Bawean
Bawean is an island of Indonesia located approximately north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by an extinct volcano at its center that rises to above sea level. Its population as of the 2010 Census was about 70,000 people, but more than 26,000 of the total were temporarily living outside, working in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. As a result, females constituted about 77% of the actual population of the island, which is thus often referred to as "the Island of Women". The 2020 Census revealed a population of 80,289, while the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 85,320.
The island territory is divided into two administrative districts, Sangkapura and Tambak. About 63.65% of the population live in the district of Sangkapura, centred on the town of that name located on the southern coast of the island. The other 36.35% live in Tambak District, in the northern 40% of the island. The island has rich nature with many endemic species, such as Bawean deer which is only found on the island and is included to the IUCN Red List.
Etymology
The island's name is believed to originate from the Kawi phrase ba ''we an – thus: "having the sunlight". According to the legend, Javanese sailors wandering in the mist in 1350 named the island because they saw a glimpse of light around it; previously the island bore the Arabic name of Majidi.During the Dutch colonization in the 18th to the 20th centuries, the island was renamed Lubok, but the locals and even the Dutch continued to use the name Bawean. The Dutch name fell out of use in the 1940s.
As a linguistic variation, the island is also called Boyan and its natives Boyanese. These names are also common in Malaysia and Singapore, being brought there by numerous visitors from Bawean. Another popular appellation is the island of women''. This originates from the predominance of the actual female population, as since the 19th century most males have taken part-time jobs outside Bawean. So whereas the nominal female population percentage amounted to about 52% in 2009, the actual fraction approximated 77%. This imbalance has become the subject of national and international studies.
History
Pre-colonial period
The name Bawean means "sunlight exists" in Sanskrit and was encountered by shipwrecked sailors in the 14th century, in reference to their excitement upon seeing clear skies after enduring fierce storms at sea.The island endures in its indigenous practice of dukun, a shamanistic role of traditional society.
It is uncertain when humans first settled on Bawean. In the early Middle Ages ships sailing across the Java Sea often used the harbor on the island. The first records of permanent settlements on the island date to the 15th century. Most of the references to Bawean in regional sources of the 16–17th centuries are associated with visits to the island of Muslim preachers. Mass conversion of islanders to Islam began after the death in 1601 of the local Raja Bebileono who favored animism and the arrival from Java of the Muslim theologian Sheik Maulana Umar Mas'ud. His dynasty became independent from the Javanese States, and his great-great-grandson Purbonegoro, who ruled the island between 1720 and 1747 visited Java as a sovereign ruler. The graves of Maulana and Purbonegoro are revered on the island, they are visited by Muslim pilgrims from other parts of Indonesia and are the main historical attractions of Bawean.
Colonial period
Dutch sailors first visited Bawean during their trading expedition to Java led by the explorer Cornelis de Houtman – on 11 January 1597, the badly damaged expedition ship Amsterdam was abandoned and set on fire off the Bawean coast. In the 17–18th centuries, the island was regularly visited by ships of the Dutch East India Company, which was strengthening its position in this part of the Malayan archipelago, and in 1743 officially came under its control. The Island had little economic value and was used as a resting stop for ships sailing between Java and Borneo.After the bankruptcy and liquidation of the East India Company in 1798, Bawean and all its other possessions came under the direct control of the Netherlands Crown. Whereas the island was governed by an appointed Dutch official, native nobility retained certain influence, and the Muslim institutions of justice settled local court matters. The Bawean religious court was established in 1882.
From the end of 19th century, men of the island began to regularly travel to work in the British colonial possessions in the Malay Peninsula, especially in Singapore. The Dutch authorities didn't interfere with the activities of foreign recruiters who visited the island, as Bawean, with about 30,000 people and 66 settlements was overpopulated. The island was then producing tobacco, Indigo, cotton fabrics and coal, and exported the Bawean deer and local breed of horse. Large-scale planting of teak started in the 1930s and resulted in deforestation of most of the island.
World War II
During World War II, large-scale battles between the Japanese and Allied navies occurred in the vicinity of Bawean island, especially during the Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942. On 25 February 1942, the island was captured by the Japanese troops. On 28 February, in the first Battle of the Java Sea, the Japanese sunk several Allied ships, killing the commander of the East Indies Fleet, Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, on the light cruiser. The Second Battle of the Java Sea, also known as the Battle off Bawean, was fought on 1 March 1942. It resulted in sinking of all the participating Allied ships, including the heavy cruiser and effective termination of the Anglo-Dutch resistance in the region. In August 1945, the Japanese garrison on the island surrendered to the Anglo-Dutch forces.Post–World War II
After the proclamation of the independent Republic of Indonesia on 17 August 1945 the island formally became a part of the new state. However, it remained de facto under Dutch control, and in February 1948, together with Madura and several other islands, was included in the quasi-independent state Madura promoted by the Government of the Netherlands. It joined the Republic of the United States of Indonesia in December 1949, and finally the Republic of Indonesia in March 1950.Geography
The island is located in the Java Sea about north of the larger island of Madura. It has a nearly round shape with the diameter varying between and giving an average value of. The shores are winding and contain many small bays; there are many small sandy islands, rocks and coral reefs off the coast with the size up to. The largest inhabited satellite islands are Selayar, Selayar Noko, Noko Gili, Gili Timur and Nusa.Most of the island is hilly, except for the narrow coast and a plain in the southwestern part; it is therefore also called locally as "island of 99 hills". The highest point is at the hill . The greatest heights are in the central and eastern parts of the island. Here are a few caldera lakes, the largest being the Lake Kastoba. It has an area of about, depth of, and is located at an altitude of about. There are several small rivers and waterfalls, the highest being Laccar and Patar Selamat, as well as hot springs such as Kebun Daya and Taubat.
Climate
The climate is tropical monsoonal, slightly less humid than the average in this part of Indonesia. Annual and daily temperature fluctuations are small, with the average maximum of and the average minimum of. Rainy season lasts from December to March, and the average monthly precipitation ranges from in December to in August. Northwesterly and easterly winds dominate the rainy and dry periods, respectively.Geology
The island originated from a volcano located near its center. Igneous rocks make about 85% of its surface with occasional limestone, sandstone and dolomite. The soil in low-lying coastal areas is mainly alluvial, with a predominance of sand and gray clay. At altitudes of 10–30 meters above sea level, older alluvial accretions show up as horizontal layers of brown clay, and the higher areas are dominated by red-brown laterite.The area is considered seismically active, with frequent tremors which are companied by landslides. The island has deposits of coal and onyx which are being mined from the early 2000s. There are oil and gas fields in the underwater shelf around the island, which are among the largest in Indonesia. Their development started in the 1960s and is being conducted now by the national company Pertamina and several foreign companies.
Flora and fauna
Historically, most of the island was covered by virgin rainforest, but the total area has rapidly declined; by the end of the 20th century, forests were covering less than 10% of the island. About 15% of the land is now claimed by the cultivated common teak.The local jungles are characterized by dense low understory growth, with a predominance of ferns, bryophytes and orchids. The most common tree species are Ficus, Nauclea and Symplocos adenophylla. Some plant species do not occur on nearby Java Island, such as Canarium asperum, Pternandra coerulescens, Pternandra rostrata, Champera manilana, Ixora miquelii, Phanera lingua and Irvingia malayana. Mangrove bushes occur in some coastal areas on the island, with the main species being Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera cylindrica and Lumnitzera racemosa.
The fauna of Bawean Island are generally quite similar to the species found on Java. The most unique of the island's endemic local fauna is a diminutive species of deer, simply known as the Bawean deer, which is also referred to as Kuhl's deer or the Bawean hog deer. It is considered a symbol of Bawean, and is protected by Indonesian law. Unfortunately, there are less than 250 individuals, of which more than 90% belong to a single population. With lower numbers, the deer population's genetic variability is at risk of “bottlenecking”, thus, they are listed as "critically endangered" on the IUCN Red List.
Bawean hosts other unique mammals, such as the crab-eating macaque, Sunda porcupine, small Indian civet, and the Asian palm civet. The most common birds are the black-crowned night heron, purple heron, great frigatebird and the gull-billed tern. Reptiles are represented by various kinds of monitor lizard, as well as the giant reticulated python and the fearsome saltwater crocodile, the latter sometimes swimming inland, upstream from the coast, albeit for short periods.
Nature conservation measures were first taken when Bawean was under colonial administration of the Netherlands. In 1932, five forests with a total area of were declared natural reserves. In 1979, two national nature reserves were created, with areas of, primarily to protect the density of forests, the main habitat of the Bawean deer.