Knowing about the diversity of Indonesian culture

Indonesian Cultural Diversity

Preliminary

Cultural diversity or "cultural diversity" is a necessity that Indonesia is in the earth. Indonesia's cultural diversity is something that can not be denied its existence. In understanding the context of a plural society, ethnic groups other than culture, Indonesian society also consists of various regional cultures are territorial, which is the meeting of different cultures existing ethnic groups in the area. With a population of 200 million people where they live scattered island-island in Indonesia. They also inhabit the region with varying geographical conditions. Starting from the mountains, forest edges, coastal, lowland, rural, to urban areas. This also relates to the level of civilization of ethnic groups and different communities in Indonesia. Meetings with outside cultures also affect the process of cultural assimilation in Indonesia so add variety of cultures that exist in Indonesia. Then also developing and expanding major religions in Indonesia also supports the development of Indonesian culture so memcerminkan particular religious culture. You could say that Indonesia is one country with cultural keaneragaman level or high level heterogenitasnya. Not just cultural diversity but also diversity of ethnic groups in the context of the culture of civilization, to modern tradsional, and territorial.

With the diversity of Indonesian culture can be said to have advantages compared with other countries. Indonesia has a portrait of a complete and varied culture. And last but not least, the socio-cultural and political fabric of Indonesian society has a history of inter-cultural dynamics of the coupled interactions since the first. Interactions between culture includes not only inter-woven ethnic groups differently, but also include inter-civilization existing in the world. Labuhnya Portuguese ships in Banten in the middle ages for example, has opened up Indonesia in the international social circle at that time. The relationship between vendors and coastal gujarat Java also provides an important sense in building the interaction between civilizations that exist in Indonesia. Touched touched this civilization has been built basically the Indonesian nation elasitas power in interacting with a difference. Other Side of the Indonesian nation was also able to probe and develop local culture amid inter-civilization touched it.

Historical Evidence

History proves that the culture in Indonesia is able to live side by side, complementary, and nor run in parallel. For example culture or the royal palace that stood in line in parallel with the culture of hunting gathering society. In the present context we can see how the culture of urban society can be run in parallel with the culture of rural or rural areas, even with the hunting culture of the living concocting outlandish. Inter-cultural relationships can be woven into the current frame "Unity in Diversity", where can we maknai that the context of diversity not only refers to the diversity of ethnic groups alone but to the cultural context.

Constituted also that the number of ethnic groups more or less ethnic 700'an throughout the archipelago, with various types of diverse community groups, and religious diversity, the people of Indonesia is a plural society is fragile indeed. Fragile in the sense of the diversity of its different then owned by his potential for conflict will increase sharply. Differences that exist in society will be a driving force to strengthen the conflict issues that arise in the midst of a society where conflict actually arose from other issues that are not related to cultural diversity. Like the cases of conflict that emerged in Indonesia where it was confirmed as a case of religious and ethnic conflict. In reality these conflicts dominated by other issues that are more political and economic. Indeed there is no single cause in the case of existing conflicts in Indonesia. However, several cases of conflicts that exist in Indonesia began to raise questions about the diversity we have and how they should manage it properly.

Role of government: diversity guards

Indeed the role of government in the context of maintaining cultural diversity is very important. In this context the government pengayom and serves as a protector for its citizens, as well as guardians of good interaction between cultural groups in Indonesia. But unfortunately the government that we think of as pengayom and guards, on the other side was not able to provide enough space for all the groups that live in Indonesia. For example how the government used to not provide a space for indigenous ethnic groups of minorities to develop in accordance with their culture. Cultures that developed in accordance with the ethnic was not taken seriously by the government. Cultures of minority ethnic groups has been replaced by the local dominant regional culture, which makes the native culture of minority ethnic groups become marginalized. Another example is quite striking is how such artworks culture results had been seen in the perspective of government interests. The government determines a good or bad a product of culture based on their interests. Strong implication of the political culture conducted in the past (New Order) is a homogenization of culture to become "Indonesia." In the sense that not appreciating the differences that grow and develop naturally, but turned off so as to become equal with the cultural identity of the so-called "national culture of Indonesia." In this context the process of cultural homogenization and cultural development causes in the community, including the culture of native ethnic groups and marginalized groups, to be underdeveloped and cornered. Like for example with the uniform form of bureaucracy that exist at village level for all regions in Indonesia in accordance with the existing village form in Java, thus causing the loss of traditional authority in the regional culture.

Do not deny the cultural marginalization process that occurs above groups can not be separated with a concept referred to as the national culture, which is also related to the political direction of the national culture at the time. The existence of national culture is in fact a concept that is general in nature and usually exist in the context of the history of the modern state in which it is used by countries to strengthen a sense of a diverse society and come from different cultural backgrounds. But the journey, the government subsequently strengthening its national cultural boundaries by using the forces of political, economic, and military possessed. This situation occurs associated with the idea of seeing that the efforts to form a national culture is also an effort to find letigimasi ideology for the sake of strengthening the role of government before its citizens. Not surprisingly then, if the visible surface is a symptom of how the government uses all means of political strength and power approach to "turn off" local cultures that have areas or groups of suburbs, where cultures were considered not in accordance with national culture.

After the reform in 1998, emerged a new awareness of how to address differences and diversity that is owned by the Indonesian nation. Namely consciousness to build multicultural nature of Indonesian society, where the main reference for the establishment of Indonesia's multicultural society is multibudayaisme, ie an ideology that recognizes and glorifies the difference in the equality of both individually and culturally (Suparlan, 1999). In this multicultural model, a society (including the nation's society such as Indonesia) is seen as having a culture that generally accepted in the community that 's type like a mosaic. Inside the mosaic covered by all cultures of the societies in smaller communities that make up a greater realization, which has a mosaic of cultures such as these. Multibudayaisme model is actually being used as a reference by the founders of the Indonesian nation in designing what is called as a cultural nation, as revealed in the explanation of Article 32 UUD 1945, which reads: "the cultural nation (Indonesia) is a cultural peaks in the region".

As an ideology, multicultural infrastructure must be supported by strong democratic system and supported by the ability of the government apparatus multibudayaisme qualified because the key is equality before the law. State in this case serves as a facilitator as well as patterns of interaction among cultures carers groups to stay balanced between central and local interests, the key is managing the balance between the two governments at an extreme point of locality and centrality. Like for example the case of Papua, where the government allowed to be grown in culture Papuanya, but economically done a fair division of the economic pie. In the context of time, products or culture results can be viewed in two prespekif the culture prevailing at this time and remains or cultural product in the past.

Maintaining cultural diversity

In the present context, the cultural treasures will be more related to cultural products related to three cultural manifestation of cultural knowledge, cultural attitudes or cultural practices that are still valid, and physical products are tangible cultural artifacts or buildings. Some aspects related to the third form of culture which can be seen is among others is the product of art and literature, traditions, lifestyles, value systems, and belief systems. Cultural diversity in the context of this study more or be interpreted as the result of cultural products that exist at present. In the context of a multicultural society, the existence of cultural diversity is something that must be preserved and respected presence. Cultural diversity is to cut the cultural differences of groups of people who live in Indonesia. If we refer to the UNESCO Convention 2005 (Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions) on cultural diversity or "cultural diversity", cultural diversity is defined as a cultural richness which is seen as a way of existing in a cultural group or society to reveal expression . This is not only related to the cultural diversity that becomes the cultural background, but also variations in the way of artistic creation, production, dissemination, distribution and penghayatannya, whatever the meaning and use of technology. Or termed by Unesco in 2005 as a UNESCO convention document "cultural expression" (cultural expression). The contents of cultural diversity will be referred to the symbolic meaning, artistic dimension and cultural values that lie behind them.

In this context of cultural knowledge will contain knowledge about the symbols used by the community owner to understand and interpret their environment. Intangible cultural knowledge will usually cultural values and cultural values of the tribes of the Indonesian nation, where in it contains the local wisdom and local culture of local tribes. Local wisdom in the form of local cultural values are reflected in the tradition of traditional ceremonies and works of art groups and indigenous tribes in the archipelago. While cultural behavior related to behavior or actions that come from cultural values that exist. Forms of cultural behavior can dirupakan in the form of everyday behavior, interaction patterns, subsistence activities of society, and so forth. Or can we refer to as cultural activities. In the cultural artifacts, local wisdom Indonesian nation embodied in works of art or cultural objects (cultural heritage). If we see the explanation above, the real wealth of Indonesia has a variety of forms. Not only the variety of forms but also related to the origin. Cultural diversity is the real wealth of the culture of Indonesia.