Banyuwangi

Basic data
Height :	12  m
Surface:	5,782 km²
Residents :	114,700 (2003)
Population density :	266 inhabitants per km²
City structure:	24 districts with a total of 1.54 million inhabitants
Website :	www.banyuwangi.go.id
Mayor :	Abdullah Azwar Anas

Banyuwangi , German spelling also Banjuwangi , is a port city in Indonesia with over 114,000 inhabitants. It is located in the province of Jawa Timur in the very east of the island of Java, near the Strait of Bali , which separates the city from the island of Bali . Banyuwangi is the capital of the district ( Kecamatan ) Banyuwangi, which has a total of 1,540,000 inhabitants.

In the city itself, besides the Osings, there are also Javanese (mostly in the south and west of the city), Maduresen (mainly in the north and on the east coast) and Balinese , who also live in the east of the city. In addition, there are a few Chinese , Arabs and Bugis living in the city.

Copra , rubber and wood from the interior of Java are exported via Banyuwangi . There are sawmills; Other industries in the city include wood carving, papermaking and leather tannery.

The city is rich in culture, which is also reflected in the many festivals that are celebrated in the city every year. The special dance form Gandrung Banyuwangi is famous , in which an unmarried young dancer and singer dances in a nightly event with alternating male spectators, from whom she receives banknotes. Gandrung was originally a fertility and purification dance. The usual orchestral accompaniment consists of two biolas (violins), two kendangs (barrel drums), two kethuk (small kettle gongs made of iron), a hanging gong and a kluncing ( triangle ). A similar Gandrung dance style is accompanied by a preret (wind instrument) in the music of Lombok .

The city is also a popular destination for Bali tourists due to its proximity to Bali.

In the Middle Ages , Banyuwangi was under the rule of the East Javanese empires Singhasari and Majapahit . After the fall of Majapahit (end of the 15th century), the last Hindu empire on Java, the Blambangan Kingdom , whose capital was Banyuwangi, was able to make itself independent and placed itself under the protection of the Balinese kingdoms to ward off attacks by the Muslim North Javanese Sultanate of Demak . Banyuwangi belonged to the Blambangan Empire until the 17th century. In 1772 the city came under the control of the Dutch .

Coordinates: 8 ° 13 ′  S , 114 ° 22 ′  E

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Philip Yampolsky: Booklet to the CD Music of Indonesia 1. Songs Before Dawn: Gandrung Banyuwangi. Smithsonian / Folkways (40055) 1991