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Javanese
 

Javanese is a term used to describe a native of the Indonesian island of Java. At 90 million people (as of 2004) it is the largest ethnic group in Indonesia.

The Javanese were traditionally concentrated in the provinces of East Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta, but due to migration within Indonesia (as part of government transmigration programs or otherwise) there are now high populations of Javanese people in almost all the Indonesian provinces.

Language

Javanese people use Javanese language in everyday speech. 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.

Family

Culturally, Javanese people adopt a paternalistic system that traces the hierarchic lineage of the father. This system is particularly used to determine descendants' right to use royal titles before their names. However, it is not customary for Javanese to have descended family name.

Religion

Most Javanese are Muslim. Some also follow Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism). This is also true in rural areas.

Buddhism and Hinduism also are found in the Javanese community. Some Javanese also follow the ethnic religion Kejawen, which is animistic with strong influences from Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Javanese community is also known for syncretism of beliefs. All the outside cultures were absorbed and interpreted according to the Javanese values so the beliefs sometimes became hazy.

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.

Social stratification

The famous American anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the 1960s divided the Javanese community into three groups: Santri, Abangan and Priyayi. According to him, the Santri was the follower of the religion Islam that obeyed, the Abangan was the follower Islam nominally or the follower Kejawen, whereas 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.

Art

The famous Javanese wayang puppetry culture was influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism. The Wayang repertoire stories, lakon, are mostly (loosely) based on epics from India; Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are also influences from Islam and the Western world.

Gamelan musical ensembles are found in both Java and Bali.

Names

Javanese do not usually have family names or surnames. Many have just a single name. For example, Sukarno or Suharto. Names may have come from traditional Javanese languages, which in turn many derived from Sanskrit. Names with the prefix Su-,which means good, is very popular. After the advent of Islam, many Javanese used Arabic names, especially among cleric and northern coast population, 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 other cultures' influence, many people started using names from other languages, mainly European languages. Christian Javanese usually use Latin baptist names followed with traditional Javanese name.

Some people use a patronymic, for example, Abdurrahman Wahid's name is derived from Wahid Hasyim, his father, an independence fighter and minister. It is in turn derived from his grandfather named Hasyim Asyari, a famous cleric and founder of Nahdhatul Ulama organization.

Notable Javanese people

Historic figures

Politicians

Artists

Others

Ethnic groups in Indonesia | Ethnic groups in Malaysia

Javaner | Suku Jawa | Javanen | Javanci

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Javanese".

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