Everything about Sundanese People totally explained
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 first 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.
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.
According to the Sundanese legend of
Sangkuriang, which tells the creation of Mount
Tangkuban Parahu and ancient
Lake Bandung, the Sundanese have been living in the
Parahyangan region of
Java for at least 50,000 years.
Inland Sunda is mountainous and hilly, and until the 19th century, was thickly forested and sparsely populated. They traditionally lived in small and isolated hamlets, making control by indigenous courts difficult. The Sundanese, in contrast with the Javanese, traditionally engaged in dry-field farming. These factors resulted in the Sundanese having a less rigid social hierarchy and a more independent manner. In the 19th century, Dutch colonial exploitation opened up much of the interior for coffee, tea, and quinine production, and the highlands society took on a frontier aspect, further strengthening the individualistic Sundanese mindset.
Court cultures flourished in ancient times, for example, the
Sunda Kingdom, however, the Sundanese appear not to have had the resources to construct large religious monuments similar to those in Central and East Java.
Language
The
Sundanese language is spoken by approximately 27 million people and is the second most widely-spoken regional language in Indonesia, 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.
Sundanese is more closely to
Malay and
Minang than it's to Javanese, although Sundanese has borrowed the language levels denoting rank and respect.
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.
Religion
Original religion system of Sundanese is a 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").
Today, most Sundanese are Muslims.
Culture and artforms
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. 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. Central Javanese court culture nurtured in atmosphere conducive to elite, stylized, impeccably-polished forms of art and literature. In a pure sense, Sundanese culture bore few traces of these traditions.
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. The Sundanese have very vivid, orally-transmitted memories of grand era of the
Sunda Kingdom. Traditional artforms include
pencak silat martial arts,
angklung bamboo music,
kecapi suling music,
gamelan degung,
jaipongan and other dances, and
wayang golek puppetry. Many forms of
kejawen dance, literature,
gamelan music and
shadow puppetry (
wayang kulit) derive from the Javanese. Sundanese shadow puppetry is more influenced by Islamic folklore than the influence of Indian epics present in Javanese versions.
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-Budhist ideas.
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.
Since early times, Sundanese have predominantly been farmers. They tend to be reluctant to be government officer and legislators.
Further Information
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