Indonesia: Social Culture/Teachers’ Reference

Enquiry Question / What are the characteristics of the social culture of Indonesia?
Content / Related tothe History curriculum (S4-6)
Fun Learning
Learning Objectives / Knowledge /
  • To introducefeatures of the social culture of Indonesia through activities
  • To examine factors contributing to the unique social culture of Indonesia

Skills /
  • To observe and comprehend
  • To exercise empathy
  • To think creatively
  • To analyse
  • To compare, illustrate and explain sources

Attitude /
  • To be inquisitive and willing to think
  • To respect different peoples and their cultures and to cultivate the values of racial equality

Teaching flow:
Teachers may select or modify the activities in this teaching plan to suit the learningneeds of their students.
Items / Format / Learning Objectives / Content
A / Introduction / Sharing common knowledge / To motivate students to learn / What do students know about Indonesian social culture?
B / Activity 1 / Watch the documentary and fill in the blanks / To highlight information related to the theme / Fundamental geographicalknowledge about Indonesia
C / Activity 2 / DBQ / To respond to the enquiry question / Social-culture of Indonesia.
D / Activity 3 / DBQ / To respond to the enquiry question / Food culture of Indonesia
E / Extended Activity 1 / Data-collection / To respond to the enquiry question / Food culture of Indonesia
F / Extended Activity 2 / Data-collection / To respond to the enquiry question / Students gather information on World Cultural Heritage of Indonesia
A.Introduction
Sharing common knowledge: / What do you know about Indonesian social culture?
  1. Activity 1: Watch and organize documentary information
– an overview
Step 1 / You are going to watch a documentary which describes the national development of Indonesia before and after independence in the 20th century. When you are watching it, pay greater attention to the geographical and population information of Indonesia. Now scan through the worksheet you are given to get an impression, and then complete the Information Sheet. (Total marks: 15)
Step 2 / Watch the documentary (the film lasts for 20 minutes).
Information sheet
Time location / Subtitles of the documentary
00:00 / Here is Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The Indonesians are celebrating their traditional festival. In Indonesia, people of different races, cultures, and faiths enjoy equal freedom in celebrating their festivals in ways they like. They can also take such opportunities to express their views freely.
00:28 / Indonesia is made up of more than 17,500 islands. With a population of more than 240 million people, it is the world’s fourth most-populated nation.
04:23 / In Indonesia, the major religion is Islam. However, behind this mainstream religion, there are more than 300 with different traditional beliefs. Their cultures and languages are mutually unintelligible, and there was serious divergence of interests among them.
09:36 / For the 25 years between 1969 and 1994,…. Per Capita GDP increased from US$70 to US$650. Population living under the poverty line decreased from 70 million to 27 million, and the percentage reduced from 60% to 15%.
10:01 / However, the people paid a heavy political price for the economic growth. …
Indonesia came under the complete control of Suharto’s militarydictatorship. … He imprisoned more than 300,000 people on political grounds with various reasons.
11:50 / Since the Communist Party had closer contacts with the Chinese, Suharto banned the Chinese from participating in politics, using the Chinese language, and celebrating Chinese festivities.
12:56 / In early 1998, the Indonesian Rupiah devalued to one-fifth of its original worth, per capita income decreased for 50%,… and 13 million people lost their jobs.
13:16 / Even in capital Jakarta, the most developed place, poverty is also very obvious.
13:30 / In March 1998, university studentsstaged massive demonstrations in Jakarta to protest against the corrupt Suharto from reappointment. The military suppressed the demonstrations…large crowds of rioters accused the Chinese of seizing their economic interests, wantonly committed robberies,…The anti-Chinese incident intensified people’s discontent towards Suharto…, demanded Suharto to step down immediately.
15:20 / Abdurrahman Wahid became Indonesia’s president in the 1999 general election. He further implemented politicalreforms. He also eliminated the economic and political influences of the military, lifted the ban on the Chinese language and Chinese customs, and allowed freedom of speech. … The nation has gone through fundamental changes.
17:54 / When Indonesia declared its independenceto the world on 17 August 1945, …By now they have walked this path for half a century and experienced ups and downs. …, Indonesia is again heading towards its goal when the republic was founded.
Step 3 /
  • Check answers.

C.Activity 2 : Indonesia is a multi-ethnic society

With reference to Information Sheet in Part B and Source A, answer questions (1) to (3).

Source A
The table below shows the proportional populations of Indonesian ethnic groups according tothe 2009 census.
Ethnic groups / Population (million) / Percentage / Main Regions
Javanese / 86.012 / 41.7 / East Java, Central Java, Lampung
Sundanese / 31.765 / 15.4 / West Java, Banten, Lampung
Chinese / 7.776 / 3.7 / Jakarta, West Kalimantan, East Java
Malay / 7.013 / 3.4 / Sumatra eastern coast, West Kalimantan
Madurese / 6.807 / 3.3 / Madura island, East Java
Batak / 6.188 / 3.0 / North Sumatra
Minangkabau / 5.569 / 2.7 / West Sumatra, Riau
Betawi / 5.157 / 2.5 / Jakarta, Banten, West Java
Bugis / 5.157 / 2.5 / South Sulawesi
Bantenese / 4.331 / 2.1 / Banten
Source:
Question 1 / According to the Information Sheet, how many ethnic groups does Indonesia have?
Reference answer / Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic groups.
Question2 / What cultural characteristics are reflected in Source A?Analyse and elaborate with evidence.
SuggestedAnswer / Source A reflects the number of population and distribution of different ethnic groups in Indonesia.
Examples:
  • Javanese is the largest ethnic group, taking up 40% of the total population. However, it is less than half of the population.
  • Chinese and Malays take up about 3% of the total population separately.Whilethe Chinese group is a bit larger than the Malays, they concentrate in the capital Jakarta.
  • Other ethnic groups take up a very small portion of the total population and spread over various islands.
  • Any other sensible answers.

Question3 / Being a country of “many islands and ethnic groups”, what social problems do you think would Indonesia face? Explain your answer with reference to the documentary and using your own knowledge.
Suggested Answer /
  • According to the documentary, Indonesia is predominantly a Muslim country. However, there are many ethic groups with different traditional beliefs and mutually incommunicable culture and languages behind this mainstream religion. Thus there exists serious divergence of interests/culture.
  • Indonesia has more than 17,500 islands, and consists of a number of ethnic groups. As a result the country encounters many challenges in its administration, “such as the distribution of national resources and economic development”.
  • Any other sensible answers.

D.Activity 3 : Food culture of Indonesia

Source B

Most native Indonesians eat rice as their main dish, with a wide range of vegetables and meat as side dishes. However, in some parts of the country, the majority of people eat sago and sweet potato.

Strongly influenced by Muslim culture, many Indonesians conform to Islamic food laws, i.e. do not choose pork and alcoholic drinks. However, in regions where there is significant non-Muslim population, pork and alcoholic drinks are allowed.

Indonesian dishes use a wide range of chili peppers and spices. A unique characteristic of some Indonesian food is the application of spicy peanut sauce in their dishesas a dressing for Indonesian style salad or for seasoning grilled chicken satay.

Indonesian cuisine has been influenced by Chinese culture and Indian culture. In Indonesian food, it is very common to find Chinese food,such as Dim Sum as well as noodles, and Indian food such as Tandoori chicken. Since the 15thcentury, the Portuguese and Arab traders had brought western cuisine into Indonesia. However, the dishes have been transformed to suit Indonesian people’s tastes. For example, steaks and popular fast foods are usually served with rice instead of bread, and spicy sauce instead of ketchup.In return, Indonesian cuisine has also influencedthose of its neighboring countries, notably Malaysia and Singapore.

Source: “Culture of Indonesia”
Question1 / According to Source B, which countries and cultures have influenced the eating habits of the Indonesians? In what ways hasIndonesian cuisineinfluenced other countries? Illustrate with examples.
Suggested Answers /
  • According to the source, the eating habits of the Indonesians have been influenced by Chinese, Indian and Western cultures.
  • At the same time, Indonesian cuisine hasinfluenced the cuisine of its neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Singapore. For example, Indonesian satay is very popular in Singapore and even Thailand.

Q. 2 / “Indonesian cuisine has its uniqueness as well as its multicultural quality.”Explain this statement with reference to the source and using your own knowledge.
Suggested Answers / Student may explain by listing a few inner qualities of Indonesian cuisine in accordance with its “multicultural” and “unique” features.
E.Extended Activity (1): Food culture of Indonesia
Interview an Indonesian that you know, and find out his answers to the questions below:
(i)Which Indonesian dish is the most famous?
(ii)How can one cook Nasi goreng (印尼炒飯) or other dishes rich in Indonesian flavour?Interview the Indonesian you know and ask him/her about the way to cook such dishes and complete the table below. Then share your experience with your classmates.

My Indonesian ______Recipe

Ingredients:

(Answer open-ended)

Marinades:

(Answer open-ended)

Method:

(Answer open-ended)

Other (e.g. cooking tips):

(Answer open-ended)

E.Extended Activity (2): World Cultural Heritage of Indonesia

Up to 2009, seven Indonesian historical and cultural sites had been listed as World Cultural Heritage. They are:

  1. Borobudur Temple Compounds(1991),
  2. Komodo National Park(1991)
  3. PrambananTemple Compounds (1991)
  4. Ujung Kulon National Park(1991)
  5. Sangiran Early Man Site (1996)
  6. Lorentz National Park(1999)
  7. Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra(2004)

Divide the class into different groups. Each group is to findout relevant information of one of the World Cultural Heritages, and complete the table below:

(Answer open-ended)

Name of World Cultural Heritage: ______

Photograph:

(Answer open-ended)

Feature:

(Answer open-ended)

End

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