Java

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This article is about the island Java; for the cross-platform technology see Java (Sun); for other uses see Java (disambiguation).

{| class="infobox bordered" cellpadding="4" style="font-size: 95%;" style="margin-left: inherit; font-size: medium;" | Java Country Indonesia Locality Sunda Islands Capital Jakarta Area 126 700 km² Population
–Total (2005 est.)
–Density
124 million
981/km²

Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. It is the most populous island, and one of the most densely-populated regions, in the world. The former site of powerful Hindu - kingdoms and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia.

Geography

Nature

Java () is in a chain of islands with Kalimantan (Borneo) to the north, Sumatra to the northwest, Bali to the east, Sulawesi to the northeast and Christmas Island to the south. It is the world's 13th largest island.

Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; and contains no fewer than thirty-eight mountains of that conical form, which indicates their having at one time or another been active volcanoes. See Volcanoes of Java.

The island's longest river is the Bengawan Solo River, at some 540 km in length. The Bengawan Solo rises from its source in central Java at the Tawu volcano, flows north then eastwards to its mouth in the Java Sea, near the city of Surabaya.

Demographics

Java contains the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. Popular tourist destinations include the city of Yogyakarta, a massive pyramid-like monument to Buddha known as Borobudur; and Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Java.

Java is by far the most populous island in Indonesia, with approximately 55% of the overall population of the country. With 124 million inhabitants at 981 people per km² it would, if it were a country, be the second-most densely-populated country of the world after Bangladesh, except for some very small city-states.

Since the 1970s, the Indonesian government has run transmigration programs aimed at resettling the population of Java on other less-populated islands of Indonesia. This program has met with mixed results, and sometimes caused conflicts between the locals and the recently arrived settlers.

The island is divided into 4 provinces, 1 special region* (daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota):

Banten
Jakarta**
Jawa Barat (West Java)
Jawa Tengah (Central Java)
Jawa Timur (East Java)
Yogyakarta*

History

Paleontology

The island of Java is famous for several paleoanthropological finds of early hominid specimens. In particular, the 1891 discovery of cranial fossil remains commonly known as "Java man" (now designated as Trinil 2, after the Trinil site on the Bengawan Solo River), is famous for being the first such discovery of an early hominid specimen outside of Europe. This find, and several subsequent ones which have been made at various locations along the river's valleys, are now generally classified as belonging to the species Homo erectus.

Scientists speculate that, two million years ago, the rainfall in the Sunda and Digul plateaus was very heavy, which allowed heavy tropical vegetation to thrive. This, in turn allowed many prehistoric cultures to emerge, as evidenced in many fossil findings in this region.

Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms

Much evidence of Java's past kingdoms remains; such as the famous Buddhist Borobudur and Hindu Prambanan temples. Indeed, the Javanese culture, and language itself, was heavily influenced by the cultures and languages of the Indian subcontinent. In the sixth and seventh centuries, many maritime kingdoms arose in Sumatra and Java, which controlled the waters in the Straits of Malacca, and flourished with the increasing sea-trade between China and India and beyond. During this time, scholars from India and China visited these kingdoms to translate literary and religious texts.

The most prominent of the Hindu kingdoms was the Majapahit kingdom based in East Java, from where it ruled a large part of what is now western Indonesia. The name of the Majapahit empire is still invoked by contemporary Indonesian leaders to promote "unity", and the legitimacy of the state. The remnants of the Majapahit kingdom shifted to Bali during the sixteenth century, as Muslim kingdoms in the western part of the island gained influence.

Muslim kingdoms and the Dutch colonization

The earliest Muslim "evangelists" were called the Wali Songo, the "nine ambassadors". Several of them were of Chinese origin, leading to speculation about Zheng He's influence on the trade in the Straits of Malacca. Many of their tombs are still well-preserved, and often visited "Ziarah" for superstitious and religious reasons. Most of the brand of Islam that is adopted in Java is mixed with long-standing indigenous beliefs, and has a decidedly "local flavor". For example, the legend of Nyi Roro Kidul was invented as a mix of the superstition common on the southern coast of Java, and Islamic influences.

The Dutch East India Company (VOC) established its trading and administrative headquarters in Batavia (now the capital city of Jakarta). This capital, along with other coastal cities such as Semarang and Surabaya, was the focus of Dutch attention during most of the colonial period. The VOC maintained control over the mountainous interior of the island through indigenous client states, such as Mataram in central Java.

The nineteenth century saw the Dutch government take over administration of Indonesia from the VOC, and in the mid-nineteenth century, they implemented new policies, usually called the Cultivation System (Dutch: cultuurstelsel). These policies, intended to increase the profitability of the colony by requiring increased production of cash crops, led to famine and widespread poverty on Java. By the beginning of the twentieth century, protest over the policy's effects, and political changes in the Netherlands and in the Indies led to the Ethical Policy. This policy of increased investment in the colony gave many more Javanese elites access to a Dutch education, both in Java and in the Netherlands itself. It was from this elite that the most prominent nationalist leaders came. They formed the core of the new government, when Indonesia became a Republic after World War II.

Republican era

With the establishment of Jakarta as the capital and the Javanese roots of the majority of Indonesian political figures, the island has a dominant role in the political and economic life of the nation. While parts of rural Java are among the poorest in the nation, the urban areas of the island are Indonesia's wealthiest and most urbanized areas. Both presidents Sukarno (1945-1965) and Suharto (1965-1998), were from Java.

This political dominance has resulted in resentment on the part of some residents of other islands. Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer once recommended that the Indonesian capital be moved outside the island of Java, in order to free the Indonesian nationalist movement from its Java-centric character.

Culture

Generally speaking, the three major cultures of Java are the Sundanese culture of West Java, the Central Java culture, and the East Java culture. In the western 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 Javan court cities of 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, 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.

See also: Culture of Indonesia

Language

The three major languages spoken on the island are Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese. Other languages spoken by smaller groups include Betawi, Banyumasan, Badui, Osing and Tenggerese. The vast majority of the population also speaks Indonesian, generally as a second language.

Religion

Most Javanese (92%) are Muslims, either of the Abangan (40%) (nominal) type or orthodox (60%). Small Hindu (1-2%) enclaves are scattered through-out Java, but a large Hindu population prevails along the eastern coast nearest Bali, especially around the town of Banyuwangi. There are also Christian (2-3%) (communities; mostly in the major cities, although they are in the minority. Certain rural areas of south-central Java are strongly Catholic. Buddhist communities (1%) also exist in the major cities, primarily among the Indonesian Chinese.

Then there are also groups of followers of Kejawen, or Javanese "mystical" groups (see "mysticism") who do not fit easily into governmental administrative categories - such as Sumarah, Subud and other groups. During the Suharto era, it was mandatory to belong to a government-approved religion in order to have an identity card, which itself was also mandatory. Followers of Kejawen had various difficulties because of this issue.

Ethnic groups

External links

JAVA, FACTS AND FANCIES, by Augusta De Wit, 1905. (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & layered PDF format)

Islands of Indonesia | History of Java | Java

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