INDONESIA - a new state with an ancient civilization (M. L. Huber)

=== [PDF page 1] === TL, eae I was a clear day in June as we left the Indonesian capital, Djakarta, with our guide. We were headed for East Java by car, and we hoped to arrive there the next evening. We had been asked to attend the official opening of a modern sugar refinery near the city of Djakarta. ; When “Dewi Sri” rises in the rice paddies, it The best means of long-distance travel in causes the heads of grain to multiply and grow. Indonesia is the “Garuda” State airlines, Here an artist has carved out in wood her figure 2 of delicate simplicity. for the country with its many islands, big and small, extends as far as the distance from the North England coast to the Caucasus. We chose the land route to East Java in order to get to know the country and its people, to see the cities alive with people and the small and larger villages of which there are so many along the main Indonesian highways. The damp heat, already oppressive in the early morning, seemed less so in the open car. The daily tropical storms of the rainy season had abandoned the capitol only the day before. Cloudbursts accompanied by violent winds had overflowed the spoutings and submerged streets and yards. True, the porous volcanic earth soon absorbed the rain water, but in the hot rays of the tropical morning sun the earth’s moisture is transformed into thick, warm vapour. In the first 200 years of colonial rule, Djakarta, or Batavia as it was called under Dutch colonial rule, was known as the white man’s grave. Even in the last 100 years of Dutch rule the capital did not get the sewage a new state system it so badly needed. Now we were driving along a newly constructed highway, the Djalan Tamrin.: ' Here the Indonesian government has with an ancient undertaken vast housing projects. At the end of the highway is the big new sports stadium, designed by Soviet architects. c We had left Djakarta behind us. Before civilisation us lay a verdant plain, stretching from the city’s edge to the foothills of the Pustjak Pass, the mountain range rising in the distance, Behind it, about 80 kilometres from the capital, in a distant valley, lies by M. L. HUBER Bandung, city of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Conferences, the first of which was held in 1955. From the mountains came the broad, Swift river that accompanied our highway for miles. Like all the rivers rushing into === [PDF page 2] === Detail from she three stone guardians (Photo from bottom, at centre) of the temple of Besakih. the plain from the mountains, to discharge themselves into the nearby ocean, its water A bracelet of silver. was laden with red volcanic earth On the far bank of the river, the full glory of tropical cultivated nature unfolded Only a few people were to be seen in the fields. A herd of buffalo grazed in the thick grass between the rubber trees Progressive Indonesia has made great efforts to do away with the colonial past The August Revolution swept away the political regime of the Dutch colonialists along with the Japanese occupation in 1945. The government of Holland used the Marshall Plan to arm police troops to assert Besakih, one of the most ancient temples of Indonesia, built on the slopes of Gunung Agung — 3,000 metres up. It is dedicated to the god of the mountheir further rule in Indonesia. After four long, hard years the Indonesian peopl defeated the colonial army In 1949 the Indonesian government was Round Table Agreement” in the Hague. By means of this forced to accept the agreement the Dutch and American trusts secured for themselves the further economic exploitation of Indonesia In the great strike of 1957, the Dutch enterprises were first brought under control and a year later nationalised. But the profits of American and other oil trusts in the country are still so high that if Indo tains, the god of the sun Shiva, the destroyer and rebuilder of the world. A few months ago the volcanic eruption of Gunung Agung shook all Bali. === [PDF page 3] === This batik depicts a scene from the epic of Mahabharata. The strange shapes of cters n borrowed from the Wyang kulit (shadow theatre) of the classical era. nesia controlled them she could finance the construction projects of the eight-year plan Occupied with such grave social problems, we hardly noticed the heavenly landscape slipping by The first testimonial in stone to the histor cal past of Indonesia dates from around the year 400, and originated in East Kalimantan (East Borneo). The first from West Java dates from the year 450. Inscriptions from Palembang, South Sumatra, dating from the 7th cent ll us of the Srividjaja Empire It was the great Indonesian empir« ind lasted for seven centuries. Messages in stone from central Ja from about the same period teil of other old empires and culture The mighty Buddhist Temple Borubudur on Java was not unearthed until the last century. Indonesia and other South East \sian countries have hardly been investigated by archeologists. There are probably many stone testimonials from the listant past st to be discovered. The oldest building, a huge temple site we visited later in our journey, had been built still older foundation. Much still lies under debris. Geologically speakir Indonesia is still young; its surface is not yet at nlent volcanic eruptions may have buried the remains of still older civilisations Before the rise of Hinduism and Buddhism the Indonesians had no religious doctrines The earlier generations of Indonesians exined the unknown in terms of good and vil spirits Animism has remained alive in Indonesia to the present day, just as many superstitions have survived in our villages. Neither Buddhism and Hinduism nor Islam has been ible to wipe it out. Wood-carvings, sculp- In Indonesia both the traditional folk art and modern art are linked with nature — for instance spiration for this dance. butterflies are the rhe ancient bamboo instrument sounds, in an orchestra, like the xylophone. === [PDF page 4] === The temple of Borubudur at Java dates from the 8th century. The 20th century buildings of the young Indonesian Republic must conform to the needsof On a high mountain ridge 72 of these colossal “Stupas” “a just and plentiful society” of a people awake to a new life. Our photo: a modern (Hindu sanctuaries where relics are kept) crown, roofless administrative building in Bandung (Java West). to the sky, a sloping pyramid. The four terraces have 1,600 bas-reliefs representing images from a time already long past. ture in stone, bronze and copper, and thousands of stone reliefs testify not only to the cult of the ancient Indonesians but also to the history of their civilisation. They knew how to work such metals as bronze, copper, iron and silver. The age-old pottery industry is still carried on in Indonesia Wooden plows and hoes have been used by the peasants for more than 1,000 years. The first community arose from the need for a division of labour and protection from wild animals. The people were held together by the mode of their production — through tillage of the soil, rice cultivation and irrigation systems, through construction of roads, kratons (palaces) and temples. The domination of rich clans brought the beginnings of feudalism, and with them an administration system of services for the princes’s kraton (palace) and the priests. The rich families traded along the coasts, outfitted ships and entered the piracy business. Captives and serfs were kept to do slave labour. Like in any other feudal state, everything was based on the exploitation of the labour of peasants and serfs. In the course of the centuries, immigrations from China and India enriched Indonesian art, knowledge, crafts and agriculture. The 5th century brought the first news of kingdoms on Java and Kalimantan (Borneo). The Srividjaja spread to the Malacca Peninsula from the 7th to the 14th century. These were centralised empires with ministers, courtiers, armies and navies. At that time Java was the island with the most princedoms and inhabitants. The religious architecture was erected to the god Siva. The ivory, shell and horn statuettes have been made by trained artists. Shown here is the Garuda, the legendary eagle bearing a god on its back. The Buddhist miracle temple Borubudur dates from the 9th century. The Airlangga kings attributed the foundation of their dynasty to the marriage of a Balinese prince and a Java princess. They and their descendants had artistic dancing fountains and irrigation systems constructed. On a later trip to Bali we had the chance of seeing old royal baths — artistic stone grottoes and altars hewn out of rock. The golden age of the Airlangga Empire lasted into the 13th century, from then on began its decline. The 13th century brought the rise of the new and powerful Madjapahit Empire. At the peak of its power it was led by such clever ministers as Gadja Mada and King Jajam Wuruk. Madjapahit controlled the coastal cities. The Princes paid tribute to Madjapahit and received in return the protection of its powerful fleet. Its diplomatic relations with China are authentic. Gift bearing ambassadors of the two rulers visited each other’s courts. Arabic, Persian and other Oriental merchants traded there in ivory, costly woods, fbrics, camphor and spices. Later in the Djakarta museum we found Chinese vases dating back to the first century AD. The Madjapahit Empire fell apart due to wars of succession, the struggles of the princes for autonomy and the inroads made by the strengthened Damak Empire in East Java. In the 15th century the expansion of Islam from Persia and West India reached the area formerly ruled by the Madjapahit Empire. The Mohammedan merchants were peddling not only their wares but also a new religion. It was not hierarchic, nor had Continued on page 34 === [PDF page 5] === The working of palm leaves into weaving and other natural products still represent an appreciable part of the folk industry. Small mats, mural panels, couch covers, nets, baskets, bags, fruit hampers and hats of a simple form and colour are woven from it. Continued from page 26 it the constructive petrifying character of Hinduism with its many sects. It brought. about a new boom in trade. The princes adopted this new religion and subjugated those who did not see the light. The first Moslem states came into being. These were Sultanates, linked together by trade and belief. When in the 16th and 17th centuries the Europeans — Portugese, English and Dutch — arrived, attracted by the spice trade and bent on conquest, the Moslem rulers formed a mutual defence league. The rulers of Atjeh in Sumatra sought help from the Turks, while those of Malacca and Malaya sent ambassadors to the court of Peking to petition for aid against the “Franks”. After their defeat the rule of the Dutch East India Company began, in the service of which, after the 30-years war, there were many German and European mercenaries. At that time the Indonesian social structure was still feudal. The peasants handed over 60% of their harvest to the feudal lords. In many areas the Indonesian peasants are struggling even today for a reduction from 60 to 40%. Under the Dutch, the feudal system was undisturbed. It is still a prop for foreign capital and almost without exception it shares its spoils with the foreign interlopers. The 17th, 18th, 19th and particularly the 20th century saw many revolts against the conqueror, in which some elements of the nobility took part. But it took the modern liberation movement, planned and led by political parties and organisation and supported by pro- 34 gressive and peace-loving forces all over the world, to break through to national independence. The young and growing Indonesian Republic came into being with the August Revolution of 1945. The Bandung Conference stimulated the anticolonial, anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle. The Indonesian people to-day are carrying out their endeavors for national and democratic liberties in South East Asia. We were 1,500 metres up. The view was indescribably beautiful. Three mountain chains lay one behind the other between us and Bandung. The shapes in the foreground were bizarre; the peaks bore white cloud wreaths. Ravines through which rivers of lava had rolled were overgrown by evergreen jungle. The second chain was fading into blue in the distance, but the third, still recognisable, rose high in the air to the level of the horizon. The sun was fighting a losing battle with the quickly approaching storm-clouds. The play of light and shadow produced a changing landscape as on a giant stage where spotlights single out one scene, then another for the viewer’s attention. Before the dark clouds covered everything and opened their sluices, we reached the Puntja Hotel. Then the rain came. In a few minutes only the nearest bush could be made out through the twin-leafed door. Gusts of wind tore blossoms from the bushes and tugged mimosa branches to and fro. The lawn was already under water and regular rivulets poured over the cement steps leading to the parking lot. We would have to calculate on a delay of hours before we could set out again for Bandung, and after that, East Java.