Central Java (Indonesian: Provinsi Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of the six provinces of the island of Java. Central Java is both a political entity and a cultural concept. Culturally and historically Yogyakarta is a significant part of Central Java. However, administratively the city and surrounding region has been part of a separate special region since Indonesian independence. In the same context, but in contrast — the region of Surakarta is a significant incorporated component of Central Java.
The province of Central Java is 32,548.20 km2 in area; approximately a quarter of the total land area of Java. Its population is 31,820,000 (As of 2005[update]), making it the third most-populous province in Indonesia after West Java and East Java, and constituting approximately one quarter of the island's population.
Geography
Mount Merbabu near
Salatiga - much of Central Java's countryside is dominated by rice fields and volcanic peaks
Located in the middle of the island of Java, the Central Java province is bordered by the West Java and the East Java provinces. A small portion of its south region is the Yogyakarta Special Region province, fully enclosed by the Central Java province. Yogyakarta is historically and culturally part of the Central Java region, although it is currently a separate political entity. To the north and the south, the Central Java province faces the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. Central Java also includes some offshore islands: Karimun Jawa Islands in the north, and Nusakambangan in the southwest.
The average temperature in Central Java is between 18–28 degrees celsius and the relative humidity varies between 73–94 percent.[2] While a high level of humidity exists in most low lying parts of the province, it drops significantly in the upper mountains.[2] The highest average annual rainfall of 3,990 mm with 195 rainy days was recorded in Salatiga.[2]
The geography of Central Java is regular with small strips of lowlands near the northern and southern coast with mountain ranges in the centre of the region. To the west lies an active stratovolcano Mount Slamet, then a bit further to the east is the Dieng Volcanic Complex on the Dieng Plateau. At southeast of the Dieng plateau lies the high plateau of Kedu Plain, bordered on the east side by the twin volcanoes of Mount Merapi (the most active volcanoes in Indonesia) and Mount Merbabu. At the south of Semarang, lies Mount Ungaran, and to the north-east of the city lies Mount Muria on the most northern tip of Java. To the east near the border with East Java lies Mount Lawu, where its eastern slopes are in the East Java province.
Due to active volcanic history and therefore volcanic ash, Central Java is a very fertile region for agriculture. Sight of extensive paddy fields is common, except in the southeastern — Gunung Kidul region — partly due to the high concentration of limestone and its location in a rain shadow from the prevailing weather.
Two major rivers run through Central Java; Serayu in the west, which empties in the Indian Ocean, and the Solo River (Javanese: Bengawan Solo), which flows to the East Java province.
Administrative division
On the eve of the World War II in 1942, Central Java was subdivided into 7 residencies (Dutch residentie or plural residenties, Javanese karésiḍènan or karésidhènan) which correspond more or less with the main regions of this area. These residencies were Banjoemas, Kedoe, Pekalongan, Semarang, and Djapara-Rembang added with the so called Gouvernement Soerakarta and Gouvernement Jogjakarta. However after the local elections in 1957 the role of these regencies were reduced until they finally disappeared.[3]
Nowadays Central Java (excluding Yogyakarta) is divided in 29 regencies (kabupaten) and 6 cities (kota, previously kotamadya and kota pradja). A regency can also be called a rural district while an autonomous city is an urban district. Below are regencies and autonomous cities of Central Java:
- Regencies: Banjarnegara, Banyumas, Batang, Blora, Boyolali, Brebes, Cilacap, Demak, Grobogan, Jepara, Karanganyar, Kebumen, Kendal, Klaten, Kudus, Magelang, Pati, Pekalongan, Pemalang, Purbalingga, Purworejo, Rembang, Semarang, Sragen, Sukoharjo, Tegal, Temanggung, Wonogiri, Wonosobo
These contemporary regencies and cities can further be subdivided into 565 sub-districts (kecamatan). Furthermore sub-districts are subdivided into 7,804 rural communes or "villages" (desa) and 764 urban communes (kelurahan).[2]
History
Java has been inhabited by humans or their ancestors (hominina) since prehistorical times. In Central Java and the adjacent territories in East Java remains known as "Java Man" were discovered in the 1890s by the Dutch anatomist and geologist Eugène Dubois. Java Man belongs to the species Homo erectus.[4] They are believed to be about 1.7 millions years old.[5]
Then about 40,000 years ago, Australoid peoples related to modern Australian Aboriginals and Melanesians colonised Central Java. They were assimilated or replaced by Mongoloid Austronesians by about 3000 BC, who brought with them technologies of pottery, outrigger canoes, the bow and arrow, and introduced domesticated pigs, fowls, and dogs. They also introduced cultivated rice and millet.[6]
Recorded history began in Central Java in the 7th century AD. The writing, as well as Hinduism and Buddhism, were brought to Central Java by Indians from South Asia. Central Java was a centre of power in Java back then.
In 664 AD, the Chinese monk Hui-neng visited the Javanese port city of Ho-ling, where he translated various Buddhist scriptures into Chinese with the assistance of the Javanese Buddhist monk Jñānabhadra.[7] It is not precisely known what is meant by the name Ho-ling. It used to be considered the Chinese transcription of Kalinga but it now most commonly thought of as a rendering of the name Areng. Ho-ling is believed to be located somewhere between Semarang and Jepara.[8]
The first dated inscription in Central Java is the Inscription of Canggal which is from 732 AD (or 654 Saka). This inscription which hailed from Kedu, is written in Sanskrit in Pallava script.[9] In this inscription it is written that a Shaivite king named Sri Sanjaya established a kingdom called Mataram. Under the reign of Sanjaya's dynasty several monuments such as the Prambanan temple complex were built.
In the meantime a competing dynasty arose, which adhered to Buddhism. This was the Sailendra dynasty, also from Kedu, which built the Borobudur temple.
After 820 there is no more mention of Ho-ling in Chinese records. This fact coincides with the overthrow of the Sailendras by the Sanjayas who restored Shaivism as the dominant religion. Then in the middle of the 10th century, for unknown reason, the centre of power moved to Eastern Java.[8]
A few centuries later, after the destruction of the great Hindu Majapahit Empire in the 15th - 16th centuries by the Central Javanese Muslim kingdom of Demak, the Javanese centre of power moved back to Central Java. In the meanwhile European traders began to frequent Central Javanese ports. The Dutch established a presence in the region through their East India Company.
After Demak itself collapsed, a new kingdom on the Kedu Plain emerged. This new kingdom, which was also a sultanate bore the old name of "Mataram". Under the reign of Sultan Agung, Mataram was able to conquer almost all of Java and beyond by the 17th century, but internal disputes and Dutch intrigues forced Mataram to cede more and more land to the Dutch. These cessions finally led to several partitions of Mataram. The first partition was after the Treaty of Giyanti on February 13, 1755. This treaty divided the old kingdom in two, the Sultanate of Surakarta and the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. Then few years later Surakarta was divided again with the establishment of the Mangkunegaran after the Treaty of Salatiga on March 17, 1757.
During Napoleonic Wars in Europe, Central Java as part of the Netherlands East-Indies, a Dutch colony, was handed over to the British. In 1813, the Sultanate of Yogyakarta was also divided with the eastablishment of the Pakualamanan.
The shattered kingdom, Mataram in 1830, after the
Java War.
After the British left, the Dutch came back as was decided by the Congress of Vienna. Between 1825 - 1830 the Java War ravaged Central Java. The result of the war was a consolidation of the Dutch power. The power and the territories of the divided kingdom of Mataram were greatly reduced.
However Dutch rule brought modernization to Central Java. In the 1900s the modern province of Central Java, the predecessor of the current one was created. It consisted of five regions or gewesten in Dutch. Surakarta and Yogyakarta were autonomous regions called Vorstenlanden (literally "princely states"). Then after the Indonesian independence the province of Central Java was formalized on August 15, 1950, excluding Yogyakarta but including Surakarta[2] Since then there have been no (major) changes in the administrative division of Central Java.
After the 30 September Movement's abortive coup, on 30 September 1965, [[an anti-communist purge took place in Central Java, in which Communists and leftists (both actual and alleged) killed by the army and community vigilante groups. Others were interned in concentration camps, the most infamous of which was on the isle of Buru in the Moluccas (first used as a place of political exile by the Dutch). Many were executed years later but most were released in 1979[10]
In 1998, preluding the downfall of president Suharto, anti Chinese violence broke out in Surakarta (Solo) and surrounding areas. Much Chinese property and other buildings were burnt down. In 1999, public buildings in Surakarta were burnt again by supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri after the Indonesia parliament chose Abdurrahman Wahid instead of Soekarnoputri. They carried out 'sweeping actions' against Western foreigners who reside in this city after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[11]
In May 2006, earthquakes in southern Central Java and Yogyakarta devastated many buildings and caused thousands of deaths and more than 37,000 injuries. Today, some areas are still under reconstruction.
Demographics
As of the 2005 census, Central Java's population stood at some 31,820,000. As of the 1990 census, the population was 28,516,786.[12] So the population has increased approximately 11.6% in 15 years.
The three biggest regencies in terms of population are: Brebes, Banyumas and Cilacap. Together these regencies make up approximately 16% of the Central Javanese population. Major urban population centers are greater Semarang, greater Surakarta and Brebes-Tegal-Slawi area.
Religion
A typical Javanese mosque with
Meru-like roof (Masjid Sholihin in Surakarta)
Officially, in 1990 the majority of the Central Javanese population or about 96%, was nominally Muslims. The second largest religion was Protestantism which was professed by 2% of the population.[13] The remainder of the population was either Catholic, Hindu or Buddhist.
Although the overwhelming majority of Javanese are Muslims, many of them also profess indigenous Javanese beliefs. Clifford Geertz, in his book about the religion of Java made a distinction between the so-called santri Javanese and abangan Javanese.[14] He considered santri Javanese as orthodox Muslims while abangan Javanese are nominal Muslims that devote more energy to indigenous traditions.
Dutch Protestants were active in missionary activities and were rather successful. The Dutch Catholic Jesuit missionary man, F.G.C. van Lith also achieved some success, especially in areas around the central-southern parts of Central Java and Yogyakarta in the beginning of the 20th century,[15] and he is buried at the Jesuit necropolis at Muntilan.
After the Overthrow of Sukarno in 1965, religious identification of citizens became compulsory. Therefore there has been a renaissance of Buddhism and Hinduism since then. As one has to choose a religion out of the five official religions in Indonesia; i.e. Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, the latter two became alternatives for people who didn't want to be Muslims or Christians.
Confucianism is also common amongst Chinese Indonesians. Since 2006 it is a recognised official religion.
[edit] Ethnicity
The vast majority of the population in Central Java are ethnic Javanese, they constitute approximately 98% of the whole population.[1] In addition to the Javanese, small pockets of Sundanese communities are to be found near the border with West Java, especially in Brebes and Cilacap regencies. Sundanese toponyms are common in these regions such as Dayeuhluhur in Cilacap, Ciputih and Citimbang in Brebes and even Cilongok as far away in Banyumas.[16]
In urban centers, other minorities such as Chinese Indonesians and Arabs are common. The Chinese are even to be found in rural areas. The urban areas that are densely populated by Chinese Indonesian, are called pecinan, which means "China Town".
Language
As the overwhelming majority of the population of Central Java are Javanese, the most dominant language is Javanese. There are several dialects which are spoken in Central Java, the two main dialects are western Javanese (also called Basa Ngapak which includes the "Banyumasan dialect" and the dialect of Brebes-Tegal-Pekalongan[17]) and central Javanese.
Sundanese is also spoken in some pockets near the border with West Java, especially in Brebes and Cilacap regencies. However, according to some sources, Sundanese used to be spoken as far away as in Dieng Plateau.[18] This former boundary of Sundanese coincides more or less with the isogloss dividing Central Javanese with Western Javanese.
In urban centers Indonesian is widely spoken.
Culture
Central Java is considered to be the heart of the Javanese culture. Home of the Javanese courts, Central Javanese culture formed what non-Javanese see as the "Javanese Culture" along with it stereotypes. The ideal conducts and morals of the courts (such as politeness, nobility and grace) influence the people tremendously. The people of Central Java are known as soft-spoken, very polite, extremely class-conscious, apathetic, down-to-earth, et cetera. These stereotypes formed what most non-Javanese see as "Javanese Culture", when in fact not all of the Javanese people behave that way. Moreover, most Javanese are far from the court culture.[19]
Mapping the Javanese cultures
The Javanese cultural area can be divided into three distinct main regions: Western Javanese, Central Javanese and Eastern Javanese culture or in their Javanese names as Ngapak, Kejawèn and Arèk.
The boundaries of these cultural regions coincide with the
isoglosses of the Javanese dialects. Cultural areas west of
Dieng Plateau and
Pekalongan Regency are considered
Ngapak whereas the boundary of the eastern cultural areas or
Arèk lies in
East Java. Consequently culturally, Central Java consists of two cultures, while the Central Javanese Culture proper is not entirely confined to Central Java.
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