White paper on Fundamentals of Java
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Wikipedia
Java (/ˈdʒɑːvə, ˈdʒævə/ Indonesian: Jawa, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈdʒawa]; Javanese: ꦗꦮ; Sundanese: ᮏᮝ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 148.76 million people, Java is the world’s most populous island, constituting approximately 55% of the Indonesian population.
Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, is on Java’s northwestern coast. Many of the best known events in 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 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.
Formed by volcanic eruptions due to geologic subduction of the Australian Plate under the Sunda Plate, Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest in Indonesia by landmass at about 138,800 square kilometres (53,600 sq mi). A chain of volcanic mountains is the east–west spine of the island.
Four main languages are spoken on the island: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, and Betawi. Javanese and Sundanese are the most spoken. The ethnic groups native to the island are the Javanese in the central and eastern parts and Sundanese in the western parts. The Madurese in the Eastern salient of Java are migrants from Madura Island, while the Betawi in the capital city of Jakarta are hybrids from various ethnic groups in Indonesia. Most residents are bilingual, speaking Indonesian (the official language of Indonesia) as their first or second language. While the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java’s population comprises people of diverse religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures.
Java is divided into four administrative provinces: Banten, West Java, Central Java, and East Java, and two special regions, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.
The origins of the name “Java” are not clear. One possibility is that the island was named after the 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. There are other possible sources: the word jaú and its variations mean “beyond” or “distant”. And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was famous. “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. 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. Another source states that the word “Java” is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word, meaning “home”. The great island of Iabadiu or Jabadiu was mentioned in Ptolemy’s 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 and seems to be derived from the Sanskrit name Java-dvipa (Yavadvipa).
The annual news of Songshu and Liangshu (5th century CE) referred to Java as 闍婆 (She-pó or She-bó), He-ling (640–818), then called it She-po again until the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), where they began mentioning 爪哇 (Zhao-Wa or Chao-Wa). According to Ma Huan’s book (the Yingya Shenlan), the Chinese called Java as Chao-Wa, and the island was called She-po in the past. Sulaiman al-Tajir al-Sirafi mentioned two notable island which separated Arab and China: One is 800 farsakh long Al-Rami, which is identified as Sumatra, and the other is Zabaj (Arabic: الزابج, Indonesian: Sabak), 400 farsakh in length, identified as Java. When John of Marignolli returned from China to Avignon, he stayed at the Kingdom of Saba for a few months, which he said had many elephants and was led by a queen; Saba may be his interpretation of She-bó. 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).
Java lies between Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north, and Christmas Island is to the south. It is the world’s 13th largest island. Java is surrounded by the Java Sea to the north, Sunda Strait to the west, the Indian Ocean to the south and Bali Strait and Madura Strait in the east.
Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin; it contains thirty-eight mountains forming an east–west spine that have at one time or another been active volcanoes. The highest volcano in Java is Mount Semeru, 3,676 metres (12,060 ft). The most active volcano in Java and also in Indonesia is Mount Merapi, 2,930 metres (9,610 ft). In total, Java has more than 150 mountains.
Java’s mountains and highlands split the interior into a series of relatively isolated regions suitable for wet-rice cultivation; the rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world. Java was the first place where Indonesian coffee was grown, starting in 1699. Today, coffea arabica is grown on the Ijen Plateau by small-holders and larger plantations.
The area of Java is about 150,000 square kilometres (58,000 sq mi). It is about 1,000 km (620 mi) long and up to 210 km (130 mi) wide. The island’s longest river is the 600 km long Solo River. The river rises from its source in central Java at the Lawu volcano, then flows north and eastward to its mouth in the Java Sea near the city of Surabaya. Other major rivers are Brantas, Citarum, Cimanuk and Serayu.
The average temperature ranges from 22 °C (72 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F); average humidity is 75%. The northern coastal plains are normally hotter, averaging 34 °C (93 °F) during the day in the dry season. The south coast is generally cooler than the north, and highland areas inland are even cooler. The wet season begins in November and ends in April. During that rain falls mostly in the afternoons and intermittently during other parts of the year. The wettest months are January and February.
West Java is wetter than East Java, and mountainous regions receive much higher rainfall. The Parahyangan highlands of West Java receive over 4,000 millimetres (160 in) annually, while the north coast of East Java receives 900 millimetres (35 in) annually.
The natural environment of Java is tropical rainforest, with ecosystems ranging from coastal mangrove forest on the north coast, rocky coastal cliffs on the southern coast, and low-lying tropical forest to high altitude rainforest on the slopes of mountainous volcanic regions in the interior. The Javan environment and climate gradually alters from west to east; from wet and humid dense rainforest in western parts, to a dry savanna environment in the east, corresponding to the climate and rainfall in these regions.