Republic of Indonesia, island republic of Southeast Asia, constituting most of the Malay Archipelago. Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country after China, India, and the United States. More than half the people live on Java, where Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital and largest city, is located.
Art and Architecture
Model of Borobudur Temple, Java A model of Borobudur, a Hindu-Buddhist temple on the island of Java in Indonesia, reveals in this aerial view the eight stone terraces built in steps, one on top of the other. Constructed in the 9th century and abandoned in the 11th century, Borobudur influenced the design of many other temples.
| | Music |
The gamelan, a drum and gong orchestra, is the best known of Indonesia’s classical music forms. The word gamelan comes from the Javanese word gamel, which refers to a type of hammer. The main instruments in the gamelan orchestra include gongs, bronze xylophones, bronze kettles on a horizontal frame, drums, flutes, zithers, and a two-stringed bowed instrument. The gamelan performs both in an instrumental role as well as in a supportive role for dance and puppet performances. The three major gamelan styles in Indonesia are based on Sundanese culture, central Javanese culture, and Balinese culture. The Balinese form, gamelan gong kebyar, has a faster tempo than the others. See also Indonesian Music.
Dance
Indonesia is home to many traditional dance styles, and the classical dance traditions of Java and Bali have attracted worldwide attention. In Java, classical forms blend native traditions with stories and dance techniques from India. The forms have evolved over the last 200 years from the dances of Java’s former Islamic-influenced courts and today are centered in Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Jakarta. The most significant of the Javanese court dances are the bedaja and the serimpi. Slow and restrained, women dancers move solemnly to the accompaniment of the gamelan and choral singing. Javanese mask dances (wayang topeng) have been traced to the 11th century. In these, dancers with wooden masks based on traditional three-dimensional rod puppets (wayang golek) act out stories from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and local tales. The most famous of these tales is The Adventures of Prince Panji. Another significant dance drama is the wayang orang, in which men and women act out a familiar range of Indian and local epics. In the wayang orang, dancers dress and act in a style adapted from traditional shadow puppets (wayang kulit).
