Bawean people

Ethnic group in Indonesia
Native
Madurese (Bawean Madurese)

Most Bawean people are Muslims, and Islamic traditions and values play a significant role in their daily lives. They have a close knit community structure and maintain strong cultural and social ties. Traditionally, the Bawean people have been involved in various occupations, including agriculture, fishing, and maritime trade. Migration also plays a significant role in the history and present day dynamics of the Bawean people. Due to various factors, including economic opportunities, trade networks, and colonial influences, the Bawean people have engaged in migration both within Indonesia and to other countries. They traveled to different parts of the Indonesian archipelago and even ventured further to neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore for trade and economic purposes. In the latter two countries, they are known as Boyan (originally an English mispronunciation of Bawean, but now generally used, including as self designation of the local Bawean community). These maritime connections allowed them to establish communities and settlements in different regions.

Although the Baweans are originally belongs to the Madurese group in general, however, the Baweans are also officially classified and recognized as a distinct ethnic group by the Indonesian Government due to their multiple inter connected historical lineage backgrounds; for instance, common intermarriage phenomenon with the Javanese, an ethnic group originally from the Java Island located in southern Bawean Islands (blooming intensively since the conquest of Majapahit era over Bawean until present day). The official Indonesian dictionary defines the Baweans as "mixed people of Javanese, Madurese, Banjar, Bugis, and Makassar which occurred since hundreds of years ago".

The homeland of the Bawean people is the Bawean Islands in the Java Sea. As a result of migration, nowadays the Baweans can be found in all regions across Indonesia, especially in western Indonesian region. Some small population (which mostly considered or viewed as ethnic minority group) of Baweans also can be found in several countries across Southeast Asia and Oceania, such as in Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.

As part of the wider Javanese cultural sphere, the culture possessed by the Baweans shared quite similar cultural traits to those Javanese people in general. The arts and crafts of Baweans generally are following those in Java, such as the Batik making culture, the martial art of Pencak and Silat, the prominent usage of Kris dagger, etc. However, the Baweans also quite well known for their ꦠꦶꦏꦂ (Tikar, 'plaited mat') handicraft tradition adorned with intricate Bawean's cultural patterns which symbolize their ethnic identity; these cultural practice is officially recognized by Indonesian government as integral part of national's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Dhurung is one of the traditional architectures of the Baweans usually built on the side or in front of the traditional Bawean house, it is not much different to their ancestors architectures, namely the Pendhapa of Javanese. The Dhurung commonly functioned as the outdoor meeting point to welcome the non formal guests (traditionally speaking, non formal guests means the guests that came only for having a casual talks, not the one who are going to make important deals or agreements), apart from that, the Dhurung also traditionally functioned as the barn to store the harvested rice or another crops. Administratively part of Gresik in mainland Java, some Bawean islanders in Bawean Islands also preserved the Tenun Gresik tradition, which is part of the larger Tenun (Indonesian for 'woven fabric') uniquely native to Gresik.

According to anthropological and linguistic studies, the Baweans speak the Bawean Madurese, a western dialect of Madurese language closely related to the Bangkalan Madurese spoken natively in Bangkalan (Madura Island) with >80% to 94% dialectical similarity. Part of Javanic languages family, some Javanese (especially through Old Javanese) linguistic elements also apparent within the Bawean Madurese (as well as Madurese in general). However, the Baweans in some villages still preserve their spoken language in full Javanese, such as in the Diponggo village. these can be examined through some archaeological findings in Bawean Island, from ancient harbours sites to the Arabic carved gravestones which dates back to pre Islamic era.