East Java

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

East Java
Jawa Timur

Motto: Jer Basuki Mawa Béya
Capital	Surabaya
Governor	Soekarwo
Area	47,922 km2 (18,503 sq mi)
Population	34,766,000  (2000)
Density	725.5 /km2 (1,879 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Javanese (79%), Madurese (18%), Osing (1%), Chinese (1%)[1]
Religion	Islam (96.3%), Christianity (2.6%), Hinduism (0.6%), Buddhism (0.4%), Kejawen also practised
Languages	Javanese, Madurese, Indonesian
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Web site	www.jatim.go.id

East Java (Indonesian: Jawa Timur, Javanese: Jawa Wétan) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and also includes neighboring Madura and islands to the east of it, as well as the Bawean islands. The administrative center of the province is located in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia and a major industrial center and port.

Population

According to the 2000 census, East Java has 34 million inhabitants, second only to West Java among Indonesian provinces. The inhabitants consist of mostly Javanese. Native minorities include migrants from nearby Madura, and distinct Javanese ethnicities such as the Tengger people in Bromo, the Samin and the Osing people in Banyuwangi. East Java also hosts a significant population of other ethnic groups, such as Chinese, Indians, and Arabs. In addition to the national language, Indonesian, they also speak Javanese. Javanese spoken in the western part of East Java is a recognizably similar dialect to the one spoken in nearby Central Java, with its hierarchy of high, medium, and low registers. But in the eastern cities of Surabaya, Malang, and surrounding areas, the people speak a more egalitarian version of Javanese, with much less regard for hierarchy and a richer vocabulary for vulgarity.

In addition to that, Madurese is spoken by around 15 millions of Madurese, concentrated in Madura Island, Kangean Islands, Masalembu Islands, Eastern part of East Java, and East Java main cities.

Religion

The main religion used to be Hinduism and Buddhism. With the arrival of Islam, Hinduism was gradually pushed out in the 14th and 15th century. The last nobles and remainders of the fallen empire of Majapahit fled from this point to Bali. This comes from earlier history, when Islam spread from northern cities in Java where many traders from Gujarat, India visited, bringing Islam. The eastern part of East Java, from Surabaya to Pasuruan, then following various cities along the coast line, and turning back in Banyuwangi to Jember, is well known as the "horseshoe area" in context with earlier Muslim communities living there.

Nevertheless, pockets of Hinduism have survived and abangan, the syncretic religion of Islam, Hinduism and Animism, remains strong. See Hinduism in Java for more information.

Administrative areas

See also: Subdivisions of Indonesia

East Java is administratively divided into 29 regencies (or kabupaten) and 9 cities (or kotamadya).

Regencies (seat):

Cities:

• Batu
• Blitar
• Kediri
• Madiun
• Malang
• Mojokerto
• Pasuruan
• Probolinggo
• Surabaya

History

East Java's history dates back to the famous ancient kingdoms of Kediri and Singhasari, which is now a city near Malang. The Majapahit empire, centered at Trowulan, Mojokerto East Java, is celebrated by Indonesians as the golden age of the archipelago. The Eastern Java region was part of the Mataram kingdom during its peak.

Farming in East Java in the foothills near Mount Bromo.

Natural resources

• Chalk (Trenggalek & Gresik the city is also famous of its cement industries)
• Marble (Tulungagung)
• Oil (Cepu)
• Salt (Madura Island)

Education

Botok Tawon, a traditional dish from East Java cooked in coconut milk

East Java hosts some of the famous universities in Indonesia, both owned by government and private. Three major cities for universities, because they have government's universities, are Surabaya, Malang, and Jember. Among them, Airlangga University and Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember are the most famous, and both are located in Surabaya. See: List of universities in East Java

Another important form of education that is available in most cities in East Java is the pesantren. This kind of education is built and organized by Islamic clerics, and associated with local or national Muslim organizations. Jombang is a famous city for its pesantren.

Media

East Java supports several regional media outlets. Local newspapers with provincial news reach their readers earlier than their competitors from Jakarta. In the spirit of "providing more news from around readers", most newspapers even issue municipal sections which are different among their distribution areas.

• Jawa Pos Group, one of the major newspaper groups in Indonesia, is based in Surabaya.
• Surya, is a newspaper based in Surabaya. Surya is now controlled by Kompas, one of the major newspaper groups in Indonesia

National parks

• Meru Betiri National Park - Between Jember and Banyuwangi districts, this park covers 580 km² (224 sq mi). Hard to get to, it contains fantastic coastal rainforest and scenery and is home to abundant wildlife.
• Alas Purwo National Park - This 434 km² (168 sq mi) park is formed by the Blambangan Peninsula (south eastern Java). Comprising mangrove, savanna, lowland monsoon forests and excellent beaches, the park's name means First Forest in Javanese. Javanese legend says that the earth first emerged from the ocean here.
• Baluran National Park - This 250 km² (97 sq mi) national park is located in north east Java, once known as Indonesia's little piece of Africa, the parks formerly extensive savanna has been largely replaced by Acacia.
• Mount Bromo and Tengger caldera, Semeru National Park, 7°56.355′S 112°57.170′E / 7.93925°S 112.95283°E / -7.93925; 112.95283(alt 2500 m); located in East Java at the region of Probolinggo and Pasuruan, 70 km (43 mi) from Surabaya the capital city of East Java province. Mount Bromo is one of the great hiking and trekking destinations for overseas tourists. The breathtaking view of Bromo also attracts hundreds of photo enthusiasts to see the views there.

Culinary

Rujak Cingur, traditional dish from East Java made from cow's lips and vegetable

Some famous culinary come from East Java are:

• Nasi Pecel (from Madiun)
• Semanggi
• Lontong Kikil
• Lontong Balap
• Lontong Kupang
• Lontong Mie
• Rawon
• Rujak Cingur
• Soto Lamongan
• Soto Daging Madura
• Sate Ayam Madura

Culinary from East Java have more "salty" taste than Central Java.

References

External links

Indonesia portal

• (Indonesian) Official website
• East Java travel guide from Wikitravel

v • d • e Regencies and cities of East Java (Jawa Timur) Capital: Surabaya Regencies Banyuwangi • Bangkalan • Blitar • Bojonegoro • Bondowoso • Gresik • Jember • Jombang • Kediri • Lamongan • Lumajang • Madiun • Magetan • Malang • Mojokerto • Nganjuk • Ngawi • Pacitan • Pamekasan • Pasuruan • Ponorogo • Probolinggo • Sampang • Sidoarjo • Situbondo • Sumenep • Trenggalek • Tuban • Tulungagung Cities Batu • Blitar • Kediri • Madiun • Malang • Mojokerto • Probolinggo • Pasuruan • Surabaya See also: List of regencies and cities of Indonesia

v • d • e Provinces of Indonesia Sumatera Aceh · North Sumatra · West Sumatra · Bengkulu · Riau · Riau Islands · Jambi · South Sumatra · Lampung · Bangka-Belitung Islands Jawa Jakarta · West Java · Banten · Central Java · Yogyakarta · East Java Kalimantan West Kalimantan · Central Kalimantan · South Kalimantan · East Kalimantan Nusa Tenggara Bali · West Nusa Tenggara · East Nusa Tenggara Sulawesi West Sulawesi · North Sulawesi · Central Sulawesi · South Sulawesi · South East Sulawesi · Gorontalo Maluku Maluku · North Maluku Papua West Papua · Papua