Cultural Landscape of Indonesia

Introduction The Republic of Indonesia, the island nation in Southeast Asia. Ranked fourth in the world in terms of population. Indonesia stretches across thousands of islands stretching from a point opposite the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, and almost up to the ledge on the northern coast of Australia. The main ones Kalimantan, formerly. Borneo (with the exception of the northern part where the sultanate of Brunei and the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak), Sumatra, Irian Jaya (West o.Novaya Guinea), Sulawesi (formerly Celebes), Java and Madura, Nusa Tenggara ( Nusa Tenggara) and the Maluku Islands.

Discussion Indonesia consists of five rice terraces with hydraulic structures, an area of over 19 thousand 500 hectares. These facilities are the dominant element in the system of canals and dams, established back in the 9th century as the embodiment of collective management of water resources and carrying the name "Subak". In the landscape fits well as royal temple of Pura Taman Ayun, built in the 18th century and represents the largest and most impressive of landmarks on the island. "Subak" reflects the philosophy of "Tri Hita Karana", which brings together and examines the realm of the spirit, the world of humans and nature. This philosophy was born of the cultural exchanges between Bali and India over the last two thousand years and has had a great influence on the landscape of Bali. The system "Subak", based on a democratic and equitable agriculture, let the people of Bali to get the most abundant crops of rice throughout the Indonesian archipelago, helping to overcome the problem of high population density1. Indonesia consist of approximately 300 ethnic and tribal groups, each with its own language, its own customs and its own social organization. The most numerous are the Javanese, and their share in the population of the country is equal to 40-45%. Other major ethnic groups include the Sunda (Sundanese) from West Java, the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the Balinese from the island of Bali, Toba-Batak from the north-east of Sumatra and Aceh (Achin) to the north of that island. In addition, the are a lot of small nations to local habitats. Languages of the indigenous ethnic groups of the country are significantly different from each other, even though they all belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language family. The only exceptions are the Papuan languages spoken in Irian Jaya and other parts of eastern Indonesia. In 1945 was passed a single national language - Bahasa Indonesia. It is based on Malay, who at one time served as the main language of trade and communication between the inhabitants of the archipelago. Bahasa Indonesia
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n-gi. 2011. Landscape ecology in Asian cultures. Tokyo: Springer.

language taught in all schools, it is on it and speak educated Indonesians living in urban areas. In the countryside, in the home or in a casual conversation with friends often use regional languages such as Javanese, Sundanese and madura. To the cultural heritage of Indonesia include material objects, which have become tourist business cards of this country - for example, the temples (Borobudur, Prambanan), national parks (the island of Komodo, Lorentz, Ujung Kulon), tropical forests of Sumatra. In addition, UNE COs list includes the so-called intangible heritage. In the last newsletter we talked about Indonesian culture phenomena such as batik, wayang theater, crystal dagger, angklung musical instrument, dance and adobe bag noken. There is a more difficult, complex concepts that can not necessarily be defined as an object. The uniqueness of this phenomenon is that the monument is not a single entity but a set of traditions and customs that make up the culture of the islanders. The main crop is rice the Balinese, and the only way to grow it - flood the field. In a mountainous region, the creation of irrigation facilities and their continued operation is very time-consuming process, requiring the participation of the largest possible number of people, as well as their coordination, division of labor2. On the island of Bali, rice is grown on multi-tiered terraces, sometimes up to ten rows. Their construction required a Herculean effort in the days when people had to rely on their muscular strength. Given mountainous applying cartage was also limited. It can be said that the construction of terraces on its labor costs comparable to the legendary pyramids of Giza. The total area of artificial rice fields in Bali is 19 500 hectares. This is more than is Western Administrative District of Moscow. In addition to the terraces, the system also includes a network of canals, channels and sluices. It is difficult to imagine that all of this was designed and built in the IX century BC It is to this period of time the first mention of irrigation in Bali.

The above-described hydraulic engineering system called subak. It should be noted that there are two meanings to the Balinese invest in understanding the word. ubak can be defined also as a community of farmers that share the same irrigation system. And, in the subak may be either one or several villages. The criterion for belonging to a community is just sharing a particular irrigation system or water source. However, the concept of subak is not limited to purely economic or administrative value. Subak is also a mystical function - each community has its own temple which some call the water temples. Their main task - the relationship with a particular spirit that is responsible for the well-being of the community. These spirits represent the forces of nature. As a rule, the temple subaka is the largest in size object in the community. The most famous water temple - Taman Ayun3. It was built in 1634 Mr. Raja Mengwi. On all sides of the temple is surrounded by canals, to get to it only through the bridge. Inside the temple
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Frost, Nicola. 2002. Indonesia. Oxford: Oxfam. Forshee, Jill. 2006. Culture and customs of Indonesia. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press.

there is a fountain with 9 jets, which symbolize the 9 major gods of Bali. It is interesting that the jets are focused on the eight points of the compass, and the ninth jet beats up. Note that the spirits of the ancestors are associated with the Indonesian mountains. It should be noted that the branch of Buddhism in Indonesia, which some researchers call the IndoBuddhism, has its own characteristics. It includes both the position of the classical teachings of Buddhism and pagan beliefs, which are based on the worship of the elements of nature and ancestors. The basis of the Indonesian attitude, practicing Hindu-Buddhism, are the principles of the Three ita Karana (three terms of well-being) The harmonious relationship between man and the divine powers and harmonious relationship between man and nature, and Harmonious relationship with other people are the key of the culture of Indonesia. In the canonical literature of the indu principle of three-hit penalty does not appear but at the same time, it is very close in spirit to Balinese Hinduism and adopted as part of the religion4. Indonesian community, subak, the foundation of his life believes these principles. The same principles carry over to the farm - a joint flood irrigation of rice fields involves the careful and prudent attitude towards nature. The interaction between community members, as well as their participation in irrigation and the subsequent distribution of the harvest takes place in view of their financial position and physical features of each. Water usage and every important stage accompanied by various ceremonies (eg start-up of water) in accordance with the principles of three ita Karana.

Conclusion Interestingly, the system allowed the Balinese subak to achieve the highest yield of rice in the region. Bali can collect 3-4 harvest of rice a year. Currently in Imdpnesia, there is more than thousand subakov. Of course, in modern conditions subak is gradually transformed into irrigation society where the physical part is replaced by cash payments. owever the relationships within the community are trying to maintain the principles laid down ancestors. For example public order is still to a large extent is not supported by the police and voluntary national teams subak community5. In 2012, the subak system was added to the UNESCO World eritage List as a materialization of the principle of three ita Karana.

Hellwig, Tineke, and Eric Tagliacozzo. 2009. The Indonesia reader history, culture, politics. Durham: Duke University Press. 5 Witton, Patrick, Natasha Velleley, and Jerry Alexander. 2002. Indonesia. Footscray (Vic) [etc.]: Lonely Planet Publications.

References

Forshee, Jill. 2006. Culture and customs of Indonesia. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press. Frost, Nicola. 2002. Indonesia. Oxford: Oxfam. Hellwig, Tineke, and Eric Tagliacozzo. 2009. The Indonesia reader history, culture, politics. Durham: Duke University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=WXEYAQAAMAAJ. ong n-gi. 2011. Landscape ecology in Asian cultures. Tokyo: Springer. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=666513.

Witton, Patrick, Natasha Velleley, and Jerry Alexander. 2002. Indonesia. Footscray (Vic) [etc.]: Lonely Planet Publications.