Till today, Dutch East Indies still retains some form of its traditional culture that existed in society before any modernization. So visit the country, and you’ll get a wide- opening experience of how people loved then!
Dressing in Dutch East Indies:
Indonesia has three hundred ethnic groups, each with their own costume variations. The majority of the population, the Javanese, wore Indonesian national dress. Western dress arrived in Indonesia in the sixteenth century and has been one of many sources of tension between indigenous groups and colonizers. Dress is an indicator of cultural change in Indonesia; indeed, history can be divided into three eras categorized by dress terms: sarong (local dress), jubbah (Islamic influences), and trousers (Western influences).
Traditional dress is still commonly seen in rural areas and is especially important throughout Indonesia for national ceremonial occasions. For both men and women, traditional dress in Indonesia includes a wrap-around lower-body cover—a kain (a rectangular length of fabric, generally in batik) or a sarong (a length of fabric with ends sewn together, more often in ikat). Women in Java and Bali wear sarongs and kain, held in place with a stagen, a narrow sash. The kebaya is a tight, often sheer, long-sleeved blouse worn on the upper body. It is often made of lace, but can also be made of lightweight, sheer, elaborately embroidered cottons. In addition, women generally have a large rectangle of cloth called a selendang (ikat or batik) draped over the shoulder (on less formal occasions a large selendang is used to carry babies or objects); on Bali the pelangi (a sash) is worn over the kebaya around the waist when going to temple.
Indonesian men generally wear kain or sarongs only in the home or on informal occasions. A black felt cap, or peci, is occasionally worn; although it was once associated with Islam, it has acquired a more secular, national meaning since Indonesia's independence. These ensembles have become national dress in Indonesia because the vast majority of the population lives on Java and Bali. Kebaya and batik kain are considered Indonesia's national dress for women, and teluk beskap, a combination of the Javanese jacket and kain, are national dress for Indonesian men.
Houses:Visitors will be able to see the traditional life that Indonesians live by. They live in umas, also known as wooden houses on supports around 1 meter above the soil, and these houses have been markers of ethnicity. Only found in the rural areas of present day Dutch East India, this is certainly not something that we can see in the modern city that we are living in today, and would be an eye-opening scene that we will be able to witness!
A row of tongkona houses in the Toraja village of Palawa. The buffalo horns tied to the poles supporting the massive gable of these houses are a sign of wealth and reputation.
Dance:Traditional Javanese and Balinese dances, a form of puppetry, are common sights in the country even presently. These cultural art forms contain aspects of Hindu culture and mythology, and can be rarely found in modernized societies of other countries.
Theatre show:Do not miss the traditional form of theatre show that makes the country so distinctive. Known as the wayang, this form of art is used to spread Hinduism and Islam among villagers in Java, a part of the present Dutch East India.
Textiles:Dutch East Indies has a long history of fine textile production; this traditional art is still considered important, despite Westernization. Dutch East Indies is particularly noted for its textiles made with complex resist-dyed techniques. Batik is a patterned fabric produced by using wax as a resist agent. Where the wax has been applied, it prevents the dye from penetrating.Another resist-dyed technique is ikat, in which the dye is applied to the warp yarns prior to weaving. The design is seen in the finished yarn goods, and is a result of the dyed warp yarns being woven with plain weft yarns, a process known as single ikat. When the warp and weft yarns are both resist dyed, an extremely complex form of double ikat results; these geringsing cloths are rare and are made only in Tenganan on Bali. These cloths are the most highly prized Indonesian textiles.
Other fine textiles produced in Indonesia include songket, a heavy silk handwoven fabric with gold- or silver-wire-wrapped thread used as a supplementary weft to form the pattern. Pelangi is a tie-dyed fabric, common in Bali. Prada cloth is a fine cotton fabric in vivid colors with floral motifs printed in gold dust or applied with gold foil and is often worn by Balinese dancers.
Religion:In the past, not taking on any religion meant that you were a communist. As a result, many of the Chinese in Dutch East India took on Christianity. However, among the Indonesians in Dutch East India, the main religion before modernity and colonization was Hinduism, and this was one that was predominant in the Dutch East Indies society, which people took on. However, even till today, although many have converted to religions like Islam and Christianity, Hinduism is still accepted as a religion by the majority of the people in islands such as Bali.
The Bali Aga in Dutch East India is one of the oldest and most traditional communities. They are well known for preserving their cultural heritage and ritual from the influence of Javanese migration in 11th century A.D. In the village of Sukawana, visitors can experience the uniqueness of the Baris (warrior) dance and great temple anniversary.
