[image: Profile photo for Dan Ane] <https://www.quora.com/profile/Dan-Ane> Dan Ane <https://www.quora.com/profile/Dan-Ane> B.S. in Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara3y <https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Indonesian-people-like-to-go-to-the-beach-with-a-jacket-and-jeans/answer/Dan-Ane> Why do Indonesian people like to go to the beach with a jacket and jeans? <https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Indonesian-people-like-to-go-to-the-beach-with-a-jacket-and-jeans>
This has already been answered fairly well, but I’ll add my two cents. It’s a combination of a few factors. One thing that I don’t think has been mentioned yet is the Indonesian belief in masuk angin. It literally translates as ‘enter wind’ but the meaning is a bit different. You see, many Indonesians don’t fully accept the pathogenic theory of disease. Their belief in how people get sick is more nuanced, and modern science is an added layer to their belief system. Traditional ideas about wind caused illness are deeply ingrained. Many Indonesians believe that if wind gets in the body, that they will feel sick. That is one reason why so many Indonesians wear jackets when they ride a motorbike, for example. The jacket blocks the wind and protects against masuk angin. So when going to the beach, where they may be exposed to the wind, they want to wear clothing that protects them from getting ill. When people feel unwell, they’ll get kerokan, where someone will roughly scrape a coin across the skin on their back until an angry red mark forms. They believe that will let out the wind from their body. (image from Kerokan Boleh, asal… | Kaltim Post <http://kaltim.prokal.co/read/news/270941-kerokan-boleh-asal>) So if you want to avoid having to go through kerokan, it’s easier to just wear jeans and a jacket, even though it’s hot. Before you snicker and look down on this belief, remember that western people used to think bad airs caused disease, too. Malaria is derived from the word parts ‘mal’ meaning bad, and ‘air’. People thought the bad air from bogs and swamps, where there happen to be a lot of mosquitos, caused them to get fevers and even die. Remedies for the bad airs included blood letting or letting leaches suck the blood out of the sick person. Another reason many Indonesians cover up at the beach is culture. Indonesian culture is generally conservative, and showing skin is not something that most people are comfortable with. This isn’t even specific to Muslim people in Indonesia. For example, in about 2005 I went to the south coast of Sumba island to go surfing. The people in the village I was in were mostly Christians, but we were asked to wear shirts to the beach until we even got in the water to surf. They didn’t want us (males) to walk through the village bare chested. Trying to be respectful, that’s what we did. They even told me a story of a European woman who had gone to that beach and sunbathed topless. Even though the beach is pretty isolated, it was enough of a scandal for them to tell me about it more than a year after the event. Finally, I’ll point out that not all Indonesians go to the beach in jeans and jackets. In beach areas, especially in areas where there are a lot of foreign tourists and surfers, Indonesians sometimes wear board shorts or bikinis. I’ve even seen a few Indonesian women sunbathe topless in Bali, though that was years ago and I don’t think it happens much anymore. In fact, if you go back in time far enough, Balinese women went about their lives topless, but that’s not really the point here. Even in areas other than Bali, Indonesians from beach areas tend to dress in shorts / bathing suits more than Indonesians who don’t live near the beach. For example, I remember being on Weh Island in Aceh (a conservative Muslim province in Sumatra) in 2002. Some of the women on the island wore shorts and t-shirts, but they would cover up if they went to Sabang or Banda Aceh. The point is that Indonesia is huge and diverse, and it’s difficult to generalize that all Indonesians behave in a certain way. 518.3K views View 1,470 upvotes View 37 shares -- Anda menerima pesan ini karena Anda berlangganan grup "GELORA45" dari Google Grup. Untuk berhenti berlangganan dan berhenti menerima email dari grup ini, kirim email ke [email protected]. Untuk melihat diskusi ini di web, kunjungi https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gelora1945/CAGjSX2Cng%2BAqRjPdf%2ByGgVggHK97hcZYAorF2hPM69fdYYcjHw%40mail.gmail.com.
