AS
Cultural Colonization
Cultural colonization refers to the enforced rule of one culture upon another. In such cases, the effects are often similar to those in cultural assimilation. Most, if not all, aspects of the culture are accepted and followed without much adaptation. This usually occurs in cases of conquest.
Cultural Assimilation
Cultural assimilation involves the complete retention of one culture by another at the expense of the latter. Most, if not all, aspects of the former culture are accepted and followed without much adaptation. In addition, few, if any, traces of the latter culture remain. This usually occurs when there are majority and minority groups, with the minority cultures being assimilated into the majority culture.
Cultural Borrowing
Cultural borrowing is when one culture accepts some concepts and/ or practices of another culture. This is done with a greater degree of choice than the first two processes. The effect is that some of the practices of the culture will resemble those of another culture, but it may still retain its original culture as well, though how evident this is will depend on how much cultural borrowing occurs. This is likely to occur when the cultures interact and there is an exchange of ideas.
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Cultural Adaptation
Cultural adaptation occurs when borrowed cultural concepts and/ or practices are modified to suit the needs of the community. This shows not just autonomy but also sophistication in that they are no longer a recipient culture but active creators of their own culture by modifying other cultures. The effect is that some practices may resemble those of another culture, though how evident this is depends on how much the practices were modified, and some of the original culture may also be retained, once again its degree is dependent on how much adaptation and modification occurs. In any case, a culture that has undergone cultural adaptation will not completely resemble another; it will be unique. This can occur when cultural borrowing occurs, in other words when cultures interact and exchange ideas.
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Cultural Diffusion
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Cultural diffusion refers to the spreading and expansion of influence, whereby instead of the recipient cultures being assimilated, the different cultures mix together. As a result, cultural borrowing and adaptation may take place and the effect would be the development of unique cultures. One likely scenario for cultural diffusion is in political systems in which the influence radiates from centre out, such as Southeast Asian mandalas or the present day Core-Periphery System.
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Cultural Process
After the contestations over who came to Southeast Asia and how they came, another widely-debated topic is how the cultural influence was spread. Traditionally, many people viewed Southeast Asians as passive recipients of the Indian culture but this notion has been challenged, with different people according different degrees of passiveness and activeness to the Southeast Asians in this cultural process.
In the case of Srivijaya, Indianization was likely to have been a process of cultural borrowing, adaptation and diffusion. There were many opportunities for interaction between the Indians and people in Sumatra as many Indian trade routes passed through the Malacca Straits or Sunda Straits. Trade is a good opportunity for an exchange of ideas in addition to goods, as suggested by the Theory of the Vaisyas. However, the concepts and practices borrowed from the Indians were not used wholesale but adapted: for example, the Hindu-Buddhist concept of mandala in which a person claims greater divinity through worship or a higher degree of merit through good deeds was given a political spin. This can explain the cultural diffusion as the Indian influence radiated out from the centre of Srivijaya in Palembang, Sumatra, where its influence was the strongest and remains till today.
Meanwhile cultural colonization was not likely as not all aspects of Indian culture, such as the caste system, were accepted and practiced; added to the fact that conquest was not likely to be the mode through which Indian influence was spread, it is unlikely that the Indian culture was forced upon Srivijaya. Cultural assimilation is also unlikely as the Indians did not form a majority in Srivijaya; rather, some aspects of the Indian culture were modified to become part of the Srivijayan culture which was what spread all the way to Borneo, Java and the Malay Peninsula.