Southeast Asia and the Cultural Aspect:

1. Southeast Asia and the Cultural Aspect: A Brief Look at Human Characteristics, Culture and Lifestyles

2. Vocabulary Terms • Urbanization- The shift from rural to urban lifestyles • Primate City- An urban area that serves as a country’s major port, economic center and often its capital; EX: Bangkok, Thailand • Wats- Indian style religious buildings or temples

3. Human Characteristics SE Asia is home to about 520 million people; those including descendants of indigenous peoples, Indians, Chinese and Arabs, as well as European colonists. Imperialist countries such as France and Britain have left influences that have added uniqueness to SE Asia’s cultural mix. Valuable spices grown in this region initially drew outside traders

4. Population • SE Asia is home to about 520 million people • The Indonesian island of Java is one of the most densely populated islands in the world • The regions has shown a 1.6% natural increase compared to the global 1.3%; some countries are working towards slowing down their population growths • Urbanization has grown rapidly- many people moving from the rural areas to the city

5. Early Civilizations and Life • Early peoples of SE Asia were skilled farmers • Also advanced metalworkers- Bronze was first cast in Thailand in 3000 BC; one thousand years before the Chinese • Early SE Asians worshipped their ancestors as well as animals and nature • Power and wealth were passed down through the mother’s family • Funan Empire • Khmer Empire • Srivijaya Empire

6. Regional Conflicts- East Timor Many regions in SE Asia have experienced conflicts East Timor was a former Portuguese colony seized by Indonesia in 1975. Over 20 years, approximately 200,000 Roman Catholic East Timorese have died in combat against Muslim Indonesians When Indonesia’s dictatorship fell in 1999, East Timor broke away, and was helped by the UN until 2002 to help with stability and independence To this day, Westerners and foreigners continue to be the target of many terrorist attacks

7. Culture and Lifestyle Language Religion Buddhism- major religion in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Islam- major religion in Malaysiaand Indonesia Roman Catholic/Christianity- practiced in the Philippines Confucianism- practiced by those mainly of Chinese ancestry • Most of the region’s languages stem from three major language families- Malayo-Polynesian, Sino-Tibetan and Mon-Khmer • Many of the languages are blended as a result of migration and colonization • Spanish, English and French are official languages of some countries

8. Culture and the Arts Civilizations such as early India, China, as well as European and Western colonization have influenced SE Asian arts and literature Wats or temples, color the landscape; Thousands of the temples are located on the Indonesian Peninsula alone Arjunavivaha- SE Asian story about the life of a king in Java Drama and dance are combined to re-tell or recreate legends and historical events. Traditional dances are also preformed Puppet plays are also very popular about historical and religious characters. • On the island of Bali, in Indonesia, young women perform a dance called Legong. Making gestures, the dancers re-enact episodes from the Ramayana, an ancient Indian story.

9. Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, has an area called the Golden Triangle that includes luxury hotels, multi-storied office buildings and development projects; also known as KLCC- Kuala Lumpur City Center; home to one of the world’s tallest office buildings, The Petronas Twin Towers