Writing POC 101

Indonesian Characters - @coterminous

First of all, I noticed that I've never seen an Indonesian character on Wattpad. I think it's great that people are writing more diverse books but the majority of Asian characters that I've seen are East Asian, or Indian, which is great but let's introduce more countries to our books. So if you're thinking of writing an Indonesian character, here are some of the basics you need to know.

RELIGION

Indonesia is a religious country. Though the majority of the people are Muslim, we have about 5 religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam (Muslim), Catholic, and Christian. There's more but those are the main religions. Indonesia is all about unity, so whenever there's a special occasion in a religion (like Christmas, Seclusion Day, Chinese New Year) we all get a day off so the people who celebrate it can meet their friends and families. This shows as a sign of respect.

CULTURES & ETHNIC GROUPS

There are over 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia. 95% of those are of Native Indonesian ancestry. Each ethnic group has their own language. For example, I'm Sundanese. My father speaks both Sundanese and Indonesian, but I cant speak Sundanese myself. We use the Indonesian language as a language of unity.

Ethnic groups also have their own cultures and traditions. Whether it's religious practices, or animism practices passed down from our ancestors way back when they didn't have religions, to food and traditional attires, all ethnic group has it's own unique traditions and beliefs.

Pribumi are considered as natives of the country. We are 100% Indonesian even if we're a hybrid of different ethnic groups. Native Indonesians skin color ranges from yellow to light brown to very dark brown or black skin color. So yes, we do have black people and most of the ethnic groups in Papua are indigenous.

Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country.

FAMILY

Family means a lot to us. And let me tell you we have big families, and we're very close to them. And I mean it. I'm close with my cousins, 3rd cousins, 5th cousins from both sides of the family. I'm really close with my grandma's siblings and their children and grandchildren. It doesn't matter if I forgot your name or which side of the family you're on; if we're somehow related, I've seen you at least once in my lifetime. If you want to make a character whose families have more than one religion, you can! My grandma's youngest sibling remarried with a Christian but neither of them changed their religions. So at Ramadan she'd come visit us at the celebration, and at Christmas we'd bring her family cake. (and yes, even I've met my grandma's brother's wife's family. And they're such lovely people! We Indonesians are very close with our family you see!)

Oh and also, the women loooves to gossip. Even about their relatives. Especially in family gatherings- which can be quite ironic.

P.S. Indonesians don't have surnames. But Batak people do, and if you're Batak, you can't marry someone with the same surname. Unless it's mandatory to have a surname in your family or you're mixed, you probably don't have a surname. You still have three names, but no family name.

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This is definitely not everything or anywhere near the perfect guide to writing Indonesian characters but I did try my best to cover the points.

If you're deciding on making an Indonesian (main) character, please do your research. Do your research on the ethnic group(s) for your character. Because there's so much, our ethnic group(s) really does affect on the food we eat and the traditional attires we wear on special occasions.

I really hope this was helpful for Indonesian basics because this was a lot but I hope to see Indonesian characters in books soon!