The Javanese (, , , ; ; , Wong Jawa ; , Tiyang Jawi ) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the central and eastern part of the Indonesian island of Java. 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. The Javanese as the largest ethnic group in the region have dominated the historical, social, and political landscape in the past as well as in modern 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 ways of life. These include Banyumasan, Cirebonese, Mataram, Osing, Tenggerese, and others. 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 fourth largest in the world after the Arabs, Bengalis, and Punjabis.
Javanese civilisation has been influenced by more than a millennium of interactions between the native animism Kejawen 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 weapons, batik practice, gamelan musical instruments, ronggeng dance, and wayang kulit puppet were introduced to them through Javanese contact. Javanese culture has also spread widely beyond Southeast Asia such as Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Suriname, where many of the Javanese diaspora live there.
History
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 1,500BC and 1,000BC. However, according to recent genetic study, Javanese together with Sundanese and Balinese has almost equal ratio of genetic marker shared between Austronesian and Austroasiatic heritages.
Ancient Javanese kingdoms and empires
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. 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.
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.