Javanese people

The Javanese (Javanese: ꦮꦺꦴꦁꦗꦮ, romanized: Wong Jåwå (in the ngoko register), ꦠꦶꦪꦁꦗꦮꦶ, Tiyang Jawi (in the krama register); Indonesian: Orang Jawa) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of Java island, which covers most of the administrative areas of the provinces of Central Java, East Java, and Special Region of Yogyakarta. With more than 100 million people, Javanese people are the largest ethnic group in both Indonesia and in Southeast Asia as a whole. Their native language is Javanese, it is the largest of the Austronesian languages in number of native speakers and also the largest regional language in Southeast Asia. As the largest ethnic group in the region, the Javanese have historically dominated the social, political, and cultural landscape of both Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

There are significant numbers of Javanese diaspora outside of central and eastern Java regions, including the other provinces of Indonesia, as well as other countries such as Suriname, Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Yemen and the Netherlands. The Javanese ethnic group has many sub-groups (based on native Javanese community on the island of Java) that can be distinguished based on their characteristics, customs, traditions, dialects, or even their respective ways of life. These include Banyumasan, Cirebonese, Mataram, Osing, and Tenggerese. The majority of the Javanese people identify themselves as Sunni Muslims, with a small minority identifying as Christians and Hindus. With a large global population, the Javanese are considered significant as they are the largest Muslim ethnic group in the Far East and the fifth largest in the world after the Arabs, Bengalis, Punjabis, and Turks.

Javanese civilisation has been influenced by more than a millennium of interactions between the native animism Kejawèn and the Indian Hindu—Buddhist culture, and this influence is still visible in Javanese history, culture, traditions, and art forms. The ancient Javanese kingdoms of Singhasari and Majapahit were among the most powerful maritime empires in the region, whose boundaries included most of Maritime Southeast Asia and parts of Indochina. Javanese heritage has created magnificent religious monuments such as Borobudur and Prambanan which are among the world's largest temples. Javanese culture has a strong influence in most of the Southeast Asian countries. In Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore, the influence of Javanese culture can be seen in many aspects of modern Malay culture. Javanese culture has greatly influenced their traditional cuisine with many dishes such as satay, sambal, ketupat, nasi kuning (pulut kuning), and rojak. Kris weaponry, batik and ronggeng dance art, gamelan musical instruments, and wayang kulit puppetry were introduced to them through Javanese contact. Javanese culture has also spread widely beyond Southeast Asia to countries such as Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Suriname, where many of the Javanese diaspora live.

Like most Indonesian ethnic groups, including the Sundanese of West Java, the Javanese are of Austronesian origins whose ancestors are thought to have originated in Taiwan, and migrated through the Philippines to reach Java between 1,500 BC and 1,000 BC.

Hindu and Buddhist influences arrived through trade contacts with the Indian subcontinent. Hindu and Buddhist — traders and visitors, arrived in the 5th century. The Hindu, Buddhist and Javanese faiths blended into a unique local philosophy.

The cradle of Javanese culture is commonly described as being in Kedu and Kewu Plain in the fertile slopes of Mount Merapi as the heart of the Mataram kingdom. The earliest Sanjaya and Sailendra dynasties had their power base there. Between the late 8th century and the mid-9th century, the kingdom saw the blossoming of classical Javanese art and architecture reflected in the rapid growth of temple construction. The most notable of the temples constructed are Kalasan, Sewu, Borobudur and Prambanan. The Java valley was home to thousands of Hindu temples that co-existed with Buddhist temples, most of which were buried in the massive eruption of Mount Merapi in 1006 AD. At its peak, the Javanese kingdom had become a dominant empire that exercised its power—not only in Java island, but also in Sumatra, Bali, southern Thailand, Indianized kingdoms of the Philippines, and the Khmer in Cambodia. Jayavarman II, a prince who had lived at the Sailendra court in Java, brought Javanese art and culture, including the concept of the devaraja, to Cambodia, laying the foundations for Khmer civilization.

The centre of Javanese culture and politics was moved towards the eastern part of the island when Mpu Sindok (r. 929–947) moved the capital of the kingdoms eastward to the valleys of the Brantas River in the 10th century CE. The move was most likely caused by the volcanic eruption of Merapi and/or invasion from Srivijaya.

At the end of the 13th century, The major spread of Javanese influence occurred under King Kertanegara of Singhasari. The expansionist king launched several major expeditions to Madura, Bali in 1284, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and most importantly to Sumatra in 1275. He also extended Javanese involvement in the lucrative spice trade with the Maluku Islands. Following the defeat of the Melayu Kingdom in eastern Sumatra, Singhasari controlled trade in the Strait of Malacca.