THE BIG ARCHEPELAGO FAMILY

I have been jostling to put Indonesia and particularly Java on the professional chocolate map in my Blogs.I am pleased it has evoked some interest. Several readers have mailed me to tell more about Indonesia. "What's the country really like?" What they mean is, tell us something about the romance and spirit of your country that the Internet can't.

The most amazing thing about Indonesia, which even as an Indonesian I can never cease to marvel at,is its spirit of family. It reflects in its geography. Imagine 1700 scattered islands that lie between the Indian and Pacific oceans now calls itself one big Indonesian family. Admittedly in the 63 years of independence, there have been a few(indeed less than you can count on one hand)problems of integration. Indonesia now is the biggest knit family of islands in the world. The area in length stretches as far as from San Francisco to the Bahamas. And almost equally as broad.

The family spirit transcends the 24different ethnic groups and some 700 dialects. My wife's grandmother from Central Java speaks no Indonesian nor English(the second language in most schools). I don't speak her dialect which is Javanese(which is derived from Sanskrit). However family feelings prevail and she thinks that I am a jolly good sort of fellow.

Togetherness and family loyalty seems to be inbred into our psyche. Land at our airport. It is called Sukarno-Hatta International Airport. It is named after the first President and Vice President of Indonesia. One was demagogue. The other a quiet scholarly man. A very unlikely pair as you can find. Yet together, forever in all probability.

If you arrive on a Sunday, you see immediately, motorcycles carrying entire families whizzing around, taking the air or simply going for a spin. On a single motorcycle is not unusual to find father(the driver) mother, one child in front and two between father and mother. Perhaps even grandma behind mother deftly balanced on the licence plate.

The motorcycle is transportation during weekdays and family vehicle during weekends. The more affluent cram entire families into the APVs and take of to the mountains, 3 hours away or to the malls around almost every corner in the bigger cities. The humbler use bicycles for the same purpose. If I attempt to describe their weekend use I fear you may not believe me.

At weekends it is delightful to watch Indonesian families at lunch in restaurants. Tables are hastily joined together by the waiters and the family of a dozen of so take their places. Grandpa and grandma have the places of honour. The children are send to the restaurant play area(almost all family restaurants have a play area)to go completely berserk.

In a family it is also fascinating to see the differences between members. There will one or two devout Muslims with head scarfs,a "punk" rocker with Mohawk haircut dyed brilliantly pink, a serious fellow who could be an investment manager at Goldman Sachs, a stunningly pretty mother, a teenage son carefully modelled after Harry Potter and a teenage daughter examining her split ends with concern.

The "chief organiser" an efficient faced woman determines what goes to whom. She decides who get the last fried prawn, who should eat more greens and who should stay away from the fried potato patties.Her husband,obviously a civil servant, with years of practice to his credit,passes out the dishes. A most diverse group but undoubtedly one happy family.

When they begin to dine some eat elegantly with their fingers and other daintily with cutlery. The table is laden with food.They eat heartily and appreciatively. Obesity is not yet a problem in Indonesia but there is concern about it.

When they finish and pass my family of four at our table, they smile kindly, sympathising at our sparsely laden table and tiny nuclear family.We smile and nod back not without some envy.

We spoil our children no end. We allow then to stay up late. Let them watch Disney channel and Cartoon Network whenever they wish. They shout, they scream their guts out.


When they grow up we send them off to universities in the USA or Australia and sit back with relief and fan ourselves. They come back and look after us. Pile us in their shiny new APVs and take us to the mountains and treat us to lavish meals for the rest of our lives. There is no talk about old aged homes, ever.

In spite of their riotous behaviour at home our children behave almost impeccably in school. Schools are usually very peaceful places and envied by teachers from other countries.Everything goes nice and orderly by the bell.

Indonesia, you must have often heard is 80% Muslim. The rest of the population of some 240 million, are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and others.However it a secular country. Every Friday the mosques fill and their prayers reverberate throughout the 17,000 islands. A Christian like myself has the comforting feeling of being surrounded by prayers. On Sunday the churches are packed and if you are a little late there is only standing space at the back.

There are undoubtedly differences of opinion but more often than not the one family spirit prevails. We are now in the Holy month of Ramadan, when Muslim fast from sunrise and there is much getting together of the people of different faiths to break the fast at sunset. The church I attend even lays out a break-the-fast buffet in their grounds and invites the neighbourhood.

The economic powerhouse of the country, are the small household industries. They are very much family businesses. Father, mother aunt and cousins pitch together to make everything from jewellery to clothes. Other family type businesses run hair salons,tiny neighbourhood shops,sofa-cleaning,electrical and plumbing services. Some are in the entertainment business, providing clowns,rock bands and surprising good jazz bands and magicians for birthday and wedding parties.Or to entertain the district head when he visits.

By far the mast active family industry is food. Which is not surprising because every known spice and herb grows in this archipelago. There there are as many recipes as there are entrepreneurs.It is estimated that about 60% of the population has some connection to the food industry. If you are visiting, this is instantly visible. Streets abound with restaurants of all sizes and kinds, cafes,push carts and tents.Each one runs busily on the energy of the whole family.

For a fact I know, from a data base, some 16,000 families in Java's main cities work with food involving chocolate.They are contributing in making chocolate the most favoured and fastest growing flavour in Indonesia.

It was this family power that made the country resilient during the Asian Economic Crisis. The people's cash value suffered but their cash flow kept above the troubled waters.To keep this industry powered, cash to the tune of about $40million per year flows in from Indonesians working abroad as nannies,maids, construction workers and others, to their families mainly in the villages and rural areas.

Nationwide everyone calls each other"brother" or "sister".Drive into a gas station and the attendant calls you "Abang"(Older brother)In a restaurnat you hail the waiter with "Mas"( brother).When you come across someone older, who you address gently either as "Pa" or "Bu".You may safely call a girl,"Mbak"(sister).If you are in trouble, help is spontaneous, no questions asked.Indonesians are very generous to each other.Needs are quickly covered with cash or food.

It stands to reason that if you are good to your own family, you are also kind to visitors. Tourists love the islands of Indonesia because they are indeed cared for and treated almost as much as we do for members of our own family. But you must expect some reserve. We are still quite shy and in awe of foreigners who tend to speak louder than we do.