Java in the Ancient World
Java, an island in Indonesia, possesses a rich ancient history that reflects a confluence of diverse cultural influences, primarily from Hinduism and Buddhism, introduced from India around the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. The Javanese people, historically known as Wong Djawa, have a multifaceted heritage that includes previous practices of animism and ancestor worship. By the 6th century CE, a unique synthesis of these religions with local Javanese traditions emerged, particularly evident in the art and architecture of the region, such as the notable temples of Prambanan and Borobudur. These structures illustrate the coexistence of Hindu and Buddhist ideologies, showcasing a cultural pluralism that has persisted into modern times, especially in Bali.
Java's early political landscape was shaped by the agricultural practice of wet-rice cultivation, which supported the rise of inland kingdoms that utilized advanced hydraulic engineering. The maritime kingdom of Srivijaya, based in Sumatra, exerted significant influence over Java and Southeast Asia, impacting the political dynamics of the region. The introduction of Hinduism brought about a shift towards centralized authority, establishing a framework for divine kingship and creating a hierarchical structure within society. Overall, Java's ancient world is characterized by a complex interplay of spiritual beliefs, cultural exchanges, and evolving governance, laying the groundwork for its contemporary identity.
Java in the Ancient World
Related civilizations: India, mainland Southeast Asia, Śrivijaya.
Date: 1-700 c.e.
Locale: Republic of Indonesia
Java in the Ancient World
The Javanese call themselves Wong Djawa or Tijang Djawa, derived from the Sanskrit word yawa, meaning barley. Although predominantly Muslim in modern times, the Javanese previously were Hindus and Buddhists, with some animists and ancestor worshipers. The early Javanese had established trade with China from about the second century b.c.e. Between l and 300 c.e., Hinduism and Buddhism reached Java and other parts of Southeast Asia from India. By 300 c.e., Indian traders, Brahman priests, and Buddhist monks were observed in various Southeast Asian kingdoms.
Around the sixth century c.e., this process resulted in a synthesis of Hinduism, Buddhism, and native Javanese culture that remains intact in modern times in Bali. Elsewhere, the only evidence of this synthesis are the reliefs and architectural and epigrammatic remains of monuments and temples. Temples dedicated to the Hindu divinities of Vishnu (Viṣṇu), Śiva, and Brahmā reflect not only the worldview of their builders but also the diversity of traditions that coexisted. Likewise various representational depictions of Buddha’s life in both Mahāyāna and Theravāda (Hināyāna) traditions address cultural pluralism. In central Java, Hindu Prambanan, a temple built in the eighth century c.e., and Boraboḍur, the largest Buddhist monument on record, stood almost side by side as contemporaries.
The five hundred years of Java’s history before Boraboḍur (Shailendra Dynasty, about 750-850 c.e.) remains speculative. Most scholars agree that before the influx of Indian culture, the political integration of Javanese kingdoms and chiefdoms was at a lower level than it was afterward. In the seventh century c.e., the maritime kingdom of Śrivijaya in Sumatra island, west of Java, rose to power and was able to impose hegemony over at least half of mainland Southeast Asia and Java.
Unlike Sumatra’s maritime kingdom, Javanese states were inland kingdoms, based on wet-rice cultivation, a cultural complex that involves hydraulic engineering of terraces and canals, the plow, and the water buffalo. Wet-rice cultivation provided the source of tributes to many chiefs and kings and of food supply for large populations. Ecological studies of Java suggest an environment that is fairly consistent and sufficient and that allows for relative isolation. Therefore, Hinduism’s impact on the preexisting cultures of Java was more political than economic, moving Java toward greater consolidation and centralization of authority and power. In Java and other classical cultures of Southeast Asia, this led to the development of the notion of divine kingship. Brahmanic tradition created a ruler’s court that became the center of the kingdom, residence of administrative functionaries, storehouse of wealth, and site of the military establishment. The center (court) and outlying villages were linked by a pyramidal structure of varying levels of aristocrats and functionaries.
Bibliography
Geertz, Clifford. Agricultural Involution: The Processes of Ecological Change in Indonesia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971.
Legge, J. D. Indonesia. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1964.
Osborne, Milton. Southeast Asia: An Introductory History. Sydney: George Allen and Unwin, 1980.