Ethnic groups and their status in the country: Indonesia is a multicultural and diverse country and has a large number of ethnic groups and other minorities. As Frederick and Worden informs us, “In the early 1990s, Indonesias society was divided into numerous ethnic groups and minorities. The largest groups were the Javanese at 45 percent of the total population. Sudanese made up 14 percent, followed by Madurese, 7.5 percent, and coastal Malays, 7.5 percent. As a sign of its diverse population, fully 26 percent of the population in 1992 consisted of numerous small ethnic groups or minorities. The extent of this diversity is unknown, however, since Indonesian censuses do not collect data on ethnicity” (Frederick and Worden, U.S. Library of Congress, Tradition and Multiethnicity). In the past Indonesia has been a model of peace and harmonious co-existence of religion and culture. Still today in most areas of the country the people of diverse cultures co-exist peacefully, with the exceptions in the regions of Kalimantan and West Papua, where there have been violent ethnic clashes. Often the ethnic Chinese are made targets of these clashes, as there are perceived differences in their economic status within the country. The recent volatile conditions after the end of the Suharto rule, is mainly due to unstable political and economic conditions in the country. The government’s policy on transmigration has also led to many such violent clashes. The Chinese ethnic groups in most cases have been at the centre of these violent eruptions. Though making up for only 4% of the total population, the Chinese population till recently held the economic reigns of the country, mainly due to the policy of the Dutch government to take Chinese ‘middlemen’ for any new economic venture. However, there are also many poor and low wage earning Chinese men and it is unfortunate they also had to withstand the worst of country’s anger. In 1998, violent clashes left almost 1200 Chinese men dead, and soon after this incident, most of the remaining Chinesemen fled the country. Though the situation is slightly better now, there are at least 50 laws that are considered to be discriminatory against the ethnic Chinese. Under the Transmigration Policy started by the Suharto government, people were allowed to move into less populated regions of the country. Such people who were willing to migrate were given land, houses, education and many other benefits by the government. The original indigenous population of those less populated regions felt that the migrants were destroying their culture and land, and this led to many clashes between the local and migrant population. Thus at present Indonesia has lost much of its reputation of being multicultural with peaceful co-existence of all ethnic and culturally different people. Major religions- Philosophy and/or worldviews. How have they affected the country/culture?  Indonesia with its myriad collection of different religions and cultures, have blended the old faith of animism, with modern views and adapted then to suit their own social conditions and consciousness. Animism (paganism of Europe and America) which believes that the entire nature has a spiritual power and its blend with other religions has produced cultures and creeds that are multilayered with complex ideas and ideologies that have fascinated scholars for many years. Islam in Indonesia (Java) has many aspects of the mystical form of animism that is deeply embedded within its religious thoughts and practices. Similarly, Hinduism in Bali, and Christianity throughout the country, also show the same thing. All Indonesian religions thus are hybrid in practice and faith. This is also evident in all aspects of the Indonesian life and is reflected in their art and architecture, cuisine and other social relationships. 88% of the Indonesians are Muslims, 8% Christians, 3% Hindu, 1% Buddhist while 1% other minority ethnic groups. All the main religions of the world have been adopted by the Indonesians, and their own ancient faith and rituals has been incorporated into these religions. Hinduism, with its belief in rebirths, dharma, moksha and karma, came to Indonesia in around 100AD and were transformed to suit local beliefs. Famous Hindu Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were localized and the story retold through their very own puppet shows, dances and other visual mediums. Buddhism, an offshoot of the main stream Hinduism, had its belief centered on Gyan or knowledge, control of desires, morality and nirvana, reached the shores of Indonesia around 6th century BC. It was the Mahayana form of Buddhism that was in practice in Indonesia and came from China. Islam, which came to Indonesia from Arabia, through Muslim traders, was popular amongst the commoners, as it preached equality. Islam in Indonesia was in a moderate form and preached tolerance. It was divided into three forms to suit the needs of the local Indonesian. Abangan, containing magic and sorcery, was for the commoners, the santri version for the richer merchant classes was complex in its social and political structure, while priyayi with many Hindu doctrines intertwined into the basic Islam religion, was for the ruling aristocratic classes. Christianity came to Indonesia through the Dutch colonial rulers and also became influenced by the local cultures and traditions. Thus, Indonesia formed a colorful patchwork of different religions that were all evolved to become a part of the local culture and tradition, not seen in other part of the world. For years, all these various religions have co-existed in peace, but in 1945 at the time of independence, there had been a heated discussion as to whether it should be declared a pluralistic state or whether it should be declared a multi religious country. As Beck says, “advocates of a religious pluralistic state aimed at the recognition of several religions existing together in peace and liberty on a basis of equality. Their opponents, on the other hand, supported the idea of multi religious state in which the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Indonesia was officially recognized by the establishment of an Islamic state…finally for the sake of the unity of Indonesia, a compromise was reached. It was decided that Indonesia would become a state based on the doctrine of Pancasila, which meant it was neither an Islamic state nor a secularist state” (Beck, A Pillar of Social Harmony, 332). Marginalized members and indigenous people of this country. Who are the haves and have-nots? How do they live, where do they live and how are they treated by the majority culture and/or government? – In Indonesia, studies have revealed that Chinese are the most marginalized members of this country. In fact, the Chinese in this country face two levels of marginalization. As Davis points out “The Chinese are already socially marginalized for their race and ethnicity in Indonesia, which is culturally Malay and Muslim. Yet, the Chinese Muslims in Indonesia… face a second level of marginalization from within their own community for their religious beliefs and practices. Similarly, poor Chinese in Indonesia…are also marginalized by the wealthier Chinese in Indonesia” (Davis, Reconceptualizing Ethnic Minorities in Asia). It is also claimed that women in Indonesia are marginalized socially, politically and economically, though they form the majority in the men-women ratio. Efforts have been made to bridge the gap between men and women in the field of education, “However, there are still hindrances deeply-rooted in the socio-cultural values and norms of Indonesian society. Although there is no legislation which discriminates against women in Indonesia, including the matter of education, cultural traditions have militated against girls and women, particularly in rural areas” (Girls and Women’s education in Indonesia, 1). Government is trying to promote education and instill a sense of equality amongst girls and women by various programs. It is also trying to create a social and cultural climate more conducive for the betterment of women. Indigenous and ethnic people also form a part of the marginalized members of Indonesia. Indonesia recognizes only the main religions of Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. There had been politics during the regime of Suharto to slowly annihilate the indigenous identities of the people, and conversions to the recognized religions were encouraged. These indigenous people were a part of Indonesia before any of the major religions came to this land. As defined by the Social ministry of Indonesia, these indigenous people today, consist of “groups of people who live or are nomadic in geographically remote and isolated areas and are socially and culturally alienated and/or still underdeveloped compared to other Indonesian communities in general. Underdeveloped in the definition was in regard to health, education, housing, clothing, and ways of life. BAPPENAS (National Agencyfor Development Planning) suggested some characteristics of isolated people, namely that they (i) live as nomads or are scattered in small groups; (ii) depend on nature through hunting, fishing, gathering, and swidden farming; (iii) have low health or environmental standards; (iv) have a low standard of housing; (v) have limited knowledge and technology; (vi) have animistic beliefs; and (vii) are strongly tied to their culture and beliefs, which isolate them” (cited in Adat Communities in Indonesia, 4). These indigenous people have become a source of perennial problem for the Indonesian government. The location of these people as per the rough estimates of the social ministry of Indonesia “These people are in 18 provinces in the outer islands. According to statistical data, there are about 6,000 households (or about 31,000 people) in Central Sulawesi under the isolated people category, associated with 15 ethnic groups” (Adat Communities in Indonesia, 4). These people also cause a problem to the forest department by using resources from the forests, thus depleting the nation’s forest cover. The government and many NGOs are trying to bring these isolated people into the mainstream and trying to use to education to enlighten them. Gender expectations and differences. Describe and explain: Pangkahila and Pangkahila explain the social status of women in Indonesia “In the traditional Indonesian society, women clearly occupy a lower social status than men. This is still the dominant value in Indonesian culture. The idea that the female’s place is in the kitchen is still easy to find, especially in the villages. The husband-wife relationship is a chief-assistant relationship rather than a partnership. Nevertheless, the role of women is improving in modern Indonesian society. Many women work outside the home, particularly in restaurants, garment, and cigarette factories, even though their wages are lower than those of males. Many female physicians, notaries, and lawyers are found in modern Indonesia. A few women have achieved high political positions as cabinet and parliament members” (Pangkahila and Pangkahila, Indonesia). The traditional role of an Indonesian woman is generally relegated to that of a homemaker, and performing her household duties. It is not at all taken in a good light, if a single woman especially if she has a college degree, opts to stay alone in the city. A typical Indonesian household will comprise of the husband who will be the breadwinner of the family and will be responsible for the family’s economic and social goodwill, while the wife will take care of all the household duties and chores. A woman reared in traditional Indonesian ways and cultures, will be taught to submit before the men of the family and see that there is peace and harmony within the house. She is taught right from childhood that the welfare of her family should be her top priority rather than taking part and debating over some global issues like modern educated women do in other parts of the world. Thus, we find that women are subjected to gender differentiation and given less preferential treatment when compared with men. In fact inheritance laws in Indonesia are also said to be more favorable towards men, but in actual practice women are also very often given rights to inherit. However, as an author points out “Democratic reforms after 1998 brought about an increase in women’s activism, particularly at the grassroots level105. Women’s opportunities and political representation have since increased. For example, Ms Megawati Soekarnoputri was appointed vice-president in 1999 and President in 2001. In the 2004 national elections, a 30 per cent quota for female candidates was recommended” (Gender Equality: Indonesia, 1). Indonesia, though, primarily a Muslim country, the women here are generally given more freedom and a higher status than other Islamic countries. In a village agricultural system, men and women are seen to work in unison. The plowing jobs are done by men while women in groups are seen to be doing the harvesting. Men are more into fishing and hunting and when they go away for a long terms, women take care of all aspects of farming. Women are seen to be working in shops, small factories, and other business enterprises, though their numbers are always small when compared to men. It has been noticed that most elementary school teachers are women, while men as teachers and professors, dominate the secondary and higher levels of studies. Government and all other jobs are mostly dominated by men but in recent times, there are women who are also taking up government jobs and other ministerial posts. In general however, in view of Indonesian social terms, men are seen as political and community leaders. They are looked upon as the decision makers who all are eligible to interact with the outside world. A woman as a homemaker forms the strength and backbone of a traditional Indonesian household. Works Cited Adat Communities in Indonesia. Identification and Issues. n.d. Web. 18th February 2010. http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Indigenous_Peoples/INO/chapter_2.pdf. Beck, H. A Pillar of Social Harmony. In Leertouwer, Wiegers and Platvoet “Modern societies & The science of religions: studies in honour of Lammert Leertouwer.” Leiden: Brill. 2002. Print. Davis, S. Reconceptualizing Ethnic Minorities in Asia. AAS Annual Meeting. Border crossing Session. 3rd April 2005. Web. 18th February 2010. http://www.asian-studies.org/absts/2005abst/Border/bc-1.htm Forshee, J. Culture and Customs of Indonesia. Westport : Greenwood Publishing Group. 2006. Print. Frederick, W, and Worden, R. Indonesia- Tradition and Multiethnicity. US Library of Congress. 1993. Web. 18th February 2010. http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/44.htm Gender Equality: Indonesia. n.d. web. 18th February 2010.  http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/template2/arsh/Country_Profiles/Indonesia/indonesia_genderequality.pdf. Girl’s and Women’s Education in Indonesia. 1995. Web. 18th February 2010.  http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/appeal/gender/indonesia.pdf. Pangakahila, W, and Pangakahila J. Indonesia – Republik Indonesia. Web. 18th February 2010. http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/indonesia.html Quinn, G. Bahasa Indonesia: The Indonesian Language. The Learners Dictionary of Todays Indonesian. 2001. Web 18th February 2010. http://www.hawaii.edu/indolang/malay.html . Read More