The influence of foreign cultures on early indonesian culture
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![THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN CULTURES ON EARLY INDONESIAN CULTURE<br />Nadia Wahika<br />Back in the early ages, Indonesia was once located on a trading route between two ancient trading centers, India and China. Being a part of this international trade route made a huge impact on Indonesian history. The influence of foreign cultures is a factor that contributed to the development on the lifestyle of the Indonesian people back then. These ancient cultures are: the Bacson-Hoabinh culture, the Dongson culture and the Indian culture. <br />The term Bacson-Hoabinh has been used since 1920 to indicate the place of origin of stone tools which had the same characteristics. Pre-historic Vietnamese of the Hoabinh culture abandoned nomadic life to settle in the Hong (Red) River valley. While they are mostly hunters, they also cultivated plants for fruit and roots. The Hoabinh people lived in caves near water sources and knew how to make rudimentary stone tools made in oval, square, and triangle shapes with sharp edges on them. <br />Bacson tools were significantly improved from the Hoabinh tools, as they were made with ground and polished stones. They used hand tools such as croppers and axes in cultivating their plant harvests. The Bacson society was quite developed. They lived in tribes ruled by a woman, usually an elder or experienced woman. One notable development in the Bacson culture was that they introduced pottery making although it was still done roughly. <br />Bacson-Hoabinh tools were spread and could be found in almost all areas of Southeast Asia, mainland or islands, including Indonesia. In Indonesia they were found in Sumatra, Java (Bengawan Solo River Valley), Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua Irian Jaya. The tools found in those areas show signs of the Mesolithic period, where axes were still done roughly.<br />There are three types of tools found in Indonesia that belonged to the Bacson-Hoabinh culture. They are: the handheld axe (kapak genggam), also called pebble or the Sumatralith, which was found in Bukit Kerang, Sumatra; the axe of bones and horns (kapak dari tulang dan tanduk) that was shaped like a dagger, which was used to dig eatable food underground and to catch fishes – found in Nganding and Sidorejo near Ngawi, Madiun (East Java); and flakes which were small tools made of stone that was used to skin animals, cut meat and cut harvested plants – they were found in Sangiran, Pacitan, Gombong, Parigi, Jampang Kulon, Ngandong (Java), Lahat (Sumatera), Batturing (Sumbawa), Cabbenge (Sulawesi), Wangka, Soa, Mangeruda (Flores).<br />Then came the Dongson culture, which occurred around 1,500BC-500BC. Vietnamese historians characterize the Dongson culture as the start of the Vietnamese nation. The Dongson culture was the center of the bronze culture of the Southeast Asia region. Hence the archaeological material from this period is very rich. The Dongson people were skilled agriculturists. They lived in large huts by the sea or river. They grew rice and kept buffaloes and pigs. They were also skilled fishermen and bold sailors. This explains the wealth of their culture and expansion of their territory. <br />The Dongson culture, brought by Austronesians, arrived in Indonesia through the Malay Peninsula. The Dongson culture was very influential to Indonesia, as most metal artifacts from Indonesia had Dongson patterns on it. The Dong Son culture in Indonesia is realized through a variety of bronze artifacts such as nekara (kettle drum or gong), bangles, spears, statues, household tools, farming tools, jewelries and also other iron artifacts. Nekara, which is a kettledrum, was used in traditional ceremonies/rituals that the prehistoric people held – like a ceremony to call on rain. On those nekara were decorations on the lifestyle and culture back then. A notable nekara found in Indonesia is nekara Makalaman from Sangeang near Sumbawa Island, the nekara had decorations of people dressed up like the ones in Han (China) / Kushan (North India) / Satavahana (Central India) dynasties. <br />The Indians spread their culture through literature, written in Tamil and Sanskrit which developed in South East Asia including Indonesia. Through AD1-5 trading centers between the South East Asia countries started to open in Indonesia. Spread through the trading process, namely maritime route through the Malacca Straits region. The trade route between nations was then better known as the Silk Road. Indonesia who at first was only a stop began to join in the trades and became the meeting point for the traders, including those from India.<br />Indian culture soon affected many aspects of the Indonesian lifestyle, which can be seen by the many number of people who held Hinduism-Buddhism and the distribution of Hinduism and Buddhism kingdoms in Indonesia (Kutai, Tarumanegara, etc). The India-Indonesia relation then developed into a process of cultural dissemination, where the Indians influenced us in terms of religion, a new system of royal government/monarchy and also in literature and the arts. <br />Another fine example of how the Indonesian culture has been greatly influenced by the Indian’s is by looking at the architectural designs of buildings back then – like temples. In India, temples were built as a place of worship. In Indonesia, besides being used as a place of worship, temples were also built as a tomb for the kings. <br />The Indians also first introduced monarchy. Prior to their arrival, Indonesians were still only familiar with a rudimentary government system like having a chief of a village. When the Indians arrived, monarchy was introduced and kingdoms started emerging. <br />With these ancient cultures, a phenomenon called cultural acculturation occurred. The Indonesian culture emerged through this process, the process of mixing between one cultural element with other cultures, forming a new culture without completely eliminating their respective characteristic of the old culture.<br />Sources: <br />,[object Object]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theinfluenceofforeignculturesonearlyindonesianculture-110319112512-phpapp02/85/The-influence-of-foreign-cultures-on-early-indonesian-culture-1-320.jpg)
