:: West Java & Banten Travel Guides ::
West Java (Indonesian: :Jawa
Barat), with population around 35.72 million, is the
most populous province of Indonesia, located on Java
Island. Its capital city is Bandung.
History
T
he
oldest human inhabitant archaeological findings in the
region were unearthed in Anyer (the western coast of
Java) with evidences of bronze and iron metallurgical
culture dated back to the first millennium AD. The
prehistoric Buni (the present-day Bekasi) clay pottery
were later developed with evidences found from Anyer to
Cirebon. Some artifacts (dated from 400 BC — AD 100)
such as food and drink containers were found mostly as
burial gifts.
Recorded history of West Java administration was started
from the fourth century with the existence of
Tarumanagara kingdom. Seven inscribed stones written in
Wengi letters (used in the Indian Pallava period) and in
Sanskrit language describe most of the kings of
Tarumanagara. Records of Tarumanegara's administration
lasted until the sixth century, which coincides with the
attack of Srivijaya as stated in the Kota Kapur
inscription (AD 686).
The
Kingdom of Sunda then came into the ruling power of the
region, the reference to which were found in the Kebon
Kopi II inscription (AD 932). In the meantime, the
Sultanate of Demak from central Java grew into an
immediate threat to the Kingdom of Sunda. To defend
against the threat, Prabu Surawisesa Jayaperkosa signed
a treaty (known as the Luso-Sundanese Treaty) with the
Portuguese in 1512. In return, the Portuguese was
granted an accession to build fortresses and warehouses
in the area, as well as trading agreement with the
kingdom. This first international treaty of West Java
with the Europeans was commemorated by the placement of
the Padrao stone monument at the riverbank of the
Ciliwung River in 1522.
Although the treaty with Portuguese had been
established, it could not come to realization. Sunda
Kalapa harbour fell under the alliance of the Sultanate
of Demak and the Sultanate of Cirebon (former vassal
state of the kingdom of Sunda) in 1524 after their
troops under Paletehan alias Fadillah Khan had conquered
the city. In 1524/1525, their troops under Sunan Gunung
Jati also seized the port of Banten and established the
Sultanate of Banten which was affiliating with the
Sultanate of Demak. The
war
between the kingdom of Sunda with Demak and Cirebon
sultanates then continued for five years until a peace
treaty were made in 1531 between King Surawisesa and
Sunan Gunung Jati. From 1567 to 1579, under the last
king Raja Mulya, alias Prabu Surya Kencana, the Kingdom
of Sunda declined essentially under the pressure from
the Sultanate of Banten. After 1576, the kingdom could
not maintain its capital at Pakuan Pajajaran (the
present-day Bogor) and gradually the Sultanate of Banten
took over the former Kingdom of Sunda's region. The
Mataram Sultanate from central Java also seized the
Priangan region, the southeastern part of the kingdom.
In the sixteenth century, the Dutch and the British
trading companies established their trading ships in
West Java after the falldown of Sultanate of Banten. For
the next three hundred years, West Java fell under the
Dutch East Indies' administration. West Java was
officially declared as a province of Indonesia in 1950,
referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. On
October 17, 2000, as part of nationwide political
decentralization, Banten was separated from West Java
and made into a new province.
Geography
and demographics
According to the 2005 Socio-Economic Survey, West
Java's population is 39,960,869, making it the most
populous province in Indonesia. It has an area of 34,736
km²; aside from the province of Jakarta, it is the most
densely populated province in the country with an
average of 1,150 people per km².
West Java borders Jakarta and Banten province to the
west, and Central Java to the east. To the north is Java
Sea. To the south is the Indian Ocean. Unlike most other
provinces in Indonesia which have their capitals in
coastal area, the provincial capital Bandung is located
in a mountainous area.
In addition to Indonesian, the official national
language, the other widely-spoken language in the
province is Sundanese. In some areas near the southern
borders with Central Java, Javanese is also spoken. The
main language spoken in Cirebon and nearby areas (Majalengka,
Indramayu, Sumber) is Cirebonese, a dialect of Javanese.
Indonesian is widely spoken as a second language, except
in some remote rural areas.
Culture
Sundanese
share
Java island with other Malayan people: Javanese people.
They primarily live in their home province of West Java.
Although Sundanese live in the same island with
Javanese, they consider themselves a distinct cultural
area called Sunda. Someone moving from West Java
Province to Central or East Java Provinces, is literally
said to be moving from Sunda to Java.
Music
Gamelan Orchestra
The musical arts of Sunda, which is an expression of
the emotions of Sundanese culture, express politeness
and grace of Sundanese. The music some of the most
beautiful sounds in the world. Degung orchestra consists
of Sundanese gamelan.
Tembang
Sunda is a genre of Sundanese vocal music accompanied by
a core ensemble of two kacapi (zither) and a suling
(bamboo flute). Tembang means song or poem and Sunda is
a geographical, historical, and cultural construct which
signifies home for the Sundanese people of Indonesia.
The music and poetry of tembang Sunda are closely
associated with the Priangan (literally the abode of the
gods), the highland plateau that transverses the central
and southern parts of Sunda. The natural beauty of
Priangan, a lush agricultural region surrounded by
mountains and volcanoes, politeness and grace of
Sundanese is reflected in many songs of the tembang
Sunda.
Kecapi Suling
Kacapi suling is tembang Sunda minus vocal.
Tarawangsa
Tarawangsa is a genuine popular art is performed on
ensemble consists of tarawangsa (a violin with an end
pin) and the jentreng (a kind of seven-stringed zither).
It is accompanied by a secret dance called Jentreng. The
dance is a part of a ritual celebrating the goddess of
paddy Dewi Sri. Its ceremonial significance is
associated with a ritual of thanksgiving associated with
the rice harvest. Tarawangsa can also be played for
healings or even purely for entertainment.
Bamboo Ensembles
The three main types of Sundanese bamboo ensembles
are angklung, calung, and arumba. The exact features of
each ensemble vary according to context, related
instruments, and relative popularity.
Angklung
Angklung is a generic term for sets of tuned, shaken
bamboo rattles. Angklung consists of a frame upon which
hang several different lengths of hollow bamboo.
Angklungs are played like handbells, with each
instrument played to a different note. Angklung rattles
are played in interlocking patterns, usually with only
one or two instruments played per person. The ensemble
is used in Sundanese processions, sometimes with trance
or acrobatics. Performed at life-cycle rituals and
feasts (hajat), angklung is believed to maintain balance
and harmony in the village. In its most modern
incarnation, angklung is performed in schools as an aid
to learning about music.
The Angklung got more international attention when Daeng
Soetigna, from Bandung, West Java, expanded the angklung
notations not only to play traditional pélog or sléndro
scales, but also diatonic scale in 1938. Since then,
angklung is often played together with other western
music instruments in an orchestra. One of the first
well-known performances of angklung in an orchestra was
during the Bandung Conference in 1955.
Calung
Like those in angklung, the instruments of the
calung ensemble are of bamboo, but each consists of
several differently tuned tubes fixed onto a piece of
bamboo; the player holds the instrument in his left hand
and strikes it with a beater held in his right. The
highest-pitched calung has the greatest number of tubes
and the densest musical activity; the lowest-pitched,
with two tubes, has the least. Calung is nearly always
associated with earthy humor, and is played by men.
Arumba
Arumba refers to a set of diatonically tuned bamboo
xylophones, often played by women. It is frequently
joined by modern instruments, including a drum set,
electric guitar, bass, and keyboards.
Wayang Golek
Wayang golek is a traditional form of puppetry from
Sunda. Unlike the better-known leather shadow puppets (wayang
kulit) which are found in the rest of Java and Bali,
wayang golek puppets are made from wood, and being
three-dimensional.
They simply use a banana palm in which the puppets
stand, behind which one puppeteer (or dalang) is
accompanied by his gamelan percussion orchestra with (in
Indonesia) up to 20 musicians. The gamelan uses a five
note scale as opposed to the seven-note western scale.
The musicians are guided by the drummer, who in turn is
guided by signals which the dalang gives whenever there
is a change of mood or pace required.
Wayang goleks (wooden puppets) are used by the Sundanese
to tell the epic play "Mahabarata" and various other
morality type plays.
Dance
Sundanese dance is rich and complex. It shows the
influence of the many groups that have traded and
settled in the area over the centuries, but remains
uniquely distinctive, with its variation from graceful
to dynamic syncopated drumming patterns, quick wrist
flicks, sensual hip movements, and fast shoulder and
torso isolations.
One of the most Sundanese dance is Tari Merak. The Tari
Merak or Dance of the Peacock is a female dance. Merak
means peacock and the choreography is inspired by the
beautiful movements of a peacock. The gestures of a
peacock are beautifully blend together with the
classical movements of the Sundanese dance and thus
making the dance a colourful expression of the proud
peacock which is showing its beautiful feathers. The
Tari Merak symbolises the beauty of nature.
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