Yesterday, 17 August was Indonesian Independence Day — I didn’t get around to mentioning it, I guess because I was pre-occupied with “Cat Nights.”
I’ve mentioned before that I was in Jakarta one year for Independence Day and I usually remember it around this time of year. Indonesian Independence Day is known locally as Hari Merdeka and is observed every August 17 to celebrate the nation’s declaration of independence from Dutch colonization — in 1945.
Indonesia is the largest island nation on Earth, and Java is the world’s most populous island. There are a lot of volcanos in Indonesia, some of them pretty famous — the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 is believed to be the loudest sound ever heard in recorded history. Mount Tambora erupted in 1816 and the eruption was so intense, it altered the climate so much it was incredibly cold throughout the year — 1816 is known as “The Year Without A Summer” and there’s a volcano in Indonesia that erupts blue lava.
Even though two-thirds of the 17,508 islands that make up Indonesia are uninhabited, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country on Earth.
Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. It was built in the 9th century and was constructed using over two million stone blocks.
The national animal is the komodo dragon — the world’s largest lizard. The national mystical animal of Indonesia is the Garuda — it is a golden bird that can be seen on Indonesia’s national emblem. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Indonesian Airlines airplanes…. the airline? Garuda.
Unlike the American Declaration of Independence, which contained over 1,000 words and contained 56 signatures, the Indonesian proclamation, when translated to English, consisted of only 45 words and contained two signatures — Sukarno, the new president, and Mohammad Hatta, the new vice president. It was drafted the night before declaring independence.
Happy Independence Day to Indonesia.
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