Description

The national motto of the Indonesian republic, "Bhineka
tunggal ika" (Unity amid Diversity), could well stand as the
theme of this introductory essay. The diversity, not just of Indonesia
but of the whole realm of tropical and subtropical
Asia, is quite apparent as one reads through the many dozens
of descriptive accounts published here and in the volume on
South Asia. Some groups are tiny, while others number in the
millions; some are maritime, while others live high in the
mountain ranges; some have long flourished in the mainstream
of major Eastern civilizations, while others are so
remote that they have been effectively cut off from any civilizational
influence until the present century, by geography if
not by preference.