Java: Difference between revisions

|elevation_m = 3678

|ethnic_groups = [[Javanese people|Javanese]] (inc. [[Tenggerese people|Tenggerese]], [[Osing people|Osing]], [[Banyumasan people|Banyumasan]]),<br />[[Sundanese people|Sundanese]] (inc. [[Baduy people|Baduy]], <br />[[Bantenese people|Bantenese]], <br />[[Cirebonese]]), <br />[[Madurese people|Madurese]] (inc. Pendalungan),<br />[[Betawi people|Betawi]] etc.  

Indonesia's capital city, [[Jakarta]], is on Java's northwestern coast. Much of the well-known parts of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial [[Dutch East Indies]]. Java was also the center of the [[History of Indonesia|Indonesian struggle for independence]] during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight [[UNESCO]] world heritage sites are located in Java: [[Ujung Kulon National Park]], [[Borobudur Temple]], [[Prambanan Temple]], and [[Sangiran Early Man Site]].

Four main languages are spoken on the island: [[Javanese language|Javanese]], [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]], [[Madurese language|Madurese]], and [[Betawi language|Betawi]]. Javanese and Sundanese are the most spoken.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Naim |first1=Akhsan |last2=Syaputra |first2=Hendry |year=2011 |title=Kewarganegaraan, Suku Bangsa, Agama, dan Bahasa Sehari-Hari Penduduk Indonesia: Hasil Sensus Penduduk 2010 |url=https://www.bps.go.id/publication/2012/05/23/55eca38b7fe0830834605b35/kewarganegaraan-suku-bangsa-agama-dan-bahasa-sehari-hari-penduduk-indonesia.html |location=Jakarta |publisher=Badan Pusat Statistik |isbn=9789790644175 |language=id |page=47 }}</ref> The ethnic groups native to the island are the [[Javanese people|Javanese]] in the central and eastern parts, [[Sundanese people|Sundanese]] in the western parts, [[Bantenese people|Bantenese]] in [[Banten]], and [[Cirebonese people|Ciribonese]] in the city of [[Cirebon|Ciribon]]. The [[Madurese people|Madurese]] in the [[Eastern salient of Java]] are migrants from [[Madura Island]], while the [[Betawi people|Betawi]] in the capital city of Jakarta are hybrids from various [[ethnic groups in Indonesia]]. Most residents are bilingual, speaking [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] (the official language of Indonesia) as their first or second language. While the majority of the people of Java are [[Muslims|Muslim]], Java's population comprises people of diverse religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stockdale |first1=John Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJxt2i2HbjEC&q=java+island |title=Island of Java |last2=Bastin |first2=John |date=2004-03-15 |publisher=Periplus Editions (HK) Limited |isbn=978-962-8734-23-8 |language=en }}</ref>

The origins of the name "Java" are not clear. One possibility is that the island was named after the [[Foxtail millet|''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.<ref>Raffles, Thomas E.: ''[[The History of Java (1817 book)|History of Java]]''. Oxford University Press, 1965, p. 2.</ref> There are other possible sources: the word ''jaú'' and its variations mean "beyond" or "distant".<ref name="Raffles, Thomas E. 1965. Page 3">Raffles, Thomas E.: ''[[The History of Java (1817 book)|History of Java]]''. Oxford University Press, 1965, p. 3.</ref> And, in [[Sanskrit]] ''yava'' means barley, a plant for which the island was famous.<ref name="Raffles, Thomas E. 1965. Page 3"/> "Yavadvipa" is mentioned in [[India]]'s earliest epic, the [[Ramayana]]. [[Sugriva]], the chief of [[Rama]]'s army, dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search of [[Sita]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ic4BjWFmNIC&pg=PA465|title=History Of Ancient India (portraits Of A Nation), 1/e|date=January 30, 2010|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=9788120749108|via=Google Books}}</ref> It was hence referred to in India by the Sanskrit name "yāvaka dvīpa" (dvīpa = island). Java is mentioned in the ancient Tamil text ''[[Manimekalai]]'' by [[Chithalai Chathanar]] which states that Java had a kingdom with a capital called Nagapuram.<ref>Hindu culture in ancient India by Sekharipuram Vaidyanatha Viswanatha, p. 177.</ref><ref>Tamil Literature by M. S. Purnalingam Pillai, p. 46.</ref><ref>The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago by V. Kanakasabhai, p. 11.</ref> Another source states that the word "Java" is derived from a [[Proto-Austronesian]] root word, meaning "home".<ref>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.</ref> The great island of Iabadiu or Jabadiu was mentioned in [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geographia]]'' composed around 150 CE in the [[Roman Empire]]. ''Iabadiu'' is said to mean "barley island", to be rich in gold, and have a silver town called Argyra at the west end. The name indicates Java<ref name ="AncientGeo">{{cite book|title=History of Ancient Geography|author=J. Oliver Thomson|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2013|isbn=9781107689923|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=GpP0wKQ1lksC|pages=316–317}}</ref> and seems to be derived from the Sanskrit name Java-dvipa (Yavadvipa).{{See also|Zabag kingdom|al-Wakwak}}The annual news of Songshu and Liangshu referred to Java as She-po (5th century CE), He-ling (640–818), then called it She-po again until the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368), where they began mentioning Zhao-Wa (爪哇).<ref name=":3">Lombard, Denys (2005)''. [https://archive.org/details/NJ2JA/mode/2up?q= Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya, Bagian 2: Jaringan Asia]''. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. An Indonesian translation of Lombard, Denys (1990). ''Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) vol. 2''. Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. p. 12.</ref> According to [[Ma Huan]]'s book (the [[Yingya Shenglan|Yingya Shenlan]]), the Chinese called Java as Chao-Wa, and the island was called 闍婆 (''She-pó'' or ''She-bó'') in the past.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mills |first=J.V.G. |title=Ying-yai Sheng-lan: The Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores [1433] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1970 |location=Cambridge |pages=86}}</ref> Sulaiman al-Tajir al-Sirafi mentioned two notable island which separated Arab and China: One is 800 [[Parasang|farsakh]] long Al-Rami, which is identified as Sumatra, and the other is [[Zabaj]] (Arabic: الزابج, [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]: Sabak), 400 farsakh in length, identified as Java.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Nugroho|first=Irawan Djoko|title=Majapahit Peradaban Maritim|publisher=Suluh Nuswantara Bakti|year=2011|isbn=9786029346008}}</ref>{{Rp|30–31}} When [[Giovanni de' Marignolli|John of Marignolli]] returned from China to [[Avignon]], he stayed at the [[Sheba|Kingdom of Saba]] for a few months, which he said had many elephants and was led by a [[Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi|queen]]; Saba may be his interpretation of She-bó.''<ref>Yule, Sir Henry (1913). ''[https://archive.org/details/cathaywaythither03yule/page/n15/mode/2up?q=saba Cathay and the way thither: being a collection of medieval notices of China vol. III]''. London: The Hakluyt Society.</ref>{{Rp|page=xii, 192–194}}'' [[Afanasy Nikitin|Afanasij Nikitin]], a merchant from [[Tver]] (in Russia), travelled to India in 1466 and described the land of java, which he call шабайте (shabait/šabajte).<ref>Braginsky, Vladimir. 1998. [https://www.academia.edu/21785432/Two_Eastern_Christian_Sources_on_Medieval_Nusantara Two Eastern Christian sources on medieval Nusantara]. ''Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde''. 154(3): 367–396.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Zenkovsky|first=Serge A.|url=https://archive.org/details/medievalrussiase00zenk/page/346/mode/2up?q=shabait|title=Medieval Russia's epics, chronicles, and tales|publisher=Dutton|year=1974|isbn=0525473637|location=New York|pages=345–347}}</ref>

[[File:KerbauJawa.jpg|left|thumb|[[Water buffalo]] ploughing [[Paddy field|rice fields]] near [[Salatiga]], in [[Central Java]].]]

The VOC set their foothold on [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in the 17th century and was succeeded by the [[Dutch East Indies]] in the 19th century. During these colonial times, the Dutch introduced the cultivation of commercial plants in Java, such as [[sugarcane]], [[rubber]], [[coffee]], [[tea]], and [[quinine]]. In the 19th and early 20th century, Javanese coffee gained global popularity. Thus, the name "Java" today has become a synonym for coffee.<ref>https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-coffee-called-a-cup-of-joe#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20the,to%20be%20known%20as%20java.</ref><ref>https://www.littlecoffeeplace.com/why-is-coffee-called-java</ref><ref>https://coffeechronicler.com/why-is-coffee-called-java/</ref><ref>https://driftaway.coffee/coffee-called-java/</ref>

Java has been Indonesia's most developed island since the Dutch East Indies era and continues to be so today in the modern Republic of Indonesia. The road transportation networks that have existed since ancient times were connected and perfected with the construction of [[Great Post Road|Java Great Post Road]] by [[Daendels]] in the early 19th century. It became the backbone of Java's road infrastructure and laid the base of [[North Coast Road (Java)|Java North Coast Road]] ({{lang-id|Jalan Pantura, abbreviation from "Pantai Utara"}}). The need to transport commercial produces such as coffee from plantations in the interior of the island to the harbour on the coast spurred the construction of railway networks in Java. Today, industry, business, trade and services flourished in major cities of Java, such as [[Jakarta]], [[Surabaya]], [[Semarang]], and [[Bandung]]; while some traditional Sultanate cities such as [[Yogyakarta]], [[Surakarta]], and [[Cirebon]] preserved its royal legacy and has become the centre of art, culture and tourism. Industrial estates are also growing in towns on northern coast of Java, especially around [[Cilegon]], [[Tangerang]], [[Bekasi]], [[Karawang]], [[Gresik]] and [[Sidoarjo]]. The [[toll road]] highway networks was built and expanded since the New Order until the present day, connecting major urban centres and surrounding areas, such as in and around [[Jakarta]] and [[Bandung]]; also the ones in [[Cirebon]], [[Semarang]] and [[Surabaya]]. In addition to these motorways, Java has 16 national highways.  

Based on the statistical data by the year of 2012 released by [[Statistics Indonesia]] (''Badan Pusat Statistik''), Java alone contributes at least 59.51% of Indonesia's GDP or equivalent to US$504&nbsp;billion.