Indonesia General Information Part 1

Indonesia General Information Part 1: The Indonesia, History, The Capital, Climate, Religion, Language and Dialects

Indonesia is the largest archipelago and the fourth most populous country in the world. The name Indonesia is composed of two Greek words: “Indos” which means Indian and “nesos” meaning islands.

Consisting of five main islands and 30 smaller archipelagos, it has a total of 17,508 islands of which about 6,000 are inhabited. It stretches 5,150 km between the Australian and Asian continental mainlands and divides the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator.

The main islands are Sumatra (473,606 sq. km), Kalimantan (539,460 sq. km), Sulawesi (189,216 sq. km) Papua (421,981 sq. km), and the smallest but most populated is Java (132,187 sq. km). Indonesia shares the islands of Kalimantan (two thirds) with Malaysia and Papua with Papua New Guinea.

A democratic republic, Indonesia is divided into 32 provinces and special territories and classified geographically into four groups. First is the Greater Sundas, comprising the larger islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

Second is the Lesser Sundas consisting of smaller islands from Bali eastward to Timor. Third is Maluku which includes all islands between Papua and Sulawesi. The fourth group is Papua in the extreme eastern part of the country. The strategic position of the archipelago, the history of Indonesia, both political and economic, has been conditioned by geography.

History

The first proof of the earliest inhabitants of Java was discovered by Dr. Eugene Dubois in 1890. Fossils of the “Java Man” (Pithecanthropus Erectus) dating back 500,000 years were excavated near Trinil Village in East Java followed by other findings in later years.

Migration movements to Indonesia have been traced back to 3,000-500 B.C. of Mongoloid stock from China and Tonkin introducing New Stone, Bronze and Iron Age cultures and the Austronesian language. Indonesia came under the influence of the Indian Civilization through the gradual influx of Indian traders in the first century A.D. when great empires began to emerge bound to Hinduism and Buddhism.

By the seventh century, the powerful Buddhist Kingdom of Sriwijaya expanded and it was probably during this period that the spectacular Borobudur Buddhist sanctuary was built in Central Java.

The thirteenth century saw the rise of the fabiolous Hindu empire of Majapahit in East Java which united the whole of Indonesia and parts of the Malay peninsula and ruld for two centuries. Remnants of this glorious peroid in Indonesia’s history are the many monuments spread through Java, like the Prambanan temple near Yogyakarta, the Penataran temple complex in East Java, the temples on Dieng Plateau and many others.

The first attempt to invide Indonesia was by the Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan who was driven back in 1293. With the arrival of Arab Traders, Islam spread gradually till the end of 16th century and replaced Hinduism and Buddhism as the dominant religion. Small Moslem Kingdoms arose, but none too strong toward European penetrations which followed.

The first European to set foot on Java was Marco Polo in 1292 but it was much later that the Portuguese arrived in pursuit of the spice trade in 1509 and established trading posts which they controlled from the strategic commercial centre of Malacca on the Malay peninsula.

The Dutch followed at the turn of the 16th century and succeeded in ousting the Portuguese to the easternmost islands where the Spaniards held some ports. The Dutch expanded control of the entire area in the 17th and 18th centuries and held it till the outbreak of World War II. Known as the Dutch East Indies, it fell under British rule for a short period (1811-1816) when Holland was occupied by France during the Napoleonic wars.

The British Lt. Governor for Java and its dependencies, Sir Thomas Stamford Rafless, was known for his liberal attitude towards the people under colonial rule and his research on the history of Java.

Long bloody wars were launched by the native people againts the Dutch Colonial government where as independence movements rose at the begining of the 20th century.

With the surender of Japanese in 1945, Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17 that same year. The returning Dutch bitterly resisted the nationalist movement as intermittent fighting followed. Finnally an agreement was reach at The Huge under United Nations auspices when Indonesia’s sovereignty over the former Dutch East Indies was recognized on Desember 9, 1949.

The Capital

Jakarta, the nation’s capital, started as a small harbour town, Sunda Kelapa, but its founding dates back to 1527 when it was named Jayakarta (City of Great Victory) by Fatahillah of the neighbouring Sultanate of Banten. The name was later changed to batavia under the
Dutch. Now a centre of goverment, business and industry, the city spreads over an area 656 sq.km (410 sq miles) and has a population of over ten million.

A special territory, it is administered by a governor and has the status of province.
The main gateway to Indonesia, it is a contrast of modern western architecture and traditional Indonesian culture. Its rapid growth into a metropolitan city reflects the economic, political, social and industrial development of the nation.

In recent years, Jakarta has expanded its facilities for the visitor wih luxury hotels, fine restaurants, exciting nightlife and shopping centres besides tourist attractions like “Beautiful Indonesia Miniature” Park, restored colonial period buildings, sea resorts in the Bay of Jakarta, and an extensive beach recreation complex.

Climate

Climatewise, Indonesia is distinctly tropical. The east monsoon from June to September brings dry weather while the west monsoon from December to March is moisture-laden bringing rain.

The transitional period between these two are interposed by occasional rainshowers, but even in the midst of the west monsoon season, temperatures range from 21o C (70o F) to 33o C (90o F) except at higher altitudes which are much cooler.

Heaviest rainfalls are recorded in December and January. Humidity is between 60 and 100 percent.

Religion

The Majority of the population (about 85 %) is Moslem, however, the Indonesian Constitution recognises freedom of religion as specified in the first Principle of the “Pancasila” state philosophy being “ Belief in one Supreme God”. Churches, Hindu and Buddhist temples are found throughout the country as are mosques of the Moslem faith.

Language and Dialects

There are about 583 languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago. There normally belong to the different ethnic groups of the population.

Some of the distinctly diferent local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several Irianese languages. To make the picture even more colorful, these languages are also spoken in different dialects.

Bahasa Indonesia is the national language which is akin to Malay, written in Roman script and based on European orthography.

In all tourist destination areas English is the number one foreign languages fairly spoken and written, whereas some Dutch is stll spoken and understood in the bigger cities and French increasing in its popularuty at the better hotels and restaurants.

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Click here to read Indonesia General Information Part 2: Art and Culture, Flora and Fauna, Cuisine, Monuments, Livelihood, Economy, Mining, Social Welfare..