December 20, 2024 • 31 mins
Want to know why Indonesian postal workers have one of the hardest jobs in the world? Or why the country is the best place to find new bird species? Or why it's an honor when someone makes you a tall glass of jammu? From the best types of fabric to throw into a volcano to make it stop erupting, to how to track a super-short Sasquatch, Will and Mango scour the country's 17,000+ islands to bring you Indonesia's best facts.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
You're listening to part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope
and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What's that Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
So we all know the holiday season is a busy
time for postal workers, and that is the case in
just about every country that celebrates the big winter holidays.
But there is one place where the seasonal uptick in
mail volume hits parcel carriers harder than anywhere in the world,
and that is in Indonesia.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Oh that's super interesting, And I actually didn't know how
many people would be celebrating Christmas there, Like, isn't it
a predominantly Muslim nation.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, Indonesia actually has the largest population of Muslims in
the entire world, with about ninety percent of its citizens
practicing the faith. But Christmas is still widely celebrated there
as kind of a secular holiday, and gift giving is
a big part of the festivities. And the difference is
that most countries don't have to worry about the logistical
nightmare of delivering gifts to thousands of far flung islands.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Indonesian mailmen are basically in the same league as Sanna,
that's what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah, Well, they don't make their deliveries in a single night.
But they definitely have their work cut out for them,
and that's because Indonesia is composed of roughly eighteen thousand islands.
I had no idea, but when taken together, they actually
spanned a distance about thirty two hundred miles, so basically
New York to Alaska. And with that much area to cover,
something is seemingly simple, as delivering the mail becomes this
(01:26):
huge problem.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
But wait, no way, all of those islands have mail service,
do they.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
No, Some of the islands are pretty tiny and only
about a third of them are inhabited, but delivering mail
to two hundred and seventy million people spread across six
thousand islands is pretty nutty, seriously, And that's especially true
in recent years since the country's online shopping market has
grown exponentially since the COVID nineteen pandemic. So, for example,
in twenty twenty three, Indonesiaans spent more than fifty three
(01:54):
billion dollars online, which is almost as much as every
other Southeast Asian country put together. And just for reference,
the country's e commerce market in the pre COVID years
was only about eight billion.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Dollars per year. God, that's a huge increase. And so
what does that do to the country's infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I mean, it's really taking a toll on it. So
most of Indonesia's roads and bridges, they weren't designed for
this sort of heavy traffic, and a lot of the
more rural parts of the country aren't even accessible by truck,
which has actually forced cargo companies to get creative to
make deliveries. You've got everything from motorcycles to berry boats
to even the occasional ox cart. It's pretty amazing, but
(02:31):
it takes a massive fleet of drivers and warehouse workers
to coordinate all of this, and a certain number of
animals as well. Yeah, every island presents its own challenges there,
from getting stuck in traffic and the narrow side streets
of Jakarta to getting stuck in the mud and the
rice paddies of rural Sumatra, and the variety of terrain
and differing degrees of development across the many islands. That
(02:52):
all presents the significant challenge. Yeah, of course, so much
so that in the more isolated parts of the country,
a worker might deliver as I use, twenty packages over
the course of a twelve hour shift.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I mean, it sounds so frustrating, but I guess those
kinds of setbacks are part for the course. When you
live in a sprawling island nation, you know there's really
not much you can do about that.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And that is true, But the growing pains of e
commerce are just one small part of life in the islands,
and most people agree that the sheer variety of natural
landscapes and wildlife and cultural sites that Indonesia has to
offer all of that more than makes up for the
occasional late delivery. The biggest problem for a tourist perspective
is deciding which of the country's many islands to visit
(03:32):
and which experiences to try once you get there. But
hopefully today's episode will help narrow it down for anyone
trying to make the trip for themselves.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That's right, but since we have seventeen thousand plus islands
to cover, I think we better dig in. Hey, their
(04:06):
podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and is always I'm joined by my good friend mangesh
hot Ticketter and on the other side of the soundproof
glass reading a well worn copy of Eat, Pray Love.
That's our friend and producer Dylan Fagan. He's a little
late to the party on this one. Didn't go as
all out as he does sometimes. But you know what,
you can't do something huge every single time, even for
(04:28):
somebody as amazing as Dylan. But since the love part
of the book takes place in Bali, Indonesia, he's right
on time for today's show.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but he
does have empty containers from a dozen different pasta dishes
in the corner, and she just blasting Madonna's like a
prayer a few minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So I think he's gast his.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Way through the Eaton Pray Apart just to get to
the love. But okay, once again Dylan is hitting a
bull's eye. But believe it or not, the book and
movie Eat Pray Love was actually a lot of people's
first touch point with Indonesia. Yeah, and before the book
came out in two thousand and six, the number of
international tourists who visited Bali each year hovered around one
point three million, but within a few years the number doubled,
(05:10):
and then there was an even bigger surge after the
movie was released in twenty ten. You can even rent
out the villa where Julia Roberts stayed on Airbnb, which
is amazing and we should probably do a couple of years.
The momentum from the movie is still in effect. Over
a decade later, more than five million foreign visitors now
(05:30):
take a trip to Bali each year, making it not
only the most visited island in Indonesia, but one of
the most popular destinations in the world.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It is funny that Bali is the only part of
the country that most people experience because from what I've
read this week, it's kind of an outlier in terms
of culture. For example, you mentioned that the vast majority
of Indonesians are Muslim, but in Bali most residents are
actually Hindu. And what's interesting though, is that the Balinese
people have developed the distinct take on the religion, blending
(05:58):
kind of the traditions of Indian and Duism and aspects
of Buddhism and local animistic beliefs. So, in addition to
worshiping the three main gods of Hinduism Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu,
Balanese Hindus revere a series of ancestral gods or dewa
who are specific to the island. It's pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
That's fascinating. And I know some of these religions, like Hinduism,
tend to be sort of easy to morph into other things.
You find people all over southern India with like Jesus
on their altar along with other gods and stuff. But
tell me about these Deaywi I think you're calling them.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, well, rice cultivation is essential to life on Bali,
so to help ensure a bountiful harvest, people make offerings
in prayers to de Wa three and that's the goddess
of rice and fertility. I like that.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So they use Hinduism as kind of a framework, but
then they layered on their own traditions and beliefs.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
That's exactly right. And one good example of that give
and take is the teeth filing ritual that many Blanese
undergo during adolescence. So much like traditional Hinduism, the Balanese
believe that there are six vices that humans need to
guard themselves against. These are desire, anger, reed, delusion, pride,
and envy. But in a break from Indian Hinduism, the
(07:08):
Bolanese believe that these evil traits enter the body through
the top six teeth and manifest themselves as sharp edges.
So with that in mind, Balanese teenagers undergo a symbolic
procedure in which the points of six upper teeth, two canines,
and four incisors they're filed down as a way to
curb the evil forces within them.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
That's really interesting, But it sounds like not all of
Bali's religious traditions are tied to Hinduism.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Right, That's exactly right, And some of them are completely homegrown.
For example, there's this one ancient practice you'll find in
Bolanese villages where they don't let a baby's feet touch
the ground for the first three months after birth. And
the custom is rooted in the belief that newborns are
still close to the spiritual realm and therefore have to
be treated as sacred visitors from a higher plane. Not
a bad.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Practice, I love that. And so that means they just
can't touch the floor, right.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, the floors are dirty, mango, so it's disrespectful to
let a holy visitor all around on one but it
was especially if they were at my house. You know,
that'd be a dirty floor. But more than that, the
Balanies don't consider a baby's sold to be fully tied
to its body, so to encourage the soul to stick around.
The parents make sure to treat the baby well and
keep it clean.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
That is so like culturally beautiful. That's a part of
why we can an anthplasis, right, like, like I love
that stuff, but it also seems so hard, Like how
do they keep the baby off the floor for three months?
Do they just constantly pass it around between the family.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That's pretty much what happens. The baby can be placed
on a bed while at home, but otherwise they have
to be carried by whoever has the hands free. It's
like a continuous game of infant hot Potato, I guess.
And it lasts for the first one hundred and five
days or two hundred and ten in some communities.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Wow, So what happens after that?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
There's a special ceremony where a pre sprinkles the baby's
feet with holy water and then places them on the
ground for the first time. It'd be pretty neat to
watch this. And there's also this moment where the infant
is finally given a proper name and it's only then
that they're considered a full earthly human.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That is really wonderful, But you know, I do not
envy those parents as if dealing with an infant isn't
hard en huh.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But think about their biceps in mango. I mean, they've
got to be so strong six months of carrying an
infant around. That's got to be a good workout.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, a terrible one. But one of the other things
I'm fascinated with about Indonesia, and this is there are
only a few things I remember learning about Indonesia from college.
One was that it's actually where the word third world
comes from. And it's not because it's beneath other countries.
It's that there are a whole group of countries that
came together and decided they didn't want to align with
the US or with the USSR. Yeah, and so they
(09:38):
formed a third world. And that's actually but it comes.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
From more interesting I did not know that origin.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
The other thing I remember is that there is a
lot of linguistic diversity in the country. And the official
tongue is Bahasa Indonesia, which is a modified version of Malay,
and pretty much everyone in the country can speak it.
But throughout the islands you'll also encounter a multitude of
local languages and dialects. In fact, there are more than
seven hundred languages spoken in Indonesia, which constitutes roughly ten
(10:07):
percent of all the languages in the world.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Isn't that what I say?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
And that rich linguistic diversity, isn't you a reflection of
the dozens of different ethnic groups that call various islands home.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That's pretty amazing. It also sounds like it's like a
total nightmare for tourists who are trying to communicate with people.
I mean, asking for directions in one foreign language can
be challenging enough for tourists.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, I mean, but ninety percent of the population actually
speaks Bahasa Indonesia. It's also a fairly easy language to learn,
and of course in the really touristy areas. Plus, these
people also speak English. So if you teach yourself some
basic phrases before your trip, I think you'll get by
just fine.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, And I was going to say, I mean, most
American travelers wherever they're going. I don't know why we're
pretending like it's difficult for them to ask directions because
they're just if they don't know it, they'll just say
it louder in English. Right, But you know, language and
religion aren't the only areas where Indonesia's diversity really shines.
So the island nation is also home to thousands of
different species of plants and wildlife, including, and this is
(11:04):
super cool, the world's largest lizard, the ten foot long
Komodo dragon, and the world's largest and most pungent flower,
the fifteen pound raft Lesia, or the corpse flower as
it's known.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, the size of the floora in fauna there really
struck out to me as well. You might assume that
everything in an island ecosystem would be pretty shrimpy, but
they've also got the Sumatran tiger, They've got Javin rhinoceros, like,
they're kind of grown big in Indonesia.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It's the Texas of that region, I guess, but I
should mention it's not just the islands themselves that sport
such hefty critters. Situated between the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean, the Indonesian seas are home to some big
time marine species like manna rays, dolphins, dogongs, which are
like sea cows but also boast nearly six hundred species
of coral.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
You know, I've got to be honest with you. I
had no idea there were six hundred species of coral.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That was the whole point of this episode, Mango, was
for you to learn that fact, and so now we
are done. Well, some of them would be pretty tough
to pick out in a line up, but it's a
stunning level of biodiversity. Nonetheless, Indonesia's reef system spans just
under twenty thousand square miles and represents about eighteen percent
of the world's reefs.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Wow, so I'm guessing you should definitely book a boat
tour when you're there.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
And maybe even a diving expedition to get the full effect.
But you know, for any listeners prone to see sickness,
keep in mind that you don't have to look underwater
to enjoy Indonesia's abundance of wildlife. You can just as
easily look up. And that's because the nation's islands boast
a full two percent of all the world's bird species,
more than two hundred.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
In total, So biodiversity on land, in the sea, in
the air. Honestly, I do want to go there now,
but I also feel like we should be including a
part time genius coupon code for anyone who books their
travel with the words pega.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's exactly right. Well, as you pointed out, Indonesia is
definitely a biodiversity triple threat. In fact, Indonesia actually claims
the second highest level of biodiversity in the world world,
just after Brazil, which is why the region it occupies
is sometimes called the Amazon of the Seas. But what's
really incredible is that Indonesia still has the potential to
knock Brazil out of the top spot because many of
(13:13):
its more remote islands have never been fully explored.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That is insane.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
I had no idea. Yeah, In fact, there are still
new species being discovered there, like in twenty twenty, a
research team from the National University of Singapore reported on
a treasure trove of new bird species they found while
exploring an isolated trio of islands called the Wallashian Island Chain,
and their discovery was especially notable because while there are
more than ten thousand new animal species found there on
(13:38):
average each year, very few of them are birds.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
You know, I always love every year when you see
that like catalog of new animals and it's like a
new animal just drawt It's so fun. But I'm curious,
why is it that birds aren't part of this well
it's largely because.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Birds are one of the most highly studied animal groups
on the planet and we have a pretty good idea
of which one are still out there. And as a result,
less than two hundred new bird species have been identified
over the past thirty years. And that's why it's such
a big deal. When the team discovered a whopping ten
new species of songbirds in Indonesia, it was the first
time in more than one hundred years that so many
(14:15):
new bird species were identified at the same time in
one small area. And with that discovery comes the hope
that other remote regions could also be hiding untapped pockets
of biological diversity. The trick is defined and protect them
before climate change and other human related activities prevent us
from studying them.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Well, I definitely want to talk a little bit more
about birds and about the Harry Potter effect. But before
we do that, let's take a quick break.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're making our
way through through Indonesia. Fascinating place and Mango, did you
say something about Harry Potter before the break? It was
quite a tease there.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I did. And this has to do with birds and
bad human behavior. So According to a twenty seventeen study,
the popularity of the Harry Potter series led to a
significant rise in black market owl trading. Not something I
was expecting. Apparently, the wild caught birds had always been
sold there as pets, just in really small numbers. It's
(15:27):
less than point oh six percent of the birds sold
in market before two thousand and two. But then the
Harry Potter books come out and the movies are released
in Indonesia, and by two thousand and eight the number
has shot up to zero point four to three percent
of the market.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I mean, I will acknowledge that that is a pretty
steep uptick, but do we really know that Harry Potter's
to blame? Like there could be other factors at play here, right, Yeah?
I mean outcast has.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Owls as well, so maybe that was the reason.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That's it, But that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
As the researchers noted in their study quote, in the past,
owls were collectively known as burung han to or ghost birds,
but in the bird markets now they are commonly referred
to as brewing Harry Potter or Harry Potter birds.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
I mean that I feel like I take back what
I said earlier. I feel like, that's pretty good evidence.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, and since Indonesia doesn't really keep crack of its
dative owl population, it is tough to say to what
extent the owl craze is affecting the wild owl population.
The studies authors have encouraged the Indonesian government to make
owls of protected species to help cut down on this
legal trade. But you know, at the time of this recording,
it's the line happened yet.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yeah, well, I'll do my part. I will scratch off
owls from my souvenir shopping list there and thankfully though
Indonesia has no shortage of unique legal mementos to remember
your trip by.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
So what do you think about it? Because when I
looked online, it seemed like most people were either giving
like decorative mini surfboards or wooden fallacies, neither of which
I really want to take home in a suitcase.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, both of those are very popular choices and tourist
spots like Bali, but neither is what you'll call culturally authentic,
I guess. And another famous but TACKI offering is the
so called civet cat poop coffee or kobe luoc. I'm
probably not pronouncing that correct. In fact, I'm guaranteed I'm
not pronouncing that correctly, But this is basically overpriced coffee
(17:14):
beans that have passed through the digestive tract of wild
civet cats. Now, supposedly the beans produce a smooth or
less acidic coffee with notes of caramel and chocolate. I
guess they've been eating caramel and chocolate, and that's because
they've been fermented naturally in the animal's stomach. But unless
you're a die hard coffee lover, you probably won't be
able to taste the difference. Plus, you know, the coffee
(17:36):
cherries have been pooped out by an animal, which some
people would consider disgusting.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You know some people, well, I actually remember talking about
that while ago in our coffee episode. So we're not
doing coffee, we're not doing many surfboards. What is left
to buy?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Well, there are a few strong contenders, depending on which
islands you visit. For example, on some of the smaller islands,
you'll find traditional villages renowned for wooden carvings, handcraft is
silver jewelry, and fresh made chocolate sourced from local cacao beans.
But no matter which part of Indonesia you visit, you'll
have the chance to buy one of the nation's most
iconic and culturally meaningful products, which is the hand dyed
(18:12):
fabric known as batique, found in everyday clothing as well
as in consumer goods running the gamut from pillowcases do
iPad covers. The traditional fabric is an indelible symbol of
Indonesian identity, and.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
This is something that's exclusively found.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On the islands. Not exactly. You can definitely find in
other countries like China and Egypt. But the dying techniques
that's used to make it was first developed in Indonesia,
and the process has been passed down within families from
one generation to the next, and different parts of the
country have their own characteristic designs and colors. For example,
in Central Java, most batique garments are shades of brown
(18:51):
and cream, while coastal communities tend to prefer brighter shades.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
So while you were talking, while you're just yapping over
there at some pictures and these are intricate, I mean,
they are elaborate, and they're really beautiful, but none of
this is being stitched on right, like you said, these
patterns are dyed by hand.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, and the process is every bit is painstaking as
it sounds. So the way it works is that crafts
people draw the designs onto cotton and silk using dots
and lines of hot wax, which they apply with a
special tool basically a small copper container with a pipe
spout at the end of it. Now, once the wax cools,
the cloth is soaked in one color of dye, and
then the wax is removed with boiling water.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Oh that's cool. So the wax kind of access a
barrier to the diet. That's a really awesome process.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yeah, but as you probably noted, most batigue garments use
multiple overlapping colors, and to achieve that, the artisan has
to repeat the wax and dye process over and over,
using different color dyes and different parts of the garment.
So it takes a lot of time and planning to
pull off this complicated pattern, making each finished product a
distinct work of art.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
That is amazing. But even though all that work goes
into making but clothing. You said that people wear this
in everyday lives. It's not just for like special occasions.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
It kind of depends. It's not uncommon to wear less
ornate batique fabrics to work or school, but other varieties
are reserved for marriage, celebrations and performance are like puppet theater,
you know, different things like that. But there are also
lots of cultural rituals involving batique. For instance, during the
seventh month of pregnancy, it's customary for the mother to
(20:25):
try on seven batique garments, each with motifs that represent
different blessings for the child. Then once the child is born,
they usually carry these batique slings that are also decorated
with good luck symbols. But that's really just the tip
of the iceberg. There's another ritual in which royal batique
garments are cast into a volcano to prevent eruptions.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
And then Indonesian funerals, the dead are shrouded in batique
cloth for their journey into the afterlife. I really like that.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So they're using batique and everything from like the cradle
to the grave.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
That's exactly right. And Indonesian bautique plays such a crucial
role in religion and culture and day to day lives
of Indonesian It was actually added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity list. This was back in two thousand
and nine.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
That is an amazing list title.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's an impressive list, but the hope is that by
raising international awareness of the art form, the batique tradition
will reach a wider audience and encourage younger generations to
take up the practice.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Well, since you brought up this UNESCO list, there's another
Indonesian contribution that we should talk about. It is a
medicinal drink. It's called Jamu, and just like batigue, no
trip to Indonesia would be complete without giving it a try.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I mean, I knew UNESCO was interested in architecture and
nature and art forms, but I didn't know that beverages
would actually be part of the mix.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, they aren't in most cases, but UNESCO does protect
ancient wellness traditions things like yoga, massage or even acupuncture,
And because Jamu has this long history as a medical elixir,
it ends up getting a spot on the list. But basically,
Jamu is thought to date back to at least the
eighth century CE, and while the herbal ingredients vary depending
(22:03):
on customers age, lifestyle, and health conditions, they typically include
things like ginger, lime, turmeric, and tamarind.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Which doesn't sound half bad.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Actually, yeah, I feel like when you go to these
juice places, it's the stuff in elixirs that you got there.
But you don't actually have to ask your doctor about jammu.
It's readily available at cafes and markets all throughout Indonesia,
and the recipes vary by region. But for the best results,
you actually want to find a trained jamu maker who
can tailor the beverage to fit your needs.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
So anyone can make jamu, but only professionals know how
to make it well.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, the proper techniques have been handed down through generations,
and while some practitioners learn the craft independently, others actually
train under veteran jamu makers or they can even study
at universities. And there's definitely a communal aspect to the drink.
Some people only blend jamu for their friends and relatives,
like as a home remedy, and it's a sign of
(22:58):
a strong social bond and someone prepares it for you,
and even on the commercial side, but there's this level
of intimacy between the seller and the customer because you
have to divulge personal details for someone to make it
for you properly and then trust that they'll respect your privacy.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
That's wild. I love how it's got the same communal
vibes of making chicken soup for a sick neighbor, you know,
assuming you could fine tune the soup to match their
age and lifestyle. I don't know if that makes me
more or less inclined to try it, but I guess
i'll decide when I get there.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, you might need it. I mean, nothing cools you
down like an iced cold cup of Jammu. But before
you go looking for one of those, why don't we
do a quick fact off. Some listeners may have noticed
that we never mentioned the exact number of islands in Indonesia,
and there's a very good reason for that. Nobody knows it.
The nation has a multitude of extremely small land masses
(23:48):
in its territory, many of which don't even have names,
and over the years, the government has submitted varying estimates
of the total number, ranging anywhere from thirteen thousand to
twenty five thousand islands. The most recent guests based on
satellite surveys, is that Indonesia consists of seventeen thousand, five
hundred eight islands, but according to the UN, which only
(24:09):
recognizes the named islands, the official number stands at sixteen thousand,
fifty six. Of course, if all of that wasn't confusing enough,
recent reports show that a handful of uninhabited islands in
Indonesia have now been completely submerged due to rising sea
levels and coastal erosions. So the true number might be
closer to seventeen thousand, five hundred four, or maybe even lower,
(24:29):
depending on when.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
You hear this. It does feel like at this point,
even using something like AI, just like taking a survey
of the space, taking a satellite picture of the space,
that we could know this number, but it just tells
you just how many islands.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, it is incredible, all right.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
So we talked a lot about the natural beauty of Indonesia,
but it's worth keeping in mind that some of that
beauty can be very dangerous or even deadly. And that's
because the Indonesian islands happened to stretch across the Pacific Oceans,
so called Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic rupt
occur almost daily. According to nat GEO, the Ring of
Fire is home to seventy five percent of the world's
(25:06):
volcanoes and ninety percent of earthquakes, and Indonesia contains more
active volcanoes than any other country on Earth at around
one hundred and thirty. The most threatening of the bunch
is probably Mount Tambora. In eighteen fifteen, the mountain exploded
in the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, claiming the
lies of at least ten thousand islanders. Now, the good
(25:28):
news is that most eruptions are far less catastrophic, and
visitors can easily monitor the region's volcanic activity by using
an app called Volcano Discovery. It provides up to the
moment details and alerts for almost two hundred Indonesia volcanoes.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Well, speaking of dangerous things in Indonesia, another risky thing
you might want to avoid is their version of the
Sasquatch of a short man known as rong Pendec. He
apparently runs through the woods cause all sorts of chaos,
but stories claim that the creature has feet that face backwards,
so it can't be tracked through the forests.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
All right, Well, here's a weird one that you probably
haven't heard before. Indonesia is one of the world's largest
exporters of frogs legs, with the majority being caught in
their natural habitat on the island of Java. But over
time there's been a massive uptick in the number of
frog legs exported to foreign countries, rising from around twenty
eight tons in nineteen sixty nine to around fifty six
(26:27):
hundred tons in nineteen ninety two. Can you imagine fifty
six hundred tons of just frog legs. That's got to
be a lot of frog legs. Apparently the end of
frogs left so many frogs without their legs, and apparently
the increased them from a nineteen eighty five ban on
exports from India and Pakistan, which had formerly been the
chief exporter of edible frogs. Now this wasn't just a
(26:48):
culinary fat either. In the last decade, Europe alone has
imported forty six hundred tons of frog's legs from Indonesia
each year, with France, Belgium and the Netherlands being their
biggest customers.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That is just insane. I mean, I've been to India
so many times and I've never been offered frog's legs.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I didn't know that it was missing out, even.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Something that they exported. It also reminds me of the
beginning of the Muppet movie but where Kermit just avoid
is getting caught by Doc Coffer.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
That's pretty great. For most of our listeners who don't
know this, probably once a day Mango will say, you know,
that reminds me of the Muffett movie.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, we talked earlier about the ongoing discovery of new
animal species in Indonesia, but back in twenty seventeen, the
Ancient Isles were also the site of an exciting new
archaeological discovery. And this is on the Indonesian island it's
called Sula Wasi, and a research team there found a
cave painting that's now thought to be the earliest known
example of visual storytelling. Wow. Yeah. The image was painted
(27:46):
with a red pigment on the walls of a limestone cave,
and it depicts a pig alongside three human like figures.
Two of the figures seemed to be confronting the pig
with sticklike objects, while the third person is shown upside
down with its legs spread apart and is reaching towards
the pig's head. So it isn't entirely clear what's going on,
but it's clearly trying to tell some kind of story anyway.
(28:08):
So researchers at Griffith University in Australia used a new
dating technique to determine the age of the rock art,
and they revealed that it was painted approximately fifty one thousand,
two hundred years ago.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Wow, that actually makes it the.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Oldest example of human storytelling on record, beating the previous
bit of evidence by more than three thousand years.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
That is wise.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Is that incredible? All right?
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Well, here's a nice feel good fact I've found about
Indonesia's first all women firefighting squad. It's called the Power
of Mama, and for the past three years, the volunteer
members have been tirelessly working to extinguish wildfires and protect
the peat lands and the Indonesian part of Borneo. In
recent years, many of the region's peat swamps have been
drained to make way for oil palm cultivation. Now, unfortunately,
(28:54):
this makes the peat lands much more susceptible to wildfires,
which of course pose a serious threat not only the
local humans, but to wildlife and the ecosystem as a whole.
And that's where the Power of Mama comes in now.
The group was established in twenty twenty two with forty
four women volunteers, but it's since grown to just under
one hundred members. From six local villages ages ranging from
(29:17):
nineteen to sixty. Now, during the dry season, when the
fire risk is at its worst, the mamus patrol the
rainforest of Borneo to scout potential blazes. They generally conduct
their search on motorbikes, or if a fire is bought
it and a tough to reach area, they'll use wooden
canoes and once they reach the fire, they'll assess its
scope with an aerial drone and then jump into action
(29:38):
with water pumps and hoses to douse the flames before
they can spread. And at first, men in the village
mocked the idea of women firefighters, but after the mam
has helped save their farms from an encroaching blaze, they
quickly change their tune and now invite the women to
meetings to coordinate fire defense strategies. As the group's founder
put it, quote, for a long time women were overlooked,
(30:00):
but now everyone realizes that they play an important role
in society.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I love this idea of a group of mamas saving
the environment over there, and as much as I love
my short sasquash fact, I think I'm gonna have to
give it to you this week.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Well, I couldn't have done it without the power of Mama,
So Mama's this one's for you.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Well that's it for today's Part Time Genius From Gabe, Mary, Dylan,
Will and myself. Thank you so much for listening. We
know that there are so many podcasts out there and
we appreciate your spending time with us. If you enjoyed
this episode, then come check us out on Instagram. Our
handle is at part Time Genius, or rate and review
the show on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to tune
in for another brand new episode next week. Part Time
(30:53):
Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show
is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongais articular and
research by our goodpal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was
engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with support.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
From Tyler Klang.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The show is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell
and Ali Perry, with social media support from Sasha Gay,
trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from
Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
You're listening to part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope
and iHeartRadio. Guess what Will?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What's that Mango?
Speaker 1 (00:13):
So we all know the holiday season is a busy
time for postal workers, and that is the case in
just about every country that celebrates the big winter holidays.
But there is one place where the seasonal uptick in
mail volume hits parcel carriers harder than anywhere in the world,
and that is in Indonesia.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Oh that's super interesting, And I actually didn't know how
many people would be celebrating Christmas there, Like, isn't it
a predominantly Muslim nation.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Yeah, Indonesia actually has the largest population of Muslims in
the entire world, with about ninety percent of its citizens
practicing the faith. But Christmas is still widely celebrated there
as kind of a secular holiday, and gift giving is
a big part of the festivities. And the difference is
that most countries don't have to worry about the logistical
nightmare of delivering gifts to thousands of far flung islands.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Indonesian mailmen are basically in the same league as Sanna,
that's what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Yeah, Well, they don't make their deliveries in a single night.
But they definitely have their work cut out for them,
and that's because Indonesia is composed of roughly eighteen thousand islands.
I had no idea, but when taken together, they actually
spanned a distance about thirty two hundred miles, so basically
New York to Alaska. And with that much area to cover,
something is seemingly simple, as delivering the mail becomes this
(01:26):
huge problem.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
But wait, no way, all of those islands have mail service,
do they.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
No, Some of the islands are pretty tiny and only
about a third of them are inhabited, but delivering mail
to two hundred and seventy million people spread across six
thousand islands is pretty nutty, seriously, And that's especially true
in recent years since the country's online shopping market has
grown exponentially since the COVID nineteen pandemic. So, for example,
in twenty twenty three, Indonesiaans spent more than fifty three
(01:54):
billion dollars online, which is almost as much as every
other Southeast Asian country put together. And just for reference,
the country's e commerce market in the pre COVID years
was only about eight billion.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Dollars per year. God, that's a huge increase. And so
what does that do to the country's infrastructure.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I mean, it's really taking a toll on it. So
most of Indonesia's roads and bridges, they weren't designed for
this sort of heavy traffic, and a lot of the
more rural parts of the country aren't even accessible by truck,
which has actually forced cargo companies to get creative to
make deliveries. You've got everything from motorcycles to berry boats
to even the occasional ox cart. It's pretty amazing, but
(02:31):
it takes a massive fleet of drivers and warehouse workers
to coordinate all of this, and a certain number of
animals as well. Yeah, every island presents its own challenges there,
from getting stuck in traffic and the narrow side streets
of Jakarta to getting stuck in the mud and the
rice paddies of rural Sumatra, and the variety of terrain
and differing degrees of development across the many islands. That
(02:52):
all presents the significant challenge. Yeah, of course, so much
so that in the more isolated parts of the country,
a worker might deliver as I use, twenty packages over
the course of a twelve hour shift.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
I mean, it sounds so frustrating, but I guess those
kinds of setbacks are part for the course. When you
live in a sprawling island nation, you know there's really
not much you can do about that.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And that is true, But the growing pains of e
commerce are just one small part of life in the islands,
and most people agree that the sheer variety of natural
landscapes and wildlife and cultural sites that Indonesia has to
offer all of that more than makes up for the
occasional late delivery. The biggest problem for a tourist perspective
is deciding which of the country's many islands to visit
(03:32):
and which experiences to try once you get there. But
hopefully today's episode will help narrow it down for anyone
trying to make the trip for themselves.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
That's right, but since we have seventeen thousand plus islands
to cover, I think we better dig in. Hey, their
(04:06):
podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson
and is always I'm joined by my good friend mangesh
hot Ticketter and on the other side of the soundproof
glass reading a well worn copy of Eat, Pray Love.
That's our friend and producer Dylan Fagan. He's a little
late to the party on this one. Didn't go as
all out as he does sometimes. But you know what,
you can't do something huge every single time, even for
(04:28):
somebody as amazing as Dylan. But since the love part
of the book takes place in Bali, Indonesia, he's right
on time for today's show.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but he
does have empty containers from a dozen different pasta dishes
in the corner, and she just blasting Madonna's like a
prayer a few minutes ago.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So I think he's gast his.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Way through the Eaton Pray Apart just to get to
the love. But okay, once again Dylan is hitting a
bull's eye. But believe it or not, the book and
movie Eat Pray Love was actually a lot of people's
first touch point with Indonesia. Yeah, and before the book
came out in two thousand and six, the number of
international tourists who visited Bali each year hovered around one
point three million, but within a few years the number doubled,
(05:10):
and then there was an even bigger surge after the
movie was released in twenty ten. You can even rent
out the villa where Julia Roberts stayed on Airbnb, which
is amazing and we should probably do a couple of years.
The momentum from the movie is still in effect. Over
a decade later, more than five million foreign visitors now
(05:30):
take a trip to Bali each year, making it not
only the most visited island in Indonesia, but one of
the most popular destinations in the world.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
It is funny that Bali is the only part of
the country that most people experience because from what I've
read this week, it's kind of an outlier in terms
of culture. For example, you mentioned that the vast majority
of Indonesians are Muslim, but in Bali most residents are
actually Hindu. And what's interesting though, is that the Balinese
people have developed the distinct take on the religion, blending
(05:58):
kind of the traditions of Indian and Duism and aspects
of Buddhism and local animistic beliefs. So, in addition to
worshiping the three main gods of Hinduism Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu,
Balanese Hindus revere a series of ancestral gods or dewa
who are specific to the island. It's pretty interesting.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
That's fascinating. And I know some of these religions, like Hinduism,
tend to be sort of easy to morph into other things.
You find people all over southern India with like Jesus
on their altar along with other gods and stuff. But
tell me about these Deaywi I think you're calling them.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Yeah, well, rice cultivation is essential to life on Bali,
so to help ensure a bountiful harvest, people make offerings
in prayers to de Wa three and that's the goddess
of rice and fertility. I like that.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
So they use Hinduism as kind of a framework, but
then they layered on their own traditions and beliefs.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
That's exactly right. And one good example of that give
and take is the teeth filing ritual that many Blanese
undergo during adolescence. So much like traditional Hinduism, the Balanese
believe that there are six vices that humans need to
guard themselves against. These are desire, anger, reed, delusion, pride,
and envy. But in a break from Indian Hinduism, the
(07:08):
Bolanese believe that these evil traits enter the body through
the top six teeth and manifest themselves as sharp edges.
So with that in mind, Balanese teenagers undergo a symbolic
procedure in which the points of six upper teeth, two canines,
and four incisors they're filed down as a way to
curb the evil forces within them.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
That's really interesting, But it sounds like not all of
Bali's religious traditions are tied to Hinduism.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
Right, That's exactly right, And some of them are completely homegrown.
For example, there's this one ancient practice you'll find in
Bolanese villages where they don't let a baby's feet touch
the ground for the first three months after birth. And
the custom is rooted in the belief that newborns are
still close to the spiritual realm and therefore have to
be treated as sacred visitors from a higher plane. Not
a bad.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Practice, I love that. And so that means they just
can't touch the floor, right.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Well, the floors are dirty, mango, so it's disrespectful to
let a holy visitor all around on one but it
was especially if they were at my house. You know,
that'd be a dirty floor. But more than that, the
Balanies don't consider a baby's sold to be fully tied
to its body, so to encourage the soul to stick around.
The parents make sure to treat the baby well and
keep it clean.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
That is so like culturally beautiful. That's a part of
why we can an anthplasis, right, like, like I love
that stuff, but it also seems so hard, Like how
do they keep the baby off the floor for three months?
Do they just constantly pass it around between the family.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
That's pretty much what happens. The baby can be placed
on a bed while at home, but otherwise they have
to be carried by whoever has the hands free. It's
like a continuous game of infant hot Potato, I guess.
And it lasts for the first one hundred and five
days or two hundred and ten in some communities.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
Wow, So what happens after that?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
There's a special ceremony where a pre sprinkles the baby's
feet with holy water and then places them on the
ground for the first time. It'd be pretty neat to
watch this. And there's also this moment where the infant
is finally given a proper name and it's only then
that they're considered a full earthly human.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That is really wonderful, But you know, I do not
envy those parents as if dealing with an infant isn't
hard en huh.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
But think about their biceps in mango. I mean, they've
got to be so strong six months of carrying an
infant around. That's got to be a good workout.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Yeah, a terrible one. But one of the other things
I'm fascinated with about Indonesia, and this is there are
only a few things I remember learning about Indonesia from college.
One was that it's actually where the word third world
comes from. And it's not because it's beneath other countries.
It's that there are a whole group of countries that
came together and decided they didn't want to align with
the US or with the USSR. Yeah, and so they
(09:38):
formed a third world. And that's actually but it comes.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
From more interesting I did not know that origin.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
The other thing I remember is that there is a
lot of linguistic diversity in the country. And the official
tongue is Bahasa Indonesia, which is a modified version of Malay,
and pretty much everyone in the country can speak it.
But throughout the islands you'll also encounter a multitude of
local languages and dialects. In fact, there are more than
seven hundred languages spoken in Indonesia, which constitutes roughly ten
(10:07):
percent of all the languages in the world.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Isn't that what I say?
Speaker 1 (10:11):
And that rich linguistic diversity, isn't you a reflection of
the dozens of different ethnic groups that call various islands home.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That's pretty amazing. It also sounds like it's like a
total nightmare for tourists who are trying to communicate with people.
I mean, asking for directions in one foreign language can
be challenging enough for tourists.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, I mean, but ninety percent of the population actually
speaks Bahasa Indonesia. It's also a fairly easy language to learn,
and of course in the really touristy areas. Plus, these
people also speak English. So if you teach yourself some
basic phrases before your trip, I think you'll get by
just fine.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Yeah, And I was going to say, I mean, most
American travelers wherever they're going. I don't know why we're
pretending like it's difficult for them to ask directions because
they're just if they don't know it, they'll just say
it louder in English. Right, But you know, language and
religion aren't the only areas where Indonesia's diversity really shines.
So the island nation is also home to thousands of
different species of plants and wildlife, including, and this is
(11:04):
super cool, the world's largest lizard, the ten foot long
Komodo dragon, and the world's largest and most pungent flower,
the fifteen pound raft Lesia, or the corpse flower as
it's known.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, the size of the floora in fauna there really
struck out to me as well. You might assume that
everything in an island ecosystem would be pretty shrimpy, but
they've also got the Sumatran tiger, They've got Javin rhinoceros, like,
they're kind of grown big in Indonesia.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It's the Texas of that region, I guess, but I
should mention it's not just the islands themselves that sport
such hefty critters. Situated between the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean, the Indonesian seas are home to some big
time marine species like manna rays, dolphins, dogongs, which are
like sea cows but also boast nearly six hundred species
of coral.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
You know, I've got to be honest with you. I
had no idea there were six hundred species of coral.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
That was the whole point of this episode, Mango, was
for you to learn that fact, and so now we
are done. Well, some of them would be pretty tough
to pick out in a line up, but it's a
stunning level of biodiversity. Nonetheless, Indonesia's reef system spans just
under twenty thousand square miles and represents about eighteen percent
of the world's reefs.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Wow, so I'm guessing you should definitely book a boat
tour when you're there.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
And maybe even a diving expedition to get the full effect.
But you know, for any listeners prone to see sickness,
keep in mind that you don't have to look underwater
to enjoy Indonesia's abundance of wildlife. You can just as
easily look up. And that's because the nation's islands boast
a full two percent of all the world's bird species,
more than two hundred.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
In total, So biodiversity on land, in the sea, in
the air. Honestly, I do want to go there now,
but I also feel like we should be including a
part time genius coupon code for anyone who books their
travel with the words pega.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That's exactly right. Well, as you pointed out, Indonesia is
definitely a biodiversity triple threat. In fact, Indonesia actually claims
the second highest level of biodiversity in the world world,
just after Brazil, which is why the region it occupies
is sometimes called the Amazon of the Seas. But what's
really incredible is that Indonesia still has the potential to
knock Brazil out of the top spot because many of
(13:13):
its more remote islands have never been fully explored.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
That is insane.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
I had no idea. Yeah, In fact, there are still
new species being discovered there, like in twenty twenty, a
research team from the National University of Singapore reported on
a treasure trove of new bird species they found while
exploring an isolated trio of islands called the Wallashian Island Chain,
and their discovery was especially notable because while there are
more than ten thousand new animal species found there on
(13:38):
average each year, very few of them are birds.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
You know, I always love every year when you see
that like catalog of new animals and it's like a
new animal just drawt It's so fun. But I'm curious,
why is it that birds aren't part of this well
it's largely because.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Birds are one of the most highly studied animal groups
on the planet and we have a pretty good idea
of which one are still out there. And as a result,
less than two hundred new bird species have been identified
over the past thirty years. And that's why it's such
a big deal. When the team discovered a whopping ten
new species of songbirds in Indonesia, it was the first
time in more than one hundred years that so many
(14:15):
new bird species were identified at the same time in
one small area. And with that discovery comes the hope
that other remote regions could also be hiding untapped pockets
of biological diversity. The trick is defined and protect them
before climate change and other human related activities prevent us
from studying them.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Well, I definitely want to talk a little bit more
about birds and about the Harry Potter effect. But before
we do that, let's take a quick break.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Welcome back to Part Time Genius, where we're making our
way through through Indonesia. Fascinating place and Mango, did you
say something about Harry Potter before the break? It was
quite a tease there.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
I did. And this has to do with birds and
bad human behavior. So According to a twenty seventeen study,
the popularity of the Harry Potter series led to a
significant rise in black market owl trading. Not something I
was expecting. Apparently, the wild caught birds had always been
sold there as pets, just in really small numbers. It's
(15:27):
less than point oh six percent of the birds sold
in market before two thousand and two. But then the
Harry Potter books come out and the movies are released
in Indonesia, and by two thousand and eight the number
has shot up to zero point four to three percent
of the market.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I mean, I will acknowledge that that is a pretty
steep uptick, but do we really know that Harry Potter's
to blame? Like there could be other factors at play here, right, Yeah?
I mean outcast has.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Owls as well, so maybe that was the reason.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
That's it, But that's it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
As the researchers noted in their study quote, in the past,
owls were collectively known as burung han to or ghost birds,
but in the bird markets now they are commonly referred
to as brewing Harry Potter or Harry Potter birds.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
I mean that I feel like I take back what
I said earlier. I feel like, that's pretty good evidence.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, and since Indonesia doesn't really keep crack of its
dative owl population, it is tough to say to what
extent the owl craze is affecting the wild owl population.
The studies authors have encouraged the Indonesian government to make
owls of protected species to help cut down on this
legal trade. But you know, at the time of this recording,
it's the line happened yet.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Yeah, well, I'll do my part. I will scratch off
owls from my souvenir shopping list there and thankfully though
Indonesia has no shortage of unique legal mementos to remember
your trip by.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
So what do you think about it? Because when I
looked online, it seemed like most people were either giving
like decorative mini surfboards or wooden fallacies, neither of which
I really want to take home in a suitcase.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Yeah, both of those are very popular choices and tourist
spots like Bali, but neither is what you'll call culturally authentic,
I guess. And another famous but TACKI offering is the
so called civet cat poop coffee or kobe luoc. I'm
probably not pronouncing that correct. In fact, I'm guaranteed I'm
not pronouncing that correctly, But this is basically overpriced coffee
(17:14):
beans that have passed through the digestive tract of wild
civet cats. Now, supposedly the beans produce a smooth or
less acidic coffee with notes of caramel and chocolate. I
guess they've been eating caramel and chocolate, and that's because
they've been fermented naturally in the animal's stomach. But unless
you're a die hard coffee lover, you probably won't be
able to taste the difference. Plus, you know, the coffee
(17:36):
cherries have been pooped out by an animal, which some
people would consider disgusting.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
You know some people, well, I actually remember talking about
that while ago in our coffee episode. So we're not
doing coffee, we're not doing many surfboards. What is left
to buy?
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Well, there are a few strong contenders, depending on which
islands you visit. For example, on some of the smaller islands,
you'll find traditional villages renowned for wooden carvings, handcraft is
silver jewelry, and fresh made chocolate sourced from local cacao beans.
But no matter which part of Indonesia you visit, you'll
have the chance to buy one of the nation's most
iconic and culturally meaningful products, which is the hand dyed
(18:12):
fabric known as batique, found in everyday clothing as well
as in consumer goods running the gamut from pillowcases do
iPad covers. The traditional fabric is an indelible symbol of
Indonesian identity, and.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
This is something that's exclusively found.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On the islands. Not exactly. You can definitely find in
other countries like China and Egypt. But the dying techniques
that's used to make it was first developed in Indonesia,
and the process has been passed down within families from
one generation to the next, and different parts of the
country have their own characteristic designs and colors. For example,
in Central Java, most batique garments are shades of brown
(18:51):
and cream, while coastal communities tend to prefer brighter shades.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
So while you were talking, while you're just yapping over
there at some pictures and these are intricate, I mean,
they are elaborate, and they're really beautiful, but none of
this is being stitched on right, like you said, these
patterns are dyed by hand.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Yeah, and the process is every bit is painstaking as
it sounds. So the way it works is that crafts
people draw the designs onto cotton and silk using dots
and lines of hot wax, which they apply with a
special tool basically a small copper container with a pipe
spout at the end of it. Now, once the wax cools,
the cloth is soaked in one color of dye, and
then the wax is removed with boiling water.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Oh that's cool. So the wax kind of access a
barrier to the diet. That's a really awesome process.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yeah, but as you probably noted, most batigue garments use
multiple overlapping colors, and to achieve that, the artisan has
to repeat the wax and dye process over and over,
using different color dyes and different parts of the garment.
So it takes a lot of time and planning to
pull off this complicated pattern, making each finished product a
distinct work of art.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
That is amazing. But even though all that work goes
into making but clothing. You said that people wear this
in everyday lives. It's not just for like special occasions.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
It kind of depends. It's not uncommon to wear less
ornate batique fabrics to work or school, but other varieties
are reserved for marriage, celebrations and performance are like puppet theater,
you know, different things like that. But there are also
lots of cultural rituals involving batique. For instance, during the
seventh month of pregnancy, it's customary for the mother to
(20:25):
try on seven batique garments, each with motifs that represent
different blessings for the child. Then once the child is born,
they usually carry these batique slings that are also decorated
with good luck symbols. But that's really just the tip
of the iceberg. There's another ritual in which royal batique
garments are cast into a volcano to prevent eruptions.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
Huh.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
And then Indonesian funerals, the dead are shrouded in batique
cloth for their journey into the afterlife. I really like that.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So they're using batique and everything from like the cradle
to the grave.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
That's exactly right. And Indonesian bautique plays such a crucial
role in religion and culture and day to day lives
of Indonesian It was actually added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural
Heritage of Humanity list. This was back in two thousand
and nine.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
That is an amazing list title.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's an impressive list, but the hope is that by
raising international awareness of the art form, the batique tradition
will reach a wider audience and encourage younger generations to
take up the practice.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Well, since you brought up this UNESCO list, there's another
Indonesian contribution that we should talk about. It is a
medicinal drink. It's called Jamu, and just like batigue, no
trip to Indonesia would be complete without giving it a try.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I mean, I knew UNESCO was interested in architecture and
nature and art forms, but I didn't know that beverages
would actually be part of the mix.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, they aren't in most cases, but UNESCO does protect
ancient wellness traditions things like yoga, massage or even acupuncture,
And because Jamu has this long history as a medical elixir,
it ends up getting a spot on the list. But basically,
Jamu is thought to date back to at least the
eighth century CE, and while the herbal ingredients vary depending
(22:03):
on customers age, lifestyle, and health conditions, they typically include
things like ginger, lime, turmeric, and tamarind.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Which doesn't sound half bad.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Actually, yeah, I feel like when you go to these
juice places, it's the stuff in elixirs that you got there.
But you don't actually have to ask your doctor about jammu.
It's readily available at cafes and markets all throughout Indonesia,
and the recipes vary by region. But for the best results,
you actually want to find a trained jamu maker who
can tailor the beverage to fit your needs.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
So anyone can make jamu, but only professionals know how
to make it well.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, the proper techniques have been handed down through generations,
and while some practitioners learn the craft independently, others actually
train under veteran jamu makers or they can even study
at universities. And there's definitely a communal aspect to the drink.
Some people only blend jamu for their friends and relatives,
like as a home remedy, and it's a sign of
(22:58):
a strong social bond and someone prepares it for you,
and even on the commercial side, but there's this level
of intimacy between the seller and the customer because you
have to divulge personal details for someone to make it
for you properly and then trust that they'll respect your privacy.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
That's wild. I love how it's got the same communal
vibes of making chicken soup for a sick neighbor, you know,
assuming you could fine tune the soup to match their
age and lifestyle. I don't know if that makes me
more or less inclined to try it, but I guess
i'll decide when I get there.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
Yeah, you might need it. I mean, nothing cools you
down like an iced cold cup of Jammu. But before
you go looking for one of those, why don't we
do a quick fact off. Some listeners may have noticed
that we never mentioned the exact number of islands in Indonesia,
and there's a very good reason for that. Nobody knows it.
The nation has a multitude of extremely small land masses
(23:48):
in its territory, many of which don't even have names,
and over the years, the government has submitted varying estimates
of the total number, ranging anywhere from thirteen thousand to
twenty five thousand islands. The most recent guests based on
satellite surveys, is that Indonesia consists of seventeen thousand, five
hundred eight islands, but according to the UN, which only
(24:09):
recognizes the named islands, the official number stands at sixteen thousand,
fifty six. Of course, if all of that wasn't confusing enough,
recent reports show that a handful of uninhabited islands in
Indonesia have now been completely submerged due to rising sea
levels and coastal erosions. So the true number might be
closer to seventeen thousand, five hundred four, or maybe even lower,
(24:29):
depending on when.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
You hear this. It does feel like at this point,
even using something like AI, just like taking a survey
of the space, taking a satellite picture of the space,
that we could know this number, but it just tells
you just how many islands.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, it is incredible, all right.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
So we talked a lot about the natural beauty of Indonesia,
but it's worth keeping in mind that some of that
beauty can be very dangerous or even deadly. And that's
because the Indonesian islands happened to stretch across the Pacific Oceans,
so called Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic rupt
occur almost daily. According to nat GEO, the Ring of
Fire is home to seventy five percent of the world's
(25:06):
volcanoes and ninety percent of earthquakes, and Indonesia contains more
active volcanoes than any other country on Earth at around
one hundred and thirty. The most threatening of the bunch
is probably Mount Tambora. In eighteen fifteen, the mountain exploded
in the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, claiming the
lies of at least ten thousand islanders. Now, the good
(25:28):
news is that most eruptions are far less catastrophic, and
visitors can easily monitor the region's volcanic activity by using
an app called Volcano Discovery. It provides up to the
moment details and alerts for almost two hundred Indonesia volcanoes.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Well, speaking of dangerous things in Indonesia, another risky thing
you might want to avoid is their version of the
Sasquatch of a short man known as rong Pendec. He
apparently runs through the woods cause all sorts of chaos,
but stories claim that the creature has feet that face backwards,
so it can't be tracked through the forests.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
All right, Well, here's a weird one that you probably
haven't heard before. Indonesia is one of the world's largest
exporters of frogs legs, with the majority being caught in
their natural habitat on the island of Java. But over
time there's been a massive uptick in the number of
frog legs exported to foreign countries, rising from around twenty
eight tons in nineteen sixty nine to around fifty six
(26:27):
hundred tons in nineteen ninety two. Can you imagine fifty
six hundred tons of just frog legs. That's got to
be a lot of frog legs. Apparently the end of
frogs left so many frogs without their legs, and apparently
the increased them from a nineteen eighty five ban on
exports from India and Pakistan, which had formerly been the
chief exporter of edible frogs. Now this wasn't just a
(26:48):
culinary fat either. In the last decade, Europe alone has
imported forty six hundred tons of frog's legs from Indonesia
each year, with France, Belgium and the Netherlands being their
biggest customers.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
That is just insane. I mean, I've been to India
so many times and I've never been offered frog's legs.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
I didn't know that it was missing out, even.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Something that they exported. It also reminds me of the
beginning of the Muppet movie but where Kermit just avoid
is getting caught by Doc Coffer.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
That's pretty great. For most of our listeners who don't
know this, probably once a day Mango will say, you know,
that reminds me of the Muffett movie.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, we talked earlier about the ongoing discovery of new
animal species in Indonesia, but back in twenty seventeen, the
Ancient Isles were also the site of an exciting new
archaeological discovery. And this is on the Indonesian island it's
called Sula Wasi, and a research team there found a
cave painting that's now thought to be the earliest known
example of visual storytelling. Wow. Yeah. The image was painted
(27:46):
with a red pigment on the walls of a limestone cave,
and it depicts a pig alongside three human like figures.
Two of the figures seemed to be confronting the pig
with sticklike objects, while the third person is shown upside
down with its legs spread apart and is reaching towards
the pig's head. So it isn't entirely clear what's going on,
but it's clearly trying to tell some kind of story anyway.
(28:08):
So researchers at Griffith University in Australia used a new
dating technique to determine the age of the rock art,
and they revealed that it was painted approximately fifty one thousand,
two hundred years ago.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Wow, that actually makes it the.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Oldest example of human storytelling on record, beating the previous
bit of evidence by more than three thousand years.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
That is wise.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Is that incredible? All right?
Speaker 2 (28:30):
Well, here's a nice feel good fact I've found about
Indonesia's first all women firefighting squad. It's called the Power
of Mama, and for the past three years, the volunteer
members have been tirelessly working to extinguish wildfires and protect
the peat lands and the Indonesian part of Borneo. In
recent years, many of the region's peat swamps have been
drained to make way for oil palm cultivation. Now, unfortunately,
(28:54):
this makes the peat lands much more susceptible to wildfires,
which of course pose a serious threat not only the
local humans, but to wildlife and the ecosystem as a whole.
And that's where the Power of Mama comes in now.
The group was established in twenty twenty two with forty
four women volunteers, but it's since grown to just under
one hundred members. From six local villages ages ranging from
(29:17):
nineteen to sixty. Now, during the dry season, when the
fire risk is at its worst, the mamus patrol the
rainforest of Borneo to scout potential blazes. They generally conduct
their search on motorbikes, or if a fire is bought
it and a tough to reach area, they'll use wooden
canoes and once they reach the fire, they'll assess its
scope with an aerial drone and then jump into action
(29:38):
with water pumps and hoses to douse the flames before
they can spread. And at first, men in the village
mocked the idea of women firefighters, but after the mam
has helped save their farms from an encroaching blaze, they
quickly change their tune and now invite the women to
meetings to coordinate fire defense strategies. As the group's founder
put it, quote, for a long time women were overlooked,
(30:00):
but now everyone realizes that they play an important role
in society.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I love this idea of a group of mamas saving
the environment over there, and as much as I love
my short sasquash fact, I think I'm gonna have to
give it to you this week.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Well, I couldn't have done it without the power of Mama,
So Mama's this one's for you.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Well that's it for today's Part Time Genius From Gabe, Mary, Dylan,
Will and myself. Thank you so much for listening. We
know that there are so many podcasts out there and
we appreciate your spending time with us. If you enjoyed
this episode, then come check us out on Instagram. Our
handle is at part Time Genius, or rate and review
the show on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to tune
in for another brand new episode next week. Part Time
(30:53):
Genius is a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show
is hosted by Will Pearson and Me Mongais articular and
research by our goodpal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was
engineered and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with support.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
From Tyler Klang.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
The show is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norvell
and Ali Perry, with social media support from Sasha Gay,
trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from
Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Part-Time Genius News
Hosts And Creators
Will Pearson
Mangesh Hattikudur
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