HADRAMI DIASPORA IN KARIMUNJAWA: Between Identity Maintenance and Assimilation

Abstract

This study discusses the Hadrami diaspora in Karimunjawa, between identity maintenance and assimilation. Through oral history, this study found that the coming of Hadrami in the early 20th century in Karimunjawa was solely motivated for economic reasons. They lived and improved their quality of life by working as laborers in the Chinese traders. The economic limited access caused Hadrami in Karimunjawa were not played an important role both in economic and Islamic teaching. For economic reasons as well, their numbers had dwindled in the mid of 1990s20th century. Most of them moved to Semarang and Jepara while the small group still survived in Karimunjawa. As a sayyid family, the Arabs in Karimunjawa did intermarriage mixed marriages [WU1] (between sayyid and non-sayyid). The role of the Arabs in Karimunjawa was begun from Sayyid Abdurrahman era whose became the new icon of the Majelis Al-Khidmah, a teaching institution based in Surabaya. Recently, it has branches in many parts of Indonesia.