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Indonesia is one of those places that has almost anything the traveler might want.

Indonesia

Raphaelk
2004-01-27 20:02:50

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Indonesia is one of those places that has almost anything the traveler might want. It is cheap, it has good weather, good beaches, historical sites, sites of natural beauty, interesting wildlife, world class surfing and diving as well as diverse and interesting cultures. I found the people to be friendly in general although many other travelers I met had poor experiences with the locals. At times I also had problems, most of the problems though were in Bali where the tourists treat the locals badly and the locals treat the tourists worse.

In West Sumatra the Meningkabau culture is predominant. It is unique as it is the worlds only matrilineal Muslim culture, where the property is passed down the female line. The first photo shows the Meningkabau royal palace, the second a Meningkabau woman making some tea and finally a baboon riding a bike and selling coconuts, I don't understand that bit either.

Off the west coast of Sumatra is a small jungle island called Pulau Siberut. Here live the Mentawai, a largely undisturbed tribe that follow their traditional ways and live similarly to how they always have. Their bodies are extensively tattooed, their teeth are chiseled and shamans and their wives have all their body and facial hair removed. This all seems a bit too much like a brochure or something, but the fact is that they have managed to keep their culture largely intact, despite some interference from the government in the sixties and seventies. They are quite amusing people, when you ask them the reason for certain practices they almost always reply "Because it is what my ancestors did". This is because they have forgotten the reasons and a lot of the symbolism for much of what they do. An example of this is that there used to be seven levels of Shaman, whereas now there are only four, the reason being they have forgotten what the other three levels involved. This is the problem trying to maintain a culture without a ...

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