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Weekly Holiday Rentals: Indonesia
Photo-illustrated directory of privately-owned weekly holiday
rentals in Indonesia, incl. Bali. Includes rates, detailed amenities,
maps, and more.
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Ever
since nomadic Malay hunter-gatherers turned settled farmers and
started cultivating rice in the fertile ashes of burned forests
and on the slopes of volcanoes, transforming their migratory society
some 4500 years ago, rice has been at the very center of Indonesian
culture. Grown virtually everywhere in Indonesia, it's considered
the tastiest of all grains and is eaten at least 3 times daily.
Rice is always saleable and can be stored up to 3 years. It's
believed that rice has a soul without which it lacks the power
to germinate. Ani-ani blades are hidden so as not to offend the
rice goddess, Dewi Sri, during the harvest. The structure and
pressure of this intensive form of cultivation has given rise
to very close-knit families all over Indonesia, particularly on
the island which supports the bulk of the population - rural Java.
A
family could include grandparents, grandchildren, father's relatives,
mother's relatives, nieces, nephews, cousins. The nation as a
whole is a family; presidents, bupatis and schoolmasters are often
referred to as Bapak or Pak (father) or else Bung (brother) by
the public. School mistresses are addressed as ibu (mother) by
their pupils. The heart and soul of Indonesia is the village.
80% of the people live in 60,000 agricultural communities throughout
the archipelago. Village life has changed only very superficially
over the past thousands of years. The village council of elders
is the foundation on which the Indonesian version of democracy
is based. Village and family loyalties come before all others.
City dwellers, only 15% of the total population, are the exception.
But even the capital of Indonesia with a population of 5.7 million
has all the habits and manners of a village, or actually, of hundreds
of villages.
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