Permeable cultures, alterable religions

Having been in Jakarta for a little over two weeks, it was high time to drop by the museums. As I’ve lamented about before, Jakarta does not have the reputation as a traveller’s haven for rich foreigners looking to spend their money – as in Macau – or a backpacker’s paradise – as in Bangkok. Indeed, in the 600 plus travel page book on South East Asia, Jakarta receives around a scant 20 pages.

However, in those brief 20 pages, the Indonesian National Museum was listed as one of the best in South East Asia. That said, in talking local friends and colleagues about the best things to do as a foreigner interested in learning about the country, the common refrain seems to be checking out the old Dutch town followed by shopping and going to the movies, which was a bit of a red flag. Of course, it could be that I’m asking the wrong people and thus experiencing sample bias – in many ways, leisure time is a strong indicator sign of wealth in being able to take the time to voluntarily go to a museum to derive no benefit beyond personal enrichment is a luxury that few can afford especially in a developing country with virtually no safety net.

Regardless, museums, especially public ones that are national in scope, can offer a glimpse into how a country wants the outside world to perceive it, and how the nation would like to perceive itself. I think the American War museum in Vietnam, though a tourist trap in some ways, exemplifies this idea. In this respect, this past weekend was a real treat.

A recently added wing with modern design was created and, as we read numerous times, was created to “international standard” (no s required) was l found thematically, what continually struck me was the lack of inevitability surrounding Indonesia’s current cultural and religious situation. The museum was thematically laid out with artifacts from all over Asia on display. Compared to rooms of similar objects, it was telling that the curator chose to use a small room tucked away in the corner of the building to demonstrate the Dutch colonial era complete with a small collection of furniture and a fading poster reproduction of a portrait from a governor. Juxtaposed just a few rooms were cases upon cases of clothing, spears, masks from all across the Indonesian archipelago. From Aceh to Papua, hundreds and occasionally, centuries of years of history were put on display demonstrating a wide spectrum of distinct cultures across thousands of islands as demonstrated through distinct dress, language and traditions.

Despite this rich mosaic of backgrounds and histories fast-forward to 2010 where around 90% of the population is Muslim though there are admittedly pockets of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. This figure doesn’t represent influence but rather extreme penetration and indeed is the world’s most populous Muslim state. Watching a colleague unfurl a prayer carpet in the office behind mine or hearing the multiple call to prayers while walking to grab dinner after work are reminders that Islam is a part of everyday daily life.

What amazes me is that there was nothing inevitable about this process; prior to the spreading of Islam, there were competing Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms relying on both agrarian abilities and naval force to enforce their rule. It required Islamic missionaries to come to the Archipelago, beginning in the 13^th century, and actively exert their influence. Battles were waged, blood was spilled which eventually gave way both to victory and to brokered compromises.

In this way, the fact that Indonesia has a population that is almost entirely Islamic is no more the natural order of this country as Catholicism is in the Philippines. In this way, religion is an artificial set of forces. I don’t mean to argue that consequently religion should be considered illegitimate or rendered unimportant. Rather, and though I recognize this may not seem novel, the idea that for millennia larger kingdoms and hundreds of micro societies possessed their own distinct ways of life, only to largely be supplanted by a competing set of beliefs is striking. It shows how fallible and fickle fidelity to faith can be.

Efforts by the state though legal mechanisms to retain the existing social order – as currently exists in Indonesia where you can only marry someone within your religious group – demonstrates the role of the state. Yet despite these efforts the possibility of societal change, however remote, lurks in the background. I should be clear that I’m not trying to judge but rather share with you my thoughts and surprise in realizing that cultures and beliefs are far from static and are in flux, even if theses changes move at a glacial pace. This lack of permanency demonstrates that cultures and religions ebb and flow – an idea that I’ve been prone to overlooking in typecasting one country as being of one faith as if it was forever of that religious tradition and forever will be that way. My last couple of days in Indonesia’s museums couldn’t have done a better job of belying this assumption.

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