Indonesia Culture

Indonesia Culture is mostly influence by the framework of Hinduism. The root can be traced back from the Majapahit Kingdom that rules in most central islands, such Sumatera, Bali and Java. The most well-known Indonesia culture can be best represented through the art of wayang kulit. It is a shadow puppetry telling stories taken from the legend of Ramayana, Mahabharata and other famous folk stories. The performance of wayang kulit is accompanied with the orchestra of gamelan that has very complex metallic rhythms. These rhythms are the mandatory backdrops that are used in most traditional or religious ceremonies and entertainment. To some extent, the Indonesia culture is tangled with the Malay. Other notable items in the Indonesia culture are kris daggers and batik cloth. Besides the Hinduism influence, the Indonesia culture has also adopted the Arabic culture though Islam.

Talking to the modern form of the Indonesia culture, it is pretty much dominated by the Javanese as the majority ethnic group in Indonesia. During the Suharto regime, the rock ‘n roll type of music was banned, and it led to the creation of Dangdut music, a sultry form of pop, which was developed in the early 1970s. The modern dangdut phenomenon can be seen though the presence of Inul Daratista in 2003. The controversy was as controversial as the one in the career of Elvis Presley. Indonesian singer has also succeeded going International. The most famous is Anggun Cipta Sasmi or popular called Anggun in France. Her debut single called “La neige au sahara” or “Snow on The Sahara” and “Best of Anggun” were number 1 in the European music charts in the summer 1997.

The Indonesia Culture is also presented through the Indonesian movies. Unfortunately, most of them are the low budget movies and grouped itno the B category. However, the movie entitled as “Daun di Atas Bantal” was able to win the category of “best movie” at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in Taipei, Taiwan (1998). Indonesian literature has yet to make much headway on the world stage, with torch-bearer Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s works long banned in his own homeland, but the post-Suharto era has seen a small boom with Ayu Utami’s Saman breaking both taboos and sales records.

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