Culture of Indonesia

Culture and Religion of Indonesia

The present day culture of indonesia is an outcome of the interplay of age old traditions from the time of early migrants and the western thought brought by Portuguese traders and Dutch colonists. The basic principles, wich guide life include the concepts of mutual assistance or "gotong royong" and concultations or "musyawarah" to arrive at a consensus or "mufakat". Devired from rural life, this system is still very much in use in community life trhought the country. Though the legal system is based on the Old Dutch penal code, social life as well as the rites of passage is founded on customary or "adat" law, wich differs from area to area. "Adat" law has been instrumental in maintaining gender equity in Indonesia.

Indonesian art forms are greatly influenced by religion. The famous dance dramas of Java and Bali are derived from the Hindu epics such as Ramayana and Mahabarata.

The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and art form. As a wole the people are artistic by nature and express themselves on canvas, wood, metals, clay, and stone. The batic process of waxing and dyeing originated in java centuries ago and classic design have been modofied woth modern trends in both pattern and technology. There are several centres of batik in Java, the major ones being Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Pekalongan, and Cirebon.

Indonesia is rich in handicraft. Various forms of handicrafts practice are: Woodcravings for ornamentation and furniture, silverwork and engraving from Yogyakarta and Sumatera and Bali with different style of clay, sandstone and wood sculptures.