PEOPLE OF INDONESIA

Indonesia’s population of 220 million is divided among 500 ethnic groups. Jakarta is the capital. Its modernization and economic development have attracted hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country to seek a better fortune. This has caused the city’s population to grow to approximately 15 million inhabitants.

The biggest ethnic group is the Javanese, who live in East and Central Java from 47 percent of population. During the Dutch colonial occupation many Javanese were moved to Sumatera, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan islands because of a shortage of labor on those islands. This policy of relocating people to other islands is being continued by the Indonesian government. As a result, ethnic groups often mingle with local communities.

This multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multireligious society is united by the country’s philosophy, “Bhineka Tunggal Ika”, which means “Unity in Diversity”. The diversity is enriched by Arab, Indian, and Chinese, who have been living in Indonesia for many generations and whose cultures have blended with the local cultures.

I entered Setu Babakan, a Betawi heritage reserve in Srengseng Sawah district, South Jakarta, through a gate, Bang Pitung (Brother Pitung), named after a Robin Hood character who came to represent for the Betawi the struggle for independence against the Dutch in the 1940s.

The reserve, which is not far from the University of Indonesia in Depok, was established as a Betawi enclave in conjunction with Jakarta’s 474th anniversary in 2004, with the aim of consolidating the culture of the Betawi, who were for years marginalized because of their low hierarchy under Dutch colonial rule.

The Betawi emerged in the 19th century from a melting pot of different ethnicities, including the Javanese, Chinese, Sundanese and Balinese, which were brought to Batavia by the Dutch rulers. more...

Javanese society in AD 800 produced enough surplus food and labor to support a great deal of activity which did not produce direct economy benefits. The Javanese must have had abundant manpower to haul the stones, skilled craftsmen to carve them, and well organized institutions to coordinate such an ambitious and complex project.

All about the Javanese society can be learn from the panels in Borobudur temple and many other ancient’s temples in Java. There hundreds temples and archeological sites scattered in the island.

Traders along the silk route introduced Buddhism to China during the first centuries AD, and the new religion soon acquired a firm foothold beside the indigenous Chinese belief of Taoism and Confucianism. more...

Unity in Diversity is the motto of Indonesia, this phrase is the only to describe Indonesia variety of culture, there are about 500 ethnic groups with various local custom and culture (languages, ceremony, dance, music, architecture, clothes, etc.) which have been inherit from their ancestors. The ethnic groups spread from Sabang (the northernmost tip of Sumatra) to Merauke in Papua.

The Javanese community is the largest number of Indonesia's total population, followed by the Sundanese, Madurese, Minangkabau, Buginese, Bataknese, Balinese, Ambonese, Dayaks, Sasaks, the Acehnese, etc. more...