Indonesian Culinary Icons

Indonesia, Culinary Heaven

Indonesia culinary is bestowed with a very unique profile and covers a wide spectrum. There is no other country in the world with such culinary resplendence. From Sabang to Merauke, from Talaud to Rote Island, Indonesian culinary is innumerable. Judging from its vast variety, it would be unfitting to claim any dish as purely Indonesian. True Indonesian culinary is marked by cuisines of Aceh, Melayu, Palembang, Java and dozens of other “originating cuisines”. Just as Indonesia recognizes a wide variey of local dialects, so too the originating cuisines lend a hand to its many derivatives. For instance, Pariaman cuisine is known to have different characters from Kotogadang cuisine, and nothing in commong with Kapau cuisine even though they all belong to the genre of Minang cuisine.

The visionary Empu Tantular, a 14th century poet sage of Majapahit Empire, wrote the sacred phrase which then became Indonesian national motto :  Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Unity in Diversity!

Whereas Bhinneka Tunggal Ika originated from the principle tenet of gotong royong (working together towards a common goal), Indonesian culinary stems from the traditional of communal eating. One dish for all. In the past, the Dutch discovered this principle and created the rijsttafel tradition. We now bring you closer to the onset of the tradition: Tumpeng Nusantara. With cone-shaped rice in the middle, Rendang Padang sits in state with Ayam Goreng Lengkuas from Bandung, Urap Sayuran from Yogyakarta and Sate Lilit from Bali. Tumpeng Nusantara is proof that elements Indonesian culinary can meet together beautifully in a state of harmony.

The 30 INDONESIAN TRADITIONAL CULINARY ICONS featured in this book is an important first step toward a thorough compilation of the richness and variety of Indonesian culinary. It is a duty we owe Motherland.
Bon appetit, my brothers and sisters! Enjoy the sumptuous taste of Indonesian culinary

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Saman Gayo Dance

Saman Gayo dance is one of the media to spread the message of islam (da’wah). This dance reflects the educational, religious, manners, heroism, solidarity and togetherness.

Before the dance begins saman, as mukaddimah or opening, will performing a wise old or traditional leaders to represent the local community (keketar) which will provide useful advice to the players and spectators in life.

Songs and poems sung simultaneously and continuously, the players consists of young men wearing traditional clothes. Presentation of the dance can also be performed, contested between the guest group against group sepangkalan (the host). Assessment will be based on the ability of each group in the following motion, dance and song (poem) presented by the opposition.

Saman Gayo Dance usually performed without the accompaniment of musical instruments, but using the sound of clapping hands of the dancers, which usually combined with hitting their chest and groin as synchronization and threw the body in different directions. This dance is guided by a leader who is usually called Syech. Since the formation of uniformity and punctuality is a must in this dance show, the dancers are required to have a high concentration and the exercise seriously in order to perform perfectly. This dance is danced by the men in particular.

At first, this dance performances in a custom event, such as the ceremonies commemorating the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. But at this time, saman gayo dance still often used in traditional ceremonies, welcoming state  guests or  for festival openning.

The Song add to the dynamics of saman gayo dance. How to sing songs in saman dance is divided into 5 types:
1. Rengum, the roar that was started by pengangkat.

2. Dering, namely Regnum which was quickly followed by all dancers.

3. Redet, namely short songs with short sound sung by a dancer in the middle of the dance.

4. Syek, the song sung by a dancer with a long high-pitched voice, usually as a sign of change in motion.

5. Saur, the song that is repeated by all the dancers after sung by a solo dancer.

Saman gayo dance motion using two elements that became the basic element in the dance, that is Clapping hands and clapping the chest. Saman gayo dance is one of the dance that is quite unique, because they show only the clapping of motion movements, such as rocking motion, kirep, Lingang, surang-saring (all motion is the Gayo language)

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Nikmatnya liburan di Pulau Seulako - Sabang

Pulau Seulako-Merupakan pulau yang terkenal akan pemandangan bawah lautnya yang indah. Banyak para wisatawan yang sengaja datang kesini hanya untuk menyelam, menikmati taman bawah laut pulau Seulako ini.

Pulau ini memiliki luas wilayah sekitar 0,055 km2 dengan berbagai kehidupan biota laut di bawahnya yang masih sangat terjaga.

Lokasi dan Transportasi

Pulau Seulako ini terletak sekitar 23,5 Kilometer dari sebelah barat kota Sabang. Tepatnya berada di Teluk Sabang di sebelah selatan pulau Rubiah. Untuk menuju ke pulau ini, pengunjung dapat terlebih dahulu menuju desa Iboih untuk kemudian melanjutkan perjalanan dengan menggunakan boat.

Untuk menuju desa Iboih, pengunjung dapat menyewa kendaraan atau naik angkutan umum jenis L-300. Jika pengunjung akan menyewa kendaraan, maka dari kota Sabang, pengunjung dapat langsung menuju ke desa Iboih dengan memakan waktu sekitar 30 menit.

Harga sewa mobil sekitar Rp.400.000*) sudah termasuk mobil, bensin dan sopir dengan waktu sewa maksimal delapan jam. Jika pengunjung menggunakan kendaraan umum, maka pengunjung dapat naik angkutan umum dari pelabuhan Balohan.

Dengan membayar ongkos sekitar Rp.50.000*), pengunjung akan diantar sampai ke desa Iboih. Perjalanan dari Balohan sampai ke desa Iboih dapat ditempuh dengan waktu sekitar 40 menit.

Setibanya di desa Iboih, pengunjung dapat menyewa peralatan selam dahulu, kemudian melanjutkan perjalanan ke pulau Seulako dengan menggunakan boat. Pengunjung dapat menyewa boat dengan harga sekitar Rp.200.000*). Perjalanan menuju pulau ini tidak terlalu jauh, hanya memakan waktu sekitar 10 menit dari pantai Iboih.

Wisata Pulau Seulako selalu menjadi tujuan utama bagi para wisatawan yang hobi menyelam ataupun sekedar snorkeling. Dapat dikatakan pulau ini merupakan surganya bagi para penyelam. Air laut yang sangat jernih dan kehidupan ekosistem biota di bawah laut pulau ini pun masih sangat bersih dan alami. Arus air laut di sekitar pulau ini sering berubah-ubah. Kadang bisa tenang, kadang juga bisa kuat, tergantung faktor keadaan cuaca.

Terdapat berbagai jenis batuan karang yang khas bentuknya serta beberapa jenis tumbuhan laut yang bisa di lihat tidak jauh dari bibir pantai pulau ini. Pada sela-sela batuan karang yang ditempeli oleh tumbuhan laut ini sering ditemui ikan-ikan kecil dengan berbagai bentuk dan warna.

Ikan ini sengaja berada disela batuan karang untuk berlindung ataupun sedang mencari makan. Jenis-jenis ikan yang ada di bawah laut pulau ini seperti angel fish, lion fish, sea fans dan masih banyak lagi jenis ikan lainnya yang hidup disini dengan berbagai macam warnanya. Selain itu terdapat pula berbagai jenis hewan laut lainnya seperti gurita, snapper dan belut moray.

Pada bagian timur Pulau Seulako misalnya. Penyelam akan dapat melihat penyu dan berbagai macam jenis ikan laut langka yang berenang secara bergerombol. Begitu juga pada sisi barat pulau seulako ini, penyelam akan dapat melihat tebing-tebing batuan karang dengan bentuknya yang unik menyerupai seperti gua. Ada pula yang unik lainnya di dalam laut pulau ini.

Pada bagian timur bawah laut pulau terdapat bangkai kapal perang milik Jepang yang karam saat terjadinya perang dunia dua. Bangkai kapal ini dapat penyelam temui pada kedalaman sekitar 20 meter dan dapat dilihat dalam berbagai sudut pandang, karena lokasi bangkai kapal berada di tengah dasar laut.

Selain terkenal akan keindahan taman bawah lautnya, pemandangan di sekitar pulau ini juga tidak kalah menarik. Banyak dijumpai burung-burung yang terbang dengan bebasnya di dalam hutan pulau ini. Spesiesnya pun berbagai macam.

Jika pengunjung berniat berjalan keliling pulau Seulako ini, pengunjung pun dapat melihat sarang yang mereka buat pada ranting-ranting pohon hutan. Udara di pulau yang bersih dan sejuk serta suasana yang sepi dan sunyi sering dijadikan tempat bagi para wisatawan yang mencari ketenangan. Cahaya matahari di pulau ini tampak lebih indah pada pagi dan sore hari. Pengunjung dapat menikmati hangatnya matahari sambil berjemur di pasir pantai yang putih dan bersih.

Di pulau ini tidak terdapat penghuninya. Jika pengunjung masih betah berada di pulau ini, pengunjung dapat menginap di bungalow yang terdapat di desa Iboih. Di desa ini pula terdapat berbagai penjual makanan dan minuman.

Bagi pengunjung yang tidak membawa peralatan snorkeling, di desa ini terdapat pula tempat penyewaan alat menyelam dan snorkeling. Harga sewa peralatan snorkeling disini sekitar Rp.50.000*). Tips 1. Bawalah barang bawaan anda secukupnya, jangan sampai memberatkan perjalanan. 2. Datanglah ke pulau ini pada pagi hari, karena cuaca akan lebih bersahabat saat pagi hari dan waktu yang digunakan untuk penyelaman dapat lebih lama. 3. Saat penyelaman, ikuti instruksi yang diberikan pimpinan regu. Usahakan jangan sampai terpisah dari rombongan. 4. Bawalah bekal makanan dan minuman sebelum menuju pulau ini. 5. Bayarlah uang sewa boat pada saat sudah kembali ke desa Iboih.

Taman bawah laut pulau Seulako ini merupakan tempat yang sangat digemari bagi para penyelam. Jika anda penikmat olahraga menyelam, jangan lewatkan tempat yang satu ini. Kecepatan arus yang berubah-ubah akan menghadirkan tantangan tersendiri bagi penyelam. Selamat berlibur!

*) Harga dapat berubah sewaktu-waktu

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Rubiah Island Awesome !!

If in China known as the Bamboo Curtain country, the Veranda of Mecca is firmly attached nicknames to Aceh. Not because they have a miniature city of Mecca or no fake Ka’ba here. So, why Aceh can get this name? And obviously, the location of Aceh and Mecca was far really. Aceh and Mecca was not brotherhood.

So, where did the nickname come from?

Sunny day, we were planning to go to the island opposite the beach Iboih, Rubiah name. Before continuing the story of the nickname Veranda of Mecca, I let you know a little bit about the history behind the name Rubiah Island.

According to legend, there was a couple who lived peacefully on the island of Weh. Her husband named Iboih, and his wife named Rubiah. They live in harmony on the island of Weh, until finally, Rubiah has a dog to keep her company. However, Mr. Iboih not agree if Mother Rubiah keep the dog. Then, there was the greatest moment that become the couple’s fight of the century. Pak Iboih who are already furious, then Mrs. Rubiah expel from her homes and exiling her to another island, later, the island will be called Pulau Rubiah.

That’s the origin of the name Rubiah Island and Coastal Iboih. End.So, what the correlation from the nicknamed the Veranda of Mecca with Rubiah Island? Let me tell you something. This is where the core of the story that I will lay out ..

Previously, when the aircraft wasn’t really existing in Indonesia, and I’m still in heaven. Rubiah Island is a place where hajj gather from Indonesia. On the island Rubiah the hajj hostel is the first in Indonesia. Why should Rubiah Island? Because the island is the closest distance to the country of Saudi Arabia.

In addition, there are also many islands Rubiah historical stories about Indonesia. Once, when the Dutch colonial period, the island Rubiah with small islands around it once in bombardment by bombs invaders to many places destroyed, like the castle, including homes and Rubiah mother’s grave.

So now, do not be surprised if this island there are many former hajjs dormitories buildings and fortifications were destroyed witness history abandoned

As well as dormitories Hajj, around Sabang is also contained 44 shrine. This tomb is the tomb of some elders, both in Aceh and Sabang. Of the 44 tombs sacred Mother Rubiah is one of them. And supposedly, other than on land, there are two shrine inside the sea. Awesome!

No less with such a great history, Pulau Rubiah also store of wealth is so abundant. Now, having the title as Rubiah Island Marine Park Rubiah Island. Reefs, rare fish and underwater biota richness Island Rubiah be towing interest tourism. Not only a small number of divers who made this Rubiah island as a location to see the wealth of underwater Indonesia. With its diverse wildlife and unique coral reefs, making this Rubiah island as a tourist’s dream.

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Conquering Rondo Island, Sabang - Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

ISLAND Rondo is one of the outer islands on the western end of the archipelago. Island 42 hectares (Ha) is located in the administrative area of ​​the District Sukakarya Kota Sabang.

Four other islands of Pulau Weh, Rubiah, Seulako and Klah Island. Weh Island is the only one of the outer islands in the western end of Indonesia are inhabited.

Rondo Island itself is about 15 miles northwest of Kota Sabang (Pulau Weh) and adjacent to the Nicobar Islands, India.The island became the last point of Indonesia's territorial land directly adjacent to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In this place put tens TNI members to keep every inch of the motherland as a fixed price.

Journalist Porch Indonesia, Lush Dani opportunity to set foot on the island in late May 2015 Rondo ago.He along with seven other members of the media joined the entourage of the Armed Forces Commander, Gen. Dr. Moeldoko and Muspika Sabang Teuku Umar.Monumen inaugurated the monument featuring the figure of national hero origin into Aceh as a symbol of 'safeguarding' the territory of the Republic of Indonesia.

The trip starts with a fast boat menggunanakan an army through the port of Ulee Lheu, Banda Aceh. The cruise takes 2 hours before finally docked Pulo Rondo.Not an easy sail to the outer islands because that's where the meeting Malacca Strait to the Indian Ocean. The waves rolled up to a height of 3 meters and the start of a real adventure.

"Rondo Island has no beach so near the mainland, we alighted from the boat ride to the lifeboat. From there it moves to the drum are tied and pulled by the military from the mainland, "said Subur Dani started the story.He entourage finally set foot on the island of Rondo, the island that resembles a shell with rock structures and rocks. Rondo Island name itself is taken from the Java language that is meaningful Widow Island.

The delegation was welcomed by the 500 stairs that will lead them to the top of the mainland. Not easy to climb the stairs are steep and winding. Moreover, concrete steps that reach hundreds and even made the trip feel heavy.

In every corner of stairs are the words such as 'Jump 150 risers, reinforced knees young boy' or text reads 'Paradise Island Rondo 100 stairs again'.

They are all hand nicks TNI 'host' the guard Rondo Island. Subur not dismiss that field Rondo Island making body experience 'shock therapy', the island is only suitable for military personnel who had been trained. At the top of Rondo Island there are 4 houses each measuring 4 x 5 meter inhabited by the navigator. One house is empty and reserved for guests who berkunjung.Selain there is also the military camp and helipad. A beacon tower with a height of 20 meters and is divided into 8 blocks stood proudly atop Rondo Island

The tower became traffict ligt for ships sailing in the EEZ. Descending from the summit of the mainland, there is a monument of zero kilometer into Indonesian territorial boundaries land. But for an overnight Fertile, as he is familiarly called prefers to sleep on the porch wearing sleeping bag. The consideration given the heat that covered the island Rondo and safe from winding snake kerab visited.

Had long python snake types become friends for dozens of members of the security forces at the site of the outer islands. Substitution forces usually done every 3-9 months which consists of 24 marines and 10 rider.

"The troops were on duty had received a message from the army earlier in order not to disturb the snakes. Usually when we see many rats around us it was a sign around there is a snake, "said Lush.Rondo Island is like 'dead island'. Those who dwell in it to wrestle with how to survive with a friend with the nature that surrounded him.

The biggest problem is the lack of clean water and should be supplied from Pulau Weh, Sabang. If the supply does not come every month as scheduled, then the forces on the borders of the rainwater. Water limitations force them to use it wisely so that only intended only for drinking and ablutions.As for bathing and washing had to descend 500 steps to the sea. You can imagine the sea water after a bath, the body will be sweating up the 500 stairs back to headquarters.

"Unforgettable experience is when all BAB and shower only had to go to sea. Eating rice in banana leaves lime milk and buy a pack of cigarettes for Rp 50,000 each navigator, "Fertile story with a chuckle.This group spent 3 days and 4 nights at Pulau Rondo. It was a long time unforgettable once in a horror-horror terpencil.Perasaan island savory accompaniment to the group went home. When the Chairman of MAA Kota Sabang who will ascend into the vessel using a drum on the ground, instead plunged into the sea.

Since the command ship loaded with goods, Lush and comrades was transferred to the vessel Antares. For reasons of balance anyway, the boat that looks more like a fishing boat in which they were tottering under the blows of the waves crashing on the meeting of the waters of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca.

TNI soldiers risking their lives to maintain integrity of the Republic, even in the 'island of the dead'. Maintaining the integrity of every inch of the motherland as dinukilkan in the lyrics: From Sabang to Merauke lined islands / concatenated into one / that Indonesia

Klah Island, Sabang - Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

Sabang town is rich with enchanting natural beauty, may have never thought in your mind before. Klah Island is part of the town of Sabang, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The island is located in the northwest of the island of Weh. Klah is located right in the heart of the island of Sabang bay. The island is also built to function as a navigational beacon for ships anchored in the bay of Sabang. The island is situated in front of the beach Krueng Raya.

This Klah island is not very large indeed, but the natural beauty is stunning, with a calm and peaceful atmosphere, is suitable for those of you who do not like the noise, unwind from the bustle of the city exhausting.

Klah around the coast of the island, there are rocks that complements the rugged beauty of the island is in the Klah ini.Pulau to velocity and meeting the inflow and discharge currents Sea. So there is a habitat for fish that inhabit these waters, such as tuna and sailfish, especially if it is being harvested, there will be a massive bazaar fish on the shores of Kreung Raya in this Klah across the island.

You can also make diving, surfing, and snorkeling on the beach island Klah this, panorama under the sea is also not inferior compared to other beaches, especially if it was sunset, on a quiet island, it would be very nice if you watched together with loved ones, while barbeque fun on the beach pinggigran.

For the problem of the inn, just calm down, if you are reluctant to move from the small island of this beautiful, you can stay there, on the island Klah there have been several inns and bungalows lining the outskirts of the island Klah it, so you can still enjoy the panorama of the Sea from the balcony lodges and bungalows there.

For those of you who like to be plihan camping is right for your vacation with your friends.

The road leading to the island this Klah sea transportation is by boat from the town Sabang.Pulau Klah are uninhabited islands, but there are various activities of people one of which is the activity of residents in grouper aquaculture around the beach, this of course being a rare sight to visit.

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History of Aceh

Aceh or Acheh is a special region of Indonesia. The territory is located at the northern end of Sumatra. Its capital is Banda Aceh. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and separated from them by the Andaman Sea.

There are 10 indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 80 to 90% of the region's population.

Aceh is thought to have been the place where the spread of Islam in Indonesia began, and was a key factor of the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. Islam reached Aceh (Kingdoms of Fansur and Lamuri) around 1250 AD. In the early seventeenth century theSultanate of Aceh was the most wealthy, powerful and cultivated state in the Malacca Straits region. Aceh has a history of political independence and resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government.

Aceh has substantial natural resources, including oil and natural gas; some estimates put Aceh gas reserves as being the largest in the world. Relative to most of Indonesia, it is a religiously conservative area. It has the highest proportion of Muslims in Indonesia, who mostly live according to Sharia customs and laws.

Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which devastated much of the western coast of the province. Approximately 170,000 Indonesians were killed or went missing in the disaster. The disaster helped precipitate the peace agreement between the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Aceh was first known as Aceh Darussalam (1511–1959) and then later as the Daerah Istimewa Aceh (1959–2001), Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam (2001–2009) and Aceh (2009–present). Past spellings of Aceh include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.

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A Historical Glimpse

The first known hominid inhabitant of Indonesia was the so-called "Java Man", or Homo erectus, who lived here half a million years ago. Some 60,000 years ago, the ancestors of the present-day Papuans move eastward through these islands, eventually reaching New Guinea and Australia some 30-40,000 years ago. Much later, in about the fourth millennium B.C., they were followed by the ancestors of the modern-day Malays, Javanese and other Malayo-Polynesian groups who now make up the bulk of Indonesia's population. 

Trade contracts with India, China and the mainland of Southeast Asia brought outside cultural and religious influences to Indonesia. One of the first Indianized empires, known to us now as Sriwijaya, was located on the coast of Sumatra around the strategic straits of Malacca, serving as the hub of a trading network that reached to many parts of the archipelago more than a thousand years ago. 

On neighboring Java, large kingdoms of the interior of the island erected scores of exquisite of religious monuments, such as Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world. The last and most powerful of these early Hindu-Javanese kingdoms, the 14th century Majapahit Empire, once controlled and influenced much of what is now known as Indonesia, maintaining contacts with trading outposts as far away as the west coast of Papua New Guinea. 

Indian Muslim traders began spreading Islam in Indonesia in the eighth and ninth centuries. By the time Marco Polo visited North Sumatra at the end of the 13th century, the first Islamic states were already established there. Soon afterwards, rulers on Java's north coast adopted the new creed and conquered the Hindu-based Majapahit Empire in the Javanese hinterland. The faith gradually spread throughout archipelago, and Indonesia is today the world's largest Islamic nation.

Indonesia's abundant spices first brought Portuguese merchants to the key trading port of Malacca in 1511. Prized for their flavor, spices such as cloves, nutmeg and mace were also believed to cure everything from the plague to venereal disease, and were literally worth their weight in gold. The Dutch eventually wrested control of the spice trade from Portuguese, and the tenacious Dutch East India Company (known by initials VOC) established a spice monopoly which lasted well into the 18th century. During the 19th century, the Dutch began sugar and coffee cultivation on Java, which was soon providing three-fourths of the world supply of coffee.

By the turn of the 20th century, nationalist stirring, brought about by nearly three centuries of oppressive colonial rule, began to challenge the Dutch presence in Indonesia. A four-year guerilla war led by nationalists against the Dutch on Java after World War II, along with successful diplomatic maneuverings abroad, helped bring about independence. The Republic of Indonesia, officially proclaimed on August 17th, 1945, gained sovereignty four years later. 

During the first two decades of independence, the republic was dominated by the charismatic figure of Sukarno, one of the early nationalists who had been imprisoned by the Dutch. General (ret.) Soeharto eased Sukarno from power in 1967. Indonesia's economy was sustained throughout the 1970's, almost exclusively by oil export. 

The Asian financial crisis, which broke out in mid-1997, paralyzed the Indonesian economy with the rupiah losing 80% of its value against the US dollar at the peak of the turmoil.

On May 21, 1998, Soeharto resigned after 32 years in power and was replaced by B.J. Habibie following bloody violence and riots. Indonesia held its first democratic election in October 1999, which put Abdurrahman 'Gus Dur' Wahid in the role of president. 

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History of Indonesia

The history of Indonesia has been shaped by its geographic position, its natural resources, a series of human migrations and contacts, wars and conquests, as well as by trade, economics and politics. Indonesia is an archipelagic country of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited) stretching along the equator in South East Asia. The country's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade; trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history. The area of Indonesia is populated by peoples of various migrations, creating a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, and languages. The archipelago's landforms and climate significantly influenced agriculture and trade, and the formation of states. The boundaries of the state of Indonesia represent the 20th century borders of the Dutch East Indies.

Fossilised remains of Homo erectus and his tools, popularly known as the "Java Man", suggest the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by at least 1.5 million years ago. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the modern population, are thought to have originally been from Taiwan and arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE. From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived and declined in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia. The earliest evidence of Islamised populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra; other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam which became the dominant religion in Java and Sumatra by the end of the 16th century. For the most part, Islam overlaid and mixed with existing cultural and religious influences.

Europeans arrived in Indonesia from the 16th century seeking to monopolise the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power by 1610. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies under government control. By the early 20th century, Dutch dominance extended to the current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation in 1942-45 during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader, Sukarno, declared independence and became president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish its rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognised Indonesian independence.

An attempted coup in 1965 led to a violent army-led anti-communist purge in which over half a million people were killed. General Suharto politically outmanoeuvred President Sukarno, and became president in March 1968. His New Order administration garnered the favour of the West whose investment in Indonesia was a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth. In the late 1990s, however, Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the East Asian Financial Crisis which led topopular protests and Suharto's resignation on 21 May 1998. The Reformasi era following Suharto's resignation, has led to a strengthening of democratic processes, including a regional autonomy program, the secession of East Timor, and the first direct presidential election in 2004. Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, natural disasters, and terrorism have slowed progress. Although relations among different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, acute sectarian discontent and violence remain problems in some areas.

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Introduce Indonesia

Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia [rɛpublik ɪndonesia]), is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. It is the largest island country in the world by the number of islands, with more than fourteen thousand islands.^[8] Indonesia has an estimated population of over 255 million people and is the world's fourth most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. The world's most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country's population.

Indonesia's republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status. Its capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the Malaysian Borneo. Other neighbouring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. TheIndonesian economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then laterMajapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the earlycenturies CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders and Sufi scholars brought the now-dominant Islam, while European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism starting from the East Indonesia of West Papua, Timor to eventually all of West Indonesia, at times interrupted by Portuguese, French and British rule, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, mass slaughter, corruption, separatism, a democratisation process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika"("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper and gold. Agriculture mainly produces rice, tea, coffee,spices and rubber. Indonesia's major trading partners are Japan, the United States and the surrounding nations of Singapore,Malaysia and Australia.

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