As we know Indonesia is filled with many different ethnic groups which make it kind of hard to understand. So lets dig a little deeper to its religion to maybe find out a bit more about it.
Religion is Indonesia is a complex issue there and not easily taken by social classes nor ethnic groups. The government also discourages reiligious groups with participating with politics. The state has some tolerance for it like for Christianity, Islam, Buddhist and Hinduism, but only if their out of politics.
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/countries/bl_IndonesiaIndex.htm
Did you know that the Indonesian official langauge is Bahasa Indonesia. It is taught in school and spoken by nearly every Indonesian!
Traditions
Indonesia's society is broken up into numerous ethnic groups and minorities. All of them know there is a large diversity in their society. When trying to explain their differences they use the word adat, which is culture or tradition. When one ethnic group tries to explain another they say they contain many differences. For example each group might have a diiferent way of expecting respect, observing religious holidays, attending mosque and burying the dead. So each have their own different things, but do share somethings.
Cultural Norms
Indonesian people are usually nice and they understand that western culture is different, and it would be good if you respected theirs. Their religious customs must be respected, like for example during their holy month of Ramadan. Visitors are expected to be polite and avoid public displays of affection and also it is impolite to accept things with the left hand. In places of worship your are supposed to dress appropriately and women should dress conservatively. Also public displays of anger, ridicule and blame is considered extremely bad mannered. What is actually very interesting is that in Jakarta, which is the capital there are laws that ban giving money to beggars, buskers and unofficial traffic officers. Also, Gambling is illegal.
http://www.iexplore.com/world_travel/Indonesia/Culture
Indonesian Music
Indonesian Music plays a big part in its art and culture. Its origins come from the islands of Java, Sumatra and Bali. There is the Gamelan which is traditional music and Dangdut that is a popular style of music which is accompanied by free dance style. Other styles are the Sansong from West Timor, Keroncong,its roots from Portugal and Degung and Angklung from West Java.
The Gamelan is recently known as the Indonesian orchestra and is believed to been created by a Javanese in the third century. It is played with various instruments like the gongs.
The Gamelan
Dance
Traditional dances in Indonesian show forms from the Ramayana and Mahabharata of India. There are also dance forms from Javanese and Balinese dance that is shown in Indonesia's art and culture. Mythlogical events are also portrayed in the dances.
Indonesian Cuisine
Indonesia's cuisine is very distinctive with influences from the Chinese, European, Middle Eastern and the Indians. The most common food of Indonesian dishes is rice with meat and vegetables. In most dishes like fish and chicken fundamental ingredients are coconut milk, spices and chili. Vietnamese and Thai food flavors can also be from their foods.
Art
The Indonesian arts are many and the paintings are unique pieces. Intricate and expressive Balinese paintings often show natural scenes and themes from Indonesian art. There is also the tradition of sculptures thta can be seen in Indonesia's art and culture and dates back to the bronze and iron ages. Indonesian art is also famous for its unique batik, ikat and songket cloth that is still very popular.
Wow! What a culture, but there's still more to go, so stay with it!
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