|
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. |
