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Over 480 Ethnic Groups and over 580 Languages

The population of Indonesia has surpassed the 260 million mark (World Bank 2016) and is the fourth largest in the world following China, India, and the U.S. Indonesia has over 480 ethnic groups and its population uses over 580 different languages. As such, a wide variety of ethnic groups and languages coexist spread across the 17,500 islands. Indonesian, locally known as Bahasa Indonesia, is the country official language and serves as an important sociocultural medium that binds the diverse ethnic groups together.

 

Indonesianization of Foreign Religions

Indonesia began adopting Hindu and Buddhist culture through various routes even before the 2nd century B.C. Around the 13th century, Islamic culture began to spread in Indonesia, particularly in the coastal areas. As a result, Indonesia gradually became the country with the largest Muslim population in the world today. Indonesia also accepted European cultures(Portugal, Spain, and Netherlands) after the 16th century, particularly with Catholicism(mid 16th century) and Protestantism(mid 19th century) actively accepted in the eastern part of the country.

Confucian culture was introduced by Chinese merchants as early as the 3rd century A.D. but it was not until the early 20th century that it was actively practiced as a religion. In an Indonesianization of religious schools of thought, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, and Confucian religious customs developed into unique religious practices by merging with Indonesia’s indigenous culture. Believers seek harmonious coexistence in line with Indonesia’s official national motto, “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” or “Unity in Diversity.”

 

Indonesia as Seen through the Sunda Islands

Indonesia is widely recognized as a tropical tourist destination, with images of Bali, nicknamed “Island of Gods” or “The last Paradise on Earth,” dominating many people’s imagination. However, Indonesia, an archipelagic country where over 480 ethnic groups live in harmony and preserve their unique customs, is far too diverse and vast to be reduced to a tourist destination or uniform country. Thus, I suggest looking at Indonesia by exploring the Sunda Islands.

The Sunda Islands are a group of tropical islands that stretch in a long line along the equator between the continental part of Southeast Asia and Australia. Most of the Indonesian islands belong to the Sunda Islands. “Sunda” means “purity” in Sanskrit, and the Sundanese are an ethnic group native to Western Java. The lifestyles and customs of the islanders who adapt to the natural environment surrounding them are indeed diverse. When visiting Indonesia, I recommend exploring the diversity of the Sunda Islands to escape from the all too often superficial and consumption-oriented tourism. 

 

Written by Professor Ye-kyoum Kim 

(Busan University of Foreign Studies)