indonesia volcano landscape
 
Indonesia, the meeting point of two great cultures; Asian and Melanesian, is formed of an extraordinary diversity that presents an exceptional beauty within the country’s traditions, values, language, religion and habits.

INDONESIAN CULTURE

indonesian women in bali dancing in costumes
Indonesia, the largest country in Southeast Asia, is well known for its great diversity in terms of both nature and people. The name of this country originally comes from the Greek ‘indos’, meaning “India” and ‘nesos’, meaning “island”. Its archipelago embodies one of the furthermost scarce areas in the world; enclosing a significant conjunction of Earth’s tectonic plates, ranging two faunal kingdoms, and functioning as an interconnection of the cultures of mainland Asia and Oceania for thousands of years. There is not one prevailing ethnicity, language nor religion. It composes of over 300 diverse ethnic groups, more than 600 various languages, and utmost the main world’s and as well indigenous religions. All this is a result of continuous development of the ongoing convergence of inhabitants.
The Indonesia’s national motto: “Bhinneka tunggal ika”, which means “Unity in diversity”, perfectly captures the manifoldness of the country’s beauty.
temple in indonesia

HANDMADE IN INDONESIA

THE INDONESIAN CRAFTS

handcrafted ornaments of indonesian costume
The opulent cultural heritage of Indonesian arts and crafts is one of its true treasures. One of the main influencing factors shaping the look and feel of their crafts was the continuous exposure to other cultures over trade. Handicrafts developed from the day to day usage of objects found in every household, which had a particular decoration and had a special purpose during ceremonies. The materials used for such objects ranged from natural woods, fibres, bamboo, rattan to grass. When it comes to ornamentation styles they used both natural and chemical dyes, beads and more, which eventually have grown into distinctive forms of art. One of major noticeable aspects of their crafts is symbolism. The range of symbols derives from Indonesian traditions, myths and beliefs, including signs inspired by nature, heaven, hell, love, war and gods.
The usage and combination of colours, shapes and their arrangements represent exceptional meanings. Some designs are allowed to be worn only by women and some only by men, or some even only by the associates of the royal family or nobility.
artisan using handicrafts in indonesia

THE INDONESIAN PEOPLE

muslim girl in indonesia
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, where nearly 88% of the population is Muslim, making it the biggest Muslim society in the world. With the great ethnical diversity of this country, there are around 583 languages and dialects spoken, some differ significantly some on the other hand have visible similarities. However, that’s not all, it becomes even more complicated as the languages are spoken in several different dialects. Nevertheless, in between the great span of spoken words, Indonesia has one national language called Bahasa Indonesia, which shares similarities with Malay.
When it comes to visiting as a tourist, it should not be a problem to communicate in English only, as Indonesia has experienced a very strong influence from the Dutch government. Such impact can be seen in the fact that even in some big cities Dutch is still spoken.
indigenous people of indonesia

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