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The Javanese people
(Javanese Ngoko: Wong Jawa, Krama: Tiyang Jawi; Indonesian: suku Jawa)
is an ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. At
approximately 85 million people (as of 2009), it is the largest ethnic
group on the island, and also in Indonesia. They are predominantly
located in the central to eastern parts of the island. Following
centuries of migrations they can now be found in most Provinces of
Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia and also Suriname in South America.
History
Like
most Indonesian ethnic groups, including the Sundanese of West Java,
the Javanese are of Austronesian origins whose ancestors are thought to
have originated in Taiwan, and migrated through the Philippines,
reaching Java between 1,500BCE and 1,000BCE.
Hindu and Buddhist influences
arrived through trade contacts with the Indian subcontinent. Since as
early as first century CE, Javanese sailors has been trading spices in
India. With the intensive contacts, the Javanese developed philosophical
concepts that are parallel but not identical with the Indian. Hindu
missionaries arrived in 5th century, with Buddhist missionaries also
coming around the same period. Local rulers adopted concept of kingly
rules with monarch identified with gods.
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| Prambanan temple |
The cradle of Javanese
culture is commonly described as being in Kedu Plain in the fertile
slopes of Mount Merapi. Earliest dynasties, Sanjaya and Sailendra has
their power base there, where they leave major monuments such as
Borobudur and Prambanan temple complex.:238-239
Center of Javanese culture and
politics was moved to eastern part of the island when Mpu Sindok (r.
929-947) moved the capital of the kingdoms eastward to the valleys of
Brantas River in the 10th century CE. The move was most likely caused by
volcanic eruption of Merapi and/or invasion from Srivijaya.:238-239
Mpu
Sindok's great-grandson Dharmawangsa attempted to attack Srivijaya in
Sumatra in 990 AD, but his effort failed. In retaliatory attack he was
killed and the Medang kingdom defeated. The kingdom was restored by his
nephew Airlangga, son of his sister Princess Mahendradatta of Medang and
King Udayana of Bali. The new kingdom was named Kahuripan, but
following Airlangga's death it was partitioned along Brantas river into
two kingdoms: Panjalu (or Kadiri) and Janggala. The later soon absorbed
and reunited with the former.
In eastern Java, Medang Kingdom
and later Kadiri developed a refined culture that combined
Hindu-Buddhist influences and native culture. For example, Kakawin
Ramayana, the Javanese adaptation of Indian Ramayana epic, and Buddhist
treatise Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan, both composed during Mpu Sindok's
reign.
This was also continued
under Singhasari kingdom which ruled following Ken Arok conquest of
Kediri in 1222. The major spread of Javanese influence occurred under
King Kertanegara of Singhasari in late 13th century. The expansionist
king launched major expeditions to Madura, Bali in 1284, Borneo and most
importantly to Sumatra in 1275. Following the defeat of Melayu Kingdom,
Singhasari controlled trade in Strait of Malacca.
Singhasari dominance was cut
short in 1292 by Kediri's rebellion under Jayakatwang, where Kertanegara
was killed while in a trance during a Tantric Buddhism ceremony.
However, Jayakatwang reign as king of Java soon ended as he was defeated
by Kertanegara's son-in-law, Raden Wijaya with the help of invading
Mongol troops in March 1293.
Raden Wijaya would later
established Majapahit near the delta of Brantas River in modern-day
Mojokerto, East Java. Kertanegara policies would later be continued by
the Majapahits under King Hayam Wuruk and his minister Gajah Mada.
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| Bajang Temple |
Kingdoms of Java
actively involved in spice trade in the sea route of Silk Road. Although
not a major spice producer itself, they were able to stockpile spice by
trading it with rice, of which Java was a major producer. Surplus rice
were traded with black pepper, nutmegs, and cloves from Spice Island and
resold with great profit to foreigners. Majapahit is usually regarded
as the greatest of these kingdoms. It was both an agrarian and a
maritime power, combining wet-rice cultivation and foreign trade. The
rulers of Majapahit patronized various art forms in both Buddhist and
Hindu traditions, among these is Nagarakretagama poetry composed in 1365
by Buddhist monk Prapanca. The center of Majapahit power was in delta
region of Brantas river in modern day East Java, that provided access to
both trade in Java Sea and rich rice-producing hinterland. The ruin of
their capital can be found in Trowulan.
Following
succession disputes and civil wars, Majapahit power collapsed. Java
underwent major changes as Islam spread. After the collapse of
Majapahit, its various dependencies and vassals broke free. Sultanate of
Demak became the new strongest power, gaining supremacy among
city-states on the northern coast of Java. Apart from Javanese
city-states, it also gained overlordship of ports of Jambi and Palembang
in eastern Sumatra, from which produced commodities such as lignaloes
and gold. Demak played major role opposing the newly arrived colonial
power, the Portuguese. Demak twice attacked the Portugese following
their capture of Malacca. They also attacked alliance between Portuguese
and the Sunda Kingdom, establishing in process the Sultanate of Banten.
Demak was succeeded by Kingdom
of Pajang and finally Sultanate of Mataram. However, Java slowly fell to
the Dutch East India Company, which would also eventually control most
of Maritime Southeast Asia. Dutch rule was briefly interrupted by
British rule in early 19th century. While short, the British
administration led by Stamford Raffles, was a significant, and included
re-discovery of Borobudur. Conflict with foreign rule was exemplified by
the Java War between 1825 and 1830, and the leadership of Prince
Diponegoro.
Like the rest of Dutch East
Indies, Java was captured by the Empire of Japan during World War II.
With Japan defeat, independence was proclaimed in the new republic of
Indonesia.
Migrations
Several
waves of Javanese migrations have occurred during its long history,
some occurred during Hindu-Buddhist period and during Islamic period,
while other happened in Colonial period.
Javanese
were probably involved in Austronesian migration to Madagascar in the
first centuries CE. While the core culture of the migration is most
closely related with Ma'anyan of Borneo, a portions of Malagasy language
is derived from loanwords from Javanese language.
Since Hindu kingdoms period,
Javanese merchants settled at many places in the archipelago.:247 In
late 15th century, following the collapse of Majapahit and rise of
Muslim principalities on the northern coast of Java, many Hindu
nobilities, artisans and courtiers migrated to Bali, where they would
contribute to the refined culture of Bali. Other who refused to convert
to Islam retreated to Tengger mountain, retaining their Hindu religions
and became the Tenggerese people.
Majapahit rigidly established
fire-arms and cannonade as a feature of warfare. The demise of the
Majapahit empire also cause the flight of disaffected skilled bronze
cannon-smiths to Brunei, modern Sumatra and Malaysia, and the
Philippines lead to near universal use of the swivel-gun, especially on
trade vessels to protect against prevalent marauding pirates, in the
Makassar Strait. The Javanese bronze breech-loaded swivel-gun, more
correctly known as a meriam was used ubiquitously by the Majapahit navy
and unfortunately pirates and rival lords.
In the conflicts during the
transitions of power between Demak, Pajang and Mataram in late 16th
century, some Javanese migrated to Palembang in southern Sumatra. There
they established a sultanate and formed a mix of Malay and Javanese
culture. Palembang language is a dialect of Malay language with heavy
influence of Javanese.
The Javanese also present in
Peninsular Malaya since early times. Portuguese historian De Barros
mentioned that there were 10,000 Javanese in Malacca in early 16th
century. They were administered with autonomy under their chiefs. Their
settlement contributed to the multi-ethnic nature of Malacca. Link
between Java and Malacca was important during spread of Islam in
Indonesia, when religious missionaries were sent from Malacca to
seaports in northern coast of Java.
Large
migration to Peninsular Malaya occurred during colonial period when
they migrated from Central Java to Malaysia from 1880 to 1930. They
migrated to seek a new life away from the Dutch colonists who ruled
Indonesia at that time. Today the they live throughout Peninsular
Malaysia in parts of Perak, Selangor, and Kedah. The migrants bring
with them various aspect of Javanese cultures such as Gamelan music,
traditional dances and art of Wayang kulit shadow play.
Javanese merchant also present
in the Moluccas as part of spice trade. Following Islamization of Java,
they spread Islam in the islands, with Ternate being a Muslim sultanate
circa 1484. Javanese merchants also converted coastal cities in Borneo
to Islam. The Javanese thus played important part in transmitting Islam
from western part to the eastern part of the Archipelago with trades
based from northern coast of Java.
New
migration pattern emerged during colonial periods. During the rise of
VOC power starting in the 17th century, many Javanese were exiled,
enslaved or hired as mercenaries to Dutch colonies of Ceylon in South
Asia and Cape colony in South Africa. These included princes and
nobilities which lost their dispute with the Company and exiled along
with their retinues. These, along with exiles from other ethnicities
like Bugis and Malay become the Sri Lankan Malay and Cape Malay, ethnic
groups respectively. Other political prisoners were transported to
closer places. For example Prince Diponegoro and his followers were
transported to North Sulawesi, following his defeat in Java War in early
19th century. Their descendants are well-known as Jaton (abbreviation
of "Jawa Tondano"/Tondano Javanese).
Major migrations started during
Dutch colonial period under Transmigration programs. The Dutch needed
many laborers for their plantations, moved many Javanese under the
program as contract workers, mostly to other part of the colony in
Sumatra. But the Dutch also to sent the Javanese workers to Suriname in
southern Americas. Today approximately 15% of Suriname population is of
Javanese descent.
The Transmigration program that
was created by the Dutch was continued following the Independence. The
Javanese were traditionally concentrated in the provinces of East Java,
Central Java and Yogyakarta, but due to migrations within Indonesia (as
part of transmigration programs or otherwise) there are now high
populations of Javanese people in almost all the Indonesian provinces.
The province of West Java is home to the Sundanese, Indonesia's second
largest ethnic group who are ethnically distinct from the Javanese. The
significant Javanese population can be found in Jabodetabek (Greater
Jakarta) area, Lampung, South Sumatra and Jambi provinces. Several
paguyuban (traditional community organization) were formed by these
Javanese immigrant, such as "Pujakesuma" (abbreviation of Indonesian:
Putra Jawa Kelahiran Sumatera or Sumatra-born Javanese).
Language
Javanese
people use Javanese language in everyday speech. Javanese is a member
of Austronesian languages family. It is closely related to, but distinct
from, other languages of Indonesia. The language is notable for heavy
use of Sanskrit words, which is nearly ubiquitous, especially in
literary. This is due to long history of Hinduism and Buddhism influence
in Java.
Most Javanese in Indonesia are
bilingual and also use Indonesian language, which is the national
language of the country. In a public poll held circa-1990, approximately
12% of Javanese used Indonesian, around 18% used both Javanese and
Indonesian, and the rest used Javanese exclusively.
Javanese language was commonly
written using Javanese script, natively known as Hanacaraka or Carakan.
The script is descended from Brahmi script and was commonly used until
independence, where they were replaced with Latin alphabets.
While Javanese was not made an
official language of Indonesia, it still have a status of 'regional
language' for communication in Javanese-majority regions. The language
also can be viewed as an 'ethnic language' because it is one of the
defining parts in ethnic identity.
Literature
Javanese
literature tradition is among the earliest and the oldest surviving
literature tradition in Indonesia. The translations of Hindu epic
Ramayana and Mahabharata into old Javanese language took place during
the era of Medang Kingdom and Kediri kingdom around 9th to 11th century.
The Smaradhana is also composed during Kediri kingdom, and it become
the prelude of later Panji cycles that spread as far as Siam and
Cambodia. Other literary works include, Ken Arok and Ken Dedes, based
upon Pararaton, the story of the orphan who usurped his king, and
married the queen of the ancient Javanese kingdom. Nagarakretagama which
describes Majapahit during its height. One of the Javanese kakawin,
Tantu Pagelaran dated from Majapahit period explained the mythical
origin of the island and its volcanic nature. Babad Tanah Jawi is a
literature which relates to the spread of Islam in Java. Babad
Dipanagara telling the story of Prince Diponegoro.
Religion
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| Giri Kedaton |
Historically, Javanese
follow a syncretic form of Hinduism, Buddhism and Kejawen ( which is
animistic) as they were united under Hindu/Buddhist kingdoms for
centuries. Starting from the 15th century, Islam and Christianity came
to Java and slowly spread. Islam spread quickly under new Islamic
monarchs. The spread of Christianity was supervised by colonial powers.
All of the new religions were absorbed and interpreted by the Javanese
according to the Javanese traditional values, creating a new set of
religious beliefs unique to local culture. Javanese nobles which
rejected Islam fled to neighboring Bali where they contributed heavily
to the Balinese Hindu religion.
Today, most Javanese follow a
moderate form of Islam as their religion. Islam as practiced in Java are
influenced by traditional beliefs. Ortodox Islamic traditions are the
strongest in northern coast bordering the Java Sea, where Islam was
first brought to the island. Islam first came in contact with Java
during Majapahit periods, when they traded or made tributary relations
with various states like Perlak and Samudra Pasai in modern-day Aceh.
A minority of Javanese also
follow Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), which are rather
concentrated in Central Java (particularly Surakarta, Magelang and
Yogyakarta for Catholicism). In a much smaller scale, Buddhism and
Hinduism are also found in the Javanese community. The Javanese Tengger
tribe is still practicing Hinduism till today.
Kejawen
Many
traditional Javanese customs have their roots in the Kejawen belief or
Hindu traditions, although most Javanese are not Hindu anymore. Minor
deity such as Nyi Loro Kidul and Deities of Mount Merapi are still
revered at Yogyakarta, special ceremonies are held to maintain good
relationships with Nyi Loro Kidul and Mount Merapi.
Family
Culturally,
Javanese people adopt a bilateral kinship system, with male and female
descent are of equal importance. It is not customary for Javanese to
have a descended surname.
Women
have a high degree of autonomy in Javanese culture. In Java parents
have little control over decisions of women, unlike paternalistic
culture in other part of Asia. Divorce is acceptable and quite common in
Java.
For a boy, circumcision is
an important transition toward adulthood. The ritual usually held when
the boy is 6-12 year old. Following the circumcision it is customary to
hold a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performance. Circumcision is one
factor that differentiate the Javanese with related Balinese and
Tenggerese, which still predominantly Hindu.
Profession
In
Indonesia, Javanese can be found in all professions, especially in the
government and the military. Traditionally, most Javanese are farmers.
This was especially common because of the fertile volcanic soil in Java.
The most important agricultural commodity is rice. In 1997, it was
estimated that Java produced 55% of Indonesian output of the crop. Most
farmers work small-scale rice field, with around 42% of farmers
cultivate less than 0.5 hectare of rice field. In region where soil is
less fertile of where rainy season is short, other staple crops is
cultivated, such as cassava.
Javanese
blacksmiths provide a range of tools such as farming equipment and to
cultural items such as gamelan instruments and kris.
Calendar
Javanese
calendar is the calendar used by Javanese people concurrently with two
other calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar.
Gregorian calendar is the official calendar of Indonesia while the
Islamic calendar is used by Muslims and Indonesian government for
religious worship and deciding relevant Islamic holidays. Javanese
calendar presently used mostly for cultural events (such as Satu Sura)
or divination. The present Javanese calendar system is a lunar calendar
adopted by Sultan Agung in 1633, based on the Islamic calendar.
Previously, Javanese people used a solar system based on the Hindu
calendar.
Unlike many other
calendar, Javanese calendar use a 5-day week known as the Pasaran cycle.
This is still in use today and superimposed with 7-day week of the
Gregorian calendar and Islamic calendar to become what is known as the
35-day Wetonan cycle.
Villages
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| Javanese traditional house |
Villages is an
important administrative unit in Java. It is divided into two types:
Desa with elective leadership, usually in rural area, and Kelurahan,
where the leadership is appointed by Indonesian government, usually in
urban area. Village administration is managed by officers, still called
with their traditional Javanese names. These are lurah (village chief),
assisted by offices of carik (village secretary), kamituwa (officer for
social affair), jagabaya (office for security), and modin (office for
Islamic affair and rituals, derived from Arabic Imam ad-Din, or leader
of the faith).
These officers traditionally
didn't get paid in cash, but allotted a portion in village's public land
to be farmed, called tanah bengkok. In modern day Indonesia, Village
chief is elected directly by universal suffrage of the villagers, who
was 17 year old and above, or already married. As literacy rate was low
before independence, it is customary for the rival candidates to use
common items as their campaign symbol, such as fruits, vegetables or
traditional foods. The village chief election is usually non-partisan.
Art
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| Wayang |
Javanese origin
artforms are among the best known in Indonesia and the whole
archipelago. The famous Javanese wayang puppetry culture was influenced
by Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The Wayang repertoire stories, lakon,
are mostly based on epics from India; Ramayana and Mahabharata. These
epics and stories influenced wayang puppetry as well as Javanese
classical dances. The influences from Islam and the Western world also
can be found.
The art of Batik
and Keris dagger are among Javanese origin art expressions. Gamelan
musical ensembles are found in both Java and Bali. All of these artforms
holds important position, and function within Javanese culture and
tradition.
Architecture
With
its long history, the Javanese produced many important buildings,
ranging from Hindu monuments, Buddhist stupa, mortuary temples, palace
complex, and mosques.
The paragon
of religious monuments are Hindu temple of Prambanan and Buddhist
temple of Borobudur. Both of them 9th centuries temples which are UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Both are located near city of Yogyakarta in the
slope of Mount Merapi.
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| Borobudur |
Meanwhile example of
secular building can be seen in ruins of former capital city of
Majapahit Kingdom (14th to 16th century AD) in Trowulan, East Java. The
complex covers an area of 11 km x 9 km. It is consisted of various brick
building, ranging from 20 to 40 meter-wide canal, purification pools,
temples and iconic split gates. The capital complex is currently being
submitted in tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage.
Traditional Javanese building
can be identified by its trapezoid shaped roof supported by wooden
pillars. Another common feature in Javanese building is pendopo, a
pavilion with open-side and four large pillars. The pillars and other
part of the buildings can be richly carved. This architecture style can
be found at kraton or palace of the Sultanates of Yogyakarta (palaces of
Hamengkubuwono and Pakualaman) and Surakarta (palaces of Pakubuwono and
Mangkunegaran).
Traditional
mosques in Java retain its root. Pendopo model is used as main feature
of the mosque as its prayer hall. Trapezoid roof is used instead of
domes, often with multi-tiered, tiled roof. In addition of not using
domes, traditional Javanese mosque also often didn't have minaret. The
split gate from earlier Hindu-Buddhist period is still used in many
mosques and public buildings in Java.
Important
examples of mosque with traditional Javanese architecture are Agung
Demak Mosque, Menara Kudus Mosque and Grand Mosque of Banten. Kudus
Mosque is even more notable because it incorporate Hindu-style stone
architectures.
Cuisine
Javanese
cuisine and culture place an important role in rice, the staple food of
the island. Among Javanese it is considered not to have a meal if a
person hasn't eat rice yet. It is also important part of identity that
differentiate Javanese with foreigners that eat bread (the Europeans)
and resident of other island who eat sago (for example Moluccans). Rice
is also symbol of development and prosperity, while cassava and tuber is
associated with poverty.
Javanese cuisine is varied by
regions. Eastern Javanese cuisine has preference for more salty and hot
foods. While the Central Javanese prefer sweeter foods.
Famous food in Javanese cuisine
is for example Rujak Cingur, a marinated cow lips and noses, served with
vegetable, shrimp prawn and peanut sauce with chili. Rojak Cingur is
considered traditional food of Surabaya in East Java.
Gudeg is a traditional food from
Yogyakarta and Central Java which is made from young Nangka (jack
fruit) boiled for several hours with palm sugar, and coconut milk.
Pecel, a type of peanut sauce
with chili is a common ingredients in Javanese cuisine. It is used in
various type of Rujak and Gado-gado. It can also be used as stand alone
sauce with rice and prawn, egg and vegetables as Nasi Pecel (Pecel
rice).
Tumpeng
Tumpeng,
is a rice served in the shape of a conical volcano, usually with rice
colored yellow using turmeric. It is an important part of ceremony in
Java. Tumpeng served in landmark events such as birthday, moving house,
or other ceremonies. Traditionally, Tumpeng is served alongside fried
chicken, boiled egg, vegetables, goat meat on a round plate made from
bamboo called besek.
But the most
famous food originated in Java is perhaps tempeh, a meat substitute
made from soy bean fermented with mold. It is a staple source of protein
in Java and popular in the world as an excellent meat substitute for
vegetarians.
Social stratification
The
famous American anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the 1960s divided the
Javanese community into three aliran or "streams": santri, abangan and
priyayi. According to him, the Santri followed an orthodox
interpretation Islam, the abangan was the followed a syncretic form of
Islam that mixed Hindu and animist elements (often termed Kejawen), and
the priyayi was the nobility.
But today the Geertz opinion is
often opposed because he mixed the social groups with belief groups. It
was also difficult to apply this social categorisation in classing
outsiders, for example other non-indigenous Indonesians such as persons
of Arab, Chinese and Indian descent.
Social stratification is much less rigid in northern coast area, which is much more egalitarian.
Names
Javanese
do not usually have family names or surnames. Many have just a single
name. For example, Sukarno or Suharto. Javanese names may come from
traditional Javanese languages, many of which are derived from Sanskrit.
Names with the prefix Su-,which means good, are very popular. After the
advent of Islam, many Javanese began to use Arabic names, especially
coast populations, where Islamic influences are stronger. Commoners
usually only have one-word names, while nobilities use two-or-more-word
names, but rarely a surname. Due to the influence of other cultures,
many people started using names from other languages, mainly European
languages. Christian Javanese usually use Latin baptism names followed
by a traditional Javanese name.
Some people use a patronymic.
For example, Abdurrahman Wahid's name is derived from his father's name
(Wahid Hasyim) who was an independence fighter and minister. In turn,
Wahid Hasyim's name was derived from that of his father: Hasyim Asyari, a
famous cleric and founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization.
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