Those who are going to visit Indonesia will be interested in its traditions and customs, cultural peculiarities of the state. Indonesia is a multiethnic country, so we should talk more about multiculturalism. The culture of Indonesia was greatly influenced by the religions professed by its population - alternately Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Also in the formation of cultural traditions, influences from outside - China, India, European countries, which were the "owners" of these territories during the period of colonial paganism (mainly Holland and Portugal) played a big role.
Culture of behavior and language
The modern culture of behavior and traditions of Indonesia were formed mainly under the influence of Islam, which is the dominant religion in the country. In addition, for Indonesians, very important are the concepts:
- gotong royong - willingness to come to the aid of someone who needs it;
- musyawarah - discussion, exchange of opinions;
- mufakat - consent, which is achieved after an exchange of views on important issues.
The archipelago uses about 250 languages, mostly belonging to the Malayan-Polynesian group. The official language on the archipelago is Indonesian; it was formed on the basis of Malay, but it also has a large number of foreign words - Dutch, Portuguese, Indian, etc.
Art
The art of Indonesia has also been influenced by religion:
- Music and dancing. The traditions of dance and music-theatrical art are rooted in Hindu mythology. The most original and diverse forms are the musical culture of the peoples of Java , which, formed under the influence of the Indian, later influenced the culture of other parts of Indonesia. Traditional Indonesian music is characterized by 2 scales: 5-step selendero and 7-step pelog. The instrumental component prevails over the vocal. Very popular is gamelan - hypnotizing music, performed primarily on percussion instruments.
- Sculpture. The development of this art was also influenced by Hinduism (the first sculptures appeared here in the 7th century AD, and they depicted mostly scenes from Hindu mythology and Indian epics), and later - Buddhism.
- Architecture. Indonesian architecture has experienced a marked influence of these religious movements. By the way, for Indonesia it is characteristic, with observance of the norms and traditions of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, to give temples of different religions within the same temple complex, common features.
- Painting. But the Indonesian painting was greatly influenced by Western countries, in particular - the Dutch school. The founder of the picturesque Indonesian school is Raden Saleh, a native of Java, educated in the Netherlands.
National crafts
One of the main types of folk art on the islands is the batik, whose culture came here from India, but later developed and received national characteristics. Of the traditional products of the people of Indonesia also should be named:
- ikat - a fabric woven by hand on a special technology, when the warp threads are painted in different colors, and the ducks remain monochrome;
- songket - silk fabric, woven with silver and / or gold threads, when the threads of precious metals overlap the base;
- kris - national Indonesian weapon - dagger with an asymmetrical blade, it carries a powerful sacred meaning;
- handmade jewelry .
Kitchen
Gastronomic culture of Indonesia was also formed under the influence of other countries, primarily China. Many dishes here are borrowed from Chinese cuisine; some of them remained unchanged, others acquired a national flavor. But in Indonesia, as in the Middle Kingdom, rice is the main product.