 he Europeans were not the first nor the
most powerful strangers to arrive in South-East Asia. Chinese
communities had settled themselves in this region centuries before and
had developed a trade with the indigenous people. Nowadays one third of
the population of Malaysia consists of Chinese people.
Round the first century AC Indian traders introduced Hinduism and Buddhism in South-East Asia, but the indigenous cultures were more influenced by the Islam. The Islam is still the main religion in the Indonesian archipelago. The religion introduced by the European colonists, Christianity, is still the most popular religion amongst the indigenous cultures of Borneo and the eastern islands. The most remarkable thing is that the religions were adapted to the local circumstances and interpretations. They developed unique variations to these traditional religions. |
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