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Tip No. 1:  Money. Don’t leave home without it.

As usual, I was in a state of panic before my trip to Indonesia.  I barely had time to pack my clothes.  I did remember to bring a camera but forgot to bring my money for the trip.

On our second day in Jakarta, Tita D suggested that we take a trip to one of the outlets in Bandung.  As I was getting ready for the trip, I discovered that I left behind the envelop containing the money to pay for our hotels, food and shopping.  I was in a state of shock when I called my dad to tell him what happened.  Of course I got an earful from him before he and Tito L remedied the situation.  I was lucky that Tito L and Tita D were with us in Jakarta and that they loaned me money for the trip.  I am eternally grateful to them and extremely embarassed by this whole thing.

So, to avoid getting an earful from parents or having to unexpectedly borrow money from someone, don’t forget to bring money for the trip. (more…)

The Sultanate of Jogjakarta and the Kraton

In the book, Indonesia Peoples and Histories, Jean Gelman Taylor tells us of how Arabs established trading posts in Indonesia, which made it possible for “learned men to travel from one end of the Islamic world to another. Some settled in foreign ports to head mosques or set up a school.” (at, p. 66) Eventually, the rulers of small communities in the Indonesia archipelago converted to Islam and began calling themselves sultans. “In 1641 the ruler of the archipelago’s largest kingdom, Mataram in Java, advertised his rule as Islamic by taking the title of sultan.” (Ibid) “In the seventeenth century Indonesian sultans…extended their power by their tried methods of slavery, raids, and marriage alliances, and they added a new method: they employed and allied with the Dutch.” (Id., p. 142) “In Java, Mataram’s kings hired Dutch soldiers to preserve their throne against rivals.” (Id., p. 144) This paved the way for Dutch trade in Indonesia through the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) or the United East Indies Company, which was composed on various Dutch commercial companies that merged. Eventually, Dutch not only traded in Indonesia but colonized it as well.

Meanwhile, in the late eighteenth century, there were a series of wars of succession to Mataram Kingdom, which led to its division. Through that division, the Jogjakarta Sultanate was created. The first sultan of Jogjakarta is Hamengkubuwono I. The present Sultan of Jogjakarta who lives in the Kraton his descendant, Hamengkubuwono X.

While I am still trying to grapple with Indonesian history, particularly, Javanese history, my trips to several museums in Jogjakarta and my tour of the city, all care of Danang, gave me the impression that, although Java was colonized by the Dutch, their rule did not dilute the deeply routed Javanese traditions. For one, the Javanese continue to speak their own language. Although I am sure that a number of Javanese speak Dutch, I never heard it spoken by them. Also, the Javanese tradition of making batik and playing the gamelan (Javanese musical ensemble) still lives on. In Jogjakarta, the Sultan remains to be “the center of his palace (Kadatuan or Kraton), which [is] in turn the center of the city. The city [is still] the center of the King’s own patrimonial domain (Vanua), which [is] surrounded by a circle of submitted neighbours…” (Munoz, Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, p. 308 [c 2006].) I suspect it was this way even when the Dutch had ruled Indonesia as I noticed that the structures built by the Dutch in Jogjakarta were outside of the Kraton.

Although we were allowed entrance to the Kraton, we only saw a a fraction of it.  As the present Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X, and his family still live in the Kraton, many areas there are off limits.  Strangely, for all its grandeur, my favorite part of the Kraton is the entrance - the simple wooden doors that open up to the world inside the Kraton. This entrance is guarded by an old gatekeeper who did not hesitate to have his picture taken by me.

There is good in Islam

I suppose that most people learn about Islam from their parents or from teachers.  As for me, I learned a few things about Islam  by observing  how others in Indonesia practice this faith.

I did not travel to Indonesia to learn about Islam.  Yet, while there, Islam presented itself to me.

I did not learn about the teachings of the prophet Muhammad or the nuances of Islamic practice. Although, I did learn that Muslims must pray facing the Mecca five times a day, must cleanse themselves before entering the prayer hall, and on certain times during the year, they must fast.  What I did learn, from those who practice this faith, is that there is good in Islam. In the process, I was prodded into re-thinking my initial impression of Islam that was formed from my ignorance and bad press about atrocities supposedly committed in furtherance of this faith.  In the end, I feel a sense of gratitude that my Indonesian experience has left me with a better appreciation for this faith called Islam.

An unorthodox retreat

I asked my friend, Fr. Bill, to prepare for me some spiritual exercises I could do while I was in Indonesia. I felt the need to connect with God.  Although I was only able to accomplish one out of seven spiritual exercises, I had somehow achieved my goal of connecting with God in the strangest and most unorthodox of retreats.  I gained a connection with God through the eyes and practices of persons who, unlike me, are not Catholics. For, while I had not gone to Indonesia to learn about religious beliefs other than my own, I received an unexpected crash course in Islam, Buddhism and Balinism and learned more about Hinduism while I was there. My crash course did not, by any means, provide me with a comprehensive understanding of other religious beliefs.  If at all, it would probably take me several lifetimes to understand those beliefs.  I did, however, come away with the simple realization that a connection to God may be made through Islam, Buddhism, Balinism and Hinduism.  And to me, this is really what matters.