section_path: Culture
section_name: Culture
paragraph_text: Culture
  
  The cultural history of Indonesia spans over two thousand years and has been influenced by the Indian subcontinent, China, the Middle East, Europe, Melanesian, and Austronesian peoples. These influences have shaped the country's multicultural, multilingual, and multi-ethnic identity, distinct from its indigenous roots. Indonesia holds 16 items recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, including wayang puppet theatre, batik, angklung, the saman dance, and pencak silat. Recent joint nominations added pantun, kebaya, and kolintang to the list.