1.
Jawi alphabet
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Jawi is an Arabic alphabet for writing the Malay language, Acehnese, Banjarese, Minangkabau, Tausūg and several other languages in Southeast Asia. Jawi is one of the two scripts in Brunei, used as an alternative script in Malaysia and Malay dominated areas in Indonesia. It can be typed with the Jawi keyboard, day-to-day usage of Jawi is maintained in more conservative Malay-populated areas such as Kelantan in Malaysia and Pattani. Jawi is still used on road and building signs, and taught in primary and religious schools in Brunei. The word Jawi is an adjective for the Arabic noun Jawah, both terms may have originated from the term Javadwipa, the ancient name for Java. Prior to the onset of the Islamisation, when Hindu-Buddhist influences were still firmly established in the region and this is evidenced from the discovery of several stone inscriptions in Old Malay, notably the Kedukan Bukit Inscription and Talang Tuwo inscription. The spread of Islam in Southeast Asia and the subsequent introduction of Arabic writing system began with the arrival of Muslim merchants in the region since the seventh century. The conversion of King Phra Ong Mahawangsa of Kedah in 1136, at the early stage of Islamisation, the Arabic script was taught to the people who had newly embraced Islam in the form of religious practices, such as the recitation of Quran as well as salat. Many Arabic characters are never used as they are not pronounced in Malay language and this was the same for the acceptance of Arabic writing in Turkey, Persia and India which had taken place earlier and thus, the Jawi script was then deemed as the writing of the Muslims. The inscription on the stone contains a proclamation issued by the Sri Paduka Tuan of Terengganu, urging his subjects to extend and uphold Islam and this has attested the strong observance of the Muslim faith in the early 14th century Terengganu specifically and the Malay world as a whole. The development of Jawi script was different from that of Pallava writing which was restricted to the nobility. The Jawi script was embraced by the entire Muslim community regardless of class, with the increased intensity in the appreciation of Islam, scriptures originally written in Arabic were translated in Malay and written in the Jawi script. Additionally local religious scholars later began to elucidate the Islamic teachings in the forms of original writings, moreover, there were also individuals of the community who used Jawi for the writing of literature which previously existed and spread orally. With this inclusion of literature, Malay literature took on a more sophisticated form. This was believed to have taken place from the 15th century, other forms of Arabic-based scripts existed in the region, notably the Pegon alphabet of Javanese language in Java and the Serang alphabet of Bugis language in South Sulawesi. Both writing systems applied extensively the Arabic diacritics and added several alphabets other than Jawi alphabets to suit the languages, due to their fairly limited usage, the spelling system of both scripts did not undergo similar advance developments and modifications as experienced by Jawi script. The script became prominent with the spread of Islam, as the Malays found that the earlier Pallava script was totally unsuited as a vehicle to relay religious concepts. The Malays held the script in high esteem as it is the gateway to understanding Islam and its Holy Book, the use of jawi script was a key factor driving the emergence of Malay as the lingua franca of the region, alongside the spread of Islam
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Greater Sunda Islands
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The Greater Sunda Islands are a group of large islands within the Malay Archipelago. Under some definitions, only Java, Sumatra and Borneo are included in the Greater Sunda Islands, together with the Lesser Sunda Islands, they make up the Sunda Islands. The Greater Sunda islands are mostly territory of Indonesia, however, the island of Borneo is divided among the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It contains all of Brunei, the Indonesian provinces of Central, East, West, North, and South Kalimantan, and the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan. Banda Arc Lesser Sunda Islands List of islands of Indonesia Oceanic trench Plate tectonics Sunda Arc Sunda Islands Sunda Trench Sundaland
4.
Mount Kerinci
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Mount Kerinci is the highest volcano in Indonesia, and the highest peak on the island of Sumatra. It is surrounded by the lush forest of Kerinci Seblat National Park, home to the species of Sumatran tiger. It is part of the Barisan Mountains, a chain of volcanoes that span from the extreme northwest of the all the way to the extreme southeast. At the summit there is a deep 600 m wide crater, Kerinci is more active than most Indonesian volcanoes, with nearly annual phreatic eruptions. In 2004, Kerinci erupted and continues to spew clouds of sulphurous smoke, in 2009, Kerinci erupted again and followed by June 2,2013 eruption with 600 m spewed black smoke. Kerinci can be climbed from the village of Kersik Tuo,6 or 7 hours away from Padang by car or bus, the climb and descent normally takes 2 days and 1 night, when choosing to go all the way to the summit. Climbers may also choose to go up only as far as Camp 2 or 3, skipping the summit attempt, kerincis terrain consists of thick jungle, and can get muddy and slippery even if there are only mild drizzles, which may occur occasionally even during the dry season. To climb the volcano a guide is needed, as there have been cases of people disappearing after attempting to trek alone. The Kerinci Seblat National Park has at least fifteen lakes of note, with the biggest being Kerinci Lake, the 4, 200-hectares of Kerinci Lake lies at a height of 650 meters, and is the host of the annual Kerinci Lake Festival. Gunung Tujuh Lake is a lake formed in an extinct volcano. It is also the highest lake in Southeast Asia at 1,996 meters, based on research in 1973, the Kecik Wok Gedang Wok people are recognized as the first tribe to settle at a plateau around Mount Kerinci 10,000 years ago. Today, the Kecik Wong Gedang Wok people are limited due to assimilation with the Proto-Malay tribes which came later, there are around 135 dialects used only along the valley. This makes ethnographic analysis difficult to conduct, list of volcanoes in Indonesia Kerinci Seblat National Park Kerinci
5.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde
6.
Aceh
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Aceh, is a special region of Indonesia. The territory is located at the end of Sumatra. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India, there are 10 indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 80% to 90% of the regions population. Aceh is thought to have been the place where the spread of Islam in Indonesia began, Islam reached Aceh around 1250 AD. In the early seventeenth century the Sultanate of Aceh was the most wealthy, powerful, Aceh has a history of political independence and resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government. Aceh has substantial natural resources, including oil and natural gas, relative to most of Indonesia, it is a religiously conservative area. It has the highest proportion of Muslims in Indonesia, who live according to Sharia customs. Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, approximately 170,000 Indonesians were killed or went missing in the disaster. The disaster helped precipitate the peace agreement between the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, Aceh was first known as Aceh Darussalam and then later as the Daerah Istimewa Aceh, Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh. Past spellings of Aceh include Acheh, Atjeh, and Achin, according to several archaeological findings, the first evidence of human habitation in Aceh is from a site near the Tamiang River where shell middens are present. Stone tools and faunal remains were found on the site. Archeologists believe the site was first occupied around 10,000 BC, historic names such as Indrapurba, Indrapurwa, Indrapatra, and Indrapuri gave some hint of Indian influence on this region. However, there are no archaeological findings that link this region with Hinduism, evidence concerning the initial coming and subsequent establishment of Islam in Southeast Asia is thin and inconclusive. The historian Anthony Reid has argued that the region of the Cham people on the south-central coast of Vietnam was one of the earliest Islamic centers in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, as the Cham people fled the Vietnamese, one of the earliest locations that they established a relationship with was Aceh, furthermore, it is thought that one of the earliest centers of Islam was in the Aceh region. When Venetian traveller Marco Polo passed by Sumatra on his way home from China in 1292 he found that Peureulak was a Muslim town while nearby Basma, Basma and Samara are often said to be Pasai and Samudra but evidence is inconclusive. The gravestone of Sultan Malik as-Salih, the first Muslim ruler of Samudra, has found and is dated AH696. This is the earliest clear evidence of a Muslim dynasty in the Indonesia-Malay area, ibn Batutah, a Moroccan traveller, passing through on his way to China in 1345 and 1346, found that the ruler of Samudra was a follower of the Shafii school of Islam
7.
Bengkulu
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Bengkulu, historically known as Bencoolen or British Bencoolen, is one of the Provinces of Indonesia and is located in the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the former Bengkulu Residency area from South Sumatra province under Law No.9 of 1967 and was realized by Government Regulation No.20 of 1968. Bengkulu is the 25th largest province by area, it is divided into nine regencies and the city of Bengkulu. Bengkulu is also the 26th largest province by population in Indonesia, according to a release by Badan Pusat Statistik, it has the eleventh highest Human Development Index among the provinces, with a score about 0.744 in 2013. By 2014, the province positions 28th highest in gross domestic product, Bengkulu Province comprises not only land on southwest Sumatra, but also includes Mega Island and Enggano Island in the Indian Ocean. Bengkulu has 525 kilometres of coastline along the Indian Ocean on its western side, Bengkulu is home to many natural resources such as coal and gold, and has big and potential geothermal resources. In addition, it is less developed than other provinces in Sumatra, the name Bencoolen is predicted to be taken from a name of the hill in Cullen, Scotland, Bin of Cullen. Traditional sources mention that the Bengkulu or Bangkahulu derived from the word bangkai, according to the story, there were once a war between small kingdoms in Bengkulu. Awhich resulted in casualties on both sides in the river streams in Bengkulu. These casualties soon became rotten corpses as they are not buried, then comes the name Bangkaihulu which gradually are pronounced Bangkahulu or Bengkulu. The region formed part of the Buddhist Srivijaya empire in the 8th century, there were only few smalls ‘kedatuan’ based on ethnicity such as in Sungai Serut, Selebar, Pat Petulai, Balai Buntar, Sungai Lemau, Sekiris, Gedung Agung and Marau Riang. It was then once a region of Banten Sultanate and since 17th century was ruled by Minangkabau’s Inderapura Sultanate. The first European visitors to the area were the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch in 1596, the English East India Company established a pepper-trading center and garrison at Bengkulu in 1685. In 1714 the British built Fort Marlborough, which still stands, the trading post was never profitable for the British, being hampered by a location which Europeans found unpleasant, and by an inability to find sufficient pepper to buy. It became a port of call for the EICs East Indiamen. So Stamford Raffles was here, as were other British governors, despite their difficulties, the British persisted, maintaining their presence for roughly 140 years before ceding it to the Dutch as part of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 in exchange for Malacca. Bengkulu then remained part of the Dutch East Indies until the Japanese occupation in World War 2, during Sukarnos imprisonment by the Dutch in the early 1930s, the future first president of Indonesia lived briefly in Bengkulu. Here he met his wife, Fatmawati, who bore him children, one of whom, Megawati Sukarnoputri
8.
Jambi
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Jambi, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the east coast of central Sumatra and its capital is Jambi. The province has an area of 50,058.16 km2. Jambi was the site of the Srivijayan kingdom that engaged in throughout the Strait of Malacca. Jambi succeeded Palembang, its economic and military rival, as the capital of the kingdom. The movement of the capital to Jambi was partly induced by the 1025 raid by pirates from the Chola region of southern India and this relationship declined by about 1770, and the sultanate had little contact with the Dutch for about sixty years. In 1833, minor conflicts with the Dutch who were established in Palembang. They coerced Sultan Facharudin to agree to greater Dutch presence in the region and control over trade, in 1858 the Dutch, apparently concerned over the risk of competition for control from other foreign powers, invaded Jambi with a force from their capital Batavia. They met little resistance, and Sultan Taha fled upriver, to the regions of Jambi. The Dutch installed a ruler, Nazarudin, in the lower region. For the next forty years Taha maintained the upriver kingdom, and slowly reextended his influence over the regions through political agreements. Jambis first Resident OL Helfrich was appointed by the Governor General of the Dutch Decree No.20 dated May 4,1906 and his inauguration held on July 2,1906. Jambi province is divided into nine regencies and two cities, listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and according to the latest estimates. In addition to an urban Malay koine spoken in Jambi city, Kerinci, Kubu, Lempur Malay, the site was a Buddhist education center that flourished during the 7th and 8th centuries and is made from bricks similar to those used in Buddhist temples in India. Islam is the largest religion in Jambi representing 96. 5% of the whole population Christianity is 3% Hinduism is 0. 25% and Buddhism 0. 25% Putri Tangguk Locher-Scholten, rivals and rituals in Jambi, South Sumatra
9.
Lampung
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Lampung is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the tip of the island of Sumatra and borders the provinces of Bengkulu. Lampung is the home of the Lampung people, who speak their own language and have their own alphabet. The province had a population of 7,596,115 at the 2010 census, three quarters of the current population of Lampung is descended from migrants from Java, Madura, and Bali. Lampung is commonly known for its instability in terms of earthquakes and volcanoes. On 10 May 2005, an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck the province, the historical volcano blast of Krakatau which occurred in 1883, had disastrous consequences. In the 7th century, words have spread in China about a region located in the far south there is a kingdom called Tolang Pohwang. To in Lampung language means people while Lang Pohwang is the region in what is now called Lampung, there is strong evidence that Lampung is part of the kingdom of Srivijaya, based in Jambi and controlled most parts of Southeast Asia including Lampung and prevail to the 11th century. Srivijaya came to Lampung as this area was once a source of gold, other smaller kingdoms Tulang Bawang and Scale Brak also once stood at Lampung in about 7-8 century. The center of the Tulang Bawang kingdom was estimated around the Tulang Bawang river, the entry of the Banten Sultanate in Lampung at the 16th century marked the beginning of the spread of Islam in the region. Since the past, Lampung is known for pepper which at time were much in demand. At that time the Dutch began pressing for control of the region, the control of pepper production exercised by the Banten Sultanate has made Lampung as one of the greatest and most prosperous harbor in the archipelago. Similarly pepper plants that attract foreign immigrants from Europe as trading companies of the Dutch East India Company. The trading company in the late 17th century to build a plant in Menggala. But the efforts finally Dutch managed to control 1856, the colonial government for the first time introduced the transmigration program to residents on the island of Java, which involved the migration of people from Java to Lampung. The transmigration program was well received and many residents of the island of Java origin who moved to the transmigration sites located in the eastern region of Lampung. The transmigration program is then increased again at the time of independence in the 1960s and 1970s, a native of the island of Java have brought along their culture device to Lampung like gamelan and wayang. People on the island of Bali then also came to Lampung to follow this transmigration program, the presence of migrants from other regions in Lampung has made this region as an area with diverse cultures
10.
Riau
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Riau, is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The provincial capital of Riau Province and its largest city is Pekanbaru, other major cities include Dumai, Selat Panjang, Bagansiapiapi, Bengkalis, Bangkinang, Rengat and Siak Sri Indrapura. The total area for Riau province is 87,023.66 km², Riau has a wet tropical climate with average rainfall ranging between 2000-3000 millimeters per year, and the average rainfall per year is about 160 days. Riau is currently one of the richest provinces in Indonesia and is rich in resources, particularly petroleum, natural gas, rubber, palm oil. Extensive logging and plantation development in has led to a decline in forest cover Riau. Since the 1970s, much of Indonesia has experienced a decline in growth rates. Riau has been a significant exception, with increasing rates every decade since 1970 to a 4.35 percent annual rise for the 1990s, however, the provincial population was 5,538,367 at the 2010 census. And according to the estimate for January 2014 this had risen to 6,358,636, etymology There are three possibilities for the origin of the word Riau province in the name of the singer. First, from the Portuguese word, meaning rio river, the second version says that Riau riahi comes from the word meaning the sea air. Said the singer came from al-Bahar Sinbad character from the book of a thousand. The third version says that the singer says is derived from the account of communities, derived from the word rioh or boisterous. It is probable that in the name is derived from the naming of the local people, i. e. orangutan Malay who live in the area of Bintan. The name may have started since the famous Raja Kecik move to the center of Johor Malay kingdom to Ulu Riau in 1719. Dutch colonial period Dutch invasion aggressive to the east coast of Sumatra can not be intercepted by Siak, Dutch narrowed the sovereign territory of the Siak, by establishing the residency of Riau under the rule of the Dutch East Indies, located in Tanjung Pinang. The sultan Siak can not do anything because they had tied to an agreement with the Netherlands. Siak notch further weakened by the push-pull between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom who was then control the Strait of Malacca, to strategic areas on the east coast of Sumatra. At almost the time period, Indragiri also started to be influenced by the Dutch
11.
West Sumatra
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West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. It lies on the west coast of the island of Sumatra, the latest official estimate for January 2014 shows a population of 5,098,790. West Sumatra is sub-divided into 12 regencies and seven cities and it has relatively more cities than other provinces in Indonesia, except Java province. It borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east and it includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast. The history of West Sumatra is related to the history of the Minangkabau people, archaeological evidence indicates that the area surrounding the Limapuluh Koto regency forms the first area inhabited by the Minangkabau. Limapuluh Koto regency covers a number of rivers which meet at the eastern part of the Sumatran coastline. The Minangkabau ancestors were believed to have arrived via this route and they sailed from Asia via the South China Sea, crossing the Malacca Strait and later settled along the Kampar, Siak and Indragiri rivers. Some lived and developed their culture and traits around the Limapuluh Koto regency, the first westerner to reach West Sumatra was the French explorer Jean Parmentier in 1529. However, the westerners who came for economic and political reasons were the Dutch, the Dutch commercial fleet was seen along the southern coast of West Sumatra between 1595 and 1598. Apart from the Dutch, other European nationalities also came to the such as the Portuguese. The integration with migrants in the ensuing periods introduced cultural changes and their settlement area gradually became diminished and eventually they spread to other parts of West Sumatra. A portion of them went to the Agam regency while others went to the now Tanah Datar regency, from those areas onward, further spread of the population occurred north of the Agam regency, in particular, the Lubuk Sikaping. Most of them settled in the area such as the coastline and some in the southern parts in Solok, Selayo. The history of the West Sumatra Province became more accessible at the time of the rule by Adityawarman and this ruler left considerable amount of evidence of himself, although he did not proclaim that he was the Minangkabau King. Adityawarman ruled Pagaruyung, a region believed by the Minangkabau to be the center of its culture, Adityawarman was the most important figure in Minangkabau history. Apart from introducing a government system by a monarch, he also contributed significantly to the Minangkabau world. His most important contribution was the spread of Buddhism and this religion had a very strong influence in the Minangkabau life. The evidence of such influence found in West Sumatra today includes names such as Saruaso, Pariangan, Padang Barhalo, Candi, Biaro, Sumpur, since the death of Adityawarman in the middle of the 17th century the history of West Sumatra seems more complex
12.
South Sumatra
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South Sumatra Province is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the part of Sumatra Island, east of the Bukit Barisan Mountains. It spans 91,592.43 km2 and had a population of 7,450,394 at the 2010 Census, the capital of the province is Palembang. South Sumatra has been settled by humans since the Palaeolithic era, the evidence of those settlements is proven by some discoveries of Palaeolithic tools in the riverbed of Saling and Kikim rivers in Bungamas Village, Lahat Regency. Relics of seven stone chambers believed to be about 2,500 years old were found near a plantation in Kotaraya Lembak. Around 300 BC, the Deutero-Malay people arrived in this region, around 7th century AD, an ancient Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was established in an area known today as Palembang. It once controlled a part of what is now Indonesia, Malaysia and Southern Thailand, effectively ruled the Malacca Strait. In 1025, it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India, srivijayas capital eventually moved northward to Jambi. After its eventual fall in 14th century AD, some kingdoms were established in South Sumatra. However, there was virtually a power vacuum in the region there was no prominent power to hold the region except for the waning Majapahit Empire. The vacuum allowed pirates to flourish in the region, in the 16th century AD, the Palembang Sultanate was established by Ki Gede Ing Suro, a politician who fled from Demak Sultanate. Clashes with the Dutch had occurred since the 17th century until the sultanate was abolished in 1825 when the Dutch gave a blow to the final Sultan of Palembang. Southern Sumatra was occupied by the Japanese in January 15,1942 after the Battle of Palembang in World War II, after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, South Sumatra became a part of Sumatra Province as a residency with Adnan Kapau Gani as the resident. On January 1,1947, the Dutch tried to gain its sovereignty over South Sumatra by invading Palembang, since then, fighting ensued across South Sumatra until Indonesias independence was recognized by the Dutch on December 27,1949. The province is located in the portion of the island of Sumatra. The majority of its area consists of low-lying plains filled with plantations, forest, the natural environment of South Sumatra is hot and humid tropical rain forest. However, most of these forest has been cleared out to make way for oil palm plantation for palm oil production, the Bukit Barisan mountain range is located on the western edge of the province and forms the border with the neighbouring Bengkulu province. The mountains are the source of systems that drain eastward to the Bangka Strait
13.
North Sumatra
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North Sumatra, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra, and its capital is Medan, after independence, the first session of the National Committee of Regions, Sumatra was then divided into three sub-provinces namely North Sumatra, Central Sumatra and South Sumatra. North Sumatra province itself is an amalgamation of three regions called residency namely, Residency of Aceh, East Sumatra Residency, and residency of Tapanuli. With the publication of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No, date 15 April 1948 subsequently determined as the anniversary of North Sumatra Province. In early 1949, the reorganization of government back in Sumatra, with the decision of the Government Emergency R. I. No.22 / Govt / Emergency Government on May 17,1949, furthermore, the Government Emergency Decree R. I. on December 17,1949, established the province of Aceh and Tapanuli Province / East Sumatra. Then, with a Government Regulation in lieu of Law No.5 Year 1950 on August 14,1950, such provisions shall be lifted and reshaped North Sumatra Province. No.24 of 1956, promulgated on December 7,1956, established an autonomous region of Aceh province, the province of North Sumatra stretches across the island of Sumatra between the Indian Ocean and the Strait Malacca. It borders Aceh province on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra provinces in the southeast and it has an area of 72,981 km². The province contains a broad, low plain along the Strait of Malacca on which the provincial capital, Medan, is located. In the south and west, the rises to the mountain range that runs the length of Sumatra. Several large islands in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra are currently part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias Island, there are 419 islands in propisi North Sumatra. The outer islands is the island Simuk, and the island Berhala in the Strait of Sumatra, Nias archipelago consists of the island as the main island and other smaller islands in the vicinity. Nias Islands located off the coast of western Indian Ocean, administration center located in Gunung Sitoli. Batu Islands consist of 51 islands with four islands, Sibuasi, Pini, Tanahbala. Pulautelo administrative center on the island Sibuasi, Batu Islands located in the southeast of the island of Nias. Other islands in the North Sumatra, Imanna, Pasu, Bawa, Hamutaia, Batumakalele, Lego, Masa, Bau, Simaleh, Makole, Jake, in North Sumatra, there are currently two national parks, the Gunung Leuser National Park and Batang Gadis National Park. According to the Ministerial Decree, No.44 of 2005, but this figure character is de jure alone
14.
Medan
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Medan is the capital of North Sumatra province in Indonesia. Located along the northeastern coast of Sumatra Island, Medan is the third biggest city in Indonesia, behind Jakarta, with 2,097,610 inhabitants at the 2010 census, Medan remains the largest settlement outside of Java Island. Bordered by the Strait of Malacca, Medan is a trading city as the strait is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Medan is the gateway to the part of Indonesia, accessible via the Port of Belawan. Both the seaport and the airport are connected to the city center via toll road, Medan became the first city in Indonesia to have an airport supported with train service. The city was founded by Guru Patimpus, a Karonese man who named a swampy land in confluence of Deli River, in 1632, the Deli Sultanate was established by Tuanku Gocah Pahlawan, who became its first king. In the 18th century, the king, Sultan Mahmud Al Rasyid Perkasa Alam. Jacob Nienhuys, a Dutch tobacco merchant, pioneered the opening of plantations in Deli Land. The areas name changed to Medan-Deli when it was established by Dutch tobacco commerce after the formation of the Deli Company. The Deli Railway was established for shipping rubber, tea, timber, palm oil, and sugar industries from the city to Belawan, following the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia, Medan became the capital of North Sumatra in mid-1950. Medan was dubbed by the Dutch Parijs van Sumatra due to the resemblance to Paris. Residential property prices in Medan have also trended upward over the period from 2013 to the first quarter of 2015, according to Bank Indonesia. According to BI, Medan’s residential property price index rose from 205.24 in the quarter of 2013 to 212.17 in the fourth quarter of 2014. One of the Karo-Indonesia dictionaries written by Darwin Prinst SH published in 2002 stated that Medan could also be defined as recover or be better, in ancient times the city of Medan was known as Kampung Medan. It was a piece of land with an area of approximately 4000 ha. Some of the crossing the city of Medan drain into the Straits of Malacca. These rivers are Sei Deli, Sei Babura, Sei Sikambing, Sei Denai, Sei Putih, Sei Percut, Medan started as a village called Kampung Medan. Kampung Medan was founded by Guru Patimpus Sembiring Pelawi, a Karonese man who came from the Karo Land, before he became a Muslim, he was a Pemena follower
15.
Acehnese people
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The Acehnese are an ethnic group from Aceh, Indonesia in the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra. The area has a history of struggle against the Dutch. Their language, the Acehnese, belongs to the Aceh–Chamic groups of Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, the 14th century Suruaso inscription was found in Tanah Datar Regency, and written in two languages, Old Malay and Tamil. The Tamils were also assimilated with Acehnese people, and many of them has physical resemblance to that of Tamils, however, they do not practice Tamil culture or speak Tamil language anymore. They were at one time Hinduised, as is evident from their traditions and they have been Muslims for several centuries and are generally considered the most conservative Muslim ethnic group in Indonesia with the implementation of Sharia law in their home province of Aceh. The estimated number of Acehnese ranges between 3,526,000 people and at least 4.2 million people Traditionally, there have been a number of Acehnese agriculturists. Traditionally matrilocal, their organisation is communal. They live in gampôngs, which combine to form districts known as mukims, Aceh came to international attention as being the hardest-hit region of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake with 120,000 people dead. Due to conflict since Dutch invasion to Aceh until Martial Law in Aceh and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the most significant number of Acehnese can be found in Malaysia and Scandinavia countries. Acehnese immigrants also can be significantly in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, United States. Traditional Acehnese dance portrays the culture, religion and folklore of the common folk. Acehnese dance are performed in groups, either in standing or in sitting position. If seen from the musical standpoint, the dance can be grouped into two types, one is accompanied with vocals and physical percussive movements of the dancers themselves, and the other is simply accompanied by an assemble of musical instruments. A variety of Acehnese food is cooked with curry or curry and coconut milk, of which is combined with meat such as buffalo meat, beef, mutton, fish. Several types of traditional recipe uses a blend of cannabis as a flavoring spice, however today, those substance are no longer used
16.
Batak
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Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, while the archaeology of southern Sumatra testifies to the existence of neolithic settlers, it seems that the northern part of Sumatra was settled by agriculturalists at a considerably later stage. Reliable historical records of the Batak before 1800 are virtually non-existent, the Batak may be mentioned in Zhao Ruguas 13th-century Description of the Barbarous People, which refers to a Ba-ta dependency of Srivijaya. The Suma Oriental, of the 15th century, also refers to the kingdom of Bata, bounded by Pasai and it has been suggested that the important port of Barus in Tapanuli was populated primarily by Batak people. Tamil remains have been found on key trade routes to the Batak lands, tamil influence on Karo religious practices are also noted, with the pekualuh secondary cremation ritual being specific to the Karo and Dairi people. Moreover the Pustaka Kembaren, a story of the Sembiring Kembaren suggests linkages with Pagarruyung in Minangkabau Highlands. From the 16th century onward, Aceh increased the production of pepper, an important export commodity, in exchange for rice, which grew well in the Batak wetlands. Batak people in different areas cultivated either sawah or ladang, the increasing importance of rice had religious significance, which increased the power of the Batak high priests, who had responsibility for ensuring agricultural success. The Batak speak a variety of related languages, all members of the Austronesian language family. Simalungun is an offspring of the southern branch. Some Simalungun dialects can be understood by speakers of Batak Karo and this is due to the existence of a linguistic continuum that often blurs the lines between the Batak dialects. Batak dialect still influences the dialects in Medan city today, the Batak possess their own script known as the Surat Batak. The writing has chiefly ceremonial importance within traditional religious ceremonies, and was subject to change for this reason. It is likely that the Batak people originally received their writing system from southern Sumatra, the traditional occupation of the Batak was agriculture, hunting and farming. The great lake of Toba provided vast opportunity for freshwater aquaculture since ancient times, the port of Barus on the western coast of Batak lands has become famous as the source of kapur barus. In ancient times, Batak warriors were recruited by neighboring Malay courts as mercenaries. In the colonial era, the Dutch introduced commercial cash crops, such as coffee, sawit palm oil, throughout the history of modern Indonesia, the Batak community has been a significant contributor. Batak people have filled a range of occupations, from running modest tire service workshops to serving as state ministers
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Minangkabau people
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Minangkabau people, also known as Minang, is an ethnic group indigenous to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia. This custom is called Lareh Bodi Caniago and is known as Adat perpatih in Malaysia, today 4.5 million Minangs live in the homeland of West Sumatra, while about 4.5 million more are scattered throughout many Indonesian and Malay Peninsular cities and towns. The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their ethnic traditions, the Minangkabau adat was derived from animist and Hindu-Buddhist beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and remnants of animist beliefs still exist even among some practising Muslims. The present relationship between Islam and adat is described in the tradition founded upon Islamic law, Islamic law founded upon the Quran. As one of the worlds most populous matrilineal ethnicity, Minangkabau gender dynamics have been studied by anthropologists. With the arrival of the Dutch and other Muslim groups, the traditions have gradually influenced by both western and conservative Islamic thought. Based on the Raffles vision, Minangkabau is believed to have been the cradle of the Malay race and their West Sumatran homelands was the seat of the Pagaruyung Kingdom and the location of the Padri War. The name Minangkabau is thought to be a conjunction of two words, minang and kabau, there is a legend that the name is derived from a territorial dispute between the Minangkabau and a neighbouring prince. To avoid a battle, the local people proposed a fight to the death between two water buffalo to settle the dispute, the prince agreed and produced the largest, meanest, most aggressive buffalo. The Minangkabau produced a hungry baby buffalo with its small horns ground to be as sharp as knives, seeing the adult buffalo across the field, the baby ran forward, hoping for milk. The big buffalo saw no threat in the buffalo and paid no attention to it. But when the baby thrust his head under the big belly, looking for an udder, the sharpened horns punctured and killed the bull, and the Minangkabau won the contest. The roofline of traditional houses in West Sumatra, called Rumah Gadang, curve upward from the middle and end in points, until the 20th century the majority of the Sumatran population lived in the highlands. The highlands are well suited for human habitation, with fresh water, fertile soil, a cool climate. It is probable that wet rice cultivation evolved in the Minangkabau Highlands long before it appeared in parts of Sumatra. By the 16th century, the time of the report after the reign of Adityawarman. They were the King of the World, the King of Adat, and the King of Religion, the Minangkabau kings were charismatic or magical figures, but did not have much authority over the conduct of village affairs. It was around the 16th century that Islam started to be adopted by the Minangkabau, the first contact between the Minangkabau and western nations occurred with the 1529 voyage of Jean Parmentier to Sumatra
18.
Malays (ethnic group)
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These locations today are part of the modern nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand. In literature, architecture, culinary traditions, traditional dress, performing arts, martial arts, throughout their history, the Malays have been known as a coastal-trading community with fluid cultural characteristics. The epic literature, the Malay Annals, associates the etymological origin of Melayu to Sungai Melayu in Sumatra, the English term Malay was adopted via the Dutch word Malayo, itself derived from Portuguese, Malaio, which originates from the original Malay word, Melayu. Prior to the 15th century, the term Melayu and its variants appear to apply as an old toponym to the Strait of Malacca region in general. Malaya Dwipa, Malaya Dvipa, is described in chapter 48, Vayu Purana as one of the provinces in the sea that was full of gold. Some scholars equate the term with Sumatra, but several Indian scholars believe the term should refer to the mountainous Malay peninsula, maleu-kolon - appeared in Ptolemys work, Geographia. Mo-lo-yu - mentioned by Yijing, a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk who visited the Southeast Asia in 688–695, according to Yijing, the Mo-Lo-Yu kingdom was located in a distance of 15 day sail from Bogha, the capital of Sribhoga. It took a 15-day sail as well to reach Ka-Cha from Mo-lo-yu, therefore, a popular theory relates Mo-Lo-Yu with the Jambi in Sumatra, however the geographical location of Jambi contradicts with Yi Jings description of a half way sail between Ka-Cha and Bogha. Among the terms used was Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er, Oo-lai-yu - traced from the source of monk Xuanzang). Malayur - inscribed on the wall of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu. It was described as a kingdom that had a mountain for its rampart in Malay peninsula. Bhūmi Mālayu -, a transcription from Padang Roco Inscription dated 1286 CE by Slamet Muljana, the term is associated with Dharmasraya kingdom. Ma-li-yu-er - mentioned in the chronicle of Yuan Dynasty, referring to a nation of Malay peninsula that faced the southward expansion of Sukhothai Kingdom, the chronicle stated. Animosity occurred between Siam and Ma-li-yu-er with both killing each other. In response to the Sukhothais action, a Chinese envoy went to the Ram Khamhaengs court in 1295 bearing an imperial decree, Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er. Malauir - mentioned in Marco Polos account as a kingdom located in the Malay peninsula, malayapura -, inscribed on the Amoghapasa inscription dated 1347 CE. The term was used by Adityawarman to refer to Dharmasraya. The word Malay refer to Mountain, other evidence that supports this theory include, stone tools found in the Malay Archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools, the similarity of Malay customs and Assam customs. The New Guinea theory - The proto-Malays are believed to be knowledgeable in oceanography. Over the years they settled at places and adopted various cultures
19.
Chinese Indonesians
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Chinese Indonesians, are Indonesians descended from various Chinese ethnic groups, primarily the Han Chinese. Chinese came to Indonesia as workers both directly and through Maritime Southeast Asia and their population grew rapidly during the colonial period when workers were contracted from their home provinces in southern China. Evidence of discrimination against Chinese Indonesians can be throughout the history of Indonesia. Resentment of ethnic Chinese economic aptitude grew in the 1950s as native Indonesian merchants felt they could not remain competitive, in some cases, government action only propagated the stereotype that ethnic Chinese-owned conglomerates were corrupt. The development of local Chinese society and culture is based upon three pillars, clan associations, ethnic media, and Chinese-language schools, one group supported political reforms in mainland China, while others worked towards improved status in local politics. The New Order government dismantled the pillars of ethnic Chinese identity in favor of policies as a solution to the Chinese Problem. Patterns of assimilation and ethnic interaction can be found in Indonesias literature, architecture, the Chinese Indonesian population of Sumatra accounts for nearly half of the groups national population. Although they are more urbanized than Indonesias indigenous population, significant rural and agricultural communities exist throughout the country. Declining fertility rates have resulted in a shift in the population pyramid. Emigration has contributed to a population, and communities have emerged in more industrialized nations in the second half of the 20th century. Some have participated in programs to the Peoples Republic of China. Among the overseas residents, their identities are noticeably more Indonesian than Chinese, the first recorded movement of people from China into Maritime Southeast Asia was the arrival of Mongol forces under Kublai Khan that culminated in the invasion of Java in 1293. The Mongols introduced Chinese technologies to the island, including shipbuilding and their intervention hastened the decline of the classical kingdoms such as Singhasari and precipitated the rise of the Majapahit empire. Chinese Muslim traders from the eastern coast of China arrived at the towns of Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 15th century. They were led by the mariner Zheng He, who commanded several expeditions to southeastern Asia between 1405 and 1430, in the book Yingya Shenglan, his translator Ma Huan documented the activities of the Chinese Muslims in the archipelago and the legacy left by Zheng He and his men. These traders settled along the northern coast of Java, but there is no documentation of their settlements beyond the 16th century, the Chinese Muslims were likely to have been absorbed into the majority Muslim population. Between 1450 and 1520, the Ming Dynastys interest in southeastern Asia reached a low point and trade, the Portuguese made no mention of any resident Chinese minority population when they arrived in Indonesia in the early 16th century. Trade from the north was re-established when China legalized private trade in 1567 through licensing 50 junks a year, several years later silver began flowing into the region, from Japan, Mexico, and Europe, and trade flourished once again
20.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
21.
Sumatran tiger
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The Sumatran tiger is a rare tiger subspecies that inhabits the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Sumatran tiger is the surviving member of the Sunda Islands group of tigers that included the now extinct Bali tiger. Sequences from complete mitochondrial genes of 34 tigers support the hypothesis that Sumatran tigers are diagnostically distinct from mainland populations, pocock first described the Sumatran tiger on the basis of several skull, pelage, and striping features, which are distinct from the Bengal and Javan tigers. It is darker in fur colour and has broader stripes than the Javan tiger, stripes tend to dissolve into spots near their ends, and on the back, flanks and hind legs are lines of small, dark small spots between regular stripes. The frequency of stripes is higher than in other subspecies, males have a prominent ruff, which is especially marked in the Sumatran tiger. The Sumatran tiger is one of the smallest tiger subspecies and about the size of big leopards, males weigh 100 to 140 kg and measure 2.2 to 2.55 m in length between the pegs with a greatest length of skull of 295 to 335 mm. In agreement with this history, the Sumatran tiger is genetically isolated from all living mainland tigers. Sumatran tigers persist in isolated populations across Sumatra and they have been repeatedly photographed at 2,600 m in a rugged region of northern Sumatra, and are present in 27 habitat patches larger than 250 km2. In 1978, the Sumatran tiger population was estimated at 1,000 individuals, in 1985, a total of 26 protected areas across Sumatra containing about 800 tigers were identified. In 1992, an estimated 400–500 tigers lived in five national parks, at that time, the largest population, comprising 110-180 individuals, was reported from the Gunung Leuser National Park. However, a recent study shows that the Kerinci Seblat National Park in central Sumatra has the highest population of tigers on the island. The park also was shown to have the highest tiger occupancy rate of the protected areas, more tigers are in the Kerinci Seblat National Park than in all of Nepal, and more than in China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam combined. Sumatran tigers strongly prefer uncultivated forest and make use of plantations of acacia. Within natural forest areas, they tend to use areas with elevation, lower annual rainfall, farther from forest edge. They prefer forest with dense cover and steep slope. In acacia plantations, they tend to use areas closer to water, and prefer areas with plants, more leaf litter. Tiger records in oil palm plantations and in plantations are scarce. The availability of vegetation cover at the ground level serves as an environmental condition fundamentally needed by tigers regardless of the location
22.
Sumatran elephant
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The Sumatran elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to the Indonesia island of Sumatra. In 2011, the Sumatran elephant has been classified as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 80% over the last three generations, estimated to be about 75 years. The subspecies is threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. Much of the remaining forest cover is in smaller than 250 km2. In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head, the tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level, females are usually smaller than males, and have short or no tusks. Sumatran elephants reach a height of between 2 and 3.2 m, weigh between 2,000 and 4,000 kg, and have 20 pairs of ribs. Their skin color is lighter than of maximus and indicus with least depigmentation, the Sumatran elephant was once widespread on the island, and Riau Province was believed to have the largest elephant population in Sumatra with over 1,600 individuals in the 1980s. In 1985, a rapid survey suggested that between 2,800 and 4,800 elephants lived in all eight mainland provinces of Sumatra in 44 populations. Twelve of these occurred in Lampung Province, where only three populations were extant in 2002 according to surveys carried out between September 2000 and March 2002. The population in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park was estimated at 498 individuals, the third population in Gunung Rindingan–Way Waya complex was considered to be too small to be viable over the long-term. By 2008, elephants had become extinct in 23 of the 43 ranges identified in Sumatra in 1985. By 2008, the elephant was locally extinct in West Sumatra Province, in Riau Province only about 350 elephants survived across nine separate ranges. The current Sumatran elephant population is estimated at 2, 400–2,800 wild individuals, excluding elephants in camps, more than 85% of their habitat is outside of protected areas. Female elephants stop reproducing after 60 years of age, the maximum longevity in the wild is around 60 years. Female captive elephants have survived until 75 years while males have survived 60 years, birth happens at night and lasts approximately 10 seconds. The infant is able to stand up on its own after 10 to 30 minutes, due to conversion of forests into human settlements and agricultural areas, many of the Sumatran elephant populations have lost their habitat to humans. As a result, many elephants have been removed from the wild or directly killed, in addition to conflict related death, elephants are also targets of poaching for their ivory
23.
Sumatran rhinoceros
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The Sumatran rhinoceros, also known as the hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the extant species of the genus Dicerorhinus. It is the smallest rhinoceros, although it is still a large mammal, it stands 112–145 cm high at the shoulder, with a length of 2. 36–3.18 m. The weight is reported to range from 500 to 1,000 kg, averaging 700–800 kg, like both African species, it has two horns, the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 cm, while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of hair covers most of the Sumatran rhinos body. Members of the species once inhabited rainforests, swamps, and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, in historical times, they lived in southwest China, particularly in Sichuan. They are now endangered, with only five substantial populations in the wild, four on Sumatra. Their numbers are difficult to determine because they are animals that are widely scattered across their range. Survival of the Peninsular Malaysia population is in doubt, and one of the Sumatran populations may already be extinct. In 2015, researchers announced that the Bornean rhinoceros had become extinct from the part of Borneo, however. The Sumatran rhino is a solitary animal except for courtship. It is the most vocal rhino species and also communicates through marking soil with its feet, twisting saplings into patterns, and leaving excrement. The species is much better studied than the similarly reclusive Javan rhinoceros, there was little or no information about procedures that would assist in ex situ breeding. Though a number of rhinos died once at the destinations and no offspring were produced for nearly 20 years. In March 2016, a Sumatran rhinoceros was spotted in Indonesian Borneo, the first documented Sumatran rhinoceros was shot 16 km outside Fort Marlborough, near the west coast of Sumatra, in 1793. Drawings of the animal, and a description, were sent to the naturalist Joseph Banks, then president of the Royal Society of London. In 1814, the species was given a name by Johann Fischer von Waldheim. The scientific name Dicerorhinus sumatrensis comes from the Greek terms di, cero, sumatrensis signifies of Sumatra, the Indonesian island where the rhinos were first discovered
24.
Sumatran orangutan
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The Sumatran orangutan is one of the two species of orangutans. Found only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, it is rarer than the Bornean orangutan and its common name is based on two separate local words, orang and hutan, and translates as man of the forest. Male Sumatran orangutans grow to about 1.4 m tall and 90 kg, females are smaller, averaging 90 cm and 45 kg. Compared to the Bornean species, Sumatran orangutans are thinner and have longer faces, compared with the Bornean orangutan, the Sumatran orangutan tends to be more frugivorous and especially insectivorous. Preferred fruits include figs and jackfruits and it will also eat bird eggs and small vertebrates. Sumatran orangutans spend far less time feeding on the bark of trees. Wild Sumatran orangutans in the Suaq Balimbing swamp have been observed using tools, an orangutan will break off a tree branch that is about a foot long, snap off the twigs and fray one end. With its teeth, the orangutan will use the stick to dig in tree holes for termites and they will also use the stick to poke a bees nest wall, move it around and catch the honey. In addition, orangutans use tools to eat fruit, when the fruit of the Neesia tree ripens, its hard, ridged husk softens until it falls open. Inside are seeds that the orangutans enjoy eating, but they are surrounded by fiberglass-like hairs that are painful if eaten, tools are created differently for different uses. Sticks are often made longer or shorter depending on whether they will be used for insects or fruits, if a particular tool proves useful, the orangutan will often save it. Over time they will collect entire toolboxes, a Neesia-eating orangutan will select a five-inch stick, strip off its bark, and then carefully collect the hairs with it. Once the fruit is safe, the ape will eat the seeds using the stick or its fingers, although similar swamps can be found in Borneo, wild Bornean orangutans have not been seen using these types of tools. NHNZ filmed the Sumatran orangutan for its show Wild Asia, In the Realm of the Red Ape, it showed one of them using a simple tool, there is also a sequence of an animal using a large leaf as an umbrella in a tropical rainstorm. As well as being used as tools, tree branches are a means of transportation for the Sumatran orangutan, the orangutans are the heaviest mammals to travel by tree. This makes them susceptible to the changes in arboreal compliance. To deal with this their locomotion is characterized by the movement, long contact times. The Sumatran orangutan is more arboreal than its Bornean cousin
25.
Deforestation
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Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, the most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. About 30% of Earths land surface is covered by forests, Deforestation occurs for multiple reasons, trees are cut down to be used for building or sold as fuel, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and plantation. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and it has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforestation has also used in war to deprive the enemy of cover for its forces. Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency, as of 2005, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$4,600. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland, disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human-induced, is an ongoing issue, Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the live in tropical forests. Between 2000 and 2012,2.3 million square kilometres of forests around the world were cut down, as a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres remain of the original 16 million square kilometres of forest that formerly covered the Earth. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat, subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation, commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%, logging is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%. Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation, some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest. One study found that population increases due to fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases. Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include corruption of government institutions, the distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation. Globalization is often viewed as another cause of deforestation, though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization have promoted localized forest recovery. The degradation of forest ecosystems has also traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30 years, Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography. Deforestation is a contributor to global warming, and is cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect
26.
2013 Southeast Asian haze
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The haze period was caused by large-scale burning in many parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Satellite imagery from NASAs Terra and Aqua satellites showed that the haze was mainly due to smoke from burning in Riau province. The 2013 Southeast Asian haze was notable for causing high levels of pollution in Singapore. The 3-hour Pollution Standards Index in Singapore reached a high of 401 on 21 June 2013. As stated by a local Indonesian official, the source of the haze might be a 3,000 hectare peatland in Bengkalis Regency, Riau Province, as many as 187 hotspots were picked up by satellites on 18 June, down to 85 on 20 June. On 21 June 2013, a total of 437 hotspots were detected in Sumatra, two days later, the number was down to 119. On 24 June 159 hotspots were detected in Riau, out of a total of 227 detected in Sumatra. An air force officer explained that the low number of hotspots detected on some days was due to cloud cover. The Malaysia Department of Environment said that 173 hotspots were detected in Malaysia on 24 June, with 1 in Negeri Sembilan,1 in Terengganu,3 in Sabah, and 168 in Sarawak. However, Singapores Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said that the fires were most likely started by errant companies, on 25 June, Indonesias president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a formal apology to Malaysia and Singapore for the hazardous smog. On 26 June 2013,265 hotspots were detected by satellites, the number of hotspots in Sumatra continued to decrease on 27 June, with 42 hotspots recorded at 4pm. At the same time on 28 June, only 15 hotspots were detected by satellites, Singapores National Environment Agency said that this could be the reason for the improving haze conditions in Singapore and Malaysia over the past week. The number of hotspots decreased further to just 7 on 29 June, the World Wide Fund for Nature renewed calls for the enaction and enforcement of zero-burn policies. Based on satellite detection of hotspots, the province of Riau in Sumatra was found to contain over 88% of the hotspots that caused the worst haze over Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia since 1997. From 1 to 24 June, NASA satellites have detected a total of more than 9,000 hotspots in Sumatra, by 29 June, a total of 2,800 military personnel, as well as helicopters and aircraft, were being deployed to fight the fires. About 3,000 civilians were also helping with the firefighting, the fires reduced from an area of 16, 500ha to 4, 081ha. On 1 July 4 hotspots were detected in Riau, the lowest number so far since the burning started, on 19 July 43 hotspots were detected in Sumatra. The next day, the number of hotspots rose sharply as Sumatra was experiencing dry weather, there were 159 hotspots in Sumatra, with 63 of them located in Riau
27.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
28.
Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
29.
Sanskrit
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Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages
30.
Highland
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The term highland or uplands is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, upland tends to refer to ranges of hills, Highland is usually reserved for ranges of low mountains. Probably the most known highlands in the anglosphere are the Scottish Highlands in the United Kingdom, the Highland council area is a local government area in the Scottish Highlands and Britains largest local government area. Many countries have areas that are officially or unofficially referred to as highlands, other than Scotland, these include parts Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Yemen, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Cantabria and Nova Scotia. The highlands in Australia are often above the elevation of 500 metres and these areas often receive snowfalls through winter. Most of the lead up to large alpine or sub-alpine mountainous regions such as the Australian Alps, Snowy Mountains, Great Dividing Range, Northern Tablelands. The most mountainous region of Tasmania is the Central Highlands area, many of these areas are highly elevated alpine regions. A spine of mountains runs the length of the island of New Guinea, the highlands of Iceland cover about 40% of the country and are mostly inhospitable to humans. They are generally referred to as land above 500 meters, additionally, the mountainous natural region of the Thai highlands is found in Northern Thailand. The Cameron Highlands are an area and hill station in Northern Malaysia. Shillong in India in the state of Meghalaya is a station which is surrounded by highlands. Officers of the British Raj referred to Shillong as The Scotland of the East, Highland continents – or terrae – are areas of topographically unstable terrain, with high peaks and valleys. They resemble highlands on Earth, but the term is applied to larger areas on other planets. They can be found on Venus, Mercury, Mars and the Moon
31.
Srivijaya
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Srivijaya was a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 8th to the 12th century, Srivijaya was the first unified kingdom to dominate much of Malay archipelago. In Sanskrit, śrī means fortunate, prosperous, or happy, the earliest reference to it dates from the 7th century. A Tang Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 CE for six months, the earliest known inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century in the Kedukan Bukit inscription found near Palembang, Sumatra, dated 16 June 682 CE. Between the late 7th and early 11th century, Srivijaya rose to become a hegemon in Southeast Asia and it was involved in close interactions, often rivalries, with the neighbouring Java, Kambuja and Champa. Srivijayas main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreements with China which lasted from the Tang to the Song dynasty, Srivijaya had religious, cultural and trade links with the Buddhist Pala of Bengal, as well as with the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century by various factors, including the expansion of the rival Javanese Singhasari, after Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten. It was not until 1918 that French historian George Cœdès, of École française dExtrême-Orient, little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. There had been no continuous knowledge of the history of Srivijaya even in Indonesia, Cœdès noted that the Chinese references to Sanfoqi, previously read as Sribhoja, and the inscriptions in Old Malay refer to the same empire. The Buddhist pilgrim Yijings account is important on describing Srivijaya. The 7th-century siddhayatra inscriptions discovered in Palembang and Bangka island are also vital primary historical sources, also, regional accounts that some might be almost tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Maharaja of Javaka and the Khmer King also provides a glimpse of the kingdom. Besides, some Indian and Arabic accounts also describes vaguely about the riches, Srivijaya had become a symbol of early Sumatran importance as a great empire to balance Javas Majapahit in the east. Srivijaya, and by extension Sumatra, had been known by different names to different peoples, the Chinese called it Sanfoqi or Che-li-fo-che, and there was an even older kingdom of Kantoli, which could be considered the predecessor of Srivijaya. Sanskrit and Pali texts referred to it as Yavades and Javadeh, the Arabs called it Zabag or Sribuza and the Khmers called it Melayu. While the Javanese called them Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnadvipa or Malayu and this is another reason why the discovery of Srivijaya was so difficult. While some of names are strongly reminiscent of the name of Java. According to the Kedukan Bukit inscription, dated 605 Saka, Srivijaya was first established in the vicinity of todays Palembang and it mentions that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa came from Minanga Tamwan. The exact location of Minanga Tamwan is still a subject of discussion, the Palembang theory as the place where Srivijaya was first established was presented by Cœdes and supported by Pierre-Yves Manguin
32.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
33.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
34.
Banda Aceh
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Banda Aceh, formerly known as Kutaradja, is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 meters, the city covers an area of 64 square kilometres and had a population of 219,070 people, according to the 2000 census. Banda Aceh is located on the tip of Indonesia at the mouth of the Aceh River. The city was established as Bandar Aceh Darussalam Kandang and served as a capital. Later its name was changed to Bandar Aceh Darussalam, and then became known as Banda Aceh. The first part of the name comes from the Persian bandar meaning port or haven, the city rose to international prominence in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean earthquake in 2004, which struck off the western coast of Sumatra. Banda Aceh was the closest major city to the earthquakes epicentre and it suffered great damage in the earthquake and further damage when a tsunami struck shortly afterwards. 167,000 people died as a result and many more were injured, Banda Aceh, situated at the tip of Sumatra, has long been a strategic, transportation and trading hub in the eastern Indian Ocean. Ibn Battuta also reported visiting the city in the century when under the control of the trading kingdom of Samudera Pasai. However the Pasai began to collapse under pressure from declining economic conditions and the Portuguese, after a long period of rule by the Sultanate, Aceh began to come into conflict with the Dutch and the British in the second half of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, the territory of Aceh in the Malay Peninsula, namely Kedah, in 1871, the Dutch began to threaten Aceh, and on 26 March 1873, the Dutch formally declared war on Aceh. The Dutch bombarded the capital in that year and sought to capture the Sultans palace in the city to bring about a capitulation of the Acehnese. Significant support from the British in the led the modernisation and fortification of the city. The Dutch expedition commander General Johan Köhler was killed in a skirmish around the city, a second expedition was mounted by the Dutch within months and was successful in overwhelming the city. On 26 December 2004, the city was hit by a tsunami caused by the 9. 2-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean, the disaster killed 167,000 inhabitants and destroyed more than 60% of the citys buildings. Based on the statistical data issued by the City Government of Banda Aceh, Banda Aceh is divided into nine districts, One of the unique features of Banda Aceh are the motorised becaks that are found almost everywhere. Unlike traditional becaks, a motorised becak can take passengers anywhere in the city, the fare for riding a motorised becak is relatively cheap and is usually negotiated beforehand. Transport by taxis and minibuses, known as labi-labi, are also common, Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport is located in Blang Bintang,13.5 km from Banda Aceh
35.
Samudera Pasai Sultanate
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The kingdom was believed to have been founded by Merah Silu, who later converted to Islam and adopted the name Malik ul Salih, in the year 1267 CE. Little evidence has been left to allow for study of the kingdom. Based on the local literature Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai, Samudera can be inferred to have come from the word Semudera, the name was given by Merah Silu when he discovered an ant as large as a cat while hunting at a high ground. Eventually, the place was cleared for the establishment of a new state, Samudera is also theorised to have been derived from Samudra meaning ocean in Sanskrit and Tamil. The literature also indicates the origin of the name Pasai which came from Si-Pasai, the dog of Sultan Malik al Salleh. The legend narrates that Sultan Malik al Salleh, while hunting with the dog, encountered a deer which was not afraid of the dogs barking but instead barked back. He was bewildered by this and thought that this might be a sign for the place to be established as a new state for his son Sultan Malik Al Tahir. The dog died after the state was established, Sultan Malik al Salleh buried the dog there and he eventually named the place after it. Pasai exported its culture, and most importantly its language — an early form of Malay written in the Jawi alphabet — to a number of islands, later, this language became the lingua franca among traders in what is now Indonesia and Malaysia. Arab and Indian Muslims had traded in Indonesia and China for many centuries, a Muslim tombstone in eastern Java bears a date corresponding to 1082. But substantial evidence of Islam in Indonesia begins only in northern Sumatra at the end of the 13th century, two small Muslim trading kingdoms existed by that time at Pasai and Peureulak or Perlak. A1297 royal tomb at Samudra is inscribed entirely in Arabic, by the 15th century several harbour kingdoms developed, all ruled by local Muslim princes, from the north coast of Java and elsewhere to as far east as Ternate and Tidore in Maluku. Marco Polo spent five months here, he had Ferlec, Basma, another famous traveller Ibn Battuta on his way to China stayed 15 days at Samudera. The establishment of the first Muslim centres in Indonesia was probably a result of commercial circumstances, northern Sumatra had a hinterland rich in gold and forest produce, and pepper was being cultivated at the beginning of the 15th century. It was accessible to all the merchants of the archipelago who wanted to meet ships from the Indian Ocean, the madhhab he observed was Imam Al-Shafi‘i. At that time Samudera Pasai was the end of Dar al-Islam for no territory east of this was ruled by a Muslim ruler and he praised the kindness and hospitality demonstrated by the sultan of Samudera Pasai. Here he stayed for two weeks in the wooden walled town as a guest of the sultan, and then the sultan provided him with supplies. Majapahit attacked and looted the place in the middle of the 14th century, pasais economic and political power depended almost entirely on foreigners
36.
Sultanate of Aceh
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The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, was a Sultanate centred in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries. Its capital was Kutaraja, the present-day Banda Aceh, in addition to its considerable military strength, the court of Aceh became a noted centre of Islamic scholarship and trade. Acehs early history is unclear, but in one version it was founded by the Cham people, the Acehnese language is one of the 10 languages of the Aceh-Chamic language group. The ruler of Aceh converted to Islam in the mid-15th century, the Sultanate was founded by Ali Mughayat Syah, who began campaigns to extend his control over northern Sumatra in 1520. His conquests included Deli, Pedir, and Pasai, and he attacked Aru, the Ottoman Empire sent a relief force of 15 Xebecs commanded by Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis. On 21 June 1599 a Dutch captain, Cornelius Houtman arrived at Acheen aboard the Lioness as the first of three planned voyages to the East Indies, the crew stayed for three months acquiring pepper and other spices. British crew member John Davis claims the party was attacked by the local warlord with the loss of 68 dead. After they arrived, they were permitted by the Sultan to purchase pepper The same year and he returned in 1602 bearing a letter from English Queen Elizabeth I. The Sultan from 1589 to 1604 was Alauddin Riayat Shah ibn Firman Shah, internal dissension in the Sultanate prevented another powerful Sultan from appearing until 1607, when Iskandar Muda came to the position. He extended the Sultanates control over most of Sumatra and he also conquered Pahang, a tin-producing region of the Malayan Peninsula, and was able to force the Sultans of Johor to recognise his overlordship, if temporarily. During his reign he created a code of laws known as Adat Meukuta Alam, Acehs forces were not destroyed, however, as Aceh was able to conquer Kedah within the same year and taking many of its citizens to Aceh. The Sultans son in law, Iskandar Thani, former prince of Pahang later became his successor, during his reign Aceh focused on internal consolidation and religious unity. After the reign of Sultan Iskandar Thani, Aceh was ruled by a series of female Sultana, Acehs previous policy of taking hostage from conquered kingdoms population made them eager to seek independence, the results were Acehs control weakened while regional rulers gained effective power. The Sultan ultimately became a symbolic title. Aceh saw itself as heir to Pasai, the first Islamic state in Southeast Asia and it was called the porch of Mecca, and became a centre of Islamic scholarship, where the Quran and other Islamic texts were translated into Malay. Its notable scholars included Hamzah Pansuri, Syamsuddin of Pasai, Abdurrauf of Singkil, Aceh gained wealth from its export of pepper, nutmeg, cloves, betel nuts, and, once it conquered Pahang in 1617, tin. Low interest rates and the use of gold currency strengthened its economy and it was always somewhat fragile economically, however, because of the difficulty in providing enough surplus food to support the military and commercial adventures of the state
37.
Elizabeth I of England
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Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeths birth. Annes marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, edwards will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Marys reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, one of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England and it was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships, as she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, in government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo, in religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, by the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history, Elizabeths reign is known as the Elizabethan era. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Such was the case with Elizabeths rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, after the short reigns of Elizabeths half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard and she was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, at birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England. She was baptised on 10 September, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragons death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession, eleven days after Anne Boleyns execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537
38.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
39.
Samudra
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Samudra is a Sanskrit term for seven seas= ocean, literally the gathering together of waters (saṃ- meaning together and -udra meaning water. Dictionary meaning of samudra is ‘confluence’ and ‘ocean/sea’, Varuna was the deity presiding over both these oceans, and over water in general. From the literal meaning of the term, Any mass of more than one drop could be sam-udra, water in a jar, a small pool. The oldest vedic commentators like the Brihaddevata of Shaunaka, Nighantu, davane studied the occurrences of the term samudra in the Rigveda and concluded that the term means terrestrial ocean. The Rigveda also speaks of a western and eastern Samudra, and in RV7.6.7 there is an upper and a lower Samudra, where the upper Samudra seems to be a heavenly ocean. The Marutas uplift from the ocean the rain, and fraught with vaporous moisture pour the torrents down in RV5.55.5, in RV9.84.4 the moon and the winds stir the Samudra. Additionally, RV1.48.3 may indicate knowledge of the high tide, in RV1.116.4 the Asvins rescued Bhujyu by carrying him for three days and three nights to the seas farther shore. Thus Samudra seems to refer to the ocean in this verse, there are many other verses in the Rig Veda which refer to this tale, and where consequently Samudra could be identified with the ocean as well. Samudra is usually translated as ocean, sea and the word itself means gathering of waters, a minority of scholars translate the term as river. However, the Samudra is never said to flow in the Rigveda, the Rigveda also describes the Vedic Sarasvati River as a river that flows to the ocean and is pure in her course from the mountains to the sea. Rigveda 1.71.7 describes the seven great rivers seeking the Samudra, RV7.49 says that the Samudra is the eldest of the waters, and that the goal of the rivers is the Samudra. Bhargava samudra stands for an inland lake of which there were four or seven in Rgvedic sources. In this view the lowlands of e. g. Kashmir and Kuruksetra were samudra, the Vedic deity Varuna is the deity of the ocean. The Vedic deity Indra also occurs frequently in connection with the Samudra, the Rigveda narrates that Indra slew the dragon which released the seven rivers and caused them to enter the ocean. Other gods that often occur together with the Samudra are Agni, sharma hold that the Rigvedic people may have been shipbuilders engaging in maritime trade. In Rigveda 1.25.7,7.88.3 and other instances, in RV7.89.4 the rishi Vasishta is thirsting in the midst of water. Some words that are used for ships are Nau, Peru, Dhi, a ship with a hundred oars is mentioned in RV1.116. There were also ships with three masts or with ten oars, RV9.33.6 says, From every side, O Soma, for our profit, pour thou forth four seas filled with a thousand-fold riches
40.
Marco Polo
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He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time, the three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa, Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a merchant, married. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers, there is a substantial literature based on Polos writings, he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice Republic and his exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown. Some historians mentioned that he was born on September 15 but that date is not endorsed by mainstream scholarship, Marco Polos birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople, and the island of Korčula. There is dispute as to whether the Polo family is of Venetian origin, the first recorded Polo is Venetian Domenico Polo who was mentioned in 971 regarding the prohibition of trade with the Arabs. Later other Polos were also mentioned in the service of the realm, whether they were related with the family of Marco Polo is uncertain, but this could indicate that his ancestors travelled between Venice and Dalmatia. Some of the first indications of where his family originated and were resident come from Venetian documents and manuscripts. Some scholars argued that this account could go along with the note from Il Milione that his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, the non-Venetian i. e. Sanuto also mentioned a captain from Korčula, Antonio di Polo. Moule cited two early 17th century Venetian manuscripts questi ueneno de dalmatia, Polo questi uene de Dalmatia, scholars etymologically argued that his family name derives from Latin Paulus, the name of a certain bird species, or like Albert tSerstevens considered - from Eastern origin. However, the habitat of the shorebird is non-existent on Korčula, the surname Polo seems related with other widespread Dalmatian surnames. The lack of evidence makes the Korčula theory as a specific birthplace strongly disputed, in 1168, his great-uncle, Marco Polo, borrowed money and commanded a ship in Constantinople. His grandfather, Andrea Polo of the parish of San Felice, had three sons, Maffeo, yet another Marco, and the travellers father Niccolò and this genealogy, described by Ramusio, is not universally accepted as there is no additional evidence to support it. His father, Niccolò Polo, a merchant, traded with the Near East, becoming wealthy, Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage before Marcos birth. In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo, while residing in Constantinople, then the capital of the Latin Empire, foresaw a political change, they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away. According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with Kublai Khan and their decision to leave Constantinople proved timely
41.
Odoric of Pordenone
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Odoric of Pordenone, OFM, also known as Odorico Mattiussi or Mattiuzzi, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. His account of his visit to China was an important source for the account of John Mandeville, many of the incredible reports in Mandeville have proven to be garbled versions of Odorics eyewitness descriptions. Odoric was born at Villanova, a hamlet now belonging to the town of Pordenone in Friuli and he came from the Italian family of the Mattiussi, one of the families in charge of defending the town of Pordenone in the name of Ottokar II, King of Bohemia. This later gave rise to the rumours that the family was of Bohemian origin. According to the ecclesiastical biographers, in years he took the vows of the Franciscan order and joined their convent at Udine. In 1296 Odoric went as a missionary to the Balkans, friar Odoric was dispatched to the East in April 1318. Starting from Padua, he went to Constantinople via Venice and then crossed the Black Sea to Trebizond, from there he traveled and preached in Armenia, Media, and Persia. In all these countries the Franciscans had founded mission centers, from Sultanieh he proceeded by Kashan and Yazd, and turning thence followed a somewhat indirect route by Persepolis and the Shiraz and Baghdad regions, to the Persian Gulf. With another friar, James of Ireland, as his companion, he sailed from Ormus to India, landing at Thane, at this city St Thomas of Tolentino and his three Franciscan companions had recently been martyred for blaspheming Muhammad before the local qadi during a domestic violence case. Their remains had been gathered by Jordan of Severac, a Dominican who had them a short time before. He interred them at the church in Supera, near Vasai, Odoric relates that he disinterred these relics and carried them with him on his further travels. From India, Odoric sailed in a junk to Sumatra, visiting ports on the northern coast of that island. Thence, he visited Java, Borneo, Champa, and Guangzhou, from Guangzhou, he travelled overland to the great port of Quanzhou where there were two houses of his order. From Fuzhou Odoric struck across the mountains into Zhejiang and visited Hangzhou and it was at the time one of the great cities of the world and Odoric —like Marco Polo, Marignolli, and Ibn Batuta—gives details of its splendors. Passing northward by Nanjing and crossing the Yangzi, Odoric embarked on the Grand Canal and he remained there for three years, probably from 1324 to 1327. He was attached, no doubt, to one of the churches founded by the Franciscan Archbishop John of Monte Corvino and he also visited Yangzhou where Katarina Vilionis tombstone was found. On one of his trips, his ship was capsized by a typhoon but they landed safely in Bolinao, Pangasinan. He is said to have held a Mass there, in around 1324 and that would have pre-dated the Mass celebrated in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, which is generally regarded as the first Mass in the Philippines, by some 197 years
42.
Melayu Kingdom
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The Melayu Kingdom was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom. The exact location of the kingdom is the subject of studies among historians, one theory is that the kingdom was established around present-day Jambi on Sumatra, Indonesia, approximately 300 km north of Palembang. According to this theory, it was founded by groups in the Batanghari river area. The theory is disputed as the location of Jambi contradicts the descriptions by Yijing. The origins of the word Melayu are disputed, one theory suggests that it is derived from the Javanese terms melayu or mlayu, to describe the strong current of a river in Sumatra that today bore the name Sungai Melayu. The name was possibly adopted by the Melayu Kingdom, as it is common for people in the region to be known by the name of the river on which they settled. Another theory hold that it originates from the Tamil words Malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, an early literary appearance was in Vayu Purana where the word Malaya Dvipa was mentioned, referring to the mountainous terrain of Malay Peninsula. In 7th century, the first use of the term for a nation or a kingdom was recorded by Yijing, among the terms used was Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er, Oo-lai-yu - traced from the written source of monk Xuanzang), and Wu-lai-yu. In response to the Sukhothais move, a Chinese envoy arrived at the Ram Khamhaengs court in 1295 bearing an imperial order, Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er. This nation of Ma-li-yu-er that appeared in the Chinese record possibly a similar nation that was mentioned by the famous Venetian traveller Marco Polo who lived during the same period, in Travels of Marco Polo, he made a reference to a kingdom named Malauir in the Malay peninsula. The Khmer recorded the nation of Melayu, however, its progeny Srivijaya, was also called Melayu, on the Amoghapasa inscription, dated 1347 CE, the word Malayapura was proclaimed by Adityawarman, again referring to Dharmasraya. The word Melayu is also mentioned in the Malay annals referring to a river in Sumatra. Here now is the story of a city called Palembang in the land of Andelas. It was ruled by Demang Lebar Daun, a descendant of Raja Shulan, in the upper reaches of the Muara Tatang was a river called Melayu, and on that river was a hill called Si-Guntang Mahameru. On his route via Maritime Southeast Asia, Yijing visited Srivijaya twice where he stayed from 688 to 695, Srivijaya appears to have been flourishing around the time of Yijings visit, which he initially called Bogha during his first visit. At its greatest extent, the kingdom extended to Malayu, which seems to have been annexed or to have come spontaneously under the realm of Bogha prince, the whole country as well as the capital received the name Sribogha or Srivijaya. The following extract from Yijings work, A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea, further describes his route via Bogha and Malayu, Wu Hing came to Bogha after a months sail. The king received him very favourably and respected him as a guest from the land of the son of heaven of the Great Tang and he went on board the kings ship to the country of Malayu and arrived there after fifteen days sail. Thence he went to Ka Cha, again after fifteen days, at the end of winter he changed ship and sailed to the west
43.
Srivijayan
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Srivijaya was a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 8th to the 12th century, Srivijaya was the first unified kingdom to dominate much of Malay archipelago. In Sanskrit, śrī means fortunate, prosperous, or happy, the earliest reference to it dates from the 7th century. A Tang Chinese monk, Yijing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 CE for six months, the earliest known inscription in which the name Srivijaya appears also dates from the 7th century in the Kedukan Bukit inscription found near Palembang, Sumatra, dated 16 June 682 CE. Between the late 7th and early 11th century, Srivijaya rose to become a hegemon in Southeast Asia and it was involved in close interactions, often rivalries, with the neighbouring Java, Kambuja and Champa. Srivijayas main foreign interest was nurturing lucrative trade agreements with China which lasted from the Tang to the Song dynasty, Srivijaya had religious, cultural and trade links with the Buddhist Pala of Bengal, as well as with the Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East. The kingdom ceased to exist in the 13th century by various factors, including the expansion of the rival Javanese Singhasari, after Srivijaya fell, it was largely forgotten. It was not until 1918 that French historian George Cœdès, of École française dExtrême-Orient, little physical evidence of Srivijaya remains. There had been no continuous knowledge of the history of Srivijaya even in Indonesia, Cœdès noted that the Chinese references to Sanfoqi, previously read as Sribhoja, and the inscriptions in Old Malay refer to the same empire. The Buddhist pilgrim Yijings account is important on describing Srivijaya. The 7th-century siddhayatra inscriptions discovered in Palembang and Bangka island are also vital primary historical sources, also, regional accounts that some might be almost tales and legends, such as the Legend of the Maharaja of Javaka and the Khmer King also provides a glimpse of the kingdom. Besides, some Indian and Arabic accounts also describes vaguely about the riches, Srivijaya had become a symbol of early Sumatran importance as a great empire to balance Javas Majapahit in the east. Srivijaya, and by extension Sumatra, had been known by different names to different peoples, the Chinese called it Sanfoqi or Che-li-fo-che, and there was an even older kingdom of Kantoli, which could be considered the predecessor of Srivijaya. Sanskrit and Pali texts referred to it as Yavades and Javadeh, the Arabs called it Zabag or Sribuza and the Khmers called it Melayu. While the Javanese called them Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnadvipa or Malayu and this is another reason why the discovery of Srivijaya was so difficult. While some of names are strongly reminiscent of the name of Java. According to the Kedukan Bukit inscription, dated 605 Saka, Srivijaya was first established in the vicinity of todays Palembang and it mentions that Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa came from Minanga Tamwan. The exact location of Minanga Tamwan is still a subject of discussion, the Palembang theory as the place where Srivijaya was first established was presented by Cœdes and supported by Pierre-Yves Manguin
44.
Chola dynasty
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The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, as one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of two centuries and more, the Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1200, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka, Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia, the Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan Dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy and their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship and they pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture, the Cholas are also known as the Choda. There is very little available in regarding their origin. Its antiquity is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature, Later medieval Cholas also claimed a long and ancient lineage. Mentions in the early Sangam literature indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE, Cholas were mentioned in Ashokan Edicts of 3rd Century BCE as one of the neighboring countries existing in the South. A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the annotator Parimelazhagar said, The charity of people with ancient lineage are forever generous in spite of their reduced means. Other names in use for the Cholas are Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil meaning dig or cleave and this word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with valam – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country, in Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country. There is very little evidence available of the Cholas prior to the 7th century. Historic records exist thereafter, including inscriptions on temples, the main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period
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Indian people
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Indian people are citizens of India, the second most populous nation containing 17. 50% of the worlds population. Indian refers to nationality, but not ethnicity or language, the Indian nationality consists of many regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of India. India hosts all major ethnic groups found in the Indian Subcontinent, population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora. The name Bhārata has been used as a name by people of the Indian subcontinent. The designation Bhārata appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, the name is derived from the ancient Vedic and Puranas, which refer to the land that comprises India as Bhārata varṣam and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents. The Bhāratas were a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings. India is named after legendary Emperor Bharata who was a descendant of the Bhāratas tribe, in early Vedic literature, the term Āryāvarta was in popular use before Bhārata. The Manusmṛti gives the name Āryāvarta to the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern to the Western Sea, while the word Indian and India is derived from Greek Ἰνδία, via Latin India. The name is derived ultimately from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the river Indus, the next great ancient Empire of the Indian people was the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or Golden Age of India, the ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhata, Bhāskara I and Brahmagupta invented the concept of zero and the Hindu decimal system during this period. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over parts of Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia. During the early period the great Rashtrakuta dynasty dominated the major part of the Indian subcontinent. From the 8th to 10th century and the Indian Emperor Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four kings of the world. The greatest maritime Empire of the medieval Indians was the Chola dynasty, under the great Indian Emperors Rajaraja Chola I and his successor Rajendra Chola I the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The Mughal Empire unified much of Indian sub-continent under one realm, under the Mughals India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. This marked a huge influence in the Indian society, the Mughal Empire balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. The Marathas and Sikhs emerged in the 17th century and established the Maratha Empire, the Maratha Empire is credited to a large extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north and Bengal, India is one of the worlds oldest civilisations
Sumatra travel guide from Wikivoyage
