Indonesia: Islands of the Imagination. Michael Vatikiotis

cross. In 1511, Portuguese trading posts were established in the strategic commercial center of Malacca on the Malay peninsula and it was from here that they began to reach out and establish trading posts along the north coast of Java and of course in the eastern Spice Islands. The Dutch followed at the turn of the 16th century and succeeded in ousting the Portuguese. The Dutch expanded their control of the entire archipelago in the 17th and 18th centuries and retained it for the most part until the outbreak of World War II in 1942.

      As a result of this complex history, almost 600 different languages and dialects flourish in Indonesia today. Although the majority of the population are Muslims, some 85%, there are also thriving communities of Christians, Buddhists and Hindus—as well as animists. Overlaying the main religious groups are innumerable local beliefs and traditions associated with place and history. This all makes for a kalaedoscopic array of rituals and customs, each associated with its own colorful costume and design, ranging from the elaborate courtly dress of the Javanese to the golden horned headgear of the Minangkabau in West Sumatra.

      A welcoming dance at Tanjung Isuy, East Kalimantan.

      Longhouse entrance with ornate carvings at Tanjung Isuy, East Kalimantan.

      Serene and awe-inspiring Mount Bromo in East Java. This desolate and deserted moon-like landscape looks oddly out of place on the world's most populous island.

      A lonely horse rider on Mount Bromo's “Sea of Sand.”

      A “sulphur-picker” at work in the Papandayan volcano in West Java.