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Madurese ( mUH-dOO-rUH; ; )Piwulang Basa Jawa Pepak, S.B. Pramono, hal 148, 2013 is a Austronesian ethnic groups native to the Indonesian island of Madura in Java Sea, off the northeastern coast of Java. They speak their own native Madurese (with diverse varieties), sharing a common history, traditions, and cultural identity. Nationwide, the Madurese are the third-largest ethnic group in Indonesia, and one of the well-known Indonesian national dishes, Satay, is attributed to the Madurese as part of their Madurese cuisine.
About six million native Madurese are living on their ancestral land, Madura Island, and around half a million reside in eastern Java, mainly in the regencies of Jember, Banyuwangi, and others. The Madurese population in Java forms a subgroup called the Pandalungan Madurese, who speak a blend of Javanese and Madurese.
The Madurese are not only known as the inventors of satay but also as the creators of the Karapan sapi bull race. The group have historically been pioneers of classical Islamic religious movements in Indonesia, with the Pondok Pesantren serving as a vital center for Madurese Muslims to study Islam, particularly Indonesian Islam. In addition to being merchants, the Madurese diaspora is traditionally known for farming and practicing the Pencak silat martial art. The Madurese men often work with their cultural Celurit sickles, wearing distinctive cultural clothing characterized by red and white stripes derived from the Majapahit naval flag (a historical eastern Javanese empire that once controlled Madura Island). Other colors like black, red, yellow, white, green, and blue are also considered cultural symbols, as seen in their traditional Madurese-style batik.
Historically, the Madurese people inhabit Madura Island and, located to the east of it, a group of smaller islands in Java Sea such as Kambing Island, Sapudi Islands and Kangean Islands. Here, they number about 3.3 million people, which is more than 90% of the population in these territories. Approximately the same number of Madurese people live in the eastern end of the Java Island, and more than 400,000 people in various parts of the Indonesian part of the island of Kalimantan. In addition, tens of thousands of the Madurese people live in other regions of Indonesia; especially, there are significant Madurese communities in the capital city of Jakarta (about 80,000 people), in Bali (about 30,000 people) and in the province of Bangka Belitung Islands (more than 15,000 people). There are also small Madurese communities in the countries of Southeast Asia adjacent to Indonesia, particularly, in Singapore.
In some parts of East Java among a significant number of Madurese population, a peculiar mix of Madurese-Javanese dialect has formed. In addition to these native languages, many are also fluent in Indonesian, the national language.
The main traditional occupations of the Madurese are animal farming, which mainly includes breeding of cattle, goats, horses, poultry and fighting cocks. The Madurese are known for herding cattle, hence they are often referred by a common nickname as the "cowboys" of Indonesia. Cattle are an important part of the culture, and bull-racing is one of their favorite sports.
Agriculture among the Madurese people on the island of Madura is poorly developed due to low fertility and very poor soil conditions, thus, farming is not important in Madurese culture. As a result, the Madurese tend not to farm, unless on other islands with very good soil conditions, such as the Madurese people in Java, where agriculture is practiced more widely and have developed to a lesser degree. The main crops are such as corn, cassava, rice, tobacco, beans and cloves. Among craftsmen, tanning, pottery, batik manufacturing, blacksmithing, as well as small vassals and boat builders are also important occupations. In coastal areas, the Madurese are actively engaged in fishing, trading and as well as extraction of salt (from Madura Island). Lastly, the Madurese people also enjoyed a reputation in the region as skilled seafarers. Madurese residents of large cities, particularly in eastern Surabaya are actively involved in modern economic sectors.
Madurese people have lived on the territory of Java for several centuries, forming the ethnic majority in some of the north-eastern regions of the island. They tend to get along well with the Javanese people about language, culture, and way of life. Mixed marriages between Javanese people and Madurese people are also common. Moreover, in some areas of eastern Java, there are significant communities of descendants of such pendalungan marriages, which are distinguished by their unique cultural traditions that combine Madurese and Javanese elements to varying degrees.
Another situation often develops in the provinces of West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, where Madurese people resettled under the transmigration programmes from 1900 to 1950 in the span of 90 years. Some of these migrant groups have been the subject of conflict with Dayak communities. The native population, especially the Dayaks, were quite wary of strangers and seeing them as a threat to their traditional livelihoods. Mutual distrust also promotes ethnic cultural, and religious differences, where most Dayak people practices Christianity or Kaharingan. The most publicized conflict has been on various localities in Kalimantan, where thousands were killed in a series of large scale armed fighting between the Madurese and the Dayak people during the late 1990s.
In West Kalimantan there was communal violence between Dayak people and Madurese in 1996, in the Sambas conflict in 1999 and the Sampit conflict 2001, resulting in large-scale massacres of Madurese. Armed Conflicts Report.Indonesia - Kalimantan In the Sambas conflict, both Malay Indonesian and Dayaks people massacred the Madurese people. Tens of thousands of Madurese people from Kalimantan were forced to move to Madura and Java. By the mid-2000s, the situation has somewhat stabilized and enabled the return of most of the Madurese resettlement back in Kalimantan.
By the end of the 1980s, the popularity of Madurese bull racing had grown so much that the winner of the competition would be awarded with a prize on behalf of the president of Indonesia. In addition, the scene of the races was depicted on the reverse of coins of 100 Indonesian rupiah, produced from 1991 to 1998.
In rural areas, the Madurese still practice an ancient tradition of vendetta, called (also spelled charok), which literally means "battle of honor". In the 1990s, law enforcement agencies in each of the four districts in Madura recorded dozens of cases each year. The killing may provoke resentment, quite small by the standards of ordinary European or Indonesian. According to local criminal statistics, most of the reason for such attacks are usually molestation of women or property dispute, but it often happens that the Madurese's cruel revenge is motivated by an insufficiently polite treatment or insult in public places to one's honor.
The instrument of revenge used in this dueling is often the traditional Madurese crescent knife, celurit which is the most common peasant weapon and in some areas and also the attribute of traditional male attire. In such cases, the avenger usually prepares the celurit in advance in an event of dueling by casting special spells on the weapon.
Sometimes, in the "battle of honor" are involved several people from each side are involved - relatives and friends of the offender and the offended- and then it turns into a bloodbath. Such massive bloodshed has repeatedly occurred in Madura, even in the 21st century. The most famous incident in recent years, a mass carok occurred on 13 July 2006 in Bujur Tengah village, Pamekasan Regency, East Java, Indonesia, resulting stabbing and killing of seven men and seriously injuring nine people.
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