Banten

For the Banten meteorite of 1933, see Meteorite falls. For the sultanate, see Banten Sultanate. For the city and harbor, see Bantam (city). Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000. The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.

Banten province lies between 5 º 7'50 "-7 º 1'11" south latitude and 105 º 1'11 "-106 º 7'12" east longitude.[3] The province has an area of 9,160 km² and consists of 4 cities and 4 districts, sub-divided into 140 districts, 262 urban villages and 1242 villages.

Banten is located along the Sunda Strait amongst strategic sea lanes through which large ships can pass linking Australia and New Zealand to Southeast Asia. Banten’s ports accommodate the excess capacity of sea ports in Jakarta and is intended to be an alternative port of Singapore.

Banten has sea borders to its north, (the Java Sea), to its west (the Sunda Strait), and to the south (the Indian Ocean). The Special Capital Region of Jakarta and the province of West Java border Banten to its east. 574,090 hectares or 65 % of Banten is classified as flat, 186,320 hectares (21%) is classified as corrugated with slopes of between 2 % and 15 % steepness, while the remaining 118,471 hectares (13%) is classified as steep with slopes over 15 %.

In the 5th century, Banten was part of the Kingdom of Tarumanagara. The Lebak relic inscriptions, found in lowland villages on the edge of Ci Danghiyang, Munjul, Pandeglang, Banten, were discovered in 1947 and contains 2 lines of poetry with Pallawa script and Sanskrit language.[citation needed] The inscriptions speak of the courage of king Purnawarman.[citation needed] After the collapse of the kingdom Tarumanagara following attack by Srivijaya, power in the western Java fell to the Kingdom of Sunda. The Chinese source, Chu-fan-chi, written circa 1200, Chou Ju-kua mentioned that in the early 13th Century, Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda). The source identifies the port of Sunda as strategic and thriving, pepper from Sunda being among the best in quality. The people worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden poles (rumah panggung). However, robbers and thieves plagued the country. It was highly possible that the port of Sunda mentioned by Chou Ju-kua was probably refer to the port of Banten.

According to Portuguese explorer, Tome Pires, in the early 16 th century the port of Bantam (Banten) was one of the important ports of the Kingdom of Sunda, along with the ports of Pontang, Cheguide (Cigede), Tangaram (Tangerang), Calapa (Sunda Kelapa) and Chimanuk (estuarine of Cimanuk river).

In 1527 just as the Portuguese fleet was arriving of the coast, newly converted Javanese muslims under Sunan Gunungjati capture the port and surrounding area from Sunda and establish the Sultanate of Banten. As the center of this sultanate, as reported by J. de Barros, Banten is a major port in Southeast Asia, parallel to the Malacca and Makassar. City of Banten is located in the mid-coast of the bay, which up to three miles wide. the city was 850 fathoms in length. In the seaside town of 400 fathoms in length; enter into it longer. Through the middle of town there is a clear river, where the ship type and gale junks could sail through. Throughout the suburbs there is a tributary, the river is not how large it was only small boats can only sail through. In a suburb that is a fortress whose walls were made of brick and seven palms wide. Defense buildings made of wood, consisting of two levels, and armed with good weapons. In the middle of town square is used for the benefit of military activities and folk art and as a market in the morning. The king's palace is located in the southern part of the square. Beside the building is elevated and flat-roofed, called Srimanganti, which is used as the king of face to face with people. To the west of the square was built a great mosque.

In the early 17th century AD, Banten is one of the important commercial center in the international trade route in Asia. Modern administration and governance port very supportive for the growth of the economic community. Its territory includes the area is now the province of Lampung in southern Sumatra. When the Dutch arrived in Indonesia for the first time, the Portuguese have long entered the Banten. Then the English founded a factory in Banten and followed by the Dutch. In addition, the French and Danish people also came to trade in Banten. In the competition between the European traders, the Dutch emerged as the winner. Portuguese man fled from Banten (1601), after their fleet was destroyed by the Dutch fleet off the coast of Banten.

Most community members embrace the religion of Islam with the religious spirit high, but other religions can live side by side in peace. Potential community and cultural distinctiveness of Banten, among other martial art Pencak silat, Debus, Rudad, Umbruk, Saman Dance, Mask Dance, Dance Cokek, Dog-dog, Palingtung, and Lojor. In addition, there are also relics of the ancestral heritage include the Great Mosque of Banten Lama, Masjid Keramat Long, and many other relics.

In Banten province is Baduy tribe. Baduy tribe in a tribal Sundanese Banten still maintain the tradition of anti-modernity, both clothing and other living patterns. Baduy-Rawayan tribes living in the area Kendeng Mountains Heritage area 5101.85 hectares in the area Baduy, Sub Lewidamar, Lebak District. Baduy community settlements are generally located in river basins in the mountains Kendeng Ciujung. This area is known as the land area of deposit from a common ancestor, which must be maintained and guarded well, should not be destroyed.

The natives who lived in Banten Province speak using the dialect which is derived from the Sundanese Ancient. These dialects are classified as coarse language in the Sundanese language of modern, which have some level of fine level to coarse level (informal), who first created during the Mataram Sultanate controlled Priangan (the southeastern part of West Java Province). However, in Serang and Cilegon, Banten Java language used by ethnic Javanese. And, in the northern city of Tangerang, Indonesian with the Betawi dialect is also used by the Betawi ethnic newcomers. Besides Sundanese, Javanese and Betawi dialect, Indonesian language is also used mainly by immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.