Lake Laguna in Ternate as reflection of the Emerald of Equator (Photo: via VinoImagination)
Brilio.net/en - As a melting pot of different cultures and a home to rich biodiversity, in addition to its official name Indonesia has earned plenty of nicknames over the years.Here are just a few of them:
Indonesia. Originally used for scientific purposes, the name is a fusion of the Latin and Greek Indus (which refers to the islands beyond the Indian subcontinent), and the Greek nsos (island). James Richardson Logan was the first academician touse the name in apublication, and Ki Hajar Dewantara (Suwardi Suryaningrat) was the first Indonesian scholar tointroduce the name to political society.
The Emerald of Equator (Zamrud Khatulistiwa). People refer the green and lush rainforests of Indonesia as zamrud (emerald), the name of a verdant precious stone. Since Indonesia lies along the equator, the rest of the name was thus ordained!It was coined by Eduard Douwes Dekker (Multatuli), a 19th-century Dutch author, to describe the country's natural beauty in one of his letters.
Eastern Indonesian archipelago via Huffington Post
Bumi Pertiwi or Ibu Pertiwi. This name means Mother Earth, suggesting the country and land is where the people were born. Indonesians also often refer their country as Tanah Air (literally soil and water), an idiomatic expression for homeland.
An alleged statue of Indonesia's personification Ibu Pertiwi in Monas, Jakarta. Probably depicting Suhita, a Queen of Majapahit Empire via Wikimedia
Nusantara. This word is derived from the Old Javanese word forarchipelago. It was taken from the famous Sumpah Palapa, the oath of Gajah Mada, a Mahapatih (prime minister and military leader) of the 14th-century Majapahit Empire.
Gajah Mada'sstatue in Madakaripura (via Rumahangin)
This man famouslyvowed not to eatany palapa (coconut or nutmeg) before unifying Nusantara (the Indonesian archipelago) under Majapahit rule. The oath suggested that the Mahapatih wont eat anything tasty before his mission fulfilled.
(brl/red)
