The East Indies or Indies (or East India) is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and South East Asia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of South East Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. The name "Indies" is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that came under Indian cultural influence (except Vietnam which came under Chinese cultural influence).
Dutch-held colonies in the area were known for about 300 years as the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence, while Spanish-held colonies were known as the Spanish East Indies before the US-conquest and later Philippines' independence. The East Indies may also include the former French-held Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore, and former Portuguese East Timor. It does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea (West Papua), which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia.
The inhabitants of the East Indies are almost never called East Indians, distinguishing them both from inhabitants of the Caribbean (which is also called the West Indies) and from the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are often called "American Indians." In colonial times they were just "natives". However, the peoples of the East Indies comprise a wide variety of cultural diversity, and the inhabitants do not consider themselves as belonging to a single ethnic group. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are the most popular religions throughout the region, while Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and various other traditional beliefs and practices are also prominent in some areas. The major languages in this area draw from a wide variety of language families, and should not be confused with the term Indic, which refers only to a group of Indo-Iranian languages from South Asia.
The Indies is used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia.
Indies may also refer to:
feat. Bob Catley & Amanda Somerville
Rousing from dreams, craving for someone
Wept himself to sleep
He s waiting for a sign from above
Where is the love
The hourglass in pieces, dashed to the wall
The future is over
Tomorrow's been slipping away
And nothing remains
He'd known it won't last forever
She'd go ahead for a while
When you open your eyes
When you gaze at the sky
When you look to the stars
As they shut down the night
You know this story ain't over
When you open your eyes
When you gaze at the sky
When you look to the stars
As they shut down the night
You feel this story ain't over
Where is the candle in this lonesome night?
Angle why are you so wayward
Abandoning me, try my belief
When life is not words
and tongue is not answers
And we only can t see a reason
Why would it mean
that it's not meant to be
He'd known it won't last forever
She d go ahead for a while
When you open your eyes
When you gaze at the sky
When you look to the stars
As they shut down the night
You know this story ain't over
When you open your eyes
When you gaze at the sky
When you look to the stars
As they shut down the night