Malang
Malang, historically known as Tumapel, is an inland city in the Indonesian province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most populous city in the province, with a population of 820,043 at the 2010 Census and 843,810 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2024 was 889,359. The Malang Metropolitan area was home to 3,061,970 inhabitants in 2024, spread across two cities and 22 districts. Malang is the third largest city by economy in East Java, after Surabaya and Kediri, with an estimated 2016 GDP at Rp. 44.30 trillion.
The city is well known for its mild climate. During Dutch colonization, it was a popular destination for European residents. Even now, Malang still holds its position as a popular destination for international tourists. Malang keeps various historical relics. This city keeps relics of the Kingdom of Kanjuruhan period until the Dutch period. The existence of Dutch heritage in general is in the form of ancient buildings such as the Kayutangan church and Ijen Cathedral which employ Gothic architecture. Malang also holds various events to preserve its cultural heritage, one of which is Malang Tempo Doeloe Festival. There is also a lot of historical heritage which has become a landmark like Tugu Malang. Additionally, Malang is well-known because of its label as an educational city. Two of the best universities in Indonesia are in Malang, namely Brawijaya University and Malang State University.
Malang has various ethnic groups and cultures from all over Indonesia and the world. The population of Malang comprised 889,359 people in mid-2024, with a majority of Javanese, followed by the Madurese, and Chinese or Peranakan. Malang extended urban area, notable known as Malang Raya, is the second largest in East Java after Gerbangkertosusila. From the perspective of Javanese culture, the majority of Malang people belong to Arekan Javanese culture.
Malang was spared many of the effects of the Asian financial crisis, and since that time, it has been marked by steady economic and population growth.
Etymology
The etymology of the name Malang is uncertain. One of the theories said that the name Malang is derived from the words Malangkuçeçwara, which means "God has destroyed the false and enforced the right". The words were taken from an ancient term which mentions a legendary temple called Malangkuçeçwara, supposedly located near the city Malang. The word Malangkuçeçwara was applied as the motto of the city of Malang. The name "Malang" first appeared on the Pamotoh / Ukirnegara Inscription which was discovered on 11 January 1975 by a Bantaran plantation administrator in Wlingi, Blitar Regency. In the copper inscription, one part is written as follows.Malang here refers to an eastern of Mount Kawi. Although it is known that the use of Malang has at least been going on since the 12th century, it cannot be ascertained the etymology of its territory.
The first hypothesis refers to the name of a holy building called Malangkuçeçwara. The sacred building is referred to in two Balitung King inscriptions from Ancient Mataram, namely the Mantyasih Inscription in 907 AD and the Inscription of 908 AD. Experts still have not obtained an agreement on where the building is located. On the one hand, there are a number of experts who say that the Malangkuçeçwara building is located in the Mount Buring area, a mountain that stretches east of Malang, where one of its peaks named "Malang". Others, on the other hand, suspect that the actual location of the sacred building is in the Tumpang area, Malang Regency. In the area, there is a village called Malangsuka, which, according to historians, comes from the word Malangkuça which is pronounced upside down. This opinion is reinforced by the existence of ancient relics around Tumpang, such as Jago Temple and Kidal Temple, which are in the territory of the Kingdom of Singhasari.
The Malangkuçeçwara name consists of 3 words, namely mala, which means falsehood, cheating, falsehood, and evil, angkuça which means God. Therefore, Malangkuçeçwara means "God has destroyed the vanity".
The second hypothesis refers to the story of the assault of the Mataram Sultanate forces in Malang in 1614, led by Tumenggung Alap-Alap. According to folklore, there was a conversation between Tumenggung Alap-Alap and one of his assistants regarding the condition of Malang before the attack began. The assistant from Tumenggung Alap-Alap mentioned residents and soldiers from the area as residents who "blocked the halangi" from the arrival of Mataram troops. After the conquest, the Mataram forces named the area of the conquest as Malang.
History
Early history
The Malang area in the Pleistocene era was still a deep basin flanked by volcanic activity from mountains such as the Karst Mountains in the south, Kawi, Butak, and Kelud in the west, Anjasmoro and Arjuno-Welirang complex in the northeast and north, and the Tengger Mountains Complex in the east. The basin has not been inhabited by humans because the condition is still in the form of lava and hot lava flows from the surrounding mountains. Towards the rainy season, the Malang basin is filled with water flowing through the mountain slopes, leading to a number of rivers and forming an ancient swamp. The swamps spread to create ancient lakes.When the ancient lake had not dried up, early human civilization was still in the early to advanced stages of Hunting and Collecting Food. The settlements are still on the slopes of mountains and mountains that surround Malang in the form of natural caves. Therefore, it is understandable that the discovery of artifacts in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic period is found in mountainous areas, such as on the slopes of Mount Kawi, Arjuno-Welirang, Tengger, Semeru and the Southern Karst Mountains.
Malang ancient lake gradually dried up in the Holocene era and caused the Malang region to become a plateau in Malang. When it began to enter the Planting Period, early humans began to descend from the mountains and make a number of settlements and agricultural areas. The discovery of a number of artifacts in the form of two square pickaxes, chalcedony stone tools and hand-held andesite axes on the east side of Mount Kawi in the Kacuk area around the Metro and Brantas streams reinforced this assumption. In addition, the study estimates that the forms of occupancy in the transitional period were in the form of a stilt house, where the body of the house was supported by the legs of the house and was several meters above the ground. This is reinforced by the discovery of artifacts in the form of "Watu Gong" or "Watu Kenong" in Dinoyo, Lowokwaru, Malang, whose forms are similar to traditional musical instruments, namely gong, which are actually swear or foundation of a stilt house. The growth of settlements around the river flowing in Malang became the forerunner of the ancient civilizations of the Homo sapiens.
Hindu and Islamic Kingdoms
Kanjuruhan Kingdom
The history of Malang Regency could be revealed through the Dinoyo inscription at year of 760 as the primary official document to support the birth of Malang before a new inscription was discovered in 1986, which is yet to be deciphered. According to the inscription, it was concluded that the 8th century was the beginning of the existence of Malang Regency's government due to the birth of King Gajayana's ruling of his Indianized Hindu kingdom in Malang. From the Dinoyo inscription, it is noted that the inscription used the "Candra Sengkala" or Cronogram Calendar, and stated that the birth date of Malang Regency was on Jum'at Legi of 28 November 760.Mataram Kingdom
Kanjuruhan Kingdom power is estimated to not last long. The kingdom was finally under the rule of Mataram during the leadership of King Dyah Balitung. In the Balingawan Inscription, it is mentioned Pu Huntu as Rakryan Kanuruhan in the reign of King Mpu Daksa. The area that used to be an autonomous kingdom has dropped one level to a watak that is on a level with the duchy or district. Watak Kanuruhan which covers the center of Malang today is an entity that stands side by side with Watak Hujung and Watak Tugaran which each oversees several wanua.When the capital Mataram was moved to the Tamwlang and Watugaluh areas during the reign of King Mpu Sindok, several inscriptions such as Sangguran, Turyyan, Gulung-Gulung, Linggasutan, Jeru-Jeru, Tija, Kanuruhan, Muncang, and Wurandungan describes a number of tax liability policies for sima in Malang and a number of land grant processes to build temples.
Kahuripan, Janggala, and Kediri Kingdom
There is no record that explains in detail the status and role of the area around Malang during King Airlangga's leadership in addition to the fact that Malang entered the territory of the Kingdom of Kahuripan. Because the Malang area is no longer the center of government of the Kingdom which is centered around Mount Penanggungan and Sidoarjo with its capital Kahuripan. Even when Raja Airlangga divided Kahuripan into Panjalu which was centered in Daha and Jenggala which remained centered in Kahuripan, the Malang region was included as a peripheral of the powers of both kingdoms. However, it can be ascertained that the Malang region entered the Jenggala region at the time of this division. The division of Kahuripan shows that Mount Kawi was used as the boundary of the two new kingdoms with the eastern side obtained by Jenggala.Malang again became an important area in the history of Panjalu or Jenggala when King Jayabhaya of Panjalu conquered Jenggala. In the Hantang Inscription, it is written Panjalu Jayati, signifying Panjalu's victory over Jenggala. The inscription also included the granting of special privileges to several villages in Hantang and its surroundings for their services in favor of Panjalu during the war. This inscription also shows that the Malang region is under the authority of Panjalu.
The Kamulan Inscription records the events of the attack of an area from the east of Daha against King Kertajaya who resided in the Katang-Katang Kedaton. There is no further research on whether the attack was a rebellion or attempted conquest. However, the existence of the Kamulan Inscription shows that there was a new political force that emerged to oppose Panjalu's power. This argument is reinforced by the existence of the Sukun Inscription which mentions a king named Jayamerta who gave special rights to Sukun Village for fighting enemies. Jayamerta has never been stated explicitly or implicitly in various records that refer to information regarding both the list of rulers of Kadiri and Jenggala. Some historians such as Agus Sunyoto mention that the area of origin of the resistance was named Purwa or Purwwa. This was supported by Sunyoto's argument when referring to all Majapahit rulers as descendants of Ken Arok who " drained his seed into the world through teja which emanated from" secrets "Ken Dedes, naraiswari Purwa Kingdom." "Naraiswari himself in Sanskrit means "the main woman" and Ken Dedes himself is the daughter of Mpu Purwa, a brahmana from Panawijyan. In the end the resistance effort from the area which was said to be named Purwa / Purwwa was successfully crushed by Panjalu.
Some historians attribute the series of events of resistance and crackdown to the socio-political context of the two conflicts involving King Kertajaya and the Brahmin class. The first is the policy of King Kertajaya who tried to reduce a number of rights from the Brahmana class. Some folklore shows that King Kertajaya wanted to be "worshiped" by the Brahmins so that it was contrary to the religious teachings of the Brahmins. The second is the kidnapping of Ken Dedes by Tunggul Ametung, akuwu for the Tumapel region. According to Blasius Suprapto, the location of Tumapel itself was in an area formerly called Kutobedah. The implication of the two conflicts was the withdrawal of political support from the Brahmana class against Raja Kertajaya.