Indonesia Culture

Indonesia has around 300 ethnic groups with different cultures influenced by the Indians, Arabs, Chinese, Malays, and the Europeans.

Sanskrit is the oldest evidence of writing in Indonesia. Many of the locals have a strong oral tradition that helped them define and preserve their cultural identity as a nation.

Traditional Balinese and Javanese dances, like wayang kulit (shadow puppet), have been influenced by Hindu mythology and culture. Indonesian traditional music includes gamelan and keroncong. A popular contemporary genre of pop music is dangdut, which has been influenced by the folk music of the Indians, the Arabs and the Malays.

Fabrics such as ikat, batik and songket are created across Indonesia and styles vary according to region. For Indonesian architecture, the dominant influences are traditionally Indian.

Football and badminton are the most popular sports in the land, but there are also traditional games like sepak takraw, caci, pasola and bull racing. The Indonesian martial art is called Pencak Silat.