Sundanese People
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The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim. The Sundanese have traditionally been concentrated in the provinces of West Java, Banten and Jakarta, and the western part of Central Java. The provinces of Central Java and East Java are home to the Javanese, Indonesia's largest ethnic group. Sundanese culture has borrowed much from Javanese culture, however it differs by being more overtly Islamic, and has a much less rigid system of social hierarchy.[1] Contents [hide] [edit] Origins and history The Sundanese are of Austronesian origins who are thought to have originated in Taiwan, migrated though the Philippines, and reached Java between 1,500BCE and 1,000BCE.[2] The Sunda Wiwitan belief contains the legend of origin of Sundanese people; Sang Hyang Kersa, the supreme divine being in ancient Sundanese belief created seven bataras (deities) in Sasaka Pusaka Buana (The Sacred Place on Earth). The oldest of these bataras is called Batara Cikal and is considered the ancestor of the Kanekes people. Other six bataras ruled various locations in Sunda lands in Western Java. A Sundanese legend of Sangkuriang contain the memory of the prehistoric ancient lake in Bandung basin highland, which suggest that Sundanese already inhabit the region since stoneage era. Another popular Sundanese proverb and legend mentioned about the creation of Parahyangan (Priangan) highlands, the heartland of Sundanese realm; "When the hyangs (gods) were smiling, the land of Parahyangan was created". This legend suggested the Parahyangan highland as the playland or the abode of gods, as well as suggesting its natural beauty. Hindu influences has reached Sundanese people as early as 4th century CE as evident in Tarumanagara inscriptions. Court cultures flourished in ancient times, for example, the Sunda Kingdom, however, the Sundanese appear not to have had the resources nor desire to construct large religious monuments similar to those in Central and East Java.[1] Inland Sunda is mountainous and hilly, and until the 19th century, was thickly forested and sparsely populated. The Sundanese traditionally live in small and isolated hamlets, rendering control by indigenous courts difficult. The Sundanese, in contrast to the Javanese, traditionally engage in dry-field farming. These factors resulted in the Sundanese having a less rigid social hierarchy and more independent social manners.[1] In the 19th century, Dutch colonial exploitation opened much of the interior for coffee, tea, and quinine production, and the highland society took on a frontier aspect, further strengthening the individualistic Sundanese mindset.[1] [edit] Language The Sundanese language is spoken by approximately 27 million people[3] and is the second most widely-spoken regional language in Indonesia,[4] after Javanese. This language is spoken in the southern part of the Banten province, and most of West Java and eastwards as far as the Pamali River in Brebes, Central Java.[citation needed] Sundanese is more closely related to Malay and Minang than it is to Javanese, although Sundanese has borrowed the language levels denoting rank and respect.[1] Map showing the location of the Sundanese in Java There are several dialects of Sundanese, from the Sunda-Banten dialect to the Sunda-Central Javanese dialect which mixes elements of Javanese. Some of the most distinct dialects are from Banten, Bogor, Priangan, and Cirebon. In Central Java, Sundanese is spoken in some of the Cilacap region and some of the Brebes region. [edit] Religion The initial religious system of the Sundanese was animism and dynamism with reverence to ancestral and natural spirits, yet bears some traits of monotheism. The best indications are found in the oldest epic poems (wawacan) and among the remote Baduy tribe. This religion is called Sunda Wiwitan ("early Sundanese").[5] The rice agriculture had shaped the culture, beliefs and ritual system of traditional Sundanese people, among other the reverence to Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri as the goddess of rice and fertility. The land of Sundanese people in Western Java is among the earliest place in Indonesian archipelago that being exposed to Indian Hindu-Buddhist influences. Tarumanagara followed by Sunda Kingdom adopted Hinduism as early as 4th century. The Batujaya stupa complex in Karawang shows Buddhist influences in West Java. Around 15th to 16th century Islam began to spread among Sundanese people, accelerated after the fall of Hindu Sunda Kingdom and the establishment of Islamic Sultanate of Banten and Cirebon in coastal West Java. Today, most Sundanese are Muslims. [edit] Culture and artforms A young Sundanese woman. Sundanese culture has borrowed much from Javanese culture, however it differs by being more overtly Islamic, and has a much less rigid system of social hierarchy.[1] The Sundanese, in their mentality and behavior, their greater egalitarianism and antipathy to yawning class distinctions, their community-based material culture, of feudal hierarchy, apparent among the people of the Javanese Principality.[clarification needed] Central Javanese court culture nurtured in atmosphere conducive to elite, stylized, impeccably-polished forms of art and literature.[clarification needed] In a pure sense, Sundanese culture bore few traces of these traditions.[6] The art and culture of Sundanese people reflect historical influences by various cultures that include pre-historic native animism and shamanism traditions, ancient Hindu-Buddhist heritage, and Islamic culture.[citation needed] The Sundanese have very vivid, orally-transmitted memories of grand era of the Sunda Kingdom.[7] The oral tradition of Sundanese people is called Pantun Sunda, the chant of poetic verses employed for story-telling. It is the counterpart of Javanese tembang, similar but quite different with Malay pantun. Traditional artforms include pencak silat martial arts, angklung bamboo music, kecapi suling music, gamelan degung, jaipongan and other dances, and wayang golek puppetry.[citation needed] Many forms of kejawen dance, literature, gamelan music and shadow puppetry (wayang kulit) derive from the Javanese.[1] Sundanese shadow puppetry is more influenced by Islamic folklore than the influence of Indian epics present in Javanese versions.[1] Wayang Golek, traditional Sundanese puppetry. Sundanese literature was basically oral; their arts (architecture, music, dance, textiles, ceremonies, etc.) substantially preserved traditions from an earlier phase of civilization, stretching back even to the Neolithic, and never overwhelmed (as eastward, in Java) by aristocratic Hindu-Buddhist ideas. [8] Sundanese culture and tradition are usually centred around the agricultural cycle. Festivities such as "Seren Taun" harvest ceremony is held in such high importance, especially in the traditional Sundanese community in Cipta Gelar village, Cisolok, Sukabumi, and the traditional Sundanese community in Kuningan and Kampung Naga.[citation needed] Since early times, Sundanese have predominantly been farmers.[9] They tend to be reluctant to be government officer and legislators.[10] |