Dr Adly Hassanein Hella in Indonesia
It was last year that my wife and I
decided to go to Indonesia as a destination for both work and leisure.
We mainly visited Bali Island and Central Java that have a lot of
fascinating culture, extensive history and cultural properties.
Although
the majority of people belong to Islam in Indonesia, they do not
establish Islam as the national religion. Namely Indonesians have
religious liberty and it depends on the regions in Indonesia. Despite
the fact that Indonesia is having a Muslim majority, Bali remains one of
the islands in Indonesia that boast a Hindu majority. Likewise
Protestantism, Catholicism, and Buddhism are spread throughout
Indonesia. For instance, as soon as we arrived at the airport in Bali, I
found woven baskets filled with colorful flowers or rice on the floor. I
thought it was just traditional decoration at that moment but we found
many of them as well while we were walking in the city. It turned out
that they are small offering baskets called “canang sari” which Balinese
offer to their Hindu Gods. Also we felt Bali is one of the most liberal
places in Indonesia, where people can drink alcohol and eat pork,
unlike in other places in Indonesia.
After attending a very
successful international conference we enjoyed the city of Yogyakarta in
the island of Java, we saw many religions lived together in peace and
harmony; cathedral, church, Chinese temple, Buddhist temple and Hindu
temple. we actually visited in the early mornings Prambanan temple and
Borobudur temple during our trip in Indonesia. Prambanan is a 9th
century Hindu temple and Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple which
is also compounded around 9th century. Borobudur is registered as one of
the UNISCO World Heritage and we were really amazed to see the
decoration with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. Moreover it
made us surprise to see those two different religious temples co-existed
within 40km since a long time ago. This is impressive and it also tells
us the importance to respect each religion and live together
harmoniously as Indonesia has proved.
Related to Indonesian culture
and history, we still remember the lecture that my wife searched and
used during our trip how it all stressed on the strength of Indonesian
people’s patriotic spirit which never succumbs to threats of
colonization. The history textbooks aim to foster national identity
through the education and we believe this emphasis was influenced by the
nationalist movement under long colonization. It was interesting to see
the difference in educational textbooks because I have never seen those
descriptions in Middle Eastern history textbooks, where only facts
happened in past are chronologically described. Despite historically
Indonesia had been struggling of interference by several countries, I
believe there were still something other countries could not change
them, which was their own core values and cultural identities.
I had
many interesting questions that were going through my mind during our
trip to Indonesia. The identity of the region had a lot from the
interaction of the region with the outside world, through religion and
maritime trade. In the 1300s the two universal religions, Theravada
Buddhism and Islam, got into the region. From the available readings, we
saw that around the 14th century, Muslim merchants, mostly Arabs and
Indians, spread Islam along the Indian Ocean along their trading routes.
This period of trade and religious network, Southeast Asia became more
connected to the Southern and Western Asia, Europe and Africa. All these
interactions with the outside world lead into the European conquest in
the region.
How is the identity of a nation made? To know much about
any country or a nation, we need to peal each part of the onion and find
out what happened at a given time. Pealing the onion of the Indonesian
struggle for independence and its independence, we learned that
Soemarsono, a highly educated Indonesian youth played a key role in the
history of colonial Indonesia. In 1913, Soemarsono was transferred and
began working in the countryside of Java, a very harsh environment where
he was required to crouch in the presence of, speak with a certain
manner, and present gestures of respect to his leaders at specific
times. Being caught in this situation that he did not want to be,
Soemarsono began to rebel, and he found himself in the middle of a
movement against colonial rule. This mobilization of people against
their rulers was so significant because it marked the beginning of
pushback in a society defined by its peaceful tendencies until this
point.
In addition to the power of this resistance, Soemarsono also
provided a very powerful message in the comparison he drew between their
circumstances and an Oil Lamp in 1913 at the rebellion’s five year
anniversary party. He compares their situation to an oil lamp, where,
at its most basic layer, the wick represents their Hindu-Buddhist
heritage. Their heritage is what they came from and what gave them
certain tools to reach the point they were at. The lamp’s oil represents
Islam and Islamic modernism, and the lampshade represents the Dutch
culture. Even the western scientific and technological aspects brought
them to this point. Each of these aspects were given to them, and they
all were brought together at that moment. Soemarsono argued that if you
bring all these aspects together, it creates something, like the oil
lamp, but they finally need to light it. This comparison created by
Soemarsono, marked the beginning of the movement against colonialism and
Indonesian’s beginning to stand on their own two feet. Furthermore,
this message applies to the origins theme and how we connect to certain
elements from the start, and that then gives us the future that we can
use to make something from ourselves.
Soemarsono ignited change with
the socio-political emancipation of the Javanese, which led to a
complete overthrow of the system of cultural hegemony in 1913 with the
hormat-circular. As the civil servants finally received proper respect,
fair demands, and freedom, a massive cultural movement began that
created a completely new beginning to Indonesians.
Soemarsono played
a big role in it. There were a lot of layers that made Soemarsono an
influential person in driving for the independence. From the lecture we
had, Soemarsono got European education as he was the only non-white
person in his school. This then made him an educated individual and
could stay on the same table with the White because he could understand
them better. He embraced the western knowledge and science but
maintained the Indonesian identity. Through the Western knowledge that
Soemarsono had, he lit the oil lamp for the Indonesian struggle for
independence. As the civil servants finally received proper respect,
fair demands, and freedom, a massive cultural movement began that
created a completely new beginning to Indonesians called the
“Sociological revolution” which it can be considered the origin of a
national awakening in Indonesia.
This brought to my second question
of how important are revolutions in origins? Every revolution seems to
have an origin, but does every origin have or create a revolution? In
this context, we can argue that we all define origins differently based
on how we focus on the people who had key roles and were “digging up
change.” Defining origins depends on how we look at these layers and
what they mean to us. That is why historian argued that Soemarsono is
the key player in igniting change and defining the origin of Indonesia’s
national identity.
Indonesia is the 4th most populous country in the
world and is made up of over 17,000 islands; however, often when people
think of Indonesia, all that comes to mind is Bali. Although Bali is
awesome in its own right, Indonesia as a whole is a great place to visit
and has much to offer.
You can literally eat for days in
Indonesia and always be trying something new. Some popular Indonesian
foods are satay (like lamb or chicken skewers), nasi goreng (a fried
rice plate with other foods added to it like fried eggs, vegetables, and
chicken), gudeg (a dish made from boiled young jackfruit, often served
with rice, sambal sauce and chicken) and my favorite, sambal sauce - a
spicy sauce that can be added rice and many other dishes. Indonesia is
also one of the largest coffee producers in the world - the phrase “a
cup of Java” actually comes from Indonesia’s island of the same name,
where the coffee comes from. They are also famous for Kopi Luwak, which
is coffee made from the poop of the Luwak - aka civet cat - that has
eaten coffee beans and pooped them out. Sounds gross but it is actually
rare and quite expensive coffee.
Our visit to Bali rice terraces
and their water temples was a treat and breathtaking trip. no wonder it
is a UNISCO world heritage site.
The cultural landscape of Bali
consists of five rice terraces and their water temples that cover 19,500
ha. The temples are the focus of a cooperative water management system
of canals and weirs, known as subak, that dates back to the 9th century.
Included in the landscape is the 18th-century Royal Water Temple of
Pura Taman Ayun, the largest and most impressive architectural edifice
of its type on the island. The subak reflects the philosophical concept
of Tri Hita Karana, which brings together the realms of the spirit, the
human world and nature. This philosophy was born of the cultural
exchange between Bali and India over the past 2,000 years and has shaped
the landscape of Bali. The subak system of democratic and egalitarian
farming practices has enabled the Balinese to become the most prolific
rice growers in the archipelago despite the c hallenge of supporting a
dense population.
Indonesians are very friendly and welcoming
people. In the majority of the places you travel to throughout the
country, you will be met with some of the biggest smiles you have ever
seen. They are also very proud of their history, culture, wildlife, food
and more, and are passionate about sharing it with others.
If
you are looking for a place to relax and get a good massage, then
Indonesia is a great place to visit. Any spa treatment you can imagine
can be found here, from seaweed wraps to fish spas, aromatherapy to the
most amazing massage of your life. Many of these services can be offered
at your hotel, as a separate business or even on the beach as you enjoy
the sun. Now that is relaxation
