Praying for Indonesia

Join the movement!

  • About Indonesia
    • Overview of Indonesia
    • Quick Facts About Indonesia
    • The Islands of Indonesia
    • Indonesia: Think Big!
  • Religion in Indonesia
    • Overview of Religions
    • Christianity In Indonesia
    • Buddhism in Indonesia
    • Hinduism in Indonesia
    • Islam in Indonesia
    • Folk Islam In Indonesia
  • Ethnic Groups
    • The People of Bali and Nusa Tenggara
    • The People of Java
    • The People of Kalimantan
    • The People of Maluku
    • The People of Sulawesi
    • The People of Sumatra
  • News
  • Testimonies
  • Get Involved
    • Prayer Resources
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Ethnic Groups / The People of Java / Who Are the Madurese?

Who Are the Madurese?

The Madurese people are the third largest people group in Indonesia. Most Madurese live on the island of Madura and in the eastern part of the island of Java. Other major pockets of Madurese people can be found in Jakarta, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and even Singapore. “E tembang pote matah, angok pote tolang” means “it is better to die than to be humiliated.” This is a common Madura sentiment that typifies their nature, a proud and purposeful people, who are known as fierce fighters and very hard workers. They are said to be the most loyal of friends but the fiercest of enemies. The Madurese are renowned for their harsh character and lifestyles. This is probably caused by their natural surroundings and their history of oppression by others, both of which have made life very difficult for them. Nevertheless, their harsh temperament can be seen positively if one examines their work ethic. Most of them work extremely hard and refuse to give up. Neither men nor women shrink from hard work in order to meet basic needs. They have their own language as well as several dialects.

What are their lives like?

Most Madurese living on the island reside in closely-knit farming communities. But very few Madurese living on the island only gain their income from farming. The climate is very dry and the land is not very fertile and thus yields only two harvests of rice and tobacco each year. Many Madurese are fishermen, salt farmers and sailors on inter-island cargo ships. The Madurese who live on Java generally do not own land, but become fishermen, sailors, bicycle-taxi drivers, and unskilled laborers. The Madurese are also known across Indonesia for their sate (skewered meat kebabs) and soto (meat soup).

According to tradition, the first step in the Madurese marriage process is for a parent to seek a suitable young lady for one’s son (nyalabar). The next step involves contacting the lady’s family (narabas pagar). If well received, the proposal leads to engagement. Among the Madurese people, the family does not merely include close relatives (brothers, sisters and parents). The Madurese maintain large family structures called pon popon gik semak, meaning that even distant relatives are considered close family. It does not matter if they are close relatives from the same grandparents or distant cousins.

What are their beliefs?

The majority of the Madurese are known for being very devout Sunni Muslims. Nevertheless, many seek security from the use of magic spells that are used in an attempt to control both good and evil spirits. The Kyai (the leader of a pesantren – Islamic traditional school) and the Hajj (one who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca) have a special place of honor in the eyes of the people.

What are their needs?

On average, the Madurese live on one-third of the median Indonesian income. Education beyond middle school is an immense need for the Madura people, as is job skills training. Economic growth and spreading industrialization are having an impact on their island and they need advanced training in order to benefit from this growth. Their arid and salty soil could use desalination technology in order to increase their farming yields, as well as outside help in advanced fishing techniques to prevent denuding the earth and sea. Extracting fresh water from sea water would be another useful technology.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get This FREE Prayer Guide!

Download this Free book today and also get prayer updates!

* indicates required

Newest Tweets

Twitter
praying4indonesia
praying4indonesia
@ipray4indonesia

We thank you Father for the teams across 34 provinces on different Islands and villages in Indonesia. We pray for the teams right now that need more laborers. Raise up laborers to join the Lord’s work, and raise up laborers from within the harvest! pic.twitter.com/CWx0…

reply retweet favorite
12:00 am · March 2, 2021
Twitter
praying4indonesia
praying4indonesia
@ipray4indonesia

Thank you, Lord, for the woman who recently had visions of Christ for three nights in a row. She was baptised a few weeks ago. Please pray for her new faith and courage sharing with her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/p9sT…

reply retweet favorite
1:00 am · March 1, 2021
Twitter
praying4indonesia
praying4indonesia
@ipray4indonesia

John 2:9- and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside. Pray for more miracles works of Jesus in Indonesia. pic.twitter.com/sT5P…

reply retweet favorite
10:00 pm · February 27, 2021
Twitter
praying4indonesia
praying4indonesia
@ipray4indonesia

A south Sumatran ministry has been serving several groups of women who are telling the stories from the Gospel in their languages. Please pray for more groups of women can meet to hear the story of salvation. Also pray with an open heart for those women to receive Christ. pic.twitter.com/xVgw…

reply retweet favorite
11:00 pm · February 26, 2021
Twitter
praying4indonesia
praying4indonesia
@ipray4indonesia

Many tourism related businesses across Indonesia cannot survive as there are not many tourists due to Covid-19. Pray for God's provision and may many more turn to Jesus to receive the abundant life in Him. pic.twitter.com/ZiAf…

reply retweet favorite
10:00 pm · February 25, 2021
Follow @ipray4indonesia

Praying For Indonesia Facebook

Praying for Indonesia

Copyright © 2010–2021 · Praying For Indonesia · Privacy Policy · About Us