indahnesia.com - Sumatera - Islands of forests and orang hutans

Introduction

Introduction to Sumatera

Sumatera, the legendaric 'Land of the Gold' from the ancient times is not the biggest island of Indonesia, it does also not have the biggest population, but most people think it's the island with the most variety. Actually it really offers something to everyone - wealthy rainforests, rivers and fallsm craterlakes, splendid white beaches and a stunning variety in traditional ethnical groups and (...)


General information	*General information on Sumatera*

Geography Sumatra is the western-most island in the Indonesian archipelago. It is also Indonesia’s second-largest island, covering an area of 473,481 square kilometers. Its west coast lies on the Indian Ocean and the northeast portion of the island borders on the Straits of Malacca, historically an important route for shipping and trade and a (...)


Flora & fauna	*Inhabitants of the rainforest*

The exotical animal world of Sumatera was used many times for adventurous books. Big elephants, cars and shy rhino's live in the tropical rainforests full with giant trees, lingering lians and extraordinary flowers. Big primates and many spiecies of birds make Sumatera into an exiting place for nature lovers. But don't expect the African eco-tourism of touring around and making pictures. It t (...)


Geography	*Far streched island full of contrasts*

Sumatra is, after Greenland, New-Guinee and Borneo, the biggest island in the world with a surface of 473,481 sq.km. - ten times as big as Holland. The island knows big regional differences and it's cut in eight pieces for governmental reasons. Until a certain level, this partition is fixed more over ethnical barriers than by geographical borders. So are Sumatera's opposites, the northern Aceh and (...)


Trans-Sumatera	*Nightmare or ultimate experience*

The just recently completed trans-Sumatera highway stretches over the entire length of one of the biggest islands on the planet, a distance of over 2500 km. The journey from Bakauheini in the far south to Banda Aceh in the far north is certainly one of the most fascinating travel experiences of entire Indonesia. The journey can also turn out to be a nightmare, full of frustrations and unconfo (...)


Architecture	*The house with the head and the tail*

The building styles of the traditional houses on Sumatera are of imposant and architectural diversity impressive. The way of building of the Toba, karo and Simalungun are clearly distinguishable, while the houses of Mandailing Batak in the south are again very different in some ways. The traditional houses of the Minangkabau in western Sumatera are unique as well, and famous because of their decor (...)


Food	*Buffalo, goat and dog in the bowl*

Following the 17th century traveller SAir John Chardin, as well as religion as well as history and geography have always played an important role in the food of a population. This is especially true about Sumatera. Consuming pork distinguishes the christian minority from the islamic majority. The christian Batak around Danau Toba and somewhere else on Northern Sumatera eat pork and sometimes also (...)


Language & literature	*From treebook to tape*

Sumatera's big shapes and cultural differences are being reflected in the richness of languages, varying from the elegant and difficult royal Malay, which is still being spoken in the former palaces of Palembang and Riau, to the quicky dissapearing dialects of a number of orang laut (sea-nomads) which live on boats at the shore. Most Sumateran languages are closely related and belong to the (...)


Influences from the West	*Garrisons and guerrillas*

In the 18th century the demand for pepper descended, and the rulers of Aceh lost their control over the inlands like Aceh and Palembang because of this. The economy now was in European hands. The Dutch founded their headquarters in Padang in 1685, and in 1685 the English did the same in Bengkulu. Both became centres of rivalising trading networks, but in military way, they were fragile. In 17 (...)


Population	*Patched sheet of cultures and religions*

Sumatera counts over 40 milion people, one fifth of the total Indonesian population and it', after Jawa, the most densely populated island in the Indonesian archipelago. Four big ethnical groups, the Malay, the Minangkabau, the Acehnese and the Batak, are the big majority of tht local population. Furthermore there are more than a dozen smaller ethnical groups, with their own language, history and (...)