Beautiful Indonesia

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Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblik ɪndonesia]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands.^[6] It has 34 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, 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. The Indonesian economy is the world's sixteenth largest by nominal GDP and fifteenth largest by purchasing power parity.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders and Sufi missionaries brought Islam, the most dominant religion in the country, while European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Across its many islands, 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 majority Muslim 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, yet poverty remains widespread.

 

The name Indonesia derives from the Latin and Greek Indus, and the Greek nèsos, meaning "island" The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians — and, his preference, Malayunesians — for the inhabitants of the "Indian Archipelago or Malayan Archipelago". In the same publication, a student of Earl's, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia. Instead, they used the terms Malay Archipelago (Maleische Archipel); the Netherlands East Indies (Nederlandsch Oost Indië), popularly Indië; the East (de Oost); and Insulinde.
After 1900, the name Indonesia became more common in academic circles outside the Netherlands, and Indonesian nationalist groups adopted it for political expression.Adolf Bastian, of the University of Berlin, popularized the name through his book Indonesien oder die Inseln des Malayischen Archipels, 1884–1894. The first Indonesian scholar to use the name was Suwardi Suryaningrat (Ki Hajar Dewantara), when he established a press bureau in the Netherlands with the name Indonesisch Pers-bureau in 1913.

A Borobudur ship carved on Borobudur, c. 800 CE. Indonesian outrigger boats may have made trade voyages to the east coast of Africa as early as the 1st century CE.^[15]

Fossils and the remains of tools show that the Indonesian archipelago was inhabited by Homo erectus, popularly known as the "Java Man", between 1.5 million years ago and as recently as 35,000 years ago.^[16][17][18] Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago.^[19] In 2011 evidence was uncovered in neighbouring East Timor, showing that 42,000 years ago these early settlers had high-level maritime skills, and by implication the technology needed to make ocean crossings to reach Australia and other islands, as they were catching and consuming large numbers of big deep sea fish such as tuna.^[20]
Austronesian peoples, who form the majority of the modern population, migrated to South East Asia from Taiwan. They arrived in Indonesia around 2000 BCE, and as they spread through the archipelago, pushed the indigenous Melanesian peoples to the far eastern regions. Ideal agricultural conditions, and the mastering of wet-field rice cultivation as early as the 8th century BCE, allowed villages, towns, and small kingdoms to flourish by the 1st century CE. Indonesia's strategic sea-lane position fostered inter-island and international trade, including links with Indian kingdoms and China, which were established several centuries BCE. Trade has since fundamentally shaped Indonesian history.

 

 

The nutmeg plant is native to Indonesia's Banda Islands. Once one of the world's most valuable commodities, it drew the first European colonial powers to Indonesia.

From the 7th century, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished as a result of trade and the influences of Hinduism and Buddhism that were imported with it.^[26][27] Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties thrived and declined in inland Java, leaving grand religious monuments such as Sailendra's Borobudur and Mataram's Prambanan. The Hindu Majapahit kingdom was founded in eastern Java in the late 13th century, and under Gajah Mada, its influence stretched over much of Indonesia.^[28]
Although Muslim traders first traveled through South East Asia early in the Islamic era, the earliest evidence of Islamized populations in Indonesia dates to the 13th century in northern Sumatra.^[29] Other Indonesian areas gradually adopted Islam, and it was 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, which shaped the predominant form of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in Java.^[30] The first regular contact between Europeans and the peoples of Indonesia began in 1512, when Portuguese traders, led by Francisco Serrão, sought to monopolize the sources of nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku.^[31] Dutch and British traders followed. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and became the dominant European power. Following bankruptcy, the VOC was formally dissolved in 1800, and the government of the Netherlands established the Dutch East Indies as a nationalized colony.^[32]
For most of the colonial period, Dutch control over the archipelago was tenuous outside of coastal strongholds; only in the early 20th century did Dutch dominance extend to what was to become Indonesia's current boundaries.^[33] Despite major internal political, social and sectarian divisions during the Indonesian National Revolution, Indonesians, on the whole, found unity in their fight for independence. Japanese occupation during World War II ended Dutch rule,^[34][35] and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement.^[36] A later UN report stated that four million people died in Indonesia as a result of the Japanese occupation.^[37] Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, Sukarno, an influential nationalist leader, declared independence and was appointed president.^{[38][39][40][41]} The Netherlands tried to reestablish their rule, and the resulting conflict ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognized Indonesian independence^[39][42] (with the exception of the Dutch territory of West New Guinea, which was incorporated into Indonesia following the 1962 New York Agreement, and the UN-mandated Act of Free Choice of 1969).

 

Sukarno moved Indonesia from democracy towards authoritarianism, and maintained his power base by balancing the opposing forces of the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI).^[44] An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was countered by the army, who led a violent anti-communist purge, during which the PKI was blamed for the coup and effectively destroyed.^[45][46][47] Around 500,000 people are estimated to have been killed.^[48][49] The head of the military, General Suharto, outmaneuvered the politically weakened Sukarno, and was formally appointed president in March 1968. His New Order administration^[50] was supported by the US government,^[51][52][53] and encouraged foreign direct investment in Indonesia, which was a major factor in the subsequent three decades of substantial economic growth. However, the authoritarian "New Order" was widely accused of corruption and suppression of political opposition.^[34][54][55]
Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the late 1990s Asian financial crisis.^[56] This led to popular protest against the New Order which led to Suharto's resignation in May 1998.^[57] In 1999, East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia, after a twenty-five-year military occupation that was marked by international condemnation of repression of the East Timorese.^[58] Since Suharto's resignation, a strengthening of democratic processes has included a regional autonomy program, and the first direct presidential election in 2004. Political and economic instability, social unrest, corruption, and terrorism slowed progress, however, in the last five years the economy has performed strongly. Although relations among different religious and ethnic groups are largely harmonious, sectarian discontent and violence has occurred.^[59] A political settlement to an armed separatist conflict in Aceh was achieved in 2005.

Indonesia Culture

The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located 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 and Christianity, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures.
Examples of cultural fusion include the fusion of Islam with Hindu in Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha, and the fusion of Hinduism and animism in Kaharingan; others could be cited.
Balinese dances have stories about ancient Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms, while Islamic art forms and architecture are present in Sumatra, especially in the Minangkabau and Aceh regions. Traditional art, music and sport are combined in a martial art form called Pencak Silat.
Western culture has greatly influenced Indonesia in science, technology and modern entertainment such as television shows, film and music, as well as political system and issues. India has notably influenced Indonesian songs and movies. A popular type of song is the Indian-rhythmical dangdut, which is often mixed with Arab and Malay folk music.
Despite the influences of foreign culture, some remote Indonesian regions still preserve uniquely indigenous culture. Indigenous ethnic groups Mentawai, Asmat, Dani, Dayak, Toraja and many others are still practicing their ethnic rituals, customs and wearing traditional clothes.


 

Indonesian music traditional

The music of Indonesia demonstrates its cultural diversity, the local musical creativity, as well as subsequent foreign musical influences that shaped contemporary music scenes of Indonesia. Nearly thousands of Indonesian islands having its own cultural and artistic history and character.^[1] This results in hundreds of different forms of music, which often accompanies dance and theatre.

The musics of Java, Sumatra, Bali, Flores and other islands have been documented and recorded, and research by Indonesian and international scholars is ongoing. The music in Indonesia predates historical records, various Native Indonesian tribes often incorporate chants and songs accompanied with musics instruments in their rituals. Today the contemporary music of Indonesia is popular in the region, including neighboring countries; Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Musical instruments

The musical identity of Indonesia as we know it today began as the Bronze Age culture migrated to the Indonesian archipelago in the 2nd-3rd century BC.^[3] Traditional musics of Indonesian tribes often uses percussion instruments, especially gendang (drums) and gongs. Some of them developed elaborate and distinctive musical instruments, such as sasando string instrument of Rote island, angklung of Sundanese people, and the complex and sophisticated gamelan orchestra of Java and Bali.

Gamelan

Main article: Gamelan

The most popular and famous form of Indonesian music is probably gamelan, an ensemble of tuned percussion instruments that include metallophones, drums, gongs and spike fiddles along with bamboo flutes. Similar ensembles are prevalent throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, however gamelan is originated from Java, Bali, and Lombok.
In Central Java, gamelan is intricate and meticulously laid out. The central melody is played on a metallophone in the center of the orchestra, while the front elaboration and ornamentation on the melody, and, at the back, the gongs slowly punctuate the music. There are two tuning systems. Each Gamelan is tuned to itself, and the intervals between notes on the scale vary between ensembles. The metallophones cover four octaves, and include types like the slenthem, demung, saron panerus and balungan. The soul of the gamelan is believed to reside in the large gong, or gong ageng. Other gongs are tuned to each note of the scale and include ketuk, kenong and kempul. The front section of the orchestra is diverse, and includes rebab, suling, siter, bonang and gambang. Male choruses (gerong) and female (pesindhen) solo vocalists are common.

With the arrival of the Dutch colonizers, a number system called kepatihan was developed to record the music. Music and dance at the time was divided into several styles based on the main courts in the area — Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Pakualaman and Mangkunegaran.

Gamelan from eastern Java is less well-known than central or western parts of the island. Perhaps most distinctive of the area is the extremely large gamyak drum. In West Java, formerly Sunda, has several types of gamelan. Gamelan Degung, gamelan salendro and tembang sunda are three primary types. The Osing Javanese minority in eastern Java are known for social music for weddings and other celebrations, called gandrung, as well as angklung, played by young amateur boys, which is very similar to Balinese gamelan.

Kecapi suling

Main article: Kacapi suling

Kecapi suling is a type of instrumental music that is highly improvisational and popular in parts of West Java that employs two instruments, kecapi (zither) and suling (bamboo flute). It is related to tembang sunda.

Angklung

Main article: Angklung

Angklung is a bamboo musical instrument native to Sundanese people of West Java. It is made out of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved so that they have a distinctive resonant pitch when being vibrated. Each angklung only plays one note.

Kulintang

Main article: Kulintang

Kolintang or kulintang is a bronze and wooden percussion instrument native to eastern Indonesia and also The Philippines. In Indonesia it is particularly associated with Minahasa people of North Sulawesi, however it also popular in Maluku and Timor.

Sasando

Main article: Sasando

Sasando is a plucked string instrument native of Rote island of East Nusa Tenggara. The parts of sasando are a bamboo cylinder surrounded by several wedges where the strings are stretched, surrounded by a bag-like fan of dried lontar or palmyra leafs (Borassus flabellifer), functioned as the resonator of the instrument.

Tapanuli ogong

Musical performance from Tapanuli area of Batak of North Sumatra. Tapanuli ogong is a form of dance music played with a type of lute, trumpet and flute.

Genres

The diverse world of Indonesian music genres was the result of the musical creativity of its people, and also the subsequent cultural encounters with foreign musical influences into the archipelago. Next to distinctive native form of musics, several genres can traces its origin to foreign influences; such as gambus and qasidah from Middle Eastern Islamic music, keroncong from Portuguese influences, and dangdut with notable Hindi music influence.

Folk musics

Indonesian regional folk pop musics reflects the diversity of Indonesian culture and Indonesian ethnicity, mostly use local languages and a mix of western and regional style music and instruments. Indonesian folk music is quite diverse, and today embraces pop, rock, house, hip hop and other genres, as well as distinct Indonesian forms. There are several kinds of "ethnic" pop music, generally grouped together as Pop Daerah (regional pop). These include Pop sunda, Pop Minang, Pop Batak, Pop Melayu, Pop Ambon, Pop Minahasa and others. Other than featuring the legacy of Lagu Daerah (regional traditional songs) of each regional cultures, the musician might also create some new compositions in their own native language.

Tembang sunda

Tembang sunda, also called seni mamaos cianjuran, or just cianjuran, is a form of sung poetry which arose in the colonial-era of Cianjur. It was first known as an aristocratic art; one cianjuran composer was R.A.A. Kusumahningrat (Dalem Pancaniti), ruler of Cianjur (1834–1862). The instruments of Cianjuran are kacapi indung, kacapi rincik and suling or bamboo flute, and rebab for salendro compositions. The lyrics are typically sung in free verse, but a more modern version, panambih, is metrical. It is usually the drums.

Jaipongan

Jaipongan is a very complex rhythmic dance music from the Sundanese people of western Java. The rhythm is liable to change seemingly randomly, making dancing difficult for most listeners. Its instruments are entirely Sundanese, completely without imported instruments. It was invented by artists like Gugum Gumbira after Sukarno prohibited rock and roll and other western genres in the '60s.

Gambus

Gambus literally means oud, referring to a type of lute or 12-string pear-shaped guitar, is the Middle-Eastern-derived Islamic vocal and instrumental music. These traditions began to be incorporated throughout many areas of Indonesia by the 16th century.

Qasidah modern

Qasidah is an ancient Arabic word for religious poetry accompanied by chanting and percussion. Qasidah modern adapts this for pop audiences. It is used to denote a type of orchestra and the music it plays, believed to be introduced by Muslim settlers from Yemen. Qasidah modern were derived from Islamic pop, adding local dialects and lyrics that address Indonesian contemporary issues. Though popular among Arabs in Indonesia, it has gained little popularity elsewhere.
The contemporary form of Islamic Middle eastern influenced musics in Indonesia is Debu, that featuring sufism approach on music to spread their message.

Kroncong

Main article: Kroncong

Kroncong (alternative spelling: Keroncong) has been evolving since the arrival of the Portuguese, who brought with them European instruments. By the early 1900s, it was considered a low-class urban music. This changed in the 1930s, when the rising Indonesian film industry began incorporating kroncong. And then even more so in the mid- to late 1940s, it became associated with the struggle for independence.
Perhaps the most famous song in the kroncong style is Bengawan Solo, written in 1940 by Gesang Martohartono, a Solonese musician. Written during the Japanese Imperial Army occupation of the island in World War II, the song (about the Bengawan Solo River, Java's longest and most important river) became widely popular among the Javanese, and then later nationally when recordings were broadcast over the local radio stations. The song also became quite popular with the Japanese soldiers, and when they returned to Japan at the end of the war re-recordings of it (by Japanese artists) became best-sellers. Over the years it has been re-released many times by notable artists, mainly within Asia but also beyond (like Anneke Grönloh), and in some places it is seen as typifying Indonesian music. Gesang himself remains the most renowned exponent of the style, which although it is seen now as a somewhat starchy and "dated" form is still popular among large segments of the population, particularly the older generation.

After the World War II and during Indonesian National Revolution (1945—1949) and afterwards, kroncong was associated with patriotism, since many of Indonesian poets and patriotic songs authors uses kroncong and somewhat jazz fusion as the genre of their works. The patriotic theme and romantic wartime romance was obvious in the works of Ismail Marzuki, such as Rayuan Pulau Kelapa, Indonesia Pusaka, Sepasang Mata Bola, Keroncong Serenata and Juwita Malam. These patriotic songs can be sung in hymn or even in orchestra, but most often was sung in kroncong style known as kroncong perjuangan (struggle kroncong). The kroncong divas; Waldjinah, Sundari Sukoco and Hetty Koes Endang, was instrumental in reviving the style in the 1980s.

Langgam Jawa or Tembang Jawa

There is a style of kroncong native to Surakarta (Solo) called langgam jawa, which fuses kroncong with the gamelan seven-note scale.

Gambang Kromong

Early in the 20th century, kroncong was used in a type of theater called Komedi Stambul; adapted for this purpose, the music was called gambang kromong. Gambang kromong is quite prevalent in Betawi culture of Jakarta.

Dangdut

Dangdut was originally an Indonesian dance music that has spread throughout Southeast Asia, became the dominant pop style in the mid-1970s. Famous for its throbbing beat and the slightly moralistic lyrics that appeal to Muslim youth, dangdut stars dominate the modern pop scene. However dangdut — especially performed by female singers — also often featuring suggestive dance movements and naughty lyrics to appeal the larger audience. This development was strongly opposed by the conservative older generation dangdut artist.
Dangdut is based around the singers, and stars include Rhoma Irama and Elvy Sukaesih (the King and Queen of Dangdut), Mansyur S., A. Rafiq, Camelia Malik and Fahmy Shahab; along with Cici Paramida, Evie Tamala, Inul Daratista, Julia Perez and Dewi Perssik from younger generation.

Campursari

Main article: Campursari

A musical fusion style of traditional Javanese music and dangdut that prevalent in Javanese cultural sphere, mainly Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. There is also Sundanese version of campursari prevalent in Bandung region of West Java. Perhaps its greatest current artist is Didi Kempot.

Contemporary music

The contemporary music of Indonesia is diverse and vibrant. Throughout its history, Indonesian musicians were open to foreign influences of various music genres of the world. American jazz were heavily marketed in Asia, and foxtrots, tangos, rumbas, blues and Hawaiian guitar styles were all imitated by Indonesian musicians.^[4] As the result various genres were developed within Indonesian music frame; Indonesian pop, rock, jazz, and hip hop.
Indonesian music also plays a vital role in the Indonesian creative pop culture, especially as the soundtracks or theme songs of Indonesian cinema and sinetrons (Indonesian TV drama). Indonesian popular film Badai Pasti Berlalu (1977) were also produced successful soundtrack hit with same title in the same year, the soundtrack was remaked in 1999 with Chrisye as the main singer and rendered by Erwin Gutawa in orchestra style. In 2007 the film also being remaked again with new soundtrack that still featuring same songs performed by younger generation artist. Another popular Indonesian coming of age teen movie Ada Apa Dengan Cinta (2002) also produced successful soundtrack hits with most songs written and performed by Melly Goeslaw.
Today Indonesian music industry enjoyed nationwide popularity. Thanks to common culture and intelligible languages between Indonesian and Malay, Indonesian music enjoyed regional popularity in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. However the overwhelming popularity of Indonesian music in Malaysia had alarmed the Malaysian music industry. In 2008 Malaysian music industry demanded the restriction of Indonesian songs on Malaysian radio broadcasts.^[5]

Orchestra

Western classical music reached Indonesia in the era of Dutch East Indies as early as the 18th century, but it was enjoyed only by a handful of wealthy Dutch plantation owners and officers in elite social clubs and ballrooms such as Societeit Harmonie in Batavia and Societeit Concordia in Bandung. De Schouwburg van Batavia (today Gedung Kesenian Jakarta) was designed as a concert hall in the 19th century. Classical music has been restricted to the refined, wealthy and educated high class citizen, and never penetrated the rest of the population during the East Indies colonial era. The type of western-derived music that transcended the social barrier at that time was Kroncong, known as lower-class music.
An amateur group called Bataviasche Philharmonic Orchestra was established in Dutch Colonial times. It became the NIROM orchestra when the radio broadcasting station Nederlandsch-Indische Radio Omroep Maatschappij was born in 1912. Today it is known as Jakarta Symphony Orchestra that has existed in the country's musical world for almost a century through its changing formats to suit prevailing trends and needs. In 1950, a merger of the Cosmopolitan Orchestra under Joel Cleber and the Jakarta Studio Orchestra under Sutedjo and Iskandar appeared as the Djakarta Radio Orchestra under Henkie Strake for classical repertoires, and the Jakarta Studio Orchestra led by Syaiful Bachri specialized in Indonesian pieces. In 2010 Jakarta Symphony Orchestra staged a comeback after a fairly long absence.^[6]

In 1960s to 1980s classical music in Indonesia aired mainly by the national radio broadcasting service Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and the national TV station Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI) through their programs. During these decade, the classical orchestra mainly developed in Universities as extracurricular activity for students which include choir. In 1990s the group of professional symphony orchestra start to took form, notably The Twilite Orchestra led by Adie MS, was founded in June 1991, initially an ensemble with 20 musicians. The ensemble has developed since then into a full symphonic orchestra with 70 musicians, a 63-member Twilite Chorus, and a repertoire that ranges from Beethoven to The Beatles.^[7] The orchestra has played a role in promoting Indonesian music, especially in the preservation of national songs by Indonesian composers and traditional songs. Aided by the Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra with the Twilite Chorus, Addie MS re-recorded the Indonesian national anthem, Indonesia Raya, by WR Supratman in its original orchestral arrangement by Jos Cleber, as well as other Indonesian popular national songs in the album Simfoni Negeriku.
Today, major cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya are no strangers to orchestral music, with their own symphony groups. Jakarta, for instance, has its Nusantara Symphony Orchestra, the Twilite Orchestra and the Jakarta Chamber Orchestra.

Pop

Indonesian pop music today is known simply as "pop Indonesia" is heavily influenced by trends and recordings from America.^[8] Although influences ranging from Bollywood soundtracks to Hollywood pop acts are obvious, the Indonesian pop phenomena is not completely derivative; it expresses the sentiments and styles of contemporary Indonesian life.

Koes Bersaudara later formed as Koes Plus is considered as one of the pioneer of Indonesian pop and rock 'n roll music in 1960s and 1970s. The American and British music influences were obvious in the music of Koes Bersaudara, The Beatles were known to be the main influences of this band. Several Indonesian pop and ballad singers were survived through decades and become Indonesian music legends, such as Iwan Fals, Franky Sahilatua and Chrisye.

Today, the popular bands include Peterpan, Radja, Gigi, Dewa 19, Sheila on 7, D'Masiv and Nidji, all of which tour regularly in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia and are featured on MTV Asia.
Some of Indonesian pop bands are rekindle with their Malay roots and revived a genre called "Band Pop Melayu" (Pop Malay Band) and popular in late 2000s. The pop Malay bands are Kangen Band, WALI, Hijau Daun, Armada, Angkasa, and ST 12. This genre is the contemporary form of old Orkes Melayu style, once popular in the region across Indonesia and Malaysia.
The most recent foreign influences on Indonesian pop musics are the style and genre of J-pop and K-pop. Several bands such as J-Rocks, Geisha, Daishi and SM*SH boyband are imitating the style of Japan and Korea pop culture. And also sperading new generation of Girl Band, side effect while boyband founded in Indonesia, such a 7icons, Cherry Belle, and also JKT48.

Rock

Main article: Indonesian rock

Just like pop music, Indonesian rock scene also heavily influenced by the development of rock music in America. The most influential Indonesian rock bands was probably Panbers and God Bless that popular in 1970s and 1980s. In late 1980s to mid 1990s several female rock singers popularly known as "Lady Rockers" were famous in Indonesia, such as Nicky Astria, Inka Christie, and Anggun that started her career in as a pop-rock singer in Indonesia before moving to France and pursue her international career. Other notable rock bands include Slank, Netral, /rif and Jamrud.

Jazz fusion

Some of Indonesian musicians and bands were exploring the jazz music. Notable Indonesian jazz musicians are; Modulus band, Karimata band, Barry Likumahua, Indra Lesmana, Syaharani, Maliq & D'Essentials and Trisum (Tohpati, Dewa Budjana, and Balawan). Various other groups fuse contemporary westernized jazz fusion music with the traditional ethnic music traditions of their hometown. In the case of Krakatau and SambaSunda, the bands from West Java, the traditional Sundanese kacapi suling and gamelan orchestra is performed alongside drum set, keyboard and guitars. Other bands such as Bossanova Java were fused Javanese music with bossanova, while Kulkul fuse jazz with Balinese gamelan. The Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival is performed annually, featuring famous International as well as Indonesian jazz musicians. It has become one of the most important Jazz event in the region. Many kind of jazz hang on in Indonesian Indie's project, such as Ecoutez, Sandy Sandoro and many more "non-label" band or singer. And those music quality are not inferior and compete world class jazz.

Indonesian music legends

From Gesang, Koes Bersaudara/Koes Plus, Dara Puspita, Alfian, Titiek Puspa, Guruh Gipsy, Gombloh, Bing Slamet, Benyamin Sueb, Godbless, Chrisye, DARSO (Calung X), Harry Roesli(50's-70's) till Fariz RM, Iwan Fals, and many more. There is also The Tielman Brothers, Eurasians who are originally from Indonesia but they gained popularity in Europe, especially The Netherlands. There style is called Indorock (after the colonial term used for Eurasians: Indo-Europeaan, shortened Indo)
(original source: wikipedia.org)

Indonesian Dance Festival 2013

Kuda Lumping (literally flat horse; or Jaran Kepang in Javanese) is a traditional Javanese dance depicting a group of horsemen. Dancers "ride" horses made from woven bamboo and decorated with colorful paints and cloth. Generally, the dance portrays troops riding horses, but another type of Kuda Lumping performance also incorporates trances and magic tricks. When the "possessed" dancer is performing the dance in trance conditions, he can display unusual abilities, such as eating glass and resistance to the effects of whipping or hot coals. Although the dance is native to Java, Indonesia, it also performed by Javanese communities in Suriname, Malaysia and Singapore.

The origin of Kuda Lumping is uncertain. Two main hypotheses have been proposed. The first suggests that Kuda Lumping may have arisen out of Diponegoro's war against the Dutch colonial forces, as a ritual reenactment of battles. The second argues that it is based on Mataram-era troops riding against the Dutch.^[1]

Kuda Lumping is known under different names in different areas. While Kuda Lumping is the most common name in West Java, in Central Java it is known as Jaran Kepang; in Bali, it is known as Sang Hyang Jaran.^[2] In Bali Sanghyang dance refer to the type of dance involving trance by spirit identified as hyang.

Kuda Lumping may be performed in celebration of a special event, such as a boy's circumcision or rite of passage.^[3] It may also be performed as entertainment, in a busker style.^[1] It is generally performed in a cordoned-off area, with the audience separated from the dancers.^[4]

Kuda Lumping is traditionally performed by a group of men drawn from the local community; this group can number from 2 to 8.^[2][5][6] The performers mount rattan horses and dance while traditional instruments such as the angklung, gongs, and dog-dog drums are played.^[1][4][5] This portion of the performance ends when a dancer enters a trance, which is traditionally said to be caused by spirit possession.^[1] In Sang Hyang Jaran, the audience may participate by forming a chorus and singing.^[2]

During their trances, the dancers may pretend to eat grass or drink water, while another performer or shaman uses a whip to direct them. In some performances, dancers may walk on coals or eat glass or fire, which can cause various injuries. The dancers also interact with the audience; in busker performances they may ask for money. In some areas the dancers serve as oracles to deliver prophecies. After awakening from their trances, performers claim not to remember anything done while performing.

Dancers perform using rattan horses, generally colourful and decorated with beads and sequins. Adults use larger horses than children. Children's horses may also be cut from bamboo mats.^[7] Performers wear colorful clothes and may occasionally dress as soldiers. The costume may also include small bells strung around the ankle.^[1] In comparison to the shaman, the dancers' costumes are more feminized.^[8]

Symbolism

Henry Spiller suggests that Kuda Lumping represents spiritual power and masculine virility, which is "wild and uncontrolled ... yet ultimately a good thing".^[9] Max Richter notes that the erratic movements of the "feminized" dancers may "draw on ideas about the subordinate 'irrational' female", while the slower, more deliberate movements of the shaman "may be seen as masculine and potent". However, he considers this secondary to the conflicts of science versus magic, and good versus bad.^[8] He also notes that it serves as a way for young boys to release energy in a non-violent manner.^[10]

Reception

Kuda Lumping is widely popular. But, individual observer opinions vary. Some view it as being related to Satan and thus evil, while others see it as being a good influence. A shift in meaning, from a mainly spiritual ritual to entertainment, has been noted.^[11]

Kuda Lumping has been used as the basis for a dangdut song of the same name.
(source: wikipedia.org)

Kuda Lumping's Attraction

Raden Ajeng (RA) Kartini's Biography; Kartini's Day

Raden Ayu^[1] Kartini, (21 April 1879 – 17 September 1904), or sometimes known as Raden Ajeng Kartini, was a prominent Javanese and an Indonesian national heroine. Kartini was a pioneer in the area of women's rights for Indonesians.

Kartini was born into an aristocratic Javanese family when Java was part of the Dutch colony of the Dutch East Indies. Kartini's father, Sosroningrat, became Regency Chief of Jepara. Kartini's father, was originally the district chief of Mayong. Her mother, Ngasirah was the daughter of Madirono and a teacher of religion in Teluwakur. She was his first wife but not the most important one. At this time, polygamy was a common practice among the nobility. She also wrote the Letters of a Javanese Princess. Colonial regulations required a Regency Chief to marry a member of the nobility. Since Ngasirah was not of sufficiently high nobility,^[2] her father married a second time to Woerjan (Moerjam), a direct descendant of the Raja of Madura. After this second marriage, Kartini's father was elevated to Regency Chief of Jepara, replacing his second wife's own father, Tjitrowikromo.

Kartini was the fifth child and second eldest daughter in a family of eleven, including half siblings. She was born into a family with a strong intellectual tradition. Her grandfather, Pangeran Ario Tjondronegoro IV, became a Regency Chief at the age of 25 while Kartini's older brother Sosrokartono was an accomplished linguist. Kartini's family allowed her to attend school until she was 12 years old. Here, among other subjects, she learnt to speak Dutch, an unusual accomplishment for Javanese women at the time.^[3] After she turned 12 she was 'secluded' at home, a common practice among Javanese nobility, to prepare young girls for their marriage. During seclusion girls were not allowed to leave their parents' house until they were married, at which point authority over them was transferred to their husbands. Kartini's father was more lenient than some during his daughter's seclusion, giving her such privileges as embroidery lessons and occasional appearances in public for special events.

During her seclusion, Kartini continued to educate herself on her own. Because she could speak Dutch, she acquired several Dutch pen friends. One of them, a girl by the name of Rosa Abendanon, became a close friend. Books, newspapers and European magazines fed Kartini's interest in European feminist thinking, and fostered the desire to improve the conditions of indigenous Indonesian women, who at that time had a very low social status.

Kartini's reading included the Semarang newspaper De Locomotief, edited by Pieter Brooshooft, as well as leestrommel, a set of magazines circulated by bookshops to subscribers. She also read cultural and scientific magazines as well as the Dutch women's magazine De Hollandsche Lelie, to which she began to send contributions which were published. Before she was 20 she hard read Max Havelaar and Love Letters by Multatuli. She also read De Stille Kracht (The Hidden Force) by Louis Couperus, the works of Frederik van Eeden, Augusta de Witt, the Romantic-Feminist author Goekoop de-Jong Van Eek and an anti-war novel by Berta von Suttner, Die Waffen Nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!). All were in Dutch.

Kartini's concerns were not only in the area of the emancipation of women, but also other problems of her society. Kartini saw that the struggle for women to obtain their freedom, autonomy and legal equality was just part of a wider movement.

 

Kartini's parents arranged her marriage to Joyodiningrat, the Regency Chief of Rembang, who already had three wives. She was married on the 12 November 1903. This was against Kartini's wishes, but she acquiesced to appease her ailing father. Her husband understood Kartini's aims and allowed her to establish a school for women in the east porch of the Rembang Regency Office complex. Kartini's only son was born on 13 September 1904. A few days later on 17 September 1904, Kartini died at the age of 25. She was buried in Bulu Village, Rembang.

Inspired by R.A. Kartini's example, the Van Deventer family established the R.A. Kartini Foundation which built schools for women, 'Kartini's Schools' in Semarang in 1912, followed by other women's schools in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Malang, Madiun, Cirebon and other areas.

In 1964, President Sukarno declared R.A. Kartini's birth date, 21 April, as 'Kartini Day' - an Indonesian national holiday. This decision has been criticised. It has been proposed that Kartini's Day should be celebrated in conjunction with Indonesian Mothers Day, on 22 December so that the choice of R.A. Kartini as a national heroine would not overshadow other women who, unlike R.A. Kartini, took up arms to oppose the colonisers.

In contrast, those who recognise the significance of R.A. Kartini argue that not only was she a feminist who elevated the status of women in Indonesia, she was also a nationalist figure, with new ideas who struggled on behalf of her people, including her in the national struggle for independence.

After Raden Adjeng Kartini died, Mr J. H. Abendanon, the Minister for Culture, Religion and Industry in the East Indies, collected and published the letters that Kartini had sent to her friends in Europe. The book was titled Door Duisternis tot Licht (Out of Dark Comes Light) and was published in 1911. It went through five editions, with some additional letters included in the final edition, and was translated into English by Agnes L. Symmers and published under the title Letters of a Javanese Princess.

The publication of R.A. Kartini's letters, written by a native Javanese woman, attracted great interest in the Netherlands and Kartini's ideas began to change the way the Dutch viewed native women in Java. Her ideas also provided inspiration for prominent figures in the fight for Independence.

There are some grounds for doubting the veracity of R.A. Kartini's letters. There are allegations that Abendanon made up R.A. Kartini's letters. These suspicions arose because R.A. Kartini's book was published at a time when the Dutch Colonial Government were implementing 'Ethical Policies' in the Dutch East Indies, and Abendanon was one of the most prominent supporters of this policy. The current whereabouts of the vast majority of R.A. Kartini's letters is unknown. According to the late Sulastin Sutrisno, the Dutch Government has been unable to track down J. H. Abendanon's descendants.

Condition of Indonesian women

In her letters, Raden Adjeng Kartini wrote about her views of the social conditions prevailing at that time, particularly the condition of native Indonesian women. The majority of her letters protest the tendency of Javanese Culture to impose obstacles for the development of women. She wanted women to have the freedom to learn and study. R.A. Kartini wrote of her ideas and ambitions, including Zelf-ontwikkeling, Zelf-onderricht, Zelf-vertrouwen, Zelf-werkzaamheid and Solidariteit. These ideas were all based on Religieusiteit, Wijsheid en Schoonheid, that is, belief in God, wisdom, and beauty, along with Humanitarianisme (humanitarianism) and Nationalisme (nationalism).

Kartini's letters also expressed her hopes for support from overseas. In her correspondence with Estell "Stella" Zeehandelaar, R.A. Kartini expressed her desire to be like a European youth. She depicted the sufferings of Javanese women fettered by tradition, unable to study, secluded, and who must be prepared to participate in polygamous marriages with men they don't know.

Religion

Raden Adjeng Kartini also expressed criticisms about religion^{[citation needed]}. She questioned why the Quran must be memorised and recited without an obligation to actually understand it^{[citation needed]}. She also expressed the view that the world would be more peaceful if there was no religion to provide reasons for disagreements, discord and offence^{[citation needed]}. She wrote "Religion must guard us against committing sins, but more often, sins are committed in the name of religion"^{[citation needed]}

Kartini also raised questions with the way in which religion provided a justification for men to pursue polygamy^{[citation needed]}. For Kartini, the suffering of Javanese women reached a pinnacle when the world was reduced to the walls of their houses and they were prepared for a polygamous marriage.^{[citation needed]}

Vegetarian lifestyle

It is known from her letters dated October 1902 to Abendanon and her husband that at the age of 23, Raden Adjeng Kartini had a mind to live a vegetarian life. "It has been for sometime that we are thinking to do it (to be a vegetarian), I have even eaten only vegetables for years now, but I still don't have enough moral courage to carry on. I am still too young." R.A. Kartini once wrote.

She also emphasized the relationship between this kind of lifestyle with religious thoughts. She also quoted, "Living a life as vegetarian is a wordless prayer to the Almighty."^[4]

Further studies and teaching

Raden Adjeng Kartini loved her father deeply although it is clear that her deep affection for him became yet another obstacle to the realisation of her ambitions. He was sufficiently progressive to allow his daughters schooling until the age of 12 but at that point the door to further schooling was firmly closed. In his letters, her father also expressed his affection for R.A. Kartini. Eventually, he gave permission for R.A. Kartini to study to become a teacher in Batavia (now Jakarta), although previously he had prevented her from continuing her studies in the Netherlands or entering medical school in Batavia.

R.A. Kartini's desire to continue her studies in Europe was also expressed in her letters. Several of her pen friends worked on her behalf to support Kartini in this endeavour. And when finally Kartini's ambition was thwarted, many of her friends expressed their disappointment. In the end her plans to study in the Netherlands were transmuted into plans to journey to Batavia on the advice of Mrs. Abendanon that this would be best for R.A. Kartini and her younger sister, R.Ayu Rukmini.

Nevertheless, in 1903 at the age of 24, her plans to study to become a teacher in Batavia came to nothing. In a letter to Mrs. Abendanon, R.A. Kartini wrote that the plan had been abandoned because she was going to be married... "In short, I no longer desire to take advantage of this opportunity, because I am to be married..". This was despite the fact that for its part, the Dutch Education Department had finally given permission for R.A. Kartini and R.Ay. Rukmini to study in Batavia.

As the wedding approached, R.A. Kartini's attitude towards Javanese traditional customs began to change. She became more tolerant. She began to feel that her marriage would bring good fortune for her ambition to develop a school for native women. In her letters, R.A. Kartini mentioned that not only did her esteemed husband support her desire to develop the woodcarving industry in Jepara and the school for native women, but she also mentioned that she was going to write a book. Sadly, this ambition was unrealised as a result of her premature death in 1904 at the age of 25.

Kartini Day

Sukarno's Old Order state declared 21 April as Kartini Day to remind women that they should participate in "the hegemonic state discourse of perkembangan (development)".^[5] After 1965, however, Suharto's New Order state reconfigured the image of Kartini from that of radical women's emancipator to one that portrayed her as dutiful wife and obedient daughter, "as only a woman dressed in a kebaya who can cook."^[6] On that occasion, popularly known as Hari Ibu (Mother) Kartini or Mother Kartini Day, "young girls were to wear tight, fitter jackets, batik shirts, elaborate hairstyles, and ornate jewelry to school, supposedly replicating Kartini's attired but in reality wearing an invented and more constricting ensemble than she ever did."

(from: wikipedia.org)