INDONESIAN CULTURE
With a colourful history and over 238 million residents spread over such a large archipelago, it is not surprising that Indonesia is home to hundreds of different ethnic, cultural and language groups. Indonesia’s motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (unity in diversity) and the state philosophy Pancasila (5 principles) celebrate and protect this diversity. We hope that the following links and documents will be a useful starting point for your research into this amazing country!
Indonesia in general
- Understanding Indonesia in the 21st century :: a great text to get you started
- Digital Atlas of Indonesian History :: great work by Robert Cribb
- Indonesia’s website for the World Expo 2010, held in Beijing
Music
- National Geographic :: a summary of both traditional and modern music in Indonesia
- Balinese and Javanese gamelan :: a closer look at the 2 dominant traditional music genres in Indonesia
Recommended
reading :: some great books and articles about Indonesian history, geography & politics, culture, arts; and some Indonesian-related memoirs & novels
viewing :: some films and documentaries that give greater insight into Indonesia include
Ring of Fire :: a documentary made by the Blair brothers, capturing 10 years of their travels throughout the Indonesian archipelago – also a great book!
The Burning Season :: carbon trading schemes, palm oil plantations and orangutan conservation efforts
My Sky, My Home (Langitku Rumahku) :: a beautiful film about 2 young boys from very different backgrounds meeting in Jakarta, its distribution was severely restricted in Indonesia by the government at the time
Balinese traditions
- Great overview of Balinese traditions and many interesting articles by Murni, who lives in Ubud
- The unique Balinese Hinduism
- Balinese New Year celebrations :: Nyepi
- Ngaben :: an article describing the elaborate Balinese cremation ceremony held for the recently-deceased Empress of Ubud
Music :: a great introduction to the musical ensembles of Bali by Catherine Schmidt-Jones, and more in-depth information by Mekar Bhuana, a Balinese family-run organisation trying to raise the profile of traditional Balinese musical arts and to teach them to the younger generations before they’re lost forever
Modern traditions :: interesting paper by L Noszlopy 2005 describing the gender roles and changing traditions in Bali, for example the annual kite festival pdf
Bahasa Indonesia
After declaring Independence in 1945, Indonesia sought to find a common language to help unite all their citizens and the result was Bahasa Indonesia – a derivative of Malay and constantly evolving as it absorbs words from both regional and global languages. The following websites are just a small selection of learning materials available, and you may need to try a few before you find one which suits your learning style.
- Digital Dialects :: games!
- Aussie Educator :: a very comprehensive list of Indonesian language learning resources
We’ll keep adding to this page when we find new resources, so don’t forget to let us know if you find something you think is worth sharing!
