THE INFLUENCE OF FOREIGN CULTURES ON EARLY INDONESIAN CULTURE

Nadia Wahika

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sources:

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HASIL KEBUDAYAAN BACSON – HOABINH « Enchaovi’s Weblog. (n.d.). Enchaovi’s Weblog. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://enchaovi.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/hasil-kebudayaan-bacson-hoabinh/

Dong Son Culture - Vietnam History, History about Vietnam - Vietnam History, History about Vietnam, Find history about Vietnam. (n.d.). Vietnam History, History about Vietnam - Vietnam History, History about Vietnam, Find history about Vietnam. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://history.vietnamwebsite.net/read.php?7

Ancient Vietnam. (n.d.). Association of the 1st Battalion (Mechanized) 50th Infantry for Vietnam Veterans welcomes you!. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.ichiban1.org/html/history/ bc_1964_prewar/chinese_invasions_500bc_1427.htm

Viettouch. (n.d.). Viettouch. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.viettouch.com/pre-hist/dongson_periods.html