Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Javanese people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Javanese |
|---|
 Javanese rambutan seller wearing Batik shirt and peci hat |
| Total population |
|
approximately 85 million (2000 census) |
| Regions with significant populations |
Indonesia: 83.2 million
Malaysia: 1 million |
| Languages |
| Javanese, Indonesian, Malay, Madurese, Dutch, French and others |
| Religions |
| Kejawen, Islam, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Sundanese, Madurese, Balinese |
The Javanese are an ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. At 90 million people (as of 2004) it is the largest ethnic group on the island, and also 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. (The province of West Java is home to the Sundanese, Indonesia's second largest ethnic group who are ethnically distinct from the Javanese).
Contents |
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.
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 a descended family name.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
- Jayabaya, King and prophet in ancient Kediri kingdom.
- Gajah Mada, prime minister in ancient Java empire of Majapahit
- Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX, revolutionary king of Yogyakarta
- LB Moerdani, former military and intelligence czar
- Munir, human right activist, partly Javanese
- Nurcholish Madjid, Muslim intellectual
- Amien Rais, Muslim intellectual
- Suharto, former president
- Sukarno, one of Indonesia's founding fathers and former president.
- Soenario, former foreign minister and ambassador.
- Abdurrahman Wahid, Muslim intellectual and former president.
- Muhammad Khir Bin Toyo, Chief Minister of Selangor, Malaysia.
- Megawati Soekarnoputri, former president.
- Paul Somohardjo, Surinamese politician.
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president incumbent.
- Anggun Cipta Sasmi, international singer
- Michelle Branch, American singer (one Javanese grandparent)
- Inul Daratista, a popular dangdut singer
- Nial Djuliarso, jazz pianist based in Manhattan
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar, actor (Javanese mother)
- Marina Joesoef, painter and photographer (Javanese father)
- Gesang Martohartono, composer of the song "Bengawan Solo", famous in Indonesia and Japan
- Dian Sastrowardoyo, model and actress (three-quarters Javanese)
- Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen of the American rock band Van Halen, Javanese mother
- Mata Hari, an infamous World War I spy (Dutch father and Javanese mother).
- Pramoedya Ananta Toer, author.
- Raden Saleh, an aristocratic painter in the 19th century.
- Subagio Sastrowardoyo, poet, essayist and literary critic.
- Selo Soemardjan, sociologist.
- Pratiwi Sudarmono, scientist and former astronaut candidate.
- Wiranto, Indonesian general.
- Sudirman, Indonesian General during independence war
- Sudirman Haji Arshad, popular Malaysian singer in the 1980s.
