INDONESIAN SOCIETY IS A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY
We realize that our country consists of thousands of large and small islands spread over
the seascape, all of which are a series of islands inhabited by approximately one hundred and
fifty million people, consisting of dozens of ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has different
customs, values, beliefs, religions and beliefs. The entire territory of the country realizes a
different natural environment when the natural environment of one region is compared to the
natural environment of another region. The environment of Central Kalimantan is much different
from the natural environment in Central Java, the natural environment in West Sumatra is
different from the natural environment in East Nusa Tenggara. These differences in the natural
environment greatly affect the physical condition of the population in each area concerned, so
that the inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago realize differences in physical characteristics
between various groups of population.
What are the physical characteristics of the Indonesian population? There are no specific
characteristics that are present in any of the inhabitants of our vast archipelago. Each list of
physical characteristics that are considered to be the physical characteristics of the Indonesian
people results in a number of impressions that the Indonesian people cannot be classified as
Indonesians because they embody other physical characteristics than those listed on the list in
question. Is the skin color of Indonesians brown? In reality, it is clear that Indonesians do not
have brown skin but yellowish or on the contrary are blackish. Is the stature of Indonesians
moderate? In reality, many Indonesians are clearly short or conversely tall. Is the hair of
Indonesians wavy? In reality, many Indonesians are clearly people with stiff or curly hair. And so
on. The population in the Indonesian archipelago embodies huge differences in physical
characteristics. And of course there is a tendency in each group of the population with similar
physical characteristics to
Considering the physical characteristics they embody as better than other physical
characteristics, if they are not influenced by foreign values such as those from India or America
(Hollywood). In terms of culture, language, customary beliefs, kinship system of family life
(including patterns of relationship between the elderly and their children), power structure, form
of residence, and so on, the differences manifested by the people of the Indonesian archipelago
are greater and more than the differences in their physical characteristics. The Acehnese
language is very different from the Batak language so that the Acehnese do not understand the
Batak language, and the Batak people do not understand the Acehnese language. The indigenous
language in the Bolim Valley, Irian Jaya, is very different from the East Timorese language, in Deli,
so that the indigenous people in the Bolim Valley, do not understand the indigenous language of
the East Timorese people and vice versa, the indigenous people of East Timor do not understand
the indigenous language of the people of the Bolim Valley. Javanese people do not understand
the Bugis language, Bugis people do not understand Javanese. Muslims declare respect for
places of worship when entering the mosque by wearing a pici and taking off their shoes or
sandals, Christians, on the other hand, show respect for the place of worship when entering the
church by removing a hat, beret, or other headgear and wearing shoes. Two patterns of action
that are contradictory but contain the same meaning. This is a reality that we cannot avoid, but
we must accept it with pride and full of responsibility. The pluralistic situation can threaten the
unity and unity of the nation, if we let go of our sense of responsibility as citizens of the nation.
But on the other hand, if we as citizens of the nation are fully responsible for the life of the nation,
then such a situation can be used as a source of strength for the nation, to enrich the nation's
cultural treasures.
These different diversity and plurality can be found, a number of the same values that can
be used as strength for the life of the nation, as a support or buffer for the unity and unity of the
nation. Therefore, diversity, or the term Mpu Tantular, diversity needs to be fostered and
developed in order to realize the nation's culture that reflects the nation's personality. In order to
realize, foster, and develop the culture of this nation, we need to foster traditional culture that
lives in the circle and ethnicity so that it does not die or become extinct. Thus, the nation's culture
that reflects the nation's identity lives in the garden of traditional culture that lives in the ethnic
society. Such a culture will actually strengthen the unity and unity of the nation. On the other
hand, if this traditional culture dies or becomes extinct, then the nation's culture that emits the
nature or pattern of the nation's society will be more dwarfed and arid, because it does not get
strength from the deepest depths of the nation's life. Therefore, it is better not to disconnect the
traditional ridge and national culture, the guidance of both must be maintained in a harmonious
manner so as not to cause negative consequences for both. In order to foster the growth of
traditional regional culture not to be disharmonious, with the development of national culture, it
is necessary to first know the situation and people of Indonesia from time to time. Thus, we know
that the growth and development of a society at a certain time cannot be separated from the
conditions of the time that preceded it.
The Environment of the Indonesian Cultural Society To be able to trace the growth and
development of the cultural society of the Indonesian nation from time to time, it is necessary to
explain what is called the Indonesian society? Who is the subject of Indonesian culture? By
determining its consideration and development, we will find the system, namely the Socio-
Cultural System. The Proclamation of Independence on August 17, 1945 with its constitution, the
1945 Constitution, has provided an understanding of who the Indonesian nation is. The
Proclamation and Constitution have made the Indonesian nation, the Indonesian people, a
cultural subject that has the principle of identity and the principle of integrity. So that the
Indonesian nation becomes able to unite and unite all diversity into a complete, united, resilient
national force, towards a common goal point.
Without this identity and integrity, the subject of the culture will surely become divided
from within its own body. With the Proclamation of August 17, 1945, the residential area of the
Indonesian nation and the limits of the authority of the state power of the Republic of Indonesia
have also been determined. The residential area of the Indonesian nation is an environment
where the Indonesian nation responds to its nature and communicates with its fellow people and
with its Supreme Creator. It is in that environment that the Indonesian people carry out their life
which contains making plans and making decisions. The living environment of the Indonesian
nation is a cultural environment, namely an environment that provides a reciprocal influence
with the life of the Indonesian nation which is incarnate in its life works. The cultural environment
of the Indonesian nation is none other than our entire homeland with all its situations and
conditions. This environmental condition concerns various aspects, namely its geographical
aspect, its natural wealth aspect, its geographical position aspect, and its demographic aspect,
with a typical situation being the archipelago's environment which even though it is separated by
the sea, is still a unit. Therefore, Indonesian society as a cultural subject has the pattern of
Bhineka Tunggal Ika, which means different but still one. The sentence was once used by an
Indonesian poet who was famous as Empu Tantular, in a sense, among the puspa variam is unity.
From the aspect of its natural wealth, the environment of our homeland has a very high potential,
both in the terrestrial environment and in the water environment, the environment of plants, the
environment of the people and the climate environment. Meanwhile, from the aspect of
geographical position, the environment of the Indonesian cultural community is in a cross
position between the oceans and between the two continents. Residents as residents of the
environment of the country, it is part of nature, but the name of humans is a very potential
creature thanks to the awareness of their life. They have an awareness of themselves with
everything that is outside of them. They put a distance between themselves and everything
outside of them. The human beings who are the inhabitants of our homeland, hereinafter referred
to as the Indonesian nation, make communication with nature, respond to the surrounding
nature in the form of works. Wealth is a reflection of the human potential mentioned above in his
life continuously. The result of this work is a treasure of human life that influences his own life as
well. The work that is a treasure of human life is called culture. The environment whose pattern
as mentioned above certainly affects the shape and growth as well as the relationship of
Indonesian culture. The natural environment of the archipelago causes a culture that
Developing in the environment has an archipelago pattern and form that is different from
the pattern and form of mainland culture or contenental culture. The fertile land of the
archipelago resulted in the development of the archipelago into an agricultural society. The
relationship between humans and the soil is a very important factor. Agriculture in a broad sense
is a staple of Indonesian culture. This is because first of all, the environment of the archipelago
consists of the environment of the islands, and the seas; Second, in this region there is river water
and lake water, and third, soil management also requires water as a very important means.
Therefore, Indonesian culture lives in an agrarian environment that contains elements of soil and
water, both of which are of very high value for the humanization process. It can be understood
that the phenomenon of Indonesian culture is land culture in addition to water culture. Further
developments are greatly influenced by soil and water conditions that challenge the needs of
Indonesian people. Which is called the land of Indonesia's bloodshed, our homeland? According
to geopolitics, Indonesia is our homeland. A round Indonesia, not only Java, not only Sumatra or
Borneo, or Selebes only, or Ambon only, or Maluku only, but all the archipelago appointed by
Allah SWT into a unity between two continents and two oceans is our homeland! (Speech of
President Ir Soekarno, June 1, 1945).
The Indonesian nation is a completely new social unit and realizes a bond of solidarity
that includes all its members. Indonesian nation is not a collection of groups, each of which has
its own culture and identity. The Indonesian nation has its own culture, its own language, and its
own identity. The basic values are stated as the principles of Pancasila, values that as a whole,
before being accepted as the basic values of the Indonesian nation, are not the basic values of
any population group. The Indonesian nation has its own language that does not consist of
foreign languages that are forced to be used to enable communication between various groups
of people who each have their own language. This new national language is also no longer the
same as the original language Malay, but has been developed into a separate language. Just
listen to the Malays speak and compare them to people who speak Indonesian. It is not so
difficult to distinguish the two languages from the other. One speech is clearly Indonesian
speech. The same is true of literature. The Indonesian nation has its own literature, the creation
of writers such as Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana, M. Yamin, Chairil Anwar, WS Rendra and so on.
Indonesian literature, although influenced by foreign literature, is not the same as any regional
literature and is not the same as certain foreign literature. Indonesian literature is literature in
itself.
Indonesia has its own rules of behavior that are different from any customary rules, so
that there are many social activities, such as educational, political, administrative activities;
sports and others are linked to the national rules of Indonesia and not to the rules of any regional
society. Members of the Indonesian nation are a large solidarity unit that is getting stronger over
time. However, not all people who according to the applicable law are citizens of the Republic of
Indonesia in fact have become members of this great solidarity unit, the solidarity unit known as
the Indonesian nation, the Indonesian nation.
Regional Communities: Older Nations than Indonesian Nation The Indonesian nation is
not the only nation in the Indonesian archipelago. Long before the formation of the Indonesian
nation, in the Indonesian archipelago there were various indigenous nations that are now
commonly called ethnic groups or regional communities. Each of these regions is its own nation,
its own solidarity unit that has its own area of residence. Each of these regional communities
embodies all the characteristics that are usually considered to be characteristics of a nation,
such as their own culture, their own language, their own identity, and most importantly, the
feeling of solidarity between members, citizens, and local communities who are in charge. The
Batak nation is separate from people who are bound to each other by membership in the clan
system. Membership in a clan that is usually obtained by the father karenca, who is a member of
the clan, makes a member of the great solidarity unit realized by the Batak nation. People
Each old nation clearly delineates who is considered part of its solidarity unity and who
is considered an outsider. Although a new social unity known as the Indonesian nation has been
formed, the old nations have not disappeared, except perhaps very small nations, which unite
with the larger nations. The old nations still survive and will continue to survive. In the formation
and growth of the Indonesian nation, the members of the new nation are obtained from the old
nations but in general, the people who become members of the new Indonesian nation still
maintain membership in the old nation of their origin. Only in big cities, such as Jakarta, can old
national ties be weakened, especially among the offspring of mixed marriages between men of
one old nation and women of another old nation. The number of such people is more than the
people who still identify themselves, in addition to being Indonesians members of the Indonesian
nation as members of certain old nations: Acehnese people, Minahasa Ambon people, Balinese
people, Sundanese, Javanese, and so on. In certain circumstances, especially among the family
itself, unity of solidarity is essential! Most of the population in the Indonesian archipelago still
acts as members of certain old nations
Long before the Dutch colonial period there were foreign immigrants who settled in the
Indonesian archipelago: Indians, Arabs, Chinese and so on, although their numbers were not very
large at that time. During the Dutch colonial period, the number of foreign immigrants was more
so that villages such as Chinese villages, Arab villages, Keling villages, and European cities were
formed mainly consisting of Dutch people. Some of these immigrants married or lived together
as families with the natives, thus forming a new class of the population, the Peranakan class, the
offspring of mixed marriage between the natives and the foreigners. The Peranakan group, which
mainly includes the Chinese, European, and Arab Peranakan groups, gradually developed their
own cultures that embody both elements of indigenous cultures and elements of foreign cultures
but which as a whole are separate cultures, different from indigenous cultures and different from
foreign cultures. Peranakan culture is a culture that is essentially the same as the indigenous
culture in the Indonesian archipelago.
Unity on the basis of religion Major religions, such as Islam, Protestant Christianity, Roman
Catholicism, Hindu Darma, and BU religion are powerful unifying resources. Each of these
religions attracts adherents from various local communities, from various old nationalities.
Friday worshippers in certain mosques can consist of Acehnese and Maluku people, Sundanese
and Minangkabau people, Javanese and Banjar people. Together they washed themselves,
together they prayed together they listened to the sermon. Awareness as fellow Muslims controls
their behavior more than the awareness that the congregation in question actually consists of
people who come from different regional communities from one another. Certain geraja pilgrims
can also consist of people who come from different old nationalities, such as Maluku,
Sundanese, Minahasa, Batak, Javanese, Dayak, and so on. They feel united as fellow Christians.
They feel loyal to each other in their relationships because they adhere to the same beliefs,
guided by the same religious teachings.
The great religions unite the members of different old nations, thus being a strong basis
for planting and fostering a sense of solidarity that is not limited to the old nation of origin, but
includes the entire population of the state of the Republic of Indonesia which together is the
embodiment of the Indonesian nation.
In fact, the opposition between these major religions is not absolutely detrimental to
national integration if accepted, the fact that the problem that most endangers national unity is
the problem of the relationship between the old nation and the nation, Indonesia and the
relationship between each of these old nations with each other, because as has been stated,
each old nation has its own area of residence. An old nation can, if it is not truly integrated with
the Indonesian nation at a time separating itself from the political organization, the state, itself.
The major religions in Indonesia do not have their own territory for their respective adherents, so
they cannot separate themselves from the Indonesian state by establishing a separate state
specifically for the adherents of the religion concerned. On the contrary, this great religion
actually unites a number of members of one old nation with other members of the nation who
also adhere to the religion in question, while it is possible that other members of the first nation
adhere to other major religions so that they are bound to unite with other members of the nation
who also adhere to this religion.
