some notes on Nusantara:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nusantara is an Indonesian word for the Indonesian archipelago.[1] It is originated from Old Javanese and literally means “archipelago“.[2]
The word Nusantara was taken from an oath by Gajah Mada, as written on an old Javanese manuscript by Negarakertagama.[3]Gajah Mada was a powerful military leader and prime minister of the Majapahit Empire who was credited with bringing the empire to its peak of glory. Gajah Mada delivered an oath called Sumpah Palapa, in which he vowed not to eat any food containingspices until he had conquered all of Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit.
Ancient concepts of Nusantara
Etymology
Nusantara is a Javanese word which appears in the Pararaton manuscript. In Javanese, Nusantara phrase meaning “outer islands” (from nusa, “island”). Based on the Majapahit concept of state, the monarch has the power over three areas:
- Negara Agung, or the Grand State, the core kingdom. This includes the capital and the surrounding area. In the context of the Majapahit empire, this area covered East Java and its surrounding area.
- Mancanegara, areas surrounding Negara Agung. These areas are directly influenced by Javanese culture. In the context of Majapahit empire, this includes the entire Java island,Madura, Bali, as well as Lampung and Palembang in South Sumatra.
- Nusantara, areas which do not reflect Javanese culture, but are colonies where they had to pay tribute. In the context of Majapahit empire, this includes the modern territories ofIndonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and southern Thailand.
The first appearance of Nusantara concept in 20th century
modern Nusantara as exposed by Setiabudi
In the year 1920, Ernest Francois Eugene Douwes Dekker (1879-1950), who was also known as Dr.Setiabudi , introduced a name for his country (Indonesia) which didn’t contain any words etymologically inherited from any Indian languages.[4] This is the first instance of the term Nusantara appearing after it had been written into pararaton manuscript.
The definition of Nusantara introduced by Setiabudi is different to the 14th century definition of the term. During the Majapahit era, Nusantara described vassal areas to be conquered. Setiabudi didn’t want this aggressive connotation, so he defined Nusantara as all the Indonesian regions from Sabang as far as Merauke.
Palapa Oath (where the term Nusantara was first used) is in reality the embryo of the modern unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, notwithstanding the fact that the territory of Majapahit was then even much wider than the current territory of Indonesia.[5]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the large island group. For the book, see The Malay Archipelago.
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race.[3]
It has also been called the Indo-Australian Archipelago, East Indies, Indonesian Archipelago, and other names over time. The term is largely synonymous with the term Maritime Southeast Asia. Situated between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the group of over 25,000islands is the largest archipelago by area, and third by number of islands in the world. It includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore,Brunei, East Malaysia and East Timor.[4] The island of New Guinea or islands of Papua New Guinea are not always included in definitions of the Malay Archipelago.[4][5]
Etymology and terminology
The common name was derived from the concept of a Malay race,[3] which included the peoples of modern-day Indonesia, Malaysia, most ofEast Timor and the Philippines. The racial concept was proposed by European explorers based on their observations of the influence of theethnic Malay empire (Indonesia), Srivijaya.[6]
The 19th century naturalist Alfred Wallace used the term “Malay Archipelago” as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region. Wallace also referred to the area as the “Indian Archipelago” and the “Indo-Australian” Archipelago.[7] He included within the region the Solomon Islands and the Malay Peninsula due to physiographic similarities.[7] As Wallace noted,[8] there are arguments for excluding Papua New Guinea for cultural and geographical reasons: Papua New Guinea is culturally quite different from the other countries in the region, and the island of New Guinea itself is geologically not part of the continent of Asia, as the islands of the Sunda Shelf are (seeAustralia).
The archipelago was called the “East Indies“[9] in the European colonial era and is still sometimes referred to as such,[4] but broader usages of the “East Indies” term had included Indochina and the Indian subcontinent. Indonesians use the term “Nusantara” for the “Malay archipelago”.[10] The area is also referred to as the Indonesian archipelago.[11][12]
The land and sea area of the archipelago exceeds 2 million km2.[1] The over 25,000 islands of the archipelago comprises many smaller archipelagoes.[13]
The major groupings are:
The six largest islands are New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, and Luzon.
Geologically the archipelago is one of the most active volcanic regions in the world. Tectonic uplifts have produced large mountains, including the highest in Mount Kinabalu in Sabah with a height of 4,095.2 m and Puncak Jaya in Papua at 4,884 m (16,024 ft). The climate throughout the archipelago, owing to its position on the equator, is tropical.
Size
Malay Archipelago (or Indonesian Archipelago) is often referred to as the largest archipelago in the world, but this is meant by area and not by number of islands. This title aptly represents its 25,000 – 30,000 or so islands which span 5,400 kilometres (3,400 mi) eastward from Sabang in northern Sumatra to Merauke in Irian Jaya. If you superimpose a map of Indonesia over one of Eurasia, you will find that it stretches from Eastern France to Western China; compared to the United States, it covers the area from Eastern California to Bermuda. If includes New Guinea, it was even span 6,400 kilometres (4,000 mi), it stretches from Eastern Spain to Western China; compared to the USA, it covers the area from Eastern California to Western Iceland.
Biogeography
Wallace’s line between Australian and Southeast Asian fauna. The deep water of the Lombok Strait between the islands of Bali and Lombok formed a water barrier even when lower sea levels linked the now-separated islands and landmasses on either side.
Wallace used the term “Malay Archipelago” as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region. He proposed the “Wallace Line“, a boundary that separated the flora and fauna of Asia and Australia. The ice age boundary was formed by the deep water straits between Borneo and Sulawesi; and through the Lombok Strait between Bali and Lombok. This is now considered the western border of the Wallacea transition zone between the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australia. The zone has a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin, and its own endemic species.
Over 350 million people live in the region, with the most populated island being Java. The people living there are predominantly from Austronesian subgroupings and correspondingly speak western Malayo-Polynesian languages. This region of Southeast Asia shares more social and cultural ties with other Austronesian peoples in the Pacific than with the peoples of Mainland Southeast Asia. The main religions in this region are Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and traditional Animism.
The cultural identity of the region is seen as part of ‘Farther India’ or Greater India as seen in Coedes ‘Indianized states of Southeast Asia’ refers to it as ‘Island Southeast Asia’ [14] while other authorities see it is as partly (or in the case of Singapore heavily) Sinicised, and yet the further other ones suggest its own identity within Austronesia or Oceania. [15]
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