Indonesia the Land and the People

[Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] a puppet show a puppet show in Indonesia these Indonesians watching puppets the tell a story centuries old are citizens of one of the youngest of Nations what kind of people are the Indonesians how do they live what is their country like the first thing we might learn is that this is a country of islands Islands once called the East Indies the Republic of Indonesia is a large group of islands extending generally in a West East Direction the islands lie between the Philippines on the North and Australia and between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean the equator cuts through the islands the three thousand islands of Indonesia stretch nearly 3 000 miles about equal to the width of the United States from west to east west to east are words we can use to help us remember some facts about Indonesia the islands changed geographically from west to east the more fertile islands are Sumatra and Java on the west less fertile islands are in the east Java in the west is often called The Garden Island because of its warm moist climate rich soil and well-kept Farms the soil has been enriched by the ash of volcanoes many volcanoes some still active are found throughout the islands as we move Eastward toward Australia the islands although still warm get less rainfall the dry season hinders crop growth here as the cold season does in temperate lands it is not surprising that population 2 decreases as we go from west to east of Indonesia's more than 80 million population the greater part lives on the fertile islands of Sumatra Java and Bali there are fewer people on the islands of Borneo celebis and the malaccas on the islands live people of many kinds peoples with different languages and Customs were attracted to the islands over a period of thousands of years the most important are the melee peoples who came from the mainland of Asia they moved generally from west to east through the islands perhaps as early as 4 000 years ago today Indonesians still use boats called prahus they are similar to those of the early melee settlers about two thousand years ago people of India came as priests Craftsmen and traitors Indian influence was felt most in the western part of Indonesia much was learned from India and we can still see Indian temples on the islands after the Indians Muslim Traders came and their religion too was brought to Indonesia today most of the people in Indonesia followed the Muslim faith finally the Europeans came the Portuguese first to Malacca and then on Eastward to the malacca's The Spice Islands following them came the Dutch Rivals for the spice trade of the islands the Dutch won and held the East Indies as part of their colonial Empire in the cities European houses like these tell us of centuries of Dutch influences and so living in Indonesia today we find people from many lands from Europe from China from India and other parts of Asia among the Indonesians themselves there are many different types of people but these different peoples are all Indonesians they share the Traditions common to all Indonesians love of beauty is one Indonesian tradition traditional dancing and music are part of everyday life graceful movements not words are this little dancer's way of telling the traditional stories [Music] [Music] thank you people of all ages enjoy the traditional dances and music traditional ways are found in the handicrafts too this woman of java is coloring cloth in a process called batik first she traces a design in melted wax next the cloth is diet the die does not take on the waxed areas later the wax will be removed several times the process of waxing and dying is repeated the result a beautiful example of the intricate colorful patterns which make Japanese batik world famous most handicrafts are carried on in villages for most Indonesians the village is the traditional Center of life a village is usually a cluster of houses amid fruit and shade trees a well or two is the source of water for the villagers there's usually a Marketplace for trading Goods including handmade products and foodstuffs a village usually has a place of worship these people are attending a Muslim Mosque religious devotion is a strong tradition traditional two is the village government the villagers elected Chief and a council to govern themselves close family life is also one of the traditions of these people the family Clan often includes several Generations the whole family works drawing water and doing the wash is the job of the women in the fields surrounding the village we'll find the men and boys at work a family farm is often no more than two acres rice is one of the important food crops grown on most Farms even the children have their own lighter tasks to do tasks which sometimes turn into play these ways of living are traditional in the rural areas tradition is a word that helps us understand Indonesia there's another idea that will help us understand Indonesia Treasure House from the fertile Islands come products that were once and still are a kind of treasure these are the plants that give us pepper a valuable spice once pepper was as valuable as gold dust in Europe today it is still valuable as is nutmeg another spice and so spices that once helped make the East Indies famous are still important to Indonesia in more recent times the Dutch developed plantations and introduced new crops from other continents to Indonesia from the Americas came such crops as tobacco these are tobacco seedlings from the Americas two came the cincona tree the bark of this tree is the source of quinine a valuable medicine the Brazilian rubber tree another import is a source of raw rubber from other lands the Dutch brought tea plants to Indonesia sugarcane has long been an important crop in Indonesia especially on Java coconuts from a native palm tree are the source of copra copra is the dried meat of the coconut copra is an important source of vegetable oil another valuable oil petroleum is a growing source of wealth petroleum and Tin are two of Indonesia's Chief mineral resources this is tin ore being mined by a hydraulic process to get Indonesia's products to Market transportation is being gradually improved today in some places in the islands there are modern highways there are airports for international flights and for domestic traffic linking the islands there are important seaports the city of Jakarta once called Batavia is a collecting point for many of the products we have seen products that have given the name Treasure House to Indonesia the city of Jakarta is the capital of one of the world's youngest republics for Indonesians this is a period of transition transition from Colonial rule and foreign business management to self-rule and self-development facing the government are many problems overpopulation in Java for example is a leading problem Java a small island has over half of Indonesia's more than 80 million people one solution might be clearing and settling undeveloped areas such as those in the larger islands of Sumatra or Borneo clearing land and building roads would open regions for some of the excess population some of the population will be absorbed in the growing cities in business or industry textile making employs a number of people and will probably employ many more in the future the production of quinine and other medicines is one of the older light industries that Indonesia is trying to expand but Industries require trained managers and Technical skill that is why there is a great need for more education each year sees more and more better equipped schools like this one for Indonesians know that educating young citizens is one of the most vital needs for the growth of the Young Nation we saw that young country Indonesia as an island nation extending in a West East Direction between Asia and Australia do you remember some of the people who migrated with the islands do you remember the importance of tradition in everyday life here remember some reasons why Indonesia is considered a treasure House of the East in colonial times spices were the most important products today the development of many products such as rubber tin and petroleum are adding to Indonesian wealth and finally we saw that Indonesia is a nation in transition transition from a colonial past to a future as a young independent republic in the Far East oh foreign