Indonesia is a truly vast and beautifully diverse country of more than 17,000 islands spread across 5,000 kilometers of tropical Equatorial Ocean . Spanning the seas between Asia and Australia , Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago. The major islands of Indonesia are Sumatra , Jawa, Bali , Kalimantan , Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.

Superimposed on the map of the Europe , Indonesia impressively stretches from London all the way to Moscow , a distance as far as Ireland to the Caspian Sea . Within this stretch of lands and sea are hundreds of smoldering volcanoes that gave birth to the rich agricultural lands of the archipelago. Verdant rice terraces clothe the loaming mountains and dazzling white beaches line the deep azure seas. Vast rain forests and dense mangroves provide refuge for the country's impressive fauna and flora.

Today, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. Within this vast archipelago live over 200 million people, scattered across the country's thousands of islands. More than 300 distinct ethnic groups have found and made their homes here, speaking hundreds of different languages and dialects. The nation's diversity owes much ta history and geographic position. Located on major international trade routes for more than two millennia, all of the world's major religions and cultures have brought their influences into the archipelago.

Records show remains of man's earliest relatives, suggesting that Indonesia was not the "backwaters", but possibly a cradle of mankind.
Over the years, the archipelaga feit the compelling influences of Indianization, followed by the spread of Islam, the arrival of European colonialism and the dawn of a modern and eventually independent Indonesia in the 20th century. Indonesia has freely nurtured its diversity, today choosing a befitting national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, meaning "Unity in Diversity".

Source: Department of Culture and Tourism - Republic of Indonesia

Travel Information

All visitors travelling to Indonesia must be in possession of a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival and have proof of onward passage.

Citizens from the below mentioned following countries are given Short Visit Free Visa Facilities and Visa on Arrival Facilities for purposes of tourism, business, social culture and government visit.

The maximum period permitted to stay is 30 (thirty) days and is not extendable; This Visa neither be extended and nor be converted into other status of immigration permit. Citizens of those countries must always have a return ticket, and be able to provide of availability of living expenses equivalent to US $ 1.000,- (one thousand US dollars) prior to arriving in Indonesia .

Short Visit Free Visa Facilities valid for the citizens of the countries among others are:

Visa on Arrival Facilities is valid for the citizens of the countries among others are:

Fees for Visa on Arrival :
for 7 (seven) day visit = US $ 10,-
for 30 (thirty) day visit = US $ 25,-

Entrance and departure must be made through certain specified gateways:

Airport :

Seaport :

Health
International health certificates for smallpox and cholera are not required, except from travelers arriving from infected areas.

Customs
Indonesian customs allows on entry a maximum of two liters of alcoholic beverages, 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 grams of tobacco and a reason able amount of perfume per adult. Cars, photographic equipment, and tape recorders must be declared to customs upon entry and must be re-exported. Prohibited from entry are TV sets, radios, narcotics, arms and ammunition. Advance approval has to be required for carrying transceivers and all movie films and video cassettes must be censored by the Film Censor Board. Fresh fruit, plants and animals must have quarantine permits. There is no restriction on import or export of foreign currencies. However, the export or import of Indonesian currency exceeding Rp. 50,000.00 is prohibited.

Tipping
Major hotels usually add a 15% service charge to bills. Where it is not included a tip of between 5% to 10% of the bill would be appropriate if the service is satisfactory. Airport porters expect Rp. 2,000.00 for a small bag and Rp. 3,000.00 for bags weighing more than 20 kg. tipping taxi and hire-car drivers is not mandatory, but if service has been satisfactory a basic Rp. 1,000.00 tip is sufficient for a taxi driver, Hire-car drivers would normally expect a larger tip.

Clothing
Dress is normally informal in Indonesia due to the warm, humid climate and clothing of light fabrics are recommended. Travelling in highland areas is noticeably cooler, however, and carrying a light sweater may prove useful. accepted attire for men is a shirt and long pants. A jacket and tie are required for official calls or for more formal occasions. Long sleeved batik or hand-woven shirts are acceptable for evening functions. For ladies, dresses, blouses, and long pants are appropriate. Shorts, halters or tank tops should only be used at sports facilities or on the beach.

Office Hours
Business offices are usually open either from 8.00 am to 4.00pm or 9.00am to 5.00pm, with a break for lunch between 12.00 noon and 1.00pm, but on Saturday many business offices are closed. Government office hours are from 8.00am to 3.00pm from Monday to Thursday, 8.00am to 11.00am on Fridays and until 2.00pm on Saturdays.

Banking
Normal banking hours are from 8.00am to 2.30pm from Monday to Friday and until 12.00pm on Saturdays. Some bank branches in hotels, however, keep longer hours. Jakarta has several international banks but money can also be changed at hotel cashiers, and authorized money changers. Daily exchange rates are published in newspapers The US dollar is the most readily accepted currency. Most major tourist destination areas have foreign exchange facilities, but for travel to remote areas, it is advisable to change money and travelers cheque's in advance. Credit cards are acceptable only at major hotels, restaurants and travel agencies.

Shopping
Major cities in Indonesia have shopping complexes. Supermarkets and department stores prices are fixed. Shops are usually open all week including Sundays. Shopping hours are usually between 9.00am and 9.00pm for department stores and supermarkets in the large cities with shorter hours on Sundays. In smaller cities, shops may be closed between 1.00pm and 5.00pm . Bargaining is customary in small shops and markets, the art of which is to start at half the asking price and slowly increase your offer until a compromise is reached. Remember it helps to smile while bargaining.

Sports
Traditional sports in Indonesia include bull races, bull fights, rowing and unique ram fights, all of which are held as part of special festive ties. Silat, a martial art, can be performed as a dance or an exercise and is comparable to Karate or Kung Fu. However, the most popular sports in Indonesia are soccer, badminton, and table tennis. Golf is becoming more and more popular and a number of excellent golf courses can be found across the archipelago. Most major hotels have their own tennis and squash court, swimming pools, health clubs and those at seaside resorts provide equipment for sailing, surfing, scuba diving and windsurfing. There are also a growing number of dive shops which provide necessary equipment and professional services.

Time
The Indonesian archipelago is spread over three time zones. Western Indonesia Standard Time, which covers the islands of Sumatra, Java and Madura, West and Central Kalimantan is 7 hours ahead of GMT; Central Indonesia Standard Time covers East and South Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali and Nusa Tenggara, and is 8 hours ahead of GMT; finally Eastern Indonesia Standard Time, which covers Maluku and Irian Jaya is 9 hours ahead of GMT.

Electricity
Power supply is usually 220 volts/250 cycles in large cities, but 110 volts is still used in some areas. Normal outlets are plugs with two rounded pins. It is advisable to check electricity supplies before using any appliances.

Culture

Ethnic Music

Indonesia is a country rich in musical cultural, which represented by many kinds of arts (especially music) which scattered in the thousands of islands throughout Indonesia . Here we would like to introduce traditional music instruments from each ethnic, which can be divided into 4 big groups: Aerophone, Idiophone, Chordophone, and Membranophone.

Aerophone

Aerophone is a classification of instruments that produce sounds by vibrating air through the windpipe (wind instrument). The classification can be grouped into: free aerophone, things that produced sound in cause of the wind, such as blower, ingon-ingon (Simalungun), or bull-roarer (Aborigin, Australia); side blown flute, end blown flute, and double-reed (e.g. serunai).

This instrument is usually made of bamboo, carribou’s horn, and different kinds of perforated woods. It is a sign of maleness because mostly male uses it. The instrument is also a characteristic of the Indonesian traditional music.

This aerophone can be used either as a solo instrument or joined with other instruments in an ensemble.

Following are some of the instrument, which can be entered into the aerophone group:

• Aceh : serunai (double reed), serunai kale (double reed), suling (side blown flute);
• North Sumatra : baling-baling (Karo, free aerophone), surdam puntung (Karo, end blown flute), olek-olek (Karo, made from rice-stalk, multi reed), balobat (Karo, whistle), sarune (Karo, double reed), suling (Karo, side blown flute), sulim (Toba, side blown flute), saruna etek (Toba, double reed), sarune bolon (Toba, double reed), sarune bulu (Toba, Simalungun, Mandailing), sordam (mandailing, Pak-pak Dairi), ingon-ingon (Simalungun, free aerophone), saligung (Simalungun, blown through the nose), sarune (Simalungun), serinai (melayu, double reed), lobat (Pakpak Dairi), bansi (Melayu), empi-empi (Karo, trumpet, made from carribou’s horn);
• Riau : serunai (double reed), bansi;
• West Sumatra : serunai (double reed), saluang (end blown flute), bansi (recorder);
• Jambi : serunai (double reed), katet sekorong (multi reed, made from rice-stalk);
• South Sumatra : empiu-empiu, seruling;
• West Java : suling (end blown flute), seruling (sidee blown flute), tarompet (double reed), serunai (double reed), bangsing (side blown flute), sarawelet;
• Central Java : suling bambu, salompret;
• Yogyakarta : suling;
• East Java : terompet, suling;
• Bali : serunai.

Idiophone

Idiophone is a classification of music instruments based on the process of producing the sounds by vibrating the body of the instrument. This instrument classification was existed thousands of years ago naturally, such as sticks, stones, bones, clapping hands, and also thumping which accompaniment the songs and dance. There are many kinds of instruments in Indonesia that are in this classification. Gong for example, can be called as one of Indonesian characteristic instrument and almost every culture have this particular instrument in their traditional music.

Gong can be found in almost every culture in Indonesia with different names and shapes. Gong is classified in the group of struck idiophone, where sound is produced by the beating the objects. The instruments include the following:

• Aceh : canang, gong dua, talempong;
• North Sumatra : ogung (Toba, Simalungun, Mandailing), doal (Toba), odap (Toba), panggora (Toba), gong dadaboru (Mandailing), gong jantan (Mandailing), kalondang (Pakpak Dairi), gung (Karo), penganak (Karo) or small gong, gong (Melayu Deli), tapudep (Dairi);
• Riau : tawak-tawak, gong;
• West Sumatra : talempong (gong chime), a set of gong in a rack, it is melodically and percussive;
• Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, and South Sumatra : each ethnic has its own gong in different sizes;
• West Java and DKI Jakarta : gong, and kromong (Betawi);
• Central Java, East Java, and Jogjakarta : gong (hang up), suwukan (hang up), bonang panerus (set down), bonang barung (set down), kempul (hang up), kenong (set down), kethuk (set down), bende (hang up, not part of the gamelan, only as a sign for the soldiers of the royal palace and accompaniment for jatilan dance (kuda lumping)), japan (hang up);
• Bali : gong 3 buah (gong kebyar), terompong (gong chime);
• West Kalimantan , Central Kalimantan , South Kalimantan , East Kalimantan : dahu tau dau, ketawak (Melayu) – a set of 6 gong;
• South Sulawesi , South East Sulawesi, Central Sylawesi , and North Sulawesi : gong;
• West Nusa Tenggara : gong dua, gong gabiar, gong gebyar, gong pegorgar, gong suling, tandakan, tawak-tawak, tawaq-tawaq, terompong.

The following are the percussions are under the idiophone group:

• Aceh : geurantung (xylophone);
• North Sumatra : garantung (xylophone), toba, hesek (Toba), mangkuk mbentar (Karo), keteng-keteng (Karo), jatjaulul (Simalungun), tungteng, nungneng, talisasayak, ertepuk tan (Karo), concussion, genggong (Karo);
• Bengkulu : ginggong (jews harp), kelintang;
• South Sumatra : keromongan;
• DKI Jakarta : gambang (xylophone);
• West Java : kenthongan, angkulung, angklung gubrak;
• Central Java , East Java , and Jogjakarta : kemanak, kenthongan, gender, slentem, saron, gambang, angklung, tuntang;
• Central Sulawesi : gulintang, kulintang;
• North Sulawesi : angklung kuna, kolintang kayu, kolinang tembaga;
• South East Sulawesi : matatou (kolintang);
• Bali : pemade, kantil, ceng-ceng, klintang, genggong;
• West Nusa Tenggara : angklung, gambelan, gamelan baris, gamelan beleq, gamelan belia, gamelan cungklir, gamelan gambus, gamelan rebana, gamelan wayang, gantoang, gaplik, genda mbojo, gender dasa, genggong.

Another idiophone is made of metal, wood and bamboo and can produce sounds by beating the objects. Kenthongan (slide-gong) is one of many instruments used by almost all ethnic in Indonesia . It is actually a personal instruments used to console oneself in the field or rice field (sawah). It is also used as a tool for announcement or alarm. It has many names in different places though the shapes are almost the same, such as kohkol (Sunda). Ketuk (Karo), kenthungan or kenthongan (Java, tungteng (Mandailing), ketongan, North Sulawesi ) – used for the ‘figura’ performance, and ketuk (Bengkulu).

Concussion is another idiophone that produced sound by beating the same object to the other. This instrument is made of bamboo, wood, and metal. Ceng-ceng ( Bali ), talisasayak (Mandailing), kap-kap (Karo), kecrek (Sunda) and hesek (Toba).

Chordophone

It is a classification of music instruments based on the sound from string or dawai, which vibrate by plucking, beating or rubbing with bow. These instruments are found in many parts of Indonesia .

It is made from wood, bamboo, coconut shell; the strings are usually made of tree fiber, roots (usually arenga-palm roots), whereas the strings of the bow are made from the horse’s tail.

The strings on the instruments are varied from 1 string (bow lute) to 10 strings (zhyter). Today, the materials for the instruments are easier to obtain. Even some of the strings are made of metal, which of course affected the sounds of the instruments.

Rebab is one of the string instruments found in most part of Indonesia , especially Melayu. In the old days, the Persians used one-stringed rebab for the dance known as “rebab ul shaer”. This kind of rebab is as prestigious as violin to the Western.

Rebab came from the Middle East , through to Persia and India , then to Indonesia (Al Farabi, 870 – 950 M; Al Musiqi al Kabir).

Chordophone instruments can be found in many parts of Indonesia , as follows:

• Aceh : gambus (plucked), rebab (rubbed with bow);
• North Sumatra : murbab Karo (rubbed), kulcapi Karo (plucked), hasapi (Toba), hasapi doal (Toba), husapi (Simalungun), gambus (Melayu Deli), keteng-keteng (Karo), tung-teng, jatjalul, nung-neng, kucapi (Pak-pak Dairi), rebab (Melayu);
• West Sumatra : rebab (Riau);
• Bengkulu : gambus, rebab;
• South Sumatra : gambus, begambus, rebab;
• Jambi : gambus, cangor, rebab;
• Banten/West Java : kacaphi, kacaphi rincik, kacaphi indung, jintreng, gitar-rebab, kacapi perahu, kacapi baduy, kacapi peti sabun, kacapi rarawuan;
• Central Java and Jogjakarta : rebab, siter, celempung;
• East Java : rebab, siter, celempung, gambus, gambus misri, tung-teng;
• West Kalimantan : gambus, rebab, sampek (kecapi), kecapi dayak, rebab cina (Tehyan);
• Central Kalimantan : rebab, gambus, sampek;
• South Kalimantan : rebab, sampe, gambus, kecapi dayak;
• East Kalimantan : sampe, rebab;
• South Sulawesi : kecapi bcc (kecil), kecapi lpl, kecapi, keke;
• Central sulawesi : kecapi;
• West/East Nusa tenggara : sasando, sansando rote;
• Papua : kecapi Irian.

Membranophone

Membranophone is instruments that produce sound thumping the membranes or hide (animal skin), such as kendang, taganing, etc. Nowadays it is known as the gendang (drums). Until today gendang still hold a very important part in the religious rites in many parts of Africa such as Wahinda.The shape of gendang of Old Java was first found on the relief of Candi Borobudur, Candi Siwa (Prambanan Complex), and in Candi Panataran. According to Kuhnst (1961:fig.121), from its shapes gendang can be divided into gendang cylinder, gendang tong symmetrical, gendang tong asymmetrical, gendang pinggul (hip), gendang kerucut (cone), and the shape of damaru. - culture.or.id -

Museums in Indonesia

Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

• Aceh Special Territory Provincial Museum
• Malikussaleh Museum
• Sepakat Segenap Museum
• lskandar Muda Struggle Museum
• Nangguor Pidie Museum

Province of North Sumatera

• North Sumatera Provincial Museum
• Rumah Bolon Museum
• Zoology Museum
• Balige Museum Dairi Museum
• Huta Bolon Museum
• Arjuna Museum
• Karo Lingga Museum
• Niat Lima Laras Museum
• Pusaka Nias Museum
• The North Sumatera '45 Struggle Museum
• Bukit Barisan History Museum
• Simalungun Museum Foundation

Province of South Sumatera

• "Balaputra Dewa" South Sumatera Provincial Museum
• Belitung Tin Mining Unit Museum
• Sultan Badaruddin Museum
• Monpera Museum
• The Subkoss Garuda Sriwijaya Museum

Province of Riau

• Riau Provincial Museum
• Asserayah El Hasyiniiiah Museum
• Kandil Museum

Province of Jambi

• Jambi Provincial Museum

Province of Bengkulu

• Bengkulu Provincial Museum

Province of Lampung

• "Ruwa Jurai" Lampung Provincial Museum .

Special Capital District of Jakarta

• National Museum
• Jakarta History Museum
• The '45 Struggle Museum
• Proclamation Museum
• National Monument
• National Resurgence Museum
• The Youth Pledge Museum
• Satria Mandala Armed Forces Museum
• The Sacred Pancasila Museum
• Sasmitaloka A.Yani Museum
• Maritime Museum
• Textile Museum
• Puppet Museumo Heirloom Museum
• Indonesian Museum
• Artha Suaka Museum
• Ceramics and Fine Arts Museum
• Stamp Museumo Graha Widya Patra Museum
• Indonesian Police Museum
• Komodo Museumo Telecommunication Museum
• Sport Museum
• Indonesian Soldier Museum
• Museum Adam Malik
• Purna Bakti Pertiwi Museum
• Insect Museum o Transportation Museum
• Manggala Wanabakti Museum
• Epigraph Museum
• Waspada Purbawisesa Museum
• Information Museum
• Asmat Museum
• Indonesian Central Bank Museum
• Reksa Artha Museum
• The House/The People Consultative Assembly Museum
• Law and Judicature Museum
• Nri Bhakti Renatama Museum
• Cathedral Museumo The Koran Museum
• Husni Thamrin Museum
• Bird Museum
• Bhakti 'Antara' Museum
• The Electric and Energy Museum
• The Science Centre Museum

Province of West Java

• "Sri Baduga" West Java Provincial Museum
• Virajati Museum
• Soil Museum
• Bogor Struggle Museum
• Geology Museum
• Asia Afrika Museum
• Bogor Zoology Museum
• Kesepuhan Museum
• Geugusan Ulu Museum
• Etnobotany Museum
• Postal Museum
• Kalijati Museum
• Yudha Barata Museum
• Talaga Manggung Museum
• Kanoman Museum
• Cipari Site Museum

Province of Banten

• Archaeology Sites Museum

Province of Central Java

• "Ronggowarsito" Central Java Provincial Museum
• Mangkunegara Palace Museum
• Mandala Bakti Museum
• "Isdiman" Palagan Ambarawa Museum
• Railway Museum
• The Kartini Dedication Room Museum
• The Diponegoro Dedication Room Museum
• Abdul Djalil Museum
• Bumi Putera 1912 Museum
• Jamu Jago Museum
• Sugar Museum
• Puppet Museum
• Dullah Museum
• Jamu Nyonya Meneer Museum
• Police Academy Museum
• Tosan Aji Museum
• Cigarette Museum
• Batik Museum
• Sangiran Museum
• National Press Museum
• School Museum
• Widayat Museum
• BRI (People's Bank of Indonesia ) Museum
• Abirowo Museum
• Diso Museum
• Radyapustaka Museum

Province of Yogyakarta Special Territory

• Yogyakarta Special Territory Provincial Museum
• Yogyakarta Keraton Museum
• Dewantara Kirti Griya Museum
• Biology Museum
• The Yogyakarta Struggle Museum
• The Affandi Art of Painting Museum
• Diponegoro Museum
• Nyoman Gunarso Museum
• Geotechnology Mineral Museum
• Sasmita Sudirman Museum
• Dharma Wiratama Museum
• Yogyakarta Fort Museum
• Yogya Returned Museum
• Kekayon Puppet Museum
• Pura Pakualaman Museum
• Hamengkubuwono IV Museum
• Kereta Kencana Museum
• Batik Museum

Province of East Java

• "Mpu Tantular" East Java Provincial Museum
• Brawijaya Museum
• Statue Museum
• Trowulan Archaeology Museum
• Archaeology Museum
• Loka Jalasrana Museum
• Trinil Museum
• Jamu Ibu Prigen Museum
• Sunan Drajat Museum

Province of Bali

• Bali Provincial Museum
• Le Mayeur Museum
• Subak Museum
• Neka museum
• Puri Lukisan Museum
• Statue Building Museum
• Yadnya Race Museum
• Neka Museum
• Puri Lukisan Museum
• Statue Building Museum
• Yadnya Race Museum
• "Nyoman Gunarsa" Classical Art Museum
• Sumarajaya Museum
• Ancient Human Nature Museum
• Widya Kusuma Statue Museum

Province of West Nusa Tenggara

• West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Museum
• Samparaja Museum

Province of East Nusa Tenggara

• East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Museum

Province of West Kalimantan

• West Kalimantan Provincial Museum
• Dara Juanti Museum
• Military Resort Command 1205 Mini Museum
• Kadriyah Palace Museum
• Matan Museum

Province of South Kalimantan

• "Lambung mangkurat" South Kalimantan Provincial Museum
• Waja Sampai Kaputing Museum

Province of Central Kalimantan

• "Balangga" Central Kalimantan Provincial Museum

Province of East Kalimantan

• "Mulawarman" East Kalimantan Provincial Museum
• Pasir Balengkong Museum
• Gunung Tabur Museum

Province of North Sulawesi

• "Wanua Paksinata" North Sulawesi Provincial Museum
• Struggle Museum

Province of Southeast Sulawesi

• Southeast Sulawesi Provincial Museum
• Buton Palace Museum

Province of Central Sulawesi

• Central Sulawesi Provincial Museum
• Bangga and Lore Museum
• Pugung Ulago Museum

Province of South Sulawesi

• "La Galigo" South Sulawesi Provincial Museum
• Batara Guru Museum
• Buntu Kallando Museum
• Balla Lompoa Museum
• La Pawawoe Museum
• La pawawoe Museum
• Nekara Museum

 
Province of Maluku

• "Siwa Lima" Maluku Provincial Museum

Province of Nort Maluku

• Kedaton Sultan Ternate Museum
• Sultan Tidore Memorial Museum
• Sonyie Malige museum

Province of Papua

• Irian Jaya Provincial Museum
• Asmat Culture Museum
• Loka Budaya Museum
• Wamena Museum

Cultural Heritage

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist temple in Indonesia located in Muntilan District, Regency of Magelang, Central Java Province . It is the beautiful and glorious temple which was built in seventh century during the Dynasty of Syailendra. Borobudur temple had attracted since seventeenth century as mentioned in Babad Tanah Jawi. Sir Stanford Raffles (1811-1816) interested stone building of Budur village, and to appoint H.C. Cornelius to clean this building and Th. Van Erp 1907-1911 who intended firstly to conserve the building stone in hill. And big scale conservation in 1973-1983 under the leader of Prof. Ir. Rooseno and Dr. R. Soekmono funded by Indonesia and grant from other countries.

Borobudur temple has the form of terrace with big stupa. The temple forms has a series of symmetric building with stupa on the top. Structure of the temple has an accompanying component in the form of small stupa. Every terrace of temple has its specific meaning. Symbolic meaning of Borobudur Temple is on the shape of terrace and its places. This connection with cosmology of Buddha, means that the world divide into three parts, Kamadhatu, Rupadhatu, and Aruphadatu.

Borobudur temple was made in phase, first phase in 780 A.D. for basement of terrace, next phase up to fifth phase. The temple consist of ten stages. The first six are square form and stage 7-10 in form of circle made of stone in amount 2.000.000 pieces with volume about 55.000 m3.

Prambanan Temple

Prambanan temple is a great building based on Hindu religion familiarly with Bandung Bondowoso story, located in border of Special District of Yogyakarta, and Central Java Province . The temple constructed in 856 A.D., known as monument of Siva the most beautiful and biggest temple in Indonesia, built in the era of Rakai Pikatan in 846-855 A.D. Mr. C.A. Lons was interested in that temple. In 1733 the condition of the temple was covered by land and plant. Effort of cleaning on the large scale was done in 1855 and in 1919 started to be conserved. In 1953 Siva temple finished to be restored, while Prambanan complex finished in 1993.

The biggest complex of Prambanan temple has three main yards, first yard is 110 x 110 m with three main temples namely Siva temple in central, Brahma in the south, and Vishnu in the North. These three main temples symbolized three gods of Hindu religion in the concept of Trimurti. In front of those three main temples there is three temples called Wahana, God transportation that Eagle for Brahma, Buffalo for Siva, and Swan for Vishnu. Beside Wahana temple there is Kelir temple placed in every gate and two temples and Sudut temple. At the second yard there is Perwara temple; accompanying temple arranged in four rows surrounded the first yard in amount 224 pieces. First row is 68 constructions, second is 60 constructions, third 52 and fourth 44 constructions. From that number only a few number can be reconstructed. The third yard could not be found any building of temple.

The Siva temple had five statues, located in the center chamber is Siva statue, in the north chamber standing Dewi Durga Mahisasuramardhini statue, in the west chamber standing Ganesya statue, and the south chamber standing statue of Agastya. In this temple have found reliefs of Ramayana story in the panel of wall building. Inside of Brahma temple there is Brahma statue, and in the Vishnu temple there is Vishnu statue. In the Vishnu temple is carved the story of Kresnayana, and Brahma temple is continuos story of Ramayana.

Prambanan Temple (also known as Loro Jonggrang) is actually a huge Hindu temple complex about 15km north east of Yogyakarta . It was built in the 9th century and designed as three concentric squares. The inner square contains 16 temples, the most significant being the 47m high central Siva temple flanked to the north by the Brahma temple and to the south by the Vishnu temple. The middle square contains 224 lesser temples arranged in four rows.

Legend has it that the princess Loro Jonggrang had unwillingly consented to marry Bandung Bondowoso (a terrible prince with magical powers) on the condition that he build her a huge temple complex, containing 1000 statues, in a single night. She believed he would never manage this impossible task and so the marriage could be avoided. However, as dawn approached on the night of the task, it looked as though the prince was going to complete the challenge. He was just about to start the final statue when he heard the sound of rice being pounded by the local villagers, the traditional sign for the start of a new day. The prince believed he had failed and never completed the final statue. Only later did he discover that Loro Jonggrang had asked the villagers to begin pounding the rice early, so as to trick the prince and escape the marriage. He was so angry that he turned the princess into a statue of Durga, which can still be seen inside the central Siva temple.

Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement

Tana Toraja is located in the Northern part of the South Sulawesi Province . Situated between Latimojong Mountain range and Mount Reute Kambola. The arible Toraja consists of three groups. The Eastern around lake Poso , Western Toraja living around the Palu river and Kalawi in Centre Sulawesi.

The Specific architecture of Torajan house has its own architecture form. Torajan house are shaped like a bout and the two ends are shaped like the bow. Torajan house is a compound buildings consist of traditional houses (Tongkonan) and rice storage buildings (Lumbung). The building are sculpted with ornaments of various shapes. The ornament is painted with traditional colour dominated with the black and red colour. All of them create the aesthetic value of the building of Torajan houses.

Toraja is a name of Bugis origin given to the different peoples of the mountainous regions of the northern part of the south peninsula, which have remained isolated until quite recently Their native religion is megalithic and animistic, and is characterized by animal sacrifices, ostentatious funeral rites and huge communal feasts. The Toraja only began to lose faith in their religion after 1909, when Protestant missionaries arrived in the wake of the Dutch colonizers. Nowadays roughly 60% of the Toraja are Christian, and 10% are Muslim; the rest hold in some measure to their original religion. Whatever their religious belief, it is their ancestral home, their 'house of origin', the great banua Toraja with its saddleback roof and dramatically upswept roof ridge ends, that is the cultural focus for every Toraja. This house of origin is also known as a tongkonan, a name derived from the Toraja word for 'to sit'; it literally means the place where family membets meet - to discuss important affairs, to take part in ceremonies and to make arrangements for the refurbishment of the house.

The Toraja are divided up geographically into different groups, the most important of which are the Mamasa, who are centred around the isolated Kalumpang valley, and the Sa'dan of the southern Toraja lands. There have never been any strong, lasting political groupings within the Toraja. The Sa'dan area, with its market towns of Makale and Rantepao, is known as Tana Toraja. Good roads now reach Tana Toraja from Ujung Panjang, the capital of Sulawesi , bringing a large seasonal influx of foreign tourists who, while injecting money into the local economy, have not yet had much lasting affect on local people's lives. -culture.or.id

Indonesia :  An Example of Unity in Diversity