Sumatra (also spelled
Sumatera) is an island in western
Indonesia, westernmost of the
Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two larger islands,
Borneo and
New Guinea, are shared between Indonesia and other countries), and the
sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470,000 km²).
Etymology
Sumatra was known in ancient times by the
Sanskrit names of
Swarnadwīpa ("Island of Gold") and
Swarnabhūmi ("Land of Gold"), due likely to the
gold deposits of the island's highlands. The first word mentioning the name of
Sumatra was the name of
Srivijayan
Haji (king)
Sumatrabhumi ("King of the land of Sumatra"), who sent an envoy to China in 1017.
Arab geographers referred to the island as
Lamri (Lamuri, Lambri or Ramni) in the 10-13th centuries, in reference to a kingdom near modern day
Banda Aceh which was the first landfall for traders. Late in the 14th century the name Sumatra became popular, in reference to the kingdom of
Samudra which was a rising power. European writers in the 19th century found that the indigenous inhabitants did not have a name for the island.
History
People who spoke
Austronesian languages first arrived in Sumatra around 500 BCE, as part of the
Austronesian expansion from Taiwan to Southeast Asia. With its location in the
India-
China sea trade route, several trading towns flourished, especially in the eastern coast, and were influenced by Indian religions. One of the earliest known kingdoms was
Kantoli, which flourished in the 5th century AD in southern Sumatra. Kantoli was replaced by the Empire of
Srivijaya and then later by the Kingdom of
Samudra. Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centered in what is now
Palembang. Dominating the region through trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries, the Empire helped spread the
Malay culture throughout Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and western Borneo. The empire was a
thalassocracy, or maritime power that extended its influence from island to island. Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts and writing two manuscripts.
Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the
Chola Empire of southern India. Sumatra was then subject to conquests from
Javanese kingdoms, first
Singhasari and subsequently
Majapahit. At the same time Islam made its way to Sumatra, spreading through contacts with Arabs and Indian traders.
A 16th century map of Sumatra
By the late 13th century, the monarch of the
Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam.
Marco Polo visited the island in 1292 and
Ibn Battuta visited twice during 1345-1346. Samudra was succeeded by the powerful
Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the
Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control. Aceh, in the north, was the major obstacle, as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly
Aceh War (1873-1903).
On
December 26 2004, the western coast and islands of Sumatra, particularly
Aceh province, were devastated by a nearly 15 meter high
tsunami following the 9.2-
magnitude Indian Ocean earthquake. The death toll surpassed 170,000 in Indonesia alone, primarily in Aceh.
In 2005 there was an 8.7 magnitude aftershock of the previous earthquake in December 2004. See
2005 Sumatran Earthquake. In addition to the
subduction megathrust earthquake off the west coast, Sunda arc, the Great Sumatran Fault, a
transform fault, runs the entire length of the island. The pressure on this fault increased dramatically after the December 2004 earthquake, and seismologists suspect another
earthquake could occur in the near future. The
fault ends directly below the recently devastated city of
Banda Aceh.
Administration
The
administrative regions of Sumatra (or the smaller islands nearby) are:
Geography
Map of geological formation of Sumatra island.
The longest axis of the
island runs approximately 1,790 km (1,100 miles) northwest - southeast, crossing the
equator near the center. At its widest point the island spans 435 km (270 miles). The interior of the island is dominated by two geographical regions: the
Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east.
To the southeast is
Java, separated by the
Sunda Strait. To the north is the
Malay Peninsula, separated by the
Straits of Malacca. To the east is
Borneo, across the
Karimata Strait. West of the island is the
Indian Ocean.
The backbone of the island is the Barisan mountains chain, with the active volcano
Mount Kerinci's 3,805 m (12,467 ft) the highest point, located at about the midpoint of the range. The volcanic activity of this region endowed the region with fertile land and beautiful sceneries, for instance around the
Lake Toba. It also contains deposits of coal and gold.
To the east, big rivers carry silt from the mountain, forming the vast lowland interspersed by swamps. Even if mostly unsuitable for farming, the area is currently of great economic importance for Indonesia. It produces
oil from both above and below the soil—
palm oil and
petroleum.
Sumatra is the largest producer of
Indonesian coffee. Small-holders grow Arabica coffee (
Coffea arabica) in the highlands, while Robusta (
Coffea canephora) is found in the low lands. Arabica coffee from the regions of Gayo, Lintong and Sidikilang is typically processed using the
Giling Basah (wet hulling) technique, which gives it a heavy body and low acidity.
Most of Sumatra used to be covered by
tropical rainforest, but economic development coupled with corruption and illegal logging has severely threatened its existence. Conservation areas have not been spared from destruction, either.
The island is the world's
5th highest island, although only the third highest in the Indonesian archipelago.
Largest cities
The following is a list of urban areas in Sumatra by population based on 2009 calculations compiled by
The World Gazetteer.
Flora and fauna
Sumatra supports a wide range of vegetation types which are home to a rich variety of species, including 17 endemic genera of plants.
Unique species include:
Sumatran Pine,
Rafflesia arnoldii (world's largest individual flower),
Titan arum (world's tallest and largest
inflorescence flower).
The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species. There are 9 endemic mammal species on mainland Sumatra and 14 more endemic to the nearby
Mentawai Islands.
The species present include:
Sumatran Tiger,
Sumatran Orangutan,
Sumatran Rhinoceros,
Sumatran Elephant,
Sumatran Striped Rabbit,
Dhole,
Dayak Fruit Bat,
Malayan Tapir, Malayan
Sun Bear and the
Bornean Clouded Leopard.
The island has lost 48% of its natural forest cover since 1985, and many of the remaining species are endangered. The
Sumatran Tiger,
Sumatran Rhino, and
Sumatran Orangutan are all
Critically Endangered, indicating that the highest level of threat to their survival. In October 2008, the Indonesian government announced a plan to protect Sumatra's remaining forests. However, the construction of illegal roads through prime
tiger habitat has continued since then by companies led by
Asia Pulp & Paper, the pulp and paper company well known for illegal logging and breaching environmental law.
The island includes more than 10 National Parks, including 3 which are listed as the
Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Site—
Gunung Leuser National Park,
Kerinci Seblat National Park and
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.
Demographics
Minangkabau women carrying platters of food to a ceremony
Sumatra is not very densely populated, about 96 people per km²—more than 45 million people in total. It is nonetheless the fifth
most populous island in the world. The most populous regions include most of North Sumatra and central highlands in West Sumatra, while the major urban centers are Medan and Palembang.
The people composed of many different ethnic groups, speaking 52 different languages. Most of these groups, however, share many similar traditions and the different tongues are closely related. Malay-speaking people dominate the eastern coast, while people in the southern and central interior speak languages related to
Malay, such as the Lampung and
Minangkabau people. The highland of northern Sumatra is inhabited by the
Bataks, while the northernmost coast is dominated by
Acehs. Ethnic
Chinese minorities are also present in urban centers.
A majority of people in Sumatra are
Muslims (87%), while 10% are
Christians, 2% are
Buddhist and 1%
Hindu. Most central Bataks are
Protestant Christians, a religion introduced by the
German Rhenish Missionary Society.
See also
