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Java

Java () is an island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital (political)|capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms, The_spread_of_Islam_in_Indonesia_(1200_to_1600)|Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia. Housing a population of 130 million in 2006Page 6, it is the List of islands by population|most populous island in the world, ahead of Honshū, the main island of Japan. Java is also one of the most Population density|densely populated regions on Earth. Formed mostly as the result of volcanic events, Java is the List of islands by area|13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in Indonesia. A chain of volcanic mountains forms an east-west spine along the island. It has three main languages, and most residents are bilingual, with Bahasa Indonesia language|Indonesian as their second language. While the majority of Javanese are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs and cultures.

Etymology

The origins of the name 'Java' are not clear. One possibility is that early travellers from India named the island after the Panicum italicum|''jáwa-wut'' plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time, and that prior to Indianization the island had different names.Raffles, Thomas E. : " The History of Java". Oxford University Press, 1965. Page 2 There are other possible sources: the word ''jaú'' and its variations mean "beyond" or "distant".Raffles, Thomas E. : "The History of Java". Oxford University Press, 1965. Page 3 And, in Sanskrit ''yava'' means barley, a plant for which the island was famous.Raffles, Thomas E. : "The History of Java". Oxford University Press, 1965. Page 3 Other source states that the "Java" word is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word, meaning 'home'.Hatley, R., Schiller, J., Lucas, A., Martin-Schiller, B., (1984). "Mapping cultural regions of Java" in: Other Javas away from the kraton. pp. 1-32. Outsiders often referred to Java and the neighboring islands by the same name, or use names inconsistently for different islands. For example, Marco Polo refers to neighbouring Sumatra as "little Java" The book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, concerning the kingdoms and marvels of the East. Newly tr. and ed. with notes, maps, and other illustrations. By Colonel Henry Yule. London, John Murray, 1875. Page 267 and Ptolemy refers to Sumatra as ''Jaba-diu''. Asiatick researches, or, Transactions of the society instituted in Bengal, for inquiring into the history and antiquities, the arts, sciences, and literature, of Asia. London : Printed by T. Maiden, for Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe ; Cuthell and Martin , 1806–1807. Page 38

Geography

Java lies between Sumatra to the northwest and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north and Christmas Island to the south. It is the List of islands by area|world's 13th largest island. Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; it contains no fewer than thirty-eight mountains forming an east-west spine which have at one time or another been active volcanoes. The highest volcano in Java is Mount Semeru (3,676 m). The most active volcano in Java and also in Indonesia is Mount Merapi (2,914 m). ''See Volcanoes of Java.'' Further mountains and highlands help to split the interior into a series of relatively isolated regions suitable for wet-rice cultivation; the rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world. Java was the first place where Indonesian coffee was grown, starting in 1699. Today, Coffea arabica is grown on the Ijen Plateau by small-holders and larger plantations. The area of Java is approximately 132,000km². The island's longest river is the 600 kilometre|km long Bengawan Solo River.Management of Bengawan Solo River Area Jasa Tirta I Corporation 2004. Retrieved 26 July 2006 The river rises from its source in central Java at the Lawu volcano, then flows north and eastwards to its mouth in the Java Sea near the city of Surabaya. The island is administratively divided into four Provinces of Indonesia|provinces (Banten, West Java, Central Java, and East Java), one special region (Yogyakarta), and one special capital district (Jakarta). Popular tourist destinations include the city of Yogyakarta (city)|Yogyakarta, the huge Buddhism|Buddhist stupa complex of Borobudur, the Hindu temples at Prambanan, and Mount Bromo in East Java.

Demographics

Java is by far the most populous island in Indonesia, with approximately 62% of the country's population,Embassy of Indonesia, Ottawa and is the most populous island in the world. With 130 million inhabitants at 1026 people per km², it is also one of the most densely-populated parts of the world. If it were a country, it would be the second-most densely-populated country of the world after Bangladesh, if very small city-states are excluded. Approximately 45% of the population of Indonesia is ethnically Javanese.CIA factbook Since the 1970s the Indonesian government has run Transmigration Program|transmigration programs aimed at resettling the population of Java on other less-populated islands of Indonesia. This program has met with mixed results; sometimes causing conflicts between the locals and the recently arrived settlers.

Ethnicity and culture

Despite its large population and in contrast to the other larger islands of Indonesia, Java is comparatively homogeneous in ethnic composition. Only two ethnic groups are native to the island — the Javanese people|Javanese and Sundanese people|Sundanese. A third group is the Madurese people|Madurese, who inhabit the island of Madura off the north east coast of Java, and have immigrated to East Java in large numbers since the 18th century. The Javanese comprise about two-thirds of the island's population, while the Sundanese and Madurese account for 20% and 10% respectively. Four major cultural areas exist on the island: the ''kejawen'' or the Javanese heartland, the north coast of the ''pasisir'' region, the Sunda lands of West Java, and the eastern salient, also known as Blambangan. Madura makes up a fifth area having close cultural ties with coastal Java. In the southwestern part of Central Java, usually named the Banyumasan region, a cultural mingling occurred; bringing together Javanese culture and Sundanese culture to create the Banyumasan culture. In the central Javanese court cities of Yogyakarta (city)|Yogyakarta and Surakarta, contemporary kings trace their lineages back to the pre-colonial Islamic kingdoms that ruled the region, making those places especially strong repositories of classical Javanese culture. Classic arts of Java include gamelan music and wayang puppet shows. Java was the site of many influential kingdoms in the Southeast Asian region,See Wallace Stevens's poem "Tea_(poem)|Tea" for an appreciative allusion to Javanese culture. and as a result, many literary works have been written by Javanese authors. These include ''Ken Arok and Ken Dedes'', the story of the orphan who usurped his king, and married the queen of the ancient Javanese kingdom; and translations of ''Ramayana'' and ''Mahabarata''. Pramoedya Ananta Toer is a famous contemporary Indonesian author, who has written many stories based on his own experiences of having grown up in Java, and takes many elements from Javanese folklore and historical legends.

Languages

The three major languages spoken on Java are Javanese language|Javanese, Sundanese language|Sundanese and Madurese language|Madurese. Other languages spoken include Betawi language|Betawi (a Malay language|Malay dialect local to the Jakarta region), Osing and Tenggerese (closely related to Javanese), Badui (closely related to Sundanese), Kangeanese (closely related to Madurese), and Balinese language|Balinese.Languages of Java and Bali – Ethnologue. Other sources may list some of these as dialects rather than languages. The vast majority of the population also speaks Indonesian language|Indonesian, generally as a second language.

Religion

More than 90 percent of Javanese people|Javanese are Muslims, on a broad continuum between ''abangan'' (more nominal or syncretic) and ''santri'' (more orthodox). Small Hindu enclaves are scattered throughout Java, but there is a large Hindu population along the eastern coast nearest Bali, especially around the town of Banyuwangi. There are also Christian communities, mostly in the larger cities, though some rural areas of south-central Java are strongly Roman Catholic. Buddhism|Buddhist communities also exist in the major cities, primarily among the Chinese Indonesian. The Indonesian constitution recognises six official religions. (See Religion in Indonesia.) Java has been a melting pot of religions and cultures, which has created a broad range of religious belief. Indian subcontinent|Indian influences came first with Shivaism and Buddhism penetrating deeply into society, blending with indigenous tradition and culture. One conduit for this were the ascetics, called ''resi'', who taught mystical practices. A ''resi'' lived surrounded by students, who took care of their master's daily needs. Resi's authorities were merely ceremonial. At the courts, Brahmin clerics and ''pudjangga'' (sacred literati) legitimised rulers and linked Hinduism|Hindu cosmology to their political needs. Islam, which came after Hinduism, strengthened the status structure of this traditional religious pattern. The Muslim scholar of the writ (''Kyai'') became the new religious elite as Hindu influences receded. Islam recognises no hierarchy of religious leaders nor a formal priesthood, but the Dutch East Indies Company|Dutch colonial government established an elaborate rank order for mosque and other Islamic preaching schools. In Javanese ''pesantren'' (Islamic schools), The ''Kyai'' perpetuated the tradition of the ''resi''. Students around him provided his needs, even peasants around the school. Pre-Islamic Javanese traditions have encouraged Islam in a mystical direction. There emerged in Java a loosely structured society of religious leadership, revolving around ''kyais'', possessing various degrees of proficiency in pre-Islamic and Islamic lore, dogma and practice. The kyais are the principal intermediaries between the villages masses and the realm of the supernatural. However, this very looseneess of kyai leadership structure has promoted schism (religion)|schism. There were often sharp divisions between orthodox kyais, who merely instructed in Islamic law, with those who taught mysticism and those who sought reformed Islam with modern scientific concepts. As a result, there is a division between ''santri'', who believe that they are more orthodox in their Islamic belief and practice, with ''abangan'', who has mixed pre-Islamic animistic and Hindu-Indian concepts with a superficial acceptance of Islamic dogma. A wider effect of this division is the number of sects. In the middle of 1956, the Department of Religious Affairs in Yogyakarta reported 63 religious sects in Java other than the official Indonesian religions. Of these, 35 were in Central Java, 22 in West Java and 6 in East Java. These include Kejawen, Sumarah, Subud, etc. Their total membership is difficult to estimate as many of their adherents identify themselves with one of the official religions.Beatty, Andrew, ''Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account'', Cambridge University Press 1999, ISBN 0-521-62473-8

References

External links

- Category:Java| Category:Islands of Indonesia zh-min-nan:Java-tó simple:Java

Related Images

- Languages spoken in Java (Javanese is shown in white)

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