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Language and cultural guide: Indonesian

Language and cultural guide: Indonesian

Language experts agree that language learning is most effective when language and culture are linked. The Polyglots apps aim to spark children’s interest in both Indonesian language and culture through play. This guide provides some general information about Indonesia and Indonesian culture and language that may be of interest to you and may extend children’s learning.

About Indonesia

Indonesia is made up of more than 18,000 islands and is one of Australia’s closest neighbours. About 250 million people live there (in comparison, about 23 million people live in Australia). There are about 10 million people living in the capital city, Jakarta – nearly half the population of Australia occupying a city no more than 8 kilometres wide.

Early childhood education in Indonesia

Improving access to early childhood education has been a priority of the Indonesian government in recent years. In 2012, 37.8 per cent of children in Indonesia participated in early childhood education.Footnote 1

Language

Indonesia is home to hundreds of diverse peoples. Together, they speak almost 750 languages and dialects. In 1945, Indonesia declared independence, and Bahasa Indonesia became the official language. Bahasa Indonesian is taught in Indonesian schools and used by the Indonesian media and government. This is the language spoken in The Polyglots apps.

Culture

Indonesia is culturally diverse. Across the Indonesian archipelago there are about 300 ethnic groups, each with their own unique cultural practices. A large majority of people are Muslim and there are also many people who are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Animist.

Politeness and customs

  • In Indonesia, the left hand is considered unclean. It is rude to use your left hand to pass someone food, drink or a gift.
  • In Indonesia, you can point by using your right thumb and folding the other fingers against your palm. It is rude to point with your index finger.
  • The polite way to beckon someone is with your right hand. Move your hand in a downward motion.
  • In Indonesia, you take off your shoes when going into someone’s house.
  • In Indonesia, it is rude to show the soles of your feet or shoes. When sitting, you can point your feet down or put them flat on the floor.
  • A person’s head is considered sacred in Indonesia, so it is rude to touch someone on the head.

Culture in the Polyglots apps

As children play with the apps, they can discover fun and intriguing Indonesian cultural references to such things as an orangutan, a cicak lizard, rambutan fruit and an Indonesian mask. You can learn more about the cultural references in each app’s overview support document (for example, App 1: The Polyglots: Playroom – Indonesian).

Interesting topics

Animals

The animals of Indonesia include:

  • elephants
  • green sea turtles
  • komodo dragons
  • orangutans
  • rhinoceroses
  • slow lorises (small primates with big eyes and a toxic bite)
  • tarsiers (small primates with even bigger eyes and an appearance that some people may find creepy; they catch insect prey by jumping on them)
  • tigers.

Arts

  • Angklung (traditional bamboo instrument)
  • Batik and ikat (traditional techniques used to create textiles with beautiful patterns)
  • Gamelan (a traditional musical ensemble played with Indonesian instruments)
  • Wayang golek (wooden puppets)
  • Wayang kulit (shadow puppets)

Food

The national dish of Indonesia is called nasi tumpeng. It is served on a plate with a big cone of rice in the centre. Surrounding the rice are lots of side dishes, which can include satays, vegetables, pickles, seafood and more.

Other Indonesian foods include:

  • gado gado (salad with peanut sauce)
  • nasi goreng (fried rice)
  • satay (meat skewers with peanut sauce)
  • kue lapis legit (layer cake, made by grilling each layer of the cake).

Games

Traditional games include:

  • congklak (a board game played with shells, stones or seeds)
  • semut, orang, gajah (a game played with the right hand, similar to rock, paper scissors).

Places

  • Bali is a popular tourist destination, known for its temples, beaches, arts and crafts.
  • Bali is a popular tourist destination, known for its temples, beaches, arts and crafts. In Banjarmasin in Kalimantan, there is a floating market where people buy and sell from their boats.
  • Bali is a popular tourist destination, known for its temples, beaches, arts and crafts. Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia. It has big shopping centres and theme parks such as Dunia Fantasi Theme Park (Ancol).
  • Bali is a popular tourist destination, known for its temples, beaches, arts and crafts. The island of Komodo is home to the Komodo dragon, the world’s biggest lizard. There is a beach on Komodo called Pink Beach because of its pink coloured sand.
  • Lake Toba in Sumatra is the biggest volcanic lake in the world with an island in the middle that is almost as big as Singapore. Lake Toba was formed after a super volcano erupted about 75,000 years ago.
  • The Maluka (Spice) islands were once the only source in the world of the spices mace and nutmeg.

Seasons

Indonesia has a tropical climate – a wet season and a dry season. The dry season is generally around June to September. The rest of the year is wetter.

Traditional houses

Across Indonesia, different areas have different traditional houses.

  • Long houses in Kalimantan
  • Minangkabau people’s houses with ‘spired’ roofs in West Sumatra
  • Batak people’s boat-shaped houses in North Sumatra
  • Compound houses in Bali
  • Tongkonan houses in Sulawesi

Traditions

These are just a small selection of Indonesia’s many rich traditions.

  • In South Sulawesi, the Toraja people have elaborate funerals that can go for many days.
  • In Sumba, a ritual game celebrates the rice-planting season. In it, people throw spears at opponents while riding horses.
  • On the island of Nias, stone jumping is a manhood ritual where boys jump over a stone wall.

Note: This document contains content that has been gathered through independent research and consultation with subject matter experts. The figures and information included in this document should be reviewed for accuracy over time.

The ELLA program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training and is managed by Education Services Australia. © 2018 Commonwealth of Australia, unless otherwise indicated. This material may be used in accordance with the Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence, unless otherwise indicated.

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