Southeast Asia Totally Explained

Everything about Southeast Asian totally explained

South East Asia

Area	4,523,000 km²
Population	568,300,000
Density	126 per km²
Countries	11
Territories	12
GDP	$900 billion (exchange rate) $2.8 trillion (purchasing power parity)
GDP per capita	$1,584 (exchange rate) $4,927 (purchasing power parity)
Languages	Indonesian, Filipino, Vietnamese,Thai, Burmese, Malay, Khmer, Lao, Tetum, Nicobarese, Mandarin, English, Tamil, Kanarese, Portuguese, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Telugu, Javanese, Sundanese, Tagalog, Cebuano, Madura, Cantonese, Min, Taiwanese (Min Nan), and many others
Time Zones	UTC +9:00 (Indonesia) to UTC +5:30 (Andaman and Nicobar Islands)
Largest Cities	Jakarta Manila Bangkok Ho Chi Minh City Surabaya Kuala Lumpur Singapore Hanoi Bandung Medan Yangon

South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity.
South East Asia consists of two geographic regions: the Asian mainland, and island arcs and archipelagoes to the east and southeast. The mainland section consists of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam; the population of which are primarily Tai peoples and Austroasiatic peoples; the dominant religion is Buddhism, followed by Christianity. The maritime section consists of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Austronesian peoples predominate in this region; the dominant religion is Islam, followed by Christianity.

Divisions

Political

South East Asia frequently refers to the area consisting of these following countries, although in general and certain specific usage, the area it refers to can be narrower or broader, smaller or larger.

All of the above are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), except East Timor, which is an ASEAN candidate state. The area, together with part of South Asia, was previously known as the East Indies or simply Indies.
Although politically external territories of Australia, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are culturally part of South East Asia. Meanwhile, certain islands in the South China Sea are currently disputed. Papua, however, is politically part of Southeast Asia through Indonesia, although geographically it's often considered as part of Oceania.

Geographical

South East Asia is geographically divided into two regions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia (or Indochina) and the Maritime Southeast Asia (or the Malay Archipelago) (Indonesian language: Nusantara). Mainland Southeast Asia includes:

Cambodia
Laos
Myanmar
Thailand
Vietnam Maritime Southeast Asia includes:

Brunei
East Timor
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines

Singapore The eastern parts of Indonesia and East Timor (east of Wallace line) are considered to be geographically parts of Oceania.
   The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are considered part of South East Asia. Hainan Island is sometimes considered both East Asian and South East Asian.
History
Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao (Nusantara) maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BCE to 1 CE.
   The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years, some reaching the island of Madagascar. Their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellan's voyage records how much more manœuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships.
   Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonization of Madagascar by the Malay race, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome.
   Originally most people were animist. This was later replaced by Brahmanic Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525. In 1400s, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali.
   In Mainland South East Asia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture.
Indianized kingdoms
Very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the second century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century, Buddhism and Hinduism were the main religions in Southeast Asia.
   The Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java and Sumatra existed around 200 BCE.
   The history of the Malay-speaking world begins with the advent of Indian influence, which dates back to at least the 3rd century BC. Indian traders came to the archipelago both for its abundant forest and maritime products and to trade with merchants from China, who also discovered the Malay world at an early date. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were well established in the Malay Peninsula by the beginning of the 1st century CE, and from there spread across the archipelago. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Funan kingdom. Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empire's official religions. Cambodia is the home to one of the only two temples dedicated to Brahma in the world. Angkor Wat is also a famous Hindu temple of Cambodia.
   The Majapahit Empire was an Indianized kingdom based in eastern Java from 1293 to around 1500. Its greatest ruler was Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked the empire's peak when it dominated other kingdoms in the southern Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Bali and the Philippines. The rest of the Philippines also did tributes to the empire.
   The Cholas excelled in maritime activity in both military and the mercantile fields. Their raids of Kedah and the Srivijaya, and their continued commercial contacts with the Chinese Empire, enabled them to influence the local cultures. Many of the surviving examples of the Hindu cultural influence found today throughout the Southeast Asia are the result of the Chola expeditions.
Chinese trade
Chinese merchants have traded with the region for a long time as evidence of Magellan's voyage records that Brunei possessed more cannon than the European ships so it appears that the Chinese fortified them. This is to avoid the disruption caused by the cutting of the undersea cable from Taiwan to the U.S. in a recent earthquake.
Demographics
Southeast Asia has an area of approx. 4,000,000 km² (1.6 million square miles). As of 2004, more than 593 million people lived in the region, more than a fifth of them (125 million) on the Indonesian island of Java, the most densely populated large island in the world. The distribution of the religions and people is diverse in Southeast Asia and varies by country. Some 30 million overseas Chinese also live in Southeast Asia, most prominently in Christmas Island, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and also, as the Hoa, in Vietnam.
Ethnic groups
According to a recent Stanford genetic study, the Southeast Asian population is far from being homogeneous. Although primarily descendants of Austronesian, Tai, and Mon-Khmer-speaking immigrants who migrated from Southern China during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, there are overlays of Arab, Chinese, Indian, Polynesian and Melanesian genes.
   There are also large pockets of intermarriage between indigenous Southeast Asians and those of Chinese descent. They form a substantial part of everyday life in countries such as Vietnam,Singapore,Thailand and the Philippines. Indonesia and Malaysia also has a few mixed Southeast Asian-Chinese populations.
Religions
Mainland SEA countries, which are, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, practice predominantly Buddhism. Singapore is also predominantly Buddhist. In the Malay Archipelago, people living in Malaysia, western Indonesia and Brunei practice mainly Islam. Christianity is predominant in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia and East Timor. The Philippines has the largest Roman Catholic population followed by Vietnam, both ex-colonies of European powers.
   The religious composition for each country is as follows. Some values are taken from the CIA World Factbook:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism
Brunei	Islam (67%), Buddhism (13%), Christianity (10%), others (indigenous beliefs, etc) (10%)
Cambodia	Theravada Buddhism (93%), others (animism, etc) (7%)
Christmas Island	Buddhism (36%), Islam (25%), Christianity (18%), Taoism (15%), others (6%)
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Sunni Islam (80%), others (20%)
East Timor	Roman Catholicism (90%), Islam (5%), Protestant (3%), others (Buddhism, Hinduism, etc) (2%)
Hainan Island	Animism, Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, Protestant, Roman Catholicism, Taoism, nonreligious, others
Indonesia	Islam (86.1%), Protestant (5.7%), Roman Catholicism (3%), Hinduism (1.8%), others including Buddhism, or unspecified (3.4%)
Laos	Theravada Buddhism (65%) with Animism (32.9%), Christianity (1.3%), others (0.8%)
Malaysia	Islam (60.4%), Mahayana Buddhism (19.2%), Christianity (9.1%), Hinduism (6.1%), Animism (5.2%)
Myanmar	Theravada Buddhism (89%), Islam (4%), Christianity (4%), Animism (1%), others (2%)
Philippines	Roman Catholicism (81%), Islam (5%), Evangelical (2.8%), Iglesia ni Cristo (2.2%), Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan) (2%), other Christian (4.5%), others (animism, Buddhism, Judaism, nonreligious, etc) (2.5%)
Singapore	Buddhism (42.5%), Islam (15%), Taoism (8%), Roman Catholicism (4.5%), Hinduism (4%), nonreligious (15%), other Christian (10%), others (1%)
South China Sea Islands	Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Islam, Taoism, nonreligious
Thailand	Theravada Buddhism (94.6%), Islam (4.6%), others (1%)
Viet Nam	Mahayana Buddhism (78%), Roman Catholicism (7%), Theravada Buddhism (5%), Cao Dai (2%), Protestant (1%), others (Animism, Hoa Hao, Islam, nonreligious, etc) (7%)

Religions and peoples are diverse in Southeast Asia and not one country is homogeneous. In the world's most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, Hinduism is dominant on islands such as Bali. Christianity also predominates in Philippines, Papua and Timor. Pockets of Hindu population can also be found around Southeast Asia in Singapore, Malaysia etc. Garuda (Sanskrit: Garuḍa), the phoenix who is the mount (vahanam) of Vishnu, is a national symbol in both Thailand and Indonesia; in the Philippines, gold images of Garuda have been found on Palawan; gold images of other Hindu gods and goddesses have also been found on Mindanao. Balinese Hinduism is somewhat different from Hinduism practiced elsewhere, as Animism and local culture is incorporated into it. Christians can also be found throughout Southeast Asia; they're in the majority in East Timor and the Philippines, Asia's largest Christian nation. In addition, there are also older tribal religious practices in remote areas of Sarawak in East Malaysia and Papua in eastern Indonesia. In Myanmar, Sakka (Indra) is revered as a nat. In Vietnam, Mahayana Buddhism is practiced, which is influenced by native animism but with strong emphasis on Ancestor Worship.

Languages

Each of the languages have been influenced by cultural pressures due to trade and historical colonization as well. Thus, for example, a Filipino, educated in English and Filipino, as well as in his native tongue (for example, Visayan), might well speak another language, such as Spanish for historical reasons, or even Chinese for economic reasons; a Malaysian might well speak Malay, Chinese as well as English, again for economic reasons.
The language composition for each country is as follows: (The official languages have been bolded.)

Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Nicobarese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Shompen, Andamanese languages, others
Brunei	Malay, English, Chinese, indigenous Borneian dialects
Cambodia	Khmer, Vietnamese, Chamic dialects, Chinese dialects, others
Christmas Island	English, Chinese, Malay
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	English, Cocos Malay
East Timor	Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian, English, Mambae, Makasae, Tukudede, Bunak, Galoli, Kemak, Fataluku, Baikeno, others
Hainan Island	Mandarin (Chinese), Hainanese, Vietnamese, Hlai, Hmong, Tsat, Zhuang, others
Indonesia	Indonesian, Acehnese, Batak, Sundanese, Javanese, Sasak, Tetum, Dayak, Minahasa, Toraja, Buginese, Halmahera, Ambonese, Ceramese, Dutch, Papuan languages, Chinese, others
Laos	Lao, Vietnamese, Hmong, Miao, Mien, Dao, Shan, others
Malaysia	Malay, English, Tamil, Chinese dialects, other Indian languages, Sarawakian and Sabahan languages, others
Myanmar	Burmese, Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, Mon, Chinese dialects, Indian languages, others
Philippines	Filipino,Tagalog, English, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Bicolano, Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausug, Kinaray-a, Chabacano, Lan-nang, Spanish, Arabic, other Visayan languages, and other Native Philippine languages
Singapore	Mandarin (Chinese), Malay, Tamil, English, other Chinese dialects, other Indian languages, Arabic dialects, others
South China Sea Islands	English, Filipino, Malay, Mandarin (Chinese), Vietnamese
Thailand	Thai, English, Chinese dialects, Malay, Vietnamese, Lao, Shan, Lue, Phutai, Khmer, Mon, Mein, Hmong, Karen, others
Vietnam	Vietnamese, Chinese dialects, Khmer, Cham, French creole, Tay, Muong, Nung, others

Culture

Rice paddy agriculture has existed in Southeast Asia for thousands of years, ranging across the subregion. Some dramatic examples of these rice paddies populate the Banaue Rice Terraces in the mountains of Luzon in the Philippines. Maintenance of these paddies is very labor-intensive. The rice paddies are well-suited to the monsoon climate of the region. Stilt houses can be found all over Southeast Asia, from Thailand and Laos, to Borneo, to Luzon in the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea.
The region has diverse metalworking, especially in Indonesia. This include weaponry, such as the distinctive Kris, and musical instruments, such as the Gamelan.

Influences

Calendars
Buddhist Burmese Chinese Gregorian calendar Hindu Indonesian Islamic Thai (lunar) Thai (solar)

The region's chief cultural influences have been from either China or India or both, with Vietnam considered by far the most Chinese-influenced.
As a rule, the peoples who ate with their fingers were more likely influenced by the culture of India, for example, than the culture of China, where the peoples first ate with chopsticks; tea, as a beverage, can be found across the region. The fish sauces distinctive to the region tend to vary.

The Arts

Dance in much of Southeast Asia also includes movement of the hands, as well as the feet. Puppetry and shadow plays were also a favoured form of entertainment in past centuries. The Arts and Literature in some of South East Asia is quite influenced by Hinduism brought to them centuries ago.
In Indonesia, though they converted to Islam, they retained many forms of Hindu influenced practices, cultures, arts and literatures. An example will be the Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet) and literatures like the Ramayana. This is also true for mainland South East Asia (excluding Vietnam). Dance movements, Hindu gods, Arts were also fused into Thai, Khmer, Laotian and Burmese cultures.
In Vietnam, the Vietnamese share many cultural similarities with the Chinese.

Cuisine
Laos Myanmar

Music

Traditional music in Southeast Asia is as varied as its many ethnic and cultural divisions. Main styles of traditional music can be seen: Court music, folk music, music styles of smaller ethnic groups, and music influenced by genres outside the geographic region.
Of the court and folk genres, Gong-chime ensembles and orchestras make up the majority (the exception being Vietnam. Gamelan orchestras from Indonesia, Piphat ensembles of Thailand (and the related Pinpeat ensembles of Cambodia ), and Kulintang ensembles of the southern Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi and Timor are the three main distinct styles of musical genres that have influenced other traditional musical styles in the region. String instruments also are popular in the region.

Writing

The history of Southeast Asia has led to a wealth of different authors, from both within and without writing about the region.
Originally, Indians were the ones who taught the native inhabitants about writing. This is shown through Brahmic forms of writing present in the region such as the Balinese script shown on split palm leaf called lontar, right:
The antiquity of this form of writing extends before the invention of paper around the year 100 in China. Note each palm leaf section was only several lines, written longitudinally across the leaf, and bound by twine to the other sections. The outer portion was decorated. The alphabets of Southeast Asia tended to be abugidas, until the arrival of the Europeans, who used words that also ended in consonants, not just vowels. Other forms of official documents, which didn't use paper, included Javanese copperplate scrolls. This would have been more durable in the tropical climate of Southeast Asia.

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