A Javanese prince with two servants (c. 1865-1870)

A Javanese prince with two servants (c. 1865-1870)

The Javanese (Ngoko Javanese: ꦮꦺꦴꦁꦗꦮ,^[14] Krama Javanese: ꦠꦶꦪꦁꦗꦮꦶ,^[15] Ngoko Gêdrìk: wòng Jåwå,Krama Gêdrìk: tiyang Jawi, Indonesian: suku Jawa)^[16] are an ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. With approximately 100 million people (as of 2011), they form the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. There are also significant numbers of people of Javanese descent in most Provinces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Suriname, South Africa and the Netherlands.

The Javanese ethnic group has many sub-groups, such as the Mataram, Cirebonese, Osing, Tenggerese, Boyanese,Samin, Naganese, Banyumasan, etc.^[17]

A majority of the Javanese people identify themselves as Muslims, with a minority identifying as Christians and Hindus. However, Javanese civilisation has been influenced by more than a millennium of interactions between the native animism Kejawen and the Indian Hindu—Buddhist culture, and this influence is still visible in Javanese history, culture, traditions and art forms.