The culture of its people has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is central along ancient trading routes between the Far East and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, as well as Christianity brought by the Europeans later in the 19th century. The result is a complex culture mixture very different from the original indigenous
According to population census conducted by the Indonesian Central Bureau for
Statistics (BPS) in 2000, the total population in Indonesia exceeds 200 million
people, while according to estimate in 2007 the number has reaches more than
234 million, making Indonesia the 4th most populous country in
the world after China, India, and the United States. Indonesia is also the
largest Muslim populated country, although it is officially not an Islamic
State, as well as the 3rd largest democracy in the world. The
capital city Jakarta is a modern metropolitan city that is inhabited by more
than 8 million people (2000 population census) that has been known to be a
24-hour city.
The people of Indonesia are
a mix between the native people and the newcomers that came during the
Neolitic Period (3000-2000 BC) from the Asian mainland to the south through
a large-scale migration.
cultures, signifying the rich
cultural heritage that Indonesia
possesses.
Indonesia’s extensive diversity of cultural heritage such as traditional
dances, music, variety of mind-boggling cuisines, and various local
languages and dialects have long been admired, appreciated and studied by
world communities. Modern arts such as painting, sculpting, music and film
have been flourishing, especially in major cities, while traditional arts
are still preserved and maintained by many.
There are about 250
languages and dialects spoken in the archipelago, belonging about 300
hundreds ethnic groups of the population. Some of the distinctly different
local languages are: Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Dayak,
Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, and several
Irianese languages. These local languages are also spoken in different
dialects.
The official language of
Indonesia is "Bahasa Indonesia", developed from the Malay language mainly
spoken in the Riau Islands. In its spread throughout the country, its
vocabulary and idioms have been enriched by a great number of local
languages.
To keep pace with
religious, social and cultural progress, many words and terms have been
derived from foreign languages, including Dutch, Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic
and, later, Portuguese. Although Bahasa Indonesia has become the lingua
franca, most local languages and dialects continue to be alive and spoken by
people in its respective region.
