Sundanese people

Sundanese people
Latifah payet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Group	Sundanese people
Native name	Urang Sunda
Population	~42 million
Region1	West Java
Region2	Banten
Region3	Jakarta
Languages	Sundanese language, Indonesian language
Religions	Islam (predominant), Christianity, Sunda Wiwitan
Related	Javanese people, Betawi people, Malay Indonesians

Sundanese people. The Sundanese people (Urang Sunda) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the western part of the island of Java, primarily inhabiting the provinces of West Java, Banten, and Jakarta. As the second-largest ethnic group in Indonesia, their history and society were profoundly shaped by over three centuries of Dutch colonial presence, which transformed their political structures, economy, and social fabric. Their interactions with and resistance to colonial rule form a significant chapter in the broader narrative of Dutch colonization in Southeast Asia.

Origins and Early History

The Sundanese are indigenous to the Parahyangan highlands of western Java. Early historical records, such as the 5th-century Tarumanagara inscriptions, point to the existence of Hindu-influenced kingdoms in the region. The Sunda Kingdom, centered in Pakuan Pajajaran (present-day Bogor), emerged as a major power by the late 7th century, controlling the vital Sunda Strait trade routes. This kingdom maintained a distinct identity from the eastern Javanese Majapahit empire and was a significant producer of pepper and other agricultural goods. The arrival of Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries, largely through coastal sultanates like Banten and Cirebon, gradually shifted the region's cultural and political centers, setting the stage for European contact.

Traditional Society and Culture

Traditional Sundanese society was organized around agrarian villages (desa) led by a headman (kuwu), with a social hierarchy that included nobility (menak), free peasants, and bondsmen. Their culture is characterized by the Sundanese language, a rich oral tradition of pantun poetry, and distinctive artistic forms such as angklung bamboo music, wayang golek puppet theatre, and the elegant Jaipongan dance. The Sunda Wiwitan belief system, emphasizing harmony with nature, persisted alongside the dominant Islam that arrived via the Banten Sultanate. This cultural foundation, centered on the values of someah (hospitality) and silih asah, silih asih, silih asuh (mutual cultivation, love, and care), provided resilience during colonial pressures.

Contact and Relations with the Dutch East India Company

Initial contact between the Sundanese and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) began in the early 17th century. The VOC initially sought treaties with the Sultanate of Banten and Sultanate of Cirebon to secure trade monopolies, particularly over pepper and coffee. Following the Treaty of 1705, the VOC gained suzerainty over the Priangan region, effectively dismantling the remnants of the Sunda Kingdom. The Company implemented the Preangerstelsel (Preanger System), a forced delivery system obliging Sundanese regents (bupati) to supply fixed quotas of coffee, tea, and other cash crops. This system co-opted the traditional Sundanese aristocracy, turning local rulers like the Regent of Cianjur into agents of colonial extraction.

Under Dutch Colonial Administration

After the VOC's bankruptcy in 1799, the Dutch East Indies government under the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies formalized colonial control. The Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel), intensively applied in West Java from 1830, mandated that villages dedicate a portion of their land to export crops like coffee, tea, and quinine. The colonial administration relied heavily on the hereditary Sundanese bupati, who were given ceremonial prestige but were ultimately subservient to Dutch Residents. This period saw the construction of infrastructure, such as the Great Post Road and the Bandung-Jakarta railway, primarily to facilitate resource extraction, which began to alter the Sundanese socio-economic landscape and spurred the growth of colonial cities.

Socio-Economic Impact of Colonial Rule

Colonial economic policies had a profound dual impact. While they generated wealth for the Netherlands, they imposed severe hardships on the Sundanese peasantry. The forced cultivation of coffee and other crops led to land scarcity, famines, and widespread indebtedness. Conversely, the colonial economy created new social strata, including a small class of indigenous civil servants (priyayi) and wage laborers on plantations and in cities like Bandung. The introduction of a cash economy and Western education for the elite, through institutions like the Bandung Institute of Technology, created a nascent intelligentsia. However, the majority remained impoverished peasants, their traditional subsistence agriculture disrupted by the demands of the colonial export market.

Resistance and Adaptation in the Colonial Era

Resistance to Dutch rule took various forms. Early armed resistance included the Cilegon uprising of 1888 in Banten, led by religious leaders (kyai) against colonial oppression. In the 20th century, resistance became more organized through Islamic modernist movements like Muhammadiyah and nationalist organizations such as the Indonesian National Party (PNI), which found support among Sundanese intellectuals. Figures like M. H. Thamrin, a nationalist politician from Batavia, and Otto Iskandar di Nata, a Sundanese nationalist, emerged. Simultaneously, cultural adaptation occurred, with the Sundanese adopting and modifying colonial institutions, and the Sundanese press, like the newspaper Sipatahoenan, became a vehicle for nationalist thought.

● Post-Colonial Developments and States

Following the Indonesian National Revolution and the proclamation of independence in 1940s, the Sundanese have played a central role in the Indonesian nation-state. The province of West Java was formally established, with Bandung as its capital, and later, the province of Banten was formed. The post-colonial era has been marked by efforts to preserve Sundanese language and culture through educational curricula and state-sponsored cultural institutes, alongside the pressures of modernization and Indonesian nationalism. Prominent Sundanese figures, from President Abdurrahman Wahid to military figures like A. H. Nasution, have shaped national politics. Today, the Sundanese, while fully integrated into the Indonesian nation, maintain a vibrant cultural identity, with their history of colonial engagement and resistance remaining a key part of their collective memory and heritage.