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Malay Archipelago

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This article is about the archipelago. For the book, seeThe Malay Archipelago.
Not to be confused withMaritime Southeast Asia.
Malay Archipelago
World map highlighting Malay Archipelago
Map
Geography
LocationMaritime Southeast Asia,Melanesia
Total islands25,000
Major islandsJava,Luzon,Borneo,Mindanao,New Guinea,Sulawesi,Sumatra
Area2,870,000 km2(1,110,000 sq mi)[1]
Philippines
Largest settlementQuezon City
Indonesia
Largest settlementJakarta
Papua New Guinea
Largest settlementPort Moresby
Brunei
Largest settlementBandar Seri Begawan
East Timor
Largest settlementDili
Malaysia
Largest settlementKota Kinabalu
Demographics
Population380,000,000[2]
Ethnic groupsPredominantlyAustronesians,with minorities ofNegritoes,Papuans,Melanesians,Overseas Chinese,Arab descendants,andOverseas Indians

TheMalay Archipelagois thearchipelagobetweenMainland Southeast AsiaandAustralia,and is also calledInsulindiaor theIndo-Australian Archipelago.The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of aMalay race,later based on the distribution ofAustronesian languages.It has also been called the "Malay world,""Nusantara","East Indies"over time. The name is controversial inIndonesiadue to its ethnic connotations and colonial undertones, which can overshadow the country's diverse cultures.

Situated between theIndianandPacificoceans, the archipelago of over 25,000islandsand islets is the largest archipelago by area and fifth bynumber of islandsin theworld.It includesBrunei,East Timor,Indonesia,Malaysia(specificallyEast Malaysia),Papua New Guinea,and thePhilippines.[3][4]The term is largely synonymous withMaritime Southeast Asia.[5]

Etymology and terminology[edit]

The term "Malay Archipelago" was derived from the archaic European concept of a "Malay race"(a culturally-similar non-Oceanian subset of theAustronesian peoples),[6]a racial concept proposed byEuropeanexplorers based on their observations of the influence of theSrivijayaempire, which was based on the island ofSumatra.[7]However, the Malay Archipelago does not include all islands inhabited by the Malay race such asMadagascarandTaiwan,and includes islands inhabited byMelanesianssuch as theMaluku IslandsandNew Guinea.

Pinisisailing ship exploringKomodo island,part ofLesser Sunda Islands

The 19th-century naturalistAlfred Wallaceused the term "Malay Archipelago" as the title ofhis influential bookdocumenting his studies in the region. Wallace also referred to the area as the "Indian Archipelago" and the "Indo-Australian Archipelago".[8][9]He included theSolomon IslandsandMalay Peninsulain the region due to physiographic similarities.[6]As Wallace noted,[10]there are arguments for excludingPapua New Guineafor cultural and geographical reasons: Papua New Guinea is culturally quite different from the other countries in the region, and it is geologically not part of the continent ofAsia,as the islands of theSunda Shelfare (seeAustralia).

The archipelago was called the "East Indies"[11]from the late 16th century and throughout the European colonial era. It is still sometimes referred to as such,[3]but broader usages of the "East Indies" term had includedIndochinaand theIndian subcontinent.The area is called "Nusantara"in theIndonesian language.[12]The area is also referred to as the "Indonesian Archipelago".[13][14]The term "Maritime Southeast Asia"is largely synonymous, covering both the islands in Southeast Asia and nearby island-like communities, such as those found on theMalay Peninsula.[15]

Insulindia[edit]

Insulindiais a somewhat archaic geographical term[16][17][18]forMaritime Southeast Asia,sometimes extending as far asAustralasia.[19]More common inPortugueseandSpanish,[20][21][22]it is also sometimes used inart historyoranthropologyto describe the interface zone between the cultures ofOceaniaandSoutheast Asia.[23]

Insulindia is used as ageopoliticalterm in academic discussions of the former European colonial possessions within Maritime Southeast Asia, especiallyDutch East IndiesandPortuguese East Indies( "Portuguese Insulindia")[24]much as former French colonial possessions in Southeast Asia are still termedFrench Indochina.[25]It is also used to describe and locate the Chinese cultural diaspora (the "insulindian Chinese")[26]across the islands of Southeast Asia.[27]

Geography[edit]

One of the majority of uninhabited islands of thePhilippines.

The land and sea area of the archipelago exceeds 2 million km2.[1]The more than 25,000 islands of the archipelago consist of many smaller archipelagoes.[28]

The major island groupings in theIndonesian Archipelagoinclude theMaluku Islands,New Guinea,and theSunda Islands.The Sunda Islands comprise two island groups: theGreater Sunda Islandsand theLesser Sunda Islands.

The major island groupings in thePhilippine ArchipelagoincludeLuzon,Mindanao,and theVisayan Islands.

The seven largest islands areNew Guinea,Borneo,Sumatra,SulawesiandJavain Indonesia; andLuzonandMindanaoin the Philippines.

Geologically, the archipelago is one of the most activevolcanicregions in the world. Producing manyvolcanoes especially in Java, Sumatra and Lesser Sunda Islands regionwhere most volcanoes over 3,000 m (9,843 ft) high are situated.Tectonic upliftsalso produce large mountains, including the highest,Mount KinabaluinSabah,Malaysia, with a height of 4,095.2 m (13,436 ft) andPuncak Jayaon Papua, Indonesia at 4,884 m (16,024 ft). Other high mountains in the archipelago includePuncak Mandala,Indonesia at 4,760 m (15,617 ft) andPuncak Trikora,Indonesia, at 4,750 m (15,584 ft).

The climate throughout the archipelago is tropical, owing to its position on theEquator.

Biogeography[edit]

Wallace Linebetween Australian and Southeast Asian fauna. The deep water of the Lombok Strait between the islands of Bali and Lombok formed a water barrier even when lower sea levels linked the now-separated islands and landmasses on either side.

Wallace used the termMalay Archipelagoas the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region. He proposed what would come to be known as the "Wallace Line",a boundary that separated the flora and fauna of Asia and Australia. The ice age boundary was formed by the deep water straits betweenBorneoandSulawesi;and through theLombok StraitbetweenBaliandLombok.This is now considered the western border of theWallaceatransition zone between thezoogeographical regionsof Asia and Australia. The zone has a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin, and its own endemic species.

Demography[edit]

See also:Southeast Asia § Demographics

Population[edit]

Over 380 million people live in the region, with the nine most populated islands being:

  1. Java(141,000,000)
  2. Sumatra(50,180,000)
  3. Luzon(48,520,774)
  4. Mindanao(21,902,000)
  5. Borneo(21,258,000)
  6. Sulawesi(21,258,000)
  7. New Guinea(11,306,940)
  8. Negros(4,414,131)
  9. Panay(4,302,634)

Language and religion[edit]

The people living there are predominantly fromAustronesiansub-groupings and correspondingly speak westernMalayo-Polynesian languages.The main religions in this region areIslam(62%),Christianity(33%), as well asBuddhism,Hinduism,Taoismand traditionalfolk religions.

Culture[edit]

Culturally, the region is often seen[by whom?]as part of "Farther India" orGreater India—the Coedes'Indianized states of Southeast Asiarefers to it as "Island Southeast Asia".[29]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abMoores, Eldridge M.;Fairbridge, Rhodes Whitmore(1997).Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology.Springer. p. 377.ISBN0-412-74040-0.Retrieved30 November2009.
  2. ^Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2006).World Population Prospects, Table A.2(PDF).2006 revision. United Nations. pp. 37–42.
  3. ^abEncyclopædia Britannica.2006. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
  4. ^Encyclopaedia Britannica – Malay Archipelago
  5. ^"Maritime Southeast AsiaArchived2007-06-13 at theWayback Machine."Worldworx Travel.Accessed 26 May 2009.
  6. ^abWallace, Alfred Russel(1869).The Malay Archipelago.London: Macmillan and Co. p. 1.
  7. ^Reid, Anthony.Understanding Melayu (Malay) as a Source of Diverse Modern Identities. Origins of Malayness,Cambridge University Press, 2001. Retrieved on March 2, 2009.
  8. ^Wallace, Alfred Russel(1863)."On the Physical Geography of the Malay Archipelago".Archived fromthe originalon 17 January 2010.Retrieved30 November2009.
  9. ^Wallace, Alfred Russel(1869).The Malay Archipelago.London: Macmillan and Co. p. 2.
  10. ^Wallace, Alfred Russel(1869). "40: The Races of Man in the Malay Archipelago".The Malay Archipelago.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-10-16.Retrieved2009-08-26.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)

    "If we draw a line... commencing along the western coast of Gilolo, through the island of Bouru, and curving round the west end of Mores, then bending back by Sandalwood Island to take in Rotti, we shall divide the Archipelago into two portions, the races of which have strongly marked distinctive peculiarities. This line will separate the Malayan and all the Asiatic races, from the Papuans and all that inhabit the Pacific; and though along the line of junction intermigration and commixture have taken place, yet the division is on the whole almost as well defined and strongly contrasted, as is the corresponding zoological division of the Archipelago, into an Indo-Malayan and Austro-Malayan region."
  11. ^OED first editionA geographical term, including Hindostan, Further India, and the islands beyondwith first found usage 1598
  12. ^Echols, John M.; Shadily, Hassan (1989).Kamus Indonesia Inggris (An Indonesian-English Dictionary)(1st ed.). Jakarta: Gramedia.ISBN979-403-756-7.;Moores, Eldridge M.;Fairbridge, Rhodes Whitmore(1997).Encyclopedia of European and Asian regional geology.Springer. p. 377.ISBN0-412-74040-0.Retrieved30 November2009.
  13. ^Friedhelm Göltenboth (2006)Ecology of insular Southeast Asia: the Indonesian ArchipelagoElsevier,ISBN0-444-52739-7,ISBN978-0-444-52739-4
  14. ^Modern Quaternary Research in Southeast Asia,Volume 1
  15. ^Shaffer, Lynda (1996).Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500.M.E. Sharpe. p. xi.ISBN1-56324-144-7.
  16. ^T. Barbour. Reptiles in the East and West Indies- and Some Digression. The American Naturalist, Vol. 57, No. 649 (Mar. - Apr., 1923), pp. 125-128
  17. ^Review: The Tongking Delta and the Annamite House. Geographical Review, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul., 1937), pp. 519-520
  18. ^A. Aiyappan. Pottery Braziers of Mohenjo-Daro. Man, Vol. 39, (May, 1939), pp. 71-72
  19. ^Donald F. Lach,Edwin J. Van Kley (eds.) Asia in the making of Europe: Volume III, A century of advance. University of Chicago Press, 1993.ISBN978-0-226-46757-3pp. 1301-1396
  20. ^Portugal. Embaixada (Indonesia). Sukarno and Portugal. Embaixada de Portugal em Jacarta, 2002 pp. 61-62
  21. ^António Augusto Mendes Correa. Timor português: contribuïções para o seu estudo antropológico. Volume 1 of Memórias: Série antropológica e etnológica, Portugal Junta de Investigações do Ultramar. Imprensa Nacional de Lisboa, 1944
  22. ^Jules Sion, Luis Villanueva López-Moreno (tr.). Asia monzónica: India, Indochina, Insulindia. Volume 13 of Geografía Universal. Montaner y Simón, 1948
  23. ^[1]Archived2011-07-18 at theWayback MachineInsulindia: musée du quai Branly, France
  24. ^Insulindia Portuguea. Divisao de Publicacoes e Biblioteca Agencia Geral das Colonias. Clamagirand (-Renard), Brigitte. 1971
  25. ^Christian Pelras.[2]Indonesian Studies in France: Retrospect, Situation and Prospects. Archipel, 1978, Volume 16, Issue 16, pp. 7-20
  26. ^Leo Suryadinata. The Ethnic Chinese in the ASEAN states: bibliographical essays. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1989,ISBN978-981-3035-11-9p. 54
  27. ^Claudine Salmon. Cultural links between insulindian Chinese and Fu gian as reflected in two late 17th-century epigraphs. Archipel, 2007, Issue 73, pp. 167-194
  28. ^Philippines: General Information.Government of the Philippines. Retrieved 2009-11-06;"World Economic Outlook Database"(Press release).International Monetary Fund.April 2006.Retrieved2006-10-05.;"Indonesia Regions".Indonesia Business Directory.Retrieved2007-04-24.
  29. ^Coedes, G. (1968)The Indianized states of Southeast AsiaEdited by Walter F. Vella. Translated by Susan Brown Cowing.Canberra: Australian National University Press. Introduction...The geographic area here calledFarther Indiaconsists of Indonesia, or island Southeast Asia....

External links[edit]

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