. INDONESIA .

Thank you for your interest on Indonesia. If you want links to current Indonesian events, there's a comprehensive Indonesian page available. To go there, simply click on the Indonesian Map. This page is dedicated for Indonesians' history (in brief), and its geographical, and cultural aspect. So, let me tell you a little bit about my country Indonesia:

Historical Background

Indonesia's history started way back in the 5th century. It was found that Indonesians' ancentors came from Yunan Province in China. The first kingdom in Indonesia is the "Kutai Kingdom," which follow Hinduism. After that, many kingdoms rise and fall. Then the next big kingdom is the "Sriwijaya" which was weaken by the "Campa" kingdom from Burma, and then finished by the next big kingdom, the "Majapahit Kingdom," which follow Buddism (Gajahmada lived in this era). There was a very interesting fact about the Majapahit kingdom. They were establised in the 13th century, and was invaded by the Yuan Dynasty (Kubilai Khan). However, they emerged victorious. One of the two failed Yuan Dynasty's invasion was the invasion to Indonesia (the other one was to Japan, twice). Then, the next big kingdom is Mataram, which follow Islam. (NOTE: Mataram still exist today, and considered one of the best tourist attraction in the world.)

Then, starting late 16th, Indonesia was invaded by the Dutch (Netherland), and was put under its imperialism flag. The Dutch continued to do so for three and a half centuries (Pangeran Diponegoro fought against the Dutch in the 19th century). After that, it was Japan who drove out the dutch, and occupied Indonesia. During the Japanese occupation, which lasted for three and a half years, people said that they had lived much harder than during Dutch occupation. Fortunately, in the year 1945, the Japanese Empire surrendered, and Indonesia was left unoccupied for three and a half days. (NOTE: It is interesting to see the facts that everything has been for three and a half ... 3.5 centuries, 3.5 years, 3.5 days. It's like some kind of magic number, and I am not making it up. Maybe I should make a horoscopic prophecy. ;-) )

With the vacuum of power, our nation took advantage of it, and declared its independence on August 17, 1945, and call itseld as the "Republic of Indonesia." Egypt was the first country to give its recoqnition of Indonesia, followed by India. Unfortunately, the Dutch tried to retake Indonesia, and asked the British to help them. However, we manage to defend ourself, and the British was still recuperating from its World War II wounds. Therefore, the British force the Dutch to hold a conference with Indonesia. To make a long story short, Indonesia finally got its recoqnition from the world. Since then, we have already had two presidents:

1st: President Soekarno (Proclamator of the Independence of Indonesia),

2nd: President Soeharto (Raises Indonesia's Economy level at an Incredible rate).

Just now, May 29, 1997, we had a general election to choose representatives in the parlement (MPR, and DPR). Then, they are going to decide who will be the president for the next five years. The winner of the general election is the Golkar party with more than 70% vote, followed by PPP. PDI finished last.

Geographical & Cultural Background: An Overview

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago, comprised of more than 15,000 islands (some say the total number of islands is more than 17,000), of which 6,000 are inhabited. The islands span more than 3,000 miles from east to west, and more than 1,200 miles from north to south. Some of these islands are famous for its tourist attractions, like Bali, Java, Sumatra, and Kalimantan (formerly known as Borneo), because our country is blessed with breathtaking natural wonders. Tourists find Indonesia's 19 active volcanoes, vast tropical forest, spectacular coastlines, beaches, and blue seas (to mention a few) fascinating. If you are interested in tourism, please check out this link (CLICK HERE).

The climate is tropical with temperatures ranging from 68 to 92 degree Farenheit. Humidity ranges from 60 to 90 percent. Indonesia's rainy season last from November through April, with a peak around January and February, where it can rain for the whole day (mostly only several hours, though). Then, comes the dry season from May to October.

More than 190 million people from over 300 distinct ethnic groups (with different dialects) call Indonesia their home, making Indonesia the fourth most populous nation in the world (afeter China, India, and US). Fortunately, we have one natinal language to help us communicate with one another. It is called "Bahasa Indonesia," which literally means "The Language of Indonesia." Bahasa Indonesia is derived from Malay language, which has a long history of trading language. The Arabs, Portugese, Chinese, and Dutch were using Malay to communicate during the colonial era.

Our nation's philosophy is known as Pancasila, which includes five inseparable, and mutually qualifying fundamental principles:

1. Belief in One Supreme God, 2. Just and Civilized Humanity, 3. The Unity of Indonesia, 4. Democracy Through Deliberation and ....Consensus Among Representatives, 5. Social Justice For All The People of Indonesia.

They are then represented with icons that are held in a shield by our nation's Logo, "Burung Garuda." The symbol below is our nation's logo:

The bird is called "GARUDA" bird, or Burung (Bird) Garuda Pancasila (The 5 principles). Sometimes, we call it "The Mighty Garuda." If you pay attention to the design of the bird, you will notice that there are 17 feathers on each wing, 8 feathers on the tail, and 45 feathers in the neck region. These represent our INDEPENDENCE DAY (17 August 1945 or 8/17/45).

This I n d o R i n g site is owned by Andre Pohar. Wanna know more about the ring?
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INDONESIA

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