CHILDREN OF INDONESIA

Aceh

Dearest Friends,

As I mentioned before, Indonesia is made up of hundreds of islands, and, in the beginning, each one had its own unique dialect, its own native dress, and its own primary religion.  It wasn't until much later that the government pronounced Bahasa Indonesia (the language we were taught) the national language, to be taught in all schools.  However, there are still many, many older people, on many of the smaller or more remote islands, who do not speak it at all.  There was a women's "conversation group" that I attended in Cilegon, and the Indonesian wives once put on a fashion show of sorts, where their children modeled the native costumes of the area they were from.  These are just a few of them.

Brides and bridesmaid (center) from Minang and Karo

Bali

Jawa

Kalimantan