Central Java 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), 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

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. While a high level of humidity exists in most low lying parts of the province, it drops significantly in the upper mountains. The highest average annual rainfall of 3,990 mm with 195 rainy days was recorded in Salatiga.

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.

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.  They are believed to be about 1.7 millions years old.

Then about 40,000 years ago, Australoid peoples related to modern Australian Aboriginals and Melanesians colonized 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.

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.  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.

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. 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.

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.

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 Since then there have been no (major) changes in the administrative division of Central Java.

In May 2006, earthquakes in southern Central Java and Yogyakarta devastated many buildings and caused thousands of deaths and more than 37,000 injuries

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. 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.

Ethnicity 

The vast majority of the population in Central Java are ethnic Javanese, they constitute approximately 98% of the whole population. 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 Dayeuh luhur in Cilacap, Ciputih and Citimbang in Brebes and even Cilongok as far away in Banyumas.

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) and central Javanese.

Sundanese is also spoken in some pockets near the border with West Java, especially in Brebes andCilacap regencies. However, according to some sources, Sundanese used to be spoken as far away as in Dieng Plateau.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.

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.

Batik 

Central Java is famous and well known for its exquisite batik, a generic wax-resist dyeing technique used on textile. There are different styles of batik motives. A centre of batik production is Pekalongan. Other centres are Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Batik in Pekalongan style which represent gaya pesisir (or coastal style) is different than the one in Surakarta and Yogyakarta, which represent batik from the heartland of Java (gaya kejawèn).

Dance 

You can even see the court influences in the art forms. The dances of the courts of Java are usually slow and graceful, with no excessive gestures. The people followed these kind of approach, and as a result, slow-paced and graceful movements can even be found in folk dances throughout Central Java (with some exceptions). You can enjoy the beauty of Central Javanese dances in "Kamajaya-Kamaratih" or "Karonsih", usually performed in a traditional Javanese wedding.

Theater 

There are several kinds of Central Javanese theater and performing arts. The most well known are is of course the Javanese wayang theater. There are several kinds of Central Javanese wayang, amongst others:wayang kulit, wayang klitik, wayang bèbèr, wayang golèk, and wayang wong. Wayang kulit are shadow puppets theater with leather puppets. The stories are loosely based on Mahabharata and Ramayanacycles. Wayang klitik are puppets theater with flat wooden puppets. The stories are based on Panji (king)stories. Panji was a native Javanese princes who set of in a 'journeys of desire'. Wayang bèbèr is scroll theater, and it involves "performing" scenes of a story elaborately drawn and painted on rolled sheets.Wayang golèk consists of three dimensional wooden puppets. The narrative can be based on anything, but usually the stories are drawn from Islamic heroic narratives. Finally wayang wong is wayang theater involving live figures; actors who are performing a play. The narrative however must be based on Mahabharata or Ramayana.

In addition to wayang, there is another form of theater which is called ketoprak. Ketoprak is a staged play by actors accompanied with Javanese gamelan. The narrative is free but cannot be based on Mahabharata or Ramayana. Otherwise it will be some kind of wayang wong.

Music 

Central Javanese music is almost synonymous with gamelan. This is a musical ensemble typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. The term refers more to the set of instruments than the players of those instruments. A gamelan as a set of instruments is a distinct entity, built and tuned to stay together - instruments from different gamelan are not interchangeable. However, gamelan is not typically Central Javanese as it is also known somewhere else.

Contemporary Javanese pop music is called campursari. It is a fusion between gamelan and Western instruments, much like kroncong. Usually the lyrics are in Javanese, but not always. One notable singer is Didi Kempot, born in Sragen, north of Surakarta. Didi Kempot mostly sings in Javanese.

Agriculture

Much of Central Java is a fertile agricultural region, and the primary food crop is wet rice. An elaborate irrigation network of canals, dams, aqueducts, and reservoirs has greatly contributed to Central Java's the rice-growing capacity over the centuries. In 2001, productivity of rice was 5022 kilograms/ha, mostly contributed by irrigated paddy field (± 98%). Klaten Regency had the highest productivity with 5525 kilograms/ha.

Other crops, also mostly grown in lowland areas on small peasant landholdings, are corn (maize), cassava, peanuts (groundnuts), soybeans, and sweet potatoes. Terraced hill slopes and irrigated paddy fields are familiar features of the landscape. Kapok, sesame, vegetables, bananas, mangoes, durian fruits, citrus fruits, and vegetable oils are produced for local consumption. Tea, coffee, tobacco, rubber, sugarcane and kapok; and coconuts are exported. Several of these cash crops at a time are usually grown on large family estates. Livestock, especially water buffalo, is raised primarily for use as draft animals. Salted and dried fish are imported

Tourism

There are several interesting places to be found in Central Java. Semarang itself has lots of old picturesque buildings: Puri Maerokoco and Indonesian Record Museum are located in this city.

Borobudur, which is one of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites of Indonesia is also located in this province, in the Magelang regency. Candi Mendut and Candi Pawon can also be found near the Borobudur temple complex.

Candi Prambanan at the border of Klaten regency and Yogyakarta is the biggest complex of Hindu temples. It is also a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage SIte. In the region around the Dieng Plateau, one could find several temples. These are built before the era of the ancient Mataram.

Two interesting palaces, the Palace of the Sunan (Keraton Kasunanan) and Pura Mangkunegaran, are located in Surakarta, which is considered one of the centers of Javanese culture. The Grojogan Sewu waterfall is located in Karanganyar Regency, which has a beautiful scenery. Several Majapahit temples and Sangiran museum are also located in Central Java.