Madurese

Madurese is the spoken language of people from Madura island in Indonesia; it is also spoken on Kangean Islands, Sapudi Islands, and in eastern part of province of East Java. It is classified in the Sundic subgroup of the West Malayo-Polynesian group of the Austronesian languages family. It was traditionally written in the Javanese script, but the Roman script is now more commonly used. Number of speakers though shrinking are estimated to be 8-10 million.

The Madurese originate from the 5,304 square kilometer island of Madura, which is part of Indonesia's East Java province. There are about 10 million Madurese, making them the third-largest ethnic group in Indonesia after the Javanese and the Sundanese. However, more than half of the Madurese have moved to other parts of Indonesia, particularly to mainland East Java, where they have integrated with the Javanese. The harsh, arid, and unfertile land of the island of Madura, which can only be used during the rainy season, causes the migration of the Madurese to other areas. Reports show that by 1994, only about 3 million people were left in Madura. Many have also transmigrated to areas such as Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Sulawesi.

Madurese migrants in Indonesian cities are easily identified because they stay exclusively in their own areas, maintaining their language and customs. The Madurese are Muslims and are notable in their adherence to their religious leaders or kiyai (Islamic clerics), who also become their informal political and social leaders. The kiyai have an elevated status for Madurese. The fanatical supporters from East Java province of Indonesia's former cleric president, Abdurrahman Wahid, counted Madurese in their numbers.

Madurese men are protective of their women, and should their wife or girlfriend suffer an offense from another man, then the Madurese man must settle it by carok (a life and death duel) using a clurit (a 30- to 40-centimeter half-circle knife). Madurese men must master carok as a martial art. Those who fully master this martial art are called orang jago and given blater (brave man) status. Traditional music and dances (remo) are regularly held in Madurese society to formally honor members of the blater group.

Migrant Madurese are usually small traders. In west and central Kalimantan, their presence has created difficult relations with the local people such as the Dayak, Malay, and Chinese. There have been a number of pogroms against the Madurese, including the brutal killings in 2001 in which thousands were beheaded in Central Kalimantan province after local Dayak people accused the Madurese of taking their land and of denigrating local customs and cultures.

While other ethnic groups have assimilated into Indonesian society, the Madurese remain a culturally distinct society.The third largest ethnic group in Indonesia, the Madurese are staunchly resistant to change and outside influence. Over the centuries, they have shown their ability to adjust to any outside influence and maintain their specific identity.The majority of the Madurese (nine million) live on Java near the island of Madura, with four million still inhabiting Madura.Madurese tend to be short, have dark-brown skin, curly hair and are rough in appearance.

Family is important to the Madurese. Working as farmers or fishermen, they live in villages that function around a religious center.Islam is an integral part of the social, political and economic life of these people.Although the Madurese people are orthodox Sunni Muslims in many ways, there is much folk Islam which focuses on seeking protection in life through the magic of either appeasing or controlling good and bad spirits. They have a strong belief in spirits, the use of amulets, black and white magic and the worship of ancestors.