Indonesia culture

Indonesia culture people food and festivals 

Culture & Religion of Indonesia - The present day culture of Indonesia is an outcome of the interplay of age-old- traditions from the time of early migrants and the Western thought brought by Portuguese traders and Dutch colonists. The basic principles, which guide life include the concepts of mutual assistance or "gotong royong" and consultations or "musyawarah" to arrive at a consensus or "mufakat". Derived from rural life, this system is still very much in use in community life throughout the country. Though the legal system is based on the Old Dutch penal code, social life as well as the rites of passage is founded on customary or "adat" law, which differs from area to area. ''Adat'' law has been instrumental in maintaining gender equality in Indonesia

Indonesian art forms are greatly influenced by religion. The famous dance dramas of Java and Bali are derived from Hindu mythology and often feature fragments from the Hindu epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and art form. As a whole the people are artistic by nature and express themselves on canvas, wood, metals, clay and stone. The batik process of waxing and dyeing originated in Java centuries ago and classic designs have been modified with modern trends in both pattern and technology. There are several centres of Batik in Java, the major ones being Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Pekalongan and Cirebon

Religion in Indonesia: The majority (about 88%) of the population follows Islam. In fact Indonesia is the nation with largest Muslim population. However, freedom of religion is provided by the Indonesian Constitution, which is defined in the First Principle of the State Philosophy' "Pancasila", which upholds a "Belief in One Supreme God". Others religions followed in Indonesia are Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Indonesia - a vast archipelago comprising more than 17,000 islands - contains a population numbering around 255 million people; a number that makes Indonesia the fourth most populous country in the world. These impressive numbers also imply that significant cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic diversity can expected to be found within its boundaries, ranging from the daily Hindu rituals practiced on the island of Bali to the prevalence of Islamic sharia law in Aceh (Sumatra) or the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles of the Mentawai people.

CULTURE COLUMNS

In this series of columns we try to unfold something related to Indonesia's cultures, histories, politics and economy, moving a bit away from the mainstream topics and columns in our other sections. These columns are useful to those who take an interest in a wide variety of disciplines with regard to Indonesia. Each column can be regarded a starting point for readers to explore a specific topic

RELIGIONS

Religion plays an important role within Indonesian society and in the daily lives of the people. Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world but it also contains millions of people that adhere to other main world religions as well as more traditional animist belief systems. This section gives a description of the main religions in Indonesia, to wit Islam, Christianity (incl. Catholicism), Hinduism and Buddhism. It gives a historic framework and describes the current role of religion in the country.