Trading Activities In The Community Of Old Javanese

HISTORY OF CULTURE | Trading Activities In The Community Of Old Javanese | Trading activity in the ancient Javanese society can be divided into two categories: local that took place at the village level, and regional levels covering large areas or long distances. The focus of the study of local trade is a market activity that usually follows the pattern beralngsung market day with a cycle of five days a week and are usually afraid to nyang goods of daily needs. An understanding of this is mainly obtained through the study of ethnographic and historical sources of Java. The general conclusion of trade patterns confirms that the local trading system did not change significantly since its recognition of this trading system until the mid-20th century.

In the context of the ancient Javanese, not much diketahiu how the provisions and limits of the village that became the route rotation, is also unknown how the trading mechanism above the village level is done, and what kind of trader groups that were most responsible. Lombard suspect, this type of trade in a wider scope has begun to emerge since the early 10th century with the advent of a special profession termed banyaga (merchants) and one group is known as a 'wanderer', even some of which have lived in a village and make a pattern of settlement for merchants. This is according to Pigeaud not a strange thing, because in the 14th century (from 1366-1387), has found the villages with spealisasinya respectively.

Nagarakretagama Canto LXXXIII / 3 noted that many traders from Jambudwipa, Cambodia, Campa, Yawana, China, Siam, Goda, Karnatas (Mysore in India) came to the Majapahit. Should ensure that the contrary was Javanese traders go to those places. Majapahit proved hectic trade from the many foreign traders who were there. According to Ma Huan in his book Ying-yai Sheng Others, mentioned that in Majapahit many Chinese people live from Canton, Chang Chou, ch'uan, and Fukien. Even in Gresik there are approximately 1,000 families Canton Chinese origin, and of which include a foreign nation from Jambudwipa (India), Cambodia, Campa (Laos), Yawana, Goda, and Kanataka.

In this case, Tuban is a port of export agricultural products originating from Java or other islands. Merchandise exported include pepper, salt, spices, pearls, tortoise-shell, sugar, bananas, sandalwood, coconut, cotton, silk, sulfur, silver, gold, and slaves. Rice is also exported from Tuban to eastern Indonesia. In this area of ??rice exchanged with spices then shipped to China. Ports that are not less important is the Gresik which exports rice to Malacca.

The terms contained in the inscription refers directly to the trading activities are tuha trademarks or trademarks interpreter of the chairman or supervisor of the merchants. The term refers to buying and selling so-called profession hadagang, banyaga or awalija. Although not always mentioned in the inscription, but the types of goods traded or piping often precede the word WLI (buy), including large tax determined. Besides the types of merchandise, there are groups that perform business services, especially transport services using animal power as atitih (horse), as well as other conveyances such as coils (gerobag), mapadati (carts) and parahu (boat).

Not every inscription written trading activity, except for some inscriptions Biluluk II (1313 Saka/1391 AD): "

Asambewara sarwwa papat hadagang, hamahat ... hamalanten hamdel hamuter hanglaksa hangapu ... palalanjer luputing titiban sahang, chilli, cardamom cubeb kawali iron iron cotton dish "(all four trades: merchants, craftsmen, carpenters soft cloth, blue dye maker, maker of oil use mill / hamuter, laksa maker, seller lime ... including agricultural products bought and sold like pepper, pepper, incense, cardamom, iron, iron kuwali, cotton dish ...).

On the other merchandise, rice is usually brought in from all over the country and became the main trading arm of the Kingdom. The salt is generally produced from the northern coast of Java; tortoiseshell from the southern part of East Java; pearls from the Moluccas; gold and silver from West Java. In contrast, the Chinese people carrying grocery items, such as silk, ceramics, kepeng, and wine.

Existing residents especially on the northern coast near the port such as coarse sand Tuban, Surabaya, and Canggu, most of the traders. According to Ma Huan news, many port cities of the occupied Arab and Chinese traders. While the indigenous people came there to trade. Goods that become a commodity in this place is a stone of good quality and foreign-made goods are purchased in large quantities. They really like to buy tableware (porcelain) Chinese pictorial flowers, colored green, perfume, silk, and cotton both useful and innocent. They paid with money from the Chinese copper; copper coins from different dynasties in China's behavior on this commercial site.

Each inscription has these terms refer to types of merchandise along the development and introduction of the language it represents the period but basically related to tax provisions. Broadly speaking, the goods being traded are not less than 31 sorts and does not imply any particular trader sells one type of merchandise. List items can be grouped among others; a) the types of foods and spices and food, b) the type of clothing, c) the type of general supplies, and d) animals (livestock).